Us institute of peace im delighted to welcome you here for a very important conversation to prevent violence in a fragile world. Our speakers here today i want to extend a special welcome to mark green we are honored to have them here today and a very warm welcome to Madeleine Albright who is been a fierce champion of ours for years and many thanks to the National Endowment for democracy that makes todays event possible with your generous support and our good friends and partners in the george w. Bush institute. Its wonderful to have them cohost the event with us today. Thirtyfive years ago funded by congress nonpartisan National Institute dedicated to the notion that peace is practical and possible. We firmly believe todays challenges require partnership across the aisle. Last Year Congress asked to host a bipartisan congressionally mandated with the request to a comprehensive plan in the worlds most fragile state. The principle of recommendation is the us should adopt a policy of prevention with a strong focus on government so passing the global fragility act to take those Task Force Recommendations to create a binding commitment to a longterm prevention strategy. Its good to know action is possible and then to talk more about the opportunity to seize that momentum we have before us. We have a Great Program plan for you. I am delighted to introduce a very good friend and our next speaker, the president of the National Democratic institute , a distinguished and very dedicated Public Servant and author. Please join me to welcome him. [applause] thank you so much its wonderful to be back at usaid. We want to think nafta to organize this event this morning and with a tremendous contribution with the task force has made to advancing the cause of violence and conflict prevention of fragile states that passed it on passage of the fragility act is just one indicator allied of influence so congratulations to you all and to the Bush Institute for these endeavors we are engaged in around the world and also to acknowledge the National Endowment of democracy for enduring support we are part of the fact these days. I do want to thank mark green as a tireless advocate to move countries on the path of fragility for selfreliance and thank you for your leadership and the continued support of democracy and finally with that collaboration as we mentioned i would like to thank the courts corine from us ip in her very own Lauren Vanmeter we shirt say we are doing this early in the new year. Thank you for working through the holidays to make this happen. The genesis secretary albright served as a Task Force Member to be an outspoken preventing violent extremism is a security issue its a governance challenge. It is embedded and the findings of the report the task force reports democracy and Good Governance is at the heart of any prevention strategy must be central to any and all strategies and extremism. And to forge new relationships to have new innovative ideas defense partners to recognize the rise of fragile states to support those states that have chosen and as they have alternative models with the corrupt elite interest this book of conflict prevention of the global fragility act the act itself acknowledges even failures with the need to learn from experience as we go but the conversation is to proceed in that spirit thank you for joining us today. Now to introduce my colleagues of the Human Freedom Initiative of the george w. Bush institute. Having years of experience in human rights and democracy at our Sister Organization also extensive experience working for several members of congress and a terrific partner in this event in many other initiatives please come up. Thank you all very much. [applause] i have the longest title in the room its a mouthful f left we are proud to be partnering with this and also for the Financial Support provided. We hope this is a kickoff with a longer partnership how democracy can combat violent extremism around the world. To that Human Freedom Initiative to stand with those living under tyranny and to develop leadership in democracies and from one of our scholars from tunisia. I have the honor of introducing from the keynote address the 18th administrator since august 2017 and has the unmatchable cv with his experience a congressman from wisconsin ed and ambassador to tanzania and my all matter that Republican Institute to see the Governance Program the president and ceo for the institute for global development, director for Global Leadership council on and on. But before he was confirmed in his testimony investor greene said violent extremism in many parts of the world make our work far more dangerous and expensive. So today the challenge makes it even more imperative. After his remarks he has agreed to take a few uestions test test [applause] thank you for those kind words. And also to be with my friend secretary albright is daunting to be with her. The first time i spent any considerable time with her would be the first Election Observation for iraq after a couple of weeks and its just as daunting today. Madam secretary its great to be with you. It is an honor to be joining you for these important discussions that you are undertaking we are at a historic moment for america on the world stage we look around us there is an awful lot those challenges of every corner of the world so to feel like the consumer at the millionaires pool party he had a party around his Swimming Pool it was filled with man eating alligators and then said i will give 1 million to the first man to some across the pool silence then sure enough there was a guy in the water pushing the alligators out of the way got out climbing dripping wet and said thats the most courageous thing ive ever seen he said i just want to know who the hell pushed me in the pool. [laughter] we feel like that sometimes. [laughter] but in reality many of the problems that we see while they have their own distinct context those underlying causes many, if not most to be profound the innate desire to have a meaningful voice in their own future and where that desire for example i understand by what are confounded in the eastern drc. To operate there is now the second deadliest in history that continues to claim lives dash claim lives even though we are promising treatments to see Community Protest of those officials and facilities leading the response. The insecurity is so great the healthcare workers are unable to get to the hotspots. I understand why we are confused that these are the same communities. Drc has from surveying every day people it is so broken that most of the communities were allowed to vote in the last elections and that joseph and his family still appears to be Holding Hundreds of millions of dollars. I appreciate the peopl people, frustrated or bewildered what is happening less than 600 miles from our shore. Time and again. Let alone to author reforms. They lead to the investment that never quite reaches the people and outside peacekeepers was even sexual misconduct. On a recent flight i took from portauprince during orphanage, i asked my helicopter pilot how he would describe. He paused and then and even puzzled by whats going on in hong kong. Pretty well economically. The income is among the highest in the world, unemployment less than 3 . When they tried to push through the law authorizing expedition to the mainland and system of justice in the name of peace and stability everyday citizens especially students immediately took to the streets. They seem to believe the protests would quickly and quietly fade away tha but citizs willing to surrender individual liberties for the mainland version of tranquility. 1 million then by some accounts, 2 million even in the face of teargas and rubbetear gas and rd bombs and more. Since the expedition to appear seven months ago, more than 2,000 protesters have been injured and 6,000 arrested. When hong kong helped the district elections in the midst of all of this, the results were historical and unambiguous. Now the District Councils dont have a lot of power so they generally dont see much in the way of turnout sending the clearest possible signal and the value they place on democracy 3 million turned out to vote, the highest turnout in hong kong history. They captured 17 of the district. District. Some would captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2008 we certainly didnt push hong kong into t s we certainly didnt push hong kongers into the streets. But i think in reality, we all realize the health, the freedom and democracy does affect our own interests and our own fortunes. History tells us that states with more democratic characters are usually more prosperous, stable and reliable partners. Theyre better Economic Partners because they possess the characteristics and conditions that we believe are vital for economic vibrancy and sustainable growth. Theyre better Strategic Partners because theyre citizen centered making them less likely to produce terrorists, proliferate weapons of mass destruction or engage in armed aggression. Conversely authoritarian regimes are unreliable partners and at worst pose significant risk to peace and stability. Authoritarian regimes like maduros may give rise to forced migration and refugees, burdening and potentially destabilizing their neighbors. In order to maintain their hold on power regimes like these, like iran, repress their people by isolating their citizens from outside influences and ideas. They often attack directly or indirectly, physically or digitally those outside their borders who represent the freedom that they fear. So as we look to troubled lands and fragile turf, i think these are the principles we need to keep in mind and thats why at usaid we are placing a new, Even Stronger emphasis, on fostering democratic governance, citizen responsiveness. We believe it is crucial. Weve institutionalized it through our process that aims to build the usaid of tomorrow. Among other things, were launching a new bureau for development, democracy and innovation. D. D. I. Will bring together expertise from across the agency and will serve as a onestop shop for Technical Support in designing solicitations and programs and as its name implies, it will elevate democracy and governance with the goal of promoting human liberty and citizen responsiveness in our programming and offerings. D. D. I. Will feature centers of focus that will carry this out, like our center for youth and inclusive development, the center for equality and womens empowerment and the center for democracy, human rights and governance. And thanks to President Trump and with the bipartisan support of the senate, d. D. I. Will be led by a longterm democracy hand assistant michelle becker. You can also see our stronger emphasis on democracy and democratic governance in the country by country metrics that we are assembling, that we use to guide our investments and our priorities. The country road maps, as we call them, incorporate metrics that measure a countrys commitment to elements like freedom of expression, association and conscience, the rule of law, protection of Civil Liberties and government transparency. When countries score low in these areas, it will challenge us to ask if were dedicating enough resources it those causes. When countries score well, it will challenge us to find ways to best leverage their strength. In coming months youll also see our greater emphasis on democracy in the new democracy focus plan im announcing today. That campaign will highlight our democratic governance investments all around the world as well as how this work tackles the underlying challenges and causes that ive mentioned and how all of that serves americas strategic interests. We want to help americans understand how modest investments in country institutions and selfgovernance can prevent or extinguish the brush fires that seem to be burning in so many places. It will feature personal stories of individuals promoting democracy and Human Dignity in their own communities and countries. People like a tireless advocate for equality and inclusivity in nepal, the first female president of the basic court of ps ristina in kosovo. Well tell their stories to help americans understand our story. That campaign will run through world democracy day of september 15th. But most importantly, you will see our stronger commitment to democratic governance in a programatic offerings. What will this look like . I will take a few minutes to give you a brief overview. In many countries, particularly those countries struggling to emerge from an authoritarian shadow, we want to emphasize programs that help bring Greater Transparency to institutions. You know, in the west, i think were guilty of too often assuming that transparency and openness and Decision Making is the natural state of governance. For countries that are emerging from, say, communism, there is no tradition of openness. Its never really occurred to officials that they might want to keep their citizens effectively informed. Were looking at ways to train a new generation of official to make routine such matters as the public release of meeting schedules and reporting that shows compliance with procedural rules in Decision Making. In my recent rift to albania, the Prime Minister told me how much he appreciated all the investments that usaid and the larger u. S. Government had made over the years, but then he said to me, you know those Traditional Development programs, thats no longer what we need. When you look at the metrics theyre off the charts. Its a high achieving country. He said we need help to fight corruption. We need help to restore peoples faith in government and their leaders. So we plan to respond to him with tools and Technical Assistance that could help foster a true culture of government transparency, pending congressional approval were looking to partner with his government to establish the u. S. albania transparency academy. We hope this academy can focus on three pillars. Promoting Budget Transparency in government, ensure public visibility on Government Procurement procedures, and creating demand for transparency among youth. A second focus in our programming will be fostering and supporting genuine choices in elections. We want to invest in political free elections and strengthening electoral integrity. These days authoritarians know they cant oppose elections outright. Even though ma dura and ortega say they want elections they bend and rig them any way they can. In cambodia, they not only dissolved the main Opposition Group and banned it from politics but arrestsed and jailed its leader and at the same time he announced he actually wanted free elections and wanted to bring observers in. They would see how smooth elections can be. Especially when youre unopposed. Traditional democratic voices, the u. S. , canada, and europe, all of us refused to take part. China, which purchased the election equipment, was only too happy to oblige and the chinese praised the election as quote unquote orderly. Well look for ways to support Electoral Systems and observation teams Meeting International objective standards and we will express dismay at those which do not. Third, we want to support citizen responsiveness in government. When citizens see little hope that officials will listen and respond to their needs and priorities. On the other hand, disagreements have a chance to remain civil when citizens believe they are at least heard. So well support programs that help leaders, especially new leaders, become better constituentdriven officials. One of the most uplifting things i have ever seen was meeting with a young woman mayor in guatemala. She had a particular way of conducting town hall meetings. She would have her team bring road equipment to the town hall and when someone would say i have a pothole, she would point and while the town hall was going on the guy would go and fix the pothole. I kept thinking to myself, boy it i have a use for a person like that. We cant all be as actionoriented as that mayor, but we can teach such modest things as town halls, how to utilize polling and surveys, helping parties to construct issues based platforms that are clear and which lead to accountability and so those are the activities that we will look to fund and to support. Fourth, inclusiveness. No democracy can be called representative if it isnt listening to all of its people. No political system is truly stable if it dehumanizes large segments of its population. Stability isnt merely the absence of conflict. It requires an environment in which all groups have a clear stake in the systems, survival and success. And so well work to support and foster civic space, help counter dialog that vilifies the vulnerable and reinforce the independence of journalist and media organizations. Well pay special attention to the largest marginalized community in nearly every part of the world, women. So were ramping up our work on wgdp, Womens Global Development and prosperity initiative, which aims to empower girls and women in numerous ways. Well support investments in womens education and training, expand access to financing and mar