The 2024 Elections amid the Gaza War: The Future of US Democracy, Foreign Policy, and Global Standing

Speakers

Martin Griffiths

Former Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations

Jeffrey D. Sachs

Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia University; President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network

Lana Baydas

Program Director, Center for Human Rights, American Bar Association

Phyllis Bennis

Fellow and Director of the New Internationalism Project, Institute for Policy Studies

Matthew Duss

Executive Vice President, Center for International Policy

Layla Elabed

Organizer, We the People Action Fund; Campaign Manager, Listen to Michigan

H. A. Hellyer

Senior Associate Fellow in International Security Studies, The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI); Non-resident Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Osama Abu Irshaid

Executive Director and Board Member, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)

Dalia Mogahed

Scholar and Former Director of Research, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Kenneth Roth

Charles & Marie Robertson Visiting Professor, Princeton School for Public and International Affairs; Former Executive Director, Human Rights Watch

Wadie E. Said

Professor of Law and Dean’s Faculty Fellow, University of Colorado

Sarah Leah Whitson

Executive Director, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)

Sarah Yager

Washington Director, Human Rights Watch

James J. Zogby

Co-founder and President, Arab American Institute (AAI); Director, Zogby Research Services

Moderator

Yara M. Asi

Non-resident Fellow

Arab Center Washington DC

Headshot of Khalil E. Jahshan

Khalil E. Jahshan

Executive Director

Arab Center Washington DC

Tamara Kharroub

Deputy Executive Director & Senior Fellow

Arab Center Washington DC

Laurie King

Laurie King

Member of the Board of Directors

Arab Center Washington DC

Yousef Munayyer

Head of Palestine/Israel Program and Senior Fellow

Arab Center Washington DC

* Additional speakers to be announced

About the Conference

Arab Center Washington DC’s 9th Annual Conference is dedicated to discussing the 2024 presidential elections in the United States amid US policy toward the Gaza war. Experts will assess the current state and future of US democracy, explore the impact of the election results on US foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and examine the potential changes in US global power and influence in light of US policy toward Israel’s war on Gaza. The various conference sessions will also address the implications of the election outcomes for democracy and human rights in MENA, international law and the global law-based order, regional geopolitics and shifting alliances, and the future of US foreign policy.

Topics to be addressed:

  • Polling and predictions for election outcomes
  • The impact of the Gaza war on election results
  • The role of Arab/Muslim American and young/progressive voters in the elections
  • US democracy at risk (limiting freedoms/protests, Trump’s fascism, etc.)
  • Impact of election results on democracy and human rights in MENA
  • Evolving US policy in MENA and shifting alliances: Biden vs. Trump
  • US foreign policy and global standing after Gaza
  • The global political, legal, and humanitarian impacts of US Role in the Gaza war

Agenda

9:00 AM – Registration and Breakfast

9:20 AM – Welcome and Introductions

Tamara Kharroub, Deputy Executive Director and Senior Fellow, Arab Center Washington DC
Khalil E. Jahshan, Executive Director, Arab Center Washington DC

9:30 AM – Opening Keynote Address
The Future of US Foreign Policy in a Changing World: Challenges, Prospects, and Recommendations  

Jeffrey D. Sachs, Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia University; President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network; SDG Advocate for UN Secretary General António Guterres; Former Special Advisor to UN Secretaries-General Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-moon, and António Guterres

Khalil E. JahshanModerator
Executive Director, Arab Center Washington DC

10:00 AM – Panel I
The Outcome of the US Presidential Election: Polling, Predictions, and the Impact of the Gaza War

Layla Elabed, Organizer, We the People Action Fund; Campaign Manager, Listen to Michigan
Osama Abu Irshaid, Executive Director and Board Member, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)
Dalia Mogahed, Scholar and Former Director of Research, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding
James J. Zogby, Co-founder and President, Arab American Institute (AAI); Director, Zogby Research Services

Yousef MunayyerModerator
Head of Palestine/Israel Program and Senior Fellow, Arab Center Washington DC

11:15 – Coffee Break

11:30 AM – Panel II
Threats to Democracy at Home and Abroad: Human Rights and Freedoms in US Domestic and Foreign Policy

Lana Baydas, Program Director, Center for Human Rights, American Bar Association
Matthew Duss, Executive Vice President, Center for International Policy
Kenneth Roth, Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor, Princeton School for Public and International Affairs; Former Executive Director, Human Rights Watch
Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)

Laurie King – Moderator
Teaching Professor of Anthropology, Georgetown University; Member of the Executive Board, Arab Center Washington DC

12:45 – Lunch

1:00 PM – Luncheon Keynote Conversation
The Gaza War and the Role of the International Community: Global Political, Legal, and Humanitarian Implications

Martin Griffiths, Former Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations

Yara M. Asi – Moderator
Non-Resident Fellow, Arab Center Washington DC; Assistant Professor, School of Global Health Management and Informatics, University of Central Florida.

1:45 PM – Panel III
US Global Influence amidst the Gaza War: Implications for US Foreign Policy and the International Law-Based Order

Phyllis Bennis, Fellow and Director of the New Internationalism Project, Institute for Policy Studies
H. A. Hellyer, Senior Associate Fellow in International Security Studies, The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI); Non-resident Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Wadie E. Said, Professor of Law and Dean’s Faculty Fellow, University of Colorado Law School
Sarah Yager, Washington Director, Human Rights Watch

Tamara KharroubModerator
Deputy Executive Director and Senior Fellow, Arab Center Washington DC

3:00 PM – Adjournment

Featured image credit: Shutterstock/Mike AZ

Location

The National Press Club, 529 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20045

Date

Thursday September 26, 2024

Time

9:20 AM - 3:00 PM ET