Tag: State Department (DOS)

The State Department recently released the 2015 Country Reports on Terrorism. The reports assesses global terrorist threats, including terrorist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the use of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons. Many of the country reports also appraise U.S. involvement and interagency cooperation, calling for better coordinated […]

On May 18 the White House released an Executive Order that presents a comprehensive approach to atrocity prevention and response. The Executive Order continues the interagency Atrocities Prevention Board that was established via Presidential Study Directive-10 in 2012; lays out support from executive departments, agencies, and offices; and updates and memorializes the terms on which […]

This week Navy Admiral Kurt W. Tidd, commander of U.S. Southern Command (Southcom), affirmed Southcom’s role in the “whole-of-hemisphere” approach to combating the Zika virus. Tidd spoke at a Council of the Americas forum on March 22, where he discussed the part Southcom and other U.S. agencies play in the fight against the virus. “Our […]

The State Department has announced the release of their 2016 Atrocities Prevention Report. The report describes the targeting of and attacks against civilians, including members of religious and ethnic groups in the Middle East and in Burma, and provides an overview of the U.S. government response to these attacks. The report acknowledges that there is no […]

Six interagency teams from the Department of Defense, Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were recently chosen to present at the D3 Innovation Summit on March 2. The Summit was a joint initiative of State, DoD, and USAID, and brought together experts from across the U.S. government and the private sector […]

Last week the State Department submitted the 2016 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) to Congress. The two-volume report offers a comprehensive assessment of the efforts of foreign governments to reduce illicit narcotics production, trafficking and use, in keeping with their international obligations under UN treaties, while also presenting information on governments’ efforts to counter money […]

Earlier this month Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced the Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2016, S. 2551. The act aims to help prevent acts of genocide and mass atrocities, which threaten national and international security,  by enhancing U.S. civilian capacities to prevent and mitigate such crises. S. 2551 sets out […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a report earlier this month detailing U.S. agencies’ efforts in countering firearms trafficking in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. The report was published within days of GAO’s recent follow-up report on firearms trafficking between the U.S. and Mexico. The report examines illicit trafficking across Mexico’s border with Guatemala and […]

RAND Corporation recently published a report assessing the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations in Afghanistan. The task force was a multi-year endeavor for the U.S. Department of Defense, and sought to use private-sector strategies to create sustainable economies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Task force operations began in Iraq in 2006, and operations began […]

On January 5, the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF) released a fact sheet detailing some of PITF’s recent accomplishments. PITF’s anti-trafficking efforts focus on rule of law, victim services, procurement and supply chains, and public awareness and outreach. The fact sheet provides an update on anti-trafficking efforts, including […]