The “Abraham Accords”: Implications for Human Rights, a Just Peace, and US Policy

Speakers

Diana Buttu

Lawyer and Former Legal Advisor to the Palestine Liberation Organization

Dana El Kurd

Non-resident Senior Fellow

Arab Center Washington DC

Marwa Fatafta

Policy Analyst

Al-Shabaka - The Palestinian Policy Network

Lara Friedman

President

Foundation for Middle East Peace

Zaha Hassan

Fellow

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

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

Tariq Kenney-Shawa

US Policy Fellow

Al-Shabaka - The Palestinian Policy Network

Eitay Mack

Israeli Lawyer and Human Rights Activist

Yousef Munayyer

Head of Palestine/Israel Program and Senior Fellow

Arab Center Washington DC

Josh Ruebner

Director of Government Relations

Institute for Middle East Understanding

Headshot of Shibley Telhami

Shibley Telhami

Anwar Sadat Professor of Peace and Development and Director of the Critical Issues poll

University of Maryland

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

Non-resident Senior Fellow

Arab Center Washington DC

About the Conference

With the normalization of relations between Israel and some Arab countries moving at a relatively fast pace, and with the Abraham Accords having taken over a significant proportion of US policy conversations and priorities for the region, there is a great need to provide a detailed and objective assessment of this new policy direction and its potential impacts and implications.

Arab Center Washington DC (ACW) and the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) are hosting a half-day conference to discuss the implications of these agreements for human rights and democracy across the region, as well as for US policies and priorities, regional and global alliances, and the future of both peace and Palestinian human rights. The conference panels will also include an examination of the diplomatic, economic, military, and technological components of these newly established relations, the motivations of each of the countries involved, and an overall assessment of the future of the Abraham Accords.

Agenda and Speakers


9:00 AM – 9:10 AM

Welcoming Remarks

Khalil E. Jahshan
Executive Director, Arab Center Washington DC

Lara Friedman
President, Foundation for Middle East Peace


9:10 AM – 10:30 AM
Panel 1: Normalization and Human Rights

This panel will assess the current scale, scope, and US role in Arab normalization with Israel, and will explore its implications for regional alliances and geopolitical dynamics. The discussion will also examine the impact of normalization agreements on human rights violations and authoritarianism in the region, with a particular focus on the sale of weapons and technologies that facilitate repression.

Dana El-Kurd
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Richmond; Non-resident Senior Fellow, Arab Center Washington DC

Marwa Fatafta
Policy Analyst, Al-Shabaka – The Palestinian Policy Network

Eitay Mack
Israeli Lawyer and Human Rights Activist

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
Non-resident Senior Fellow, Arab Center Washington DC; Fellow for the Middle East, Baker Institute, Rice University

Tamara Kharroub – Moderator
Deputy Executive Director and Senior Fellow, Arab Center Washington DC


10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Panel 2: A Just Peace in Palestine/Israel

This panel will look at the implications of the Abraham Accords and normalization agreements for both Palestinian rights and a just and lasting peace, and at how relations between the Palestinian Authority and Arab regimes impact and are impacted by normalization agreements, the future of US policy toward Palestine/Israel, the prospect of a two-state solution, and long-term US interests.

Diana Buttu
Lawyer and Former Legal Advisor to the Palestine Liberation Organization

Zaha Hassan
Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Tariq Kenney-Shawa
US Policy Fellow, Al-Shabaka – The Palestinian Policy Network

Josh Ruebner
Director of Government Relations, Institute for Middle East Understanding

Lara Friedman – Moderator
President, Foundation for Middle East Peace


12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Toward a US Policy for a Just and Democratic Peace: A Conversation with Shibley Telhami

Shibley Telhami
Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland; Academic Advisory Board Member, Arab Center Washington DC

Yousef Munayyer – Moderator
Non-resident Senior Fellow, Arab Center Washington DC


Featured image credit: Flickr/White House Archive

Location

Via Zoom

Date

Tuesday May 2, 2023

Time

9:00 AM