Policy Planning

Another aspect of PILPG's mission is to educate and train diplomats and foreign officials, preparing them for peace negotiations and to draft international agreements. PILPG organizes roundtables to educate participants about previous attempts and successes at peace and invites those who were directly involved to facilitate a lessons-learned discussion. The purpose of this exercise is to accumulate and organize the wealth of knowledge currently in the peace-building field and to present future negotiators with a variety of solutions both to better prepare them and to facilitate successful negotiation outcomes.

Table of Contents:

Iraq

Afghanistan

China/Taiwan

Nagorno-Karabagh

Somalia

General Policy Planning

Iraq
To assist in promoting an effective transformation of Iraqi sovereignty PILPG has undertaken a series of roundtable discussions, prepared a detailed monograph concerning the process for creating a stable constitutional structure, and in cooperation with the Peacebuilding Practice Area, is preparing a series of legal memoranda relating to the new constitution for Iraq. Iraq Program Website

Roundtables
In cooperation with the Century Foundation, PILPG hosted a series of roundtables attended by former senior U.S. government officials, representatives of various Iraqi parties and neighboring states, and legal and foreign policy experts. The roundtables where chaired by Morton Abramowitz, Abraham D. Sofaer, and Paul R. Williams.

Monographs
After the roundtable discussions, PILPG prepared a monograph entitled, Establishing a Stable Democratic Constitutional Structure in Iraq : Some Basic Considerations (May 2003 ). The monograph covered topics such as: the political context of the upcoming constitutional debate; options for choosing a state structure; models of autonomy-asymmetrical federalism; designing a parliament; structuring an executive branch; building an electoral system; protecting minority and human rights; and promoting democratic consolidation.

The monograph can be found at: http://www.publicinternationallaw.org/publications/reports/IraqReport.pdf

Legal Memoranda
PILPG has ALSO prepared a series of legal memoranda to be used by those responsible for negotiating a new Iraqi constitution. The topics covered include: Mapping a Course for the Resolution of Property Claims in Iraq; A Step-by-Step Guide to Promoting the Return of Iraqi Kurdish Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons; A Primer on Equitable Distribution of Oil in Iraq; Designing a Federal Structure; Designing an Executive Structure; Promoting Judicial Independence and Authority; Protecting Human Rights in an Iraqi Constitution; Electoral Systems of Middle Eastern and North African States: Applications for Iraq.

Afghanistan
PILPG has advised the President of Afghanistan on the development of the new constitution, and continues to provide assistance with the post-conflict development of the Executive branch and the implementation of the new constitution. PILPG provided assistance with preparing for the Bonn I and Bonn II post-conflict planning negotiations, and with negotiations to implement a demobilization, demilitarization and reintegration program.

PILPG also convened a roundtable of international experts in November 2001 to map out a plan for the rebuilding of Afghan political, economic and social institutions, and engaged in public advocacy to urge the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

The roundtable report can be accessed at:

Nation Rebuilding in Afghanistan (December 2001).

The op-ed can be accessed at:

“Rebuild Afghanistan,” The Washington Times ( October 24, 2001 ) by Bruce Hitchner and Paul Williams.

China/Taiwan
To promote the understanding of the evolving legal relationship between China and Taiwan, PILPG sponsored with the New England Schol of Law a conference addressing the legal dimensions of potential reunification.

The conference proceedings can be accessed at:

“Bridging the Taiwan Strait: Problems and Prospects for China’s Reunification or Taiwan’s Independence.” Co-sponsored with the New England Center for International Law and Policy (Boston, November 1997).

An accompanying op-ed can be accessed at:

“Bridging the Taiwan Strait,” The Christian Science Monitor (December 3, 1997) by Michael Scharf.

Nagorno Karabagh
To promote a resolution of the Nagorno Karabagh crisis, PILPG has provided legal assistance to Nagorno Karabagh and Armenia during the OSCE sponsored Minsk Peace negotiations. PILPG has also undertaken election monitoring for Presidentail and Parliamentary elections in Nagorno Karabagh, and has set out a plan for earned sovereignty in A Blueprint for Resolving the Nagorno-Karabagh Crisis (June 2000).

Somalia
To promote peace in Somalia, PILPG advised a party to the Somalia peace talks in Eldoret and Nairobi, Kenya. PILPG advised on matters concerning a cease-fire; constitutional structures; refugee return; protection of human rights; the demobilization, decommissioning, and reintegration of former combatants; economic development; the establishment of a World Bank trust fund; and environmental matters. For more information click here.

PILPG also prepared a Field Report, entitled Somalia: Black Hawk Down No More (April 2002) by Gina El Koury, which constructively critiqued the peace process and made precise recommendations for modfiying the process.

General Policy Planning

Nation-Building Roundtable
PILPG organized a major international conference entitled "Nation-Building: Lessons from the Past and the Challenges Ahead," held in Boston on November 14, 2003. The Conference featured U.N. and former U.S. government officials, leading scholars, and members of non-governmental organizations involved in nation-building.  The purpose of the conference was to explore the successes and failures of the past in an effort to determine what will make nation-building work in the new millennium. The conference papers were subsequently published in Volume 39(1) of the New England Law Review 2004 (Nation Building Symposium Issue). 

Negotiation Simulations
In cooperation with the Peacebuilding Practice Area, PILPG drafts and runs negotiation simulations for current conflict areas around the globe in order to train parties in negotiating techniques and to assist in the development of innovative diplomatic solutions to armed conflicts. The negotiation simulations are run both for the policy making community in Washington , D.C. and in some instances in-country as part of a training program for the parties to the conflict.

The purpose of the simulations is to surface critical issues in each conflict, test new approaches to conflicts, and devise innovative diplomatic solutions. Following each simulation, PILPG drafts and distributes a Lessons Learned Report, which highlights key lessons that may be applicable during the upcoming negotiations. Click here.

Role of International Law Roundtable
On April 1, 2004, PILPG convened a historic day-long meeting of the eight living former State Department Legal Advisers, who served under Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton. During the morning and afternoon sessions, each Legal Adviser recounted the role that his office and international law played in responding to the three most important international crises occurring during his tenure, focusing especially on responding to the challenges presented by failed states and nation building. The session is being transcribed into an oral history of the role of international law in contemporary foreign policy. The introductory chapter contains a history and description of the State Department’s Office of the Legal Advisor, as well as a discussion of the modern controversy about whether international law is really law. Each subsequent chapter of the book is devoted to the recollections of one of the Legal Advisers and his answers to the questions raised by his colleagues. In addition to their edited oral account, each chapter includes an introduction written by the authors which provides the historic and legal background necessary for the reader to understand the context in which the Legal Adviser's stories arise.