Washington, DC– Amarilys Delayla Torres-Nunez, Winner of the New Voice 4 Global Solutions Essay Contest, represents Citizens for Global Solutions (CGS) at Ventotene International Conference.
While some individuals are lucky enough to escape for Labor Day, few can boast that they spent the week on an island in the Tyrrhenian sea attending one of the most prestigious international conferences dedicated to democratic world federalism. Thanks to her scholarship and commitment to CGS’s vision, Amarilys Delayla Torres-Nunez can claim that distinction.
Torres-Nunez is the winner of the The New Voices 4 Global Solutions Essay Contest, created to offer young people (aged 18-30) across the United States the opportunity to propose and argue for ideas to strengthen the global governance system on topics such as ending war, the guarantee of human rights, or protecting the environment.
Z first-generation college student from Manatí, Puerto Rico, she currently is pursuing an interdisciplinary education at Ohio Wesleyan University, focusing on Anthropology, Zoology, and Psychology. These diverse academic interests reflect her commitment to understanding both human and animal behavior in a global context.
Submissions for the contest opened in May 2024, with one winner selected to have their essay published in CGS’s Mondial journal and attend the 2024 Ventotene International Seminar (September 1-6), on the island of Ventotene, Italy.
Torres-Nunez said she was motivated to enter the contest because it provided an opportunity for students to engage in conversations about global issues in a meaningful way. She also appreciated the accessibility of the contest.
“I appreciated how this essay contest did not have strict criteria which excluded those different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds which provided a unique opportunity to include these perspectives into our essays,” Torres-Nunez said.
In her essay, Mobile Gender Courts: A Solution To Accountability Gaps in UN Peacekeeping and Survival Sex, Torres-Nunez presents an in-depth analysis of the persistent accountability gap afflicting UN peacekeeping missions. She also touches on the ongoing issue of sexual exploitation within peacekeeping contexts while proposing mobile gender courts as a possible solution.
“I chose this topic because I am passionate about protecting the rights of women and children and the principle of peace,” Torres-Nunez explained. “It is important to remember that during times of desperation, women and children are the most vulnerable and it is the responsibility of the UN and its peacekeepers to protect and provide.”
When asked about her time at the Ventotene International Seminar, Torres-Nunez called it a once-in-a-lifetime experience that not only introduced her to new people, but changed and challenged her perspective.
“I met many brilliant minds from different cultural backgrounds who had such unique perspectives regarding the topics of federalism, overcoming social inequality, and achieving peace,” Nunez-Torres said. “This experience not only challenged my pre-existing beliefs but encouraged me to expand my worldview.”
While at the conference, Nunez-Torres said she gained a deeper understanding of European federalism, sovereignty, and the various challenges the EU faces in maintaining competitiveness and security. She also learned about the historical evolution of European federalism and how that has shaped the current structure of the EU and its governance. The seminar also included discussions of balancing national sovereignty and the collective authority of the EU, especially in the context of economic policy, defense, and legislative proposals to the European Parliament.
Discussions carrying an emphasis on collaboration and unity across borders to tackle complex global issues also led Nunez-Torres to find many parallels between her home country of Puerto Rico and the United States.
“Despite Puerto Rico being a U.S. territory, it continues to face significant struggles in various aspects, from economic challenges to political and social inequalities,” Nunez-Torres said. “This seminar made me realize that unity between the United States and Puerto Rico is essential—not just to address immediate needs, but also to foster long-term, sustainable development.”
Nunez-Torres will be featured in the Winter 2024 edition of the Mondial journal, where her essay can be read in full.
Washington, DC– Citizens for Global Solutions (CGS) is honored to announce Anthony Vance, Senior Representative, U.S. Bahá’í Office of Public Affairs joins our National Advisory Council (NAC).
Anthony oversees the development of the Bahá’ís of the United States Office of Public Affairs programs and strategic direction. He joined the office in 2010 after spending four years at the Baháʼí World Center in Haifa, Israel representing it to the diplomatic community, civil society, and parts of the host government. A lawyer by training, he spent 21 years in the U.S. Agency for International Development in legal and managerial positions in Washington, Côte d’Ivoire Kenya, Botswana, and Egypt. Mr. Vance holds a B.A. in Economics, an MBA, and a J.D. from Harvard University.
Larry David,Member, Executive Committee, CGS Education Fund Board of Directors said of Vance’s appointment, “The Baha’is and Citizens for Global Solutions have long-shared common goals relating to the need to replace an international system that allows for war with one which does not. The organizations are naturally allied. Anthony Vance’s joining the CGS Advisory Council underscores that informal alliance. CGS is fortunate to have an individual of Anthony Vance’s position and training advising its board and is strengthened by his decision.”
Dr. Justin Haner, Member of the Board of Directors
It is with great pleasure that Larry David also welcomes Justin to the Education Fund Board of Directors. Larry states, “Dr. Haner brings an academic perspective, deep preparation, and a thorough understanding of the history and scope of international law, its applications, and its shortcomings. We fellow board members are honored by Justin Haner’s choice to give volunteer service to support CGS and its focus on international peace and justice.”
Justin is a political scientist and research fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University. From traditional security concerns to artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, his scholarship focuses on the transformative power that international law and organizations can have on solving complex global and regional security issues. Committed to ensuring his work resonates beyond the classroom, he campaigns on the dire need to reform the United Nations, including as a co-drafter of the People’s Pact for the Summit of the Future and an active contributor to the Coalition for the UN We Need. Justin is also a committed public servant with twelve years of combined experience in the military and local government. As a former Captain in the US Army Infantry, he led a mechanized rapid reaction force just south of the Korean DMZ and was selected to serve as Executive Officer to the United Nations Command Honor Guard. He currently serves as an elected Representative for Town Meeting and appointed Capital Budget Committee board member in Walpole, MA, where he works on a variety of local issues from promoting racial and gender inclusivity, to reducing his town’s environmental impact.
About Citizens for Global Solutions
Citizens for Global Solutions is a non-governmental, non-profit, non-partisan membership-based organization that for more than 75 years has brought together a diverse collective of individuals and organizations with a common goal of a unified world predicated upon peace, human rights, and the rule of law. From championing ratification of the UN Charter upon our establishment in 1947 to supporting creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) 25 years ago to advocating for global instruments to confront today’s enduring challenges of war and climate degradation, CGS recognizes that true progress is a generational enterprise. We invite like-minded individuals and organizations to join us in this mission.
Mobilizing Earth Governance Alliance (MEGA) is launched in Geneva on March 26, 2024 as a resounding answer to the challenges faced by Earth’s integrated ecosystems.
“We all share one planet. But today our common home and our common humanity are under existential threats from serious and inter-connected crises.” Mary Robinson, Chair of the Climate Governance Commission and Former President of Ireland, at the launch of MEGA.
The world faces a deepening planetary emergency—and is on a reckless path toward catastrophic ecosystem collapse —having already over-shot six of nine scientifically-identified Planetary Boundaries. Such profound and potentially cataclysmic challenges require new ways of thinking, collaborating, and innovating for change.
The coalition advances proposals and campaigns for concrete environmental governance mechanisms, many of which have been thoroughly researched and analyzed in the Climate Governance Commission’s landmark report Governing our Planetary Emergency.
“Stronger and more effective global governance fit for purpose is required in order to facilitate the collective action that is required by States and other stakeholders to prevent an environmental catastrophe and to ensure healthy and vibrant ecosystems for current and future generations,” reflected Maja Groff, Convenor of the Climate Governance Commission.
“If the proposals of the Climate Governance Commission report and MEGA are fully implemented, then we can comprehensively solve the environment polycrisis,” added John Vlasto, Chair of WFM-IGP.
Held in conjunction with the 148th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the timing and venue allowed for reflection on the importance of legislators in environmental governance due to their vital role in policymaking. “Everyone who’s been involved in parliamentary work I’m sure, will agree that it would be a mistake to underestimate what a small number of committed parliamentarians can make happen in their country,” said Nic Dunlop, Secretary-General of the Climate Parliament.
The launch event also recognized that true environmental governance solutions will require innovative cross-sectoral collaboration, including a focus on engagement of the private sector. “For global environmental governance solutions to be successful they need to provide the right incentive structure for the private sector to take decisive action,” explained Dr. Alexander Schmidt, Head of Science, Sustainability, and Climate Research at Stockholm-based carbon accounting provider Normative. “MEGA will work closely with businesses across the globe to understand their needs, capabilities, and limitations. It is through these dialogues that we can ensure a truly effective governance structure fit for purpose.”
The launch focused not only on preventing environmental catastrophe, but also on building a better future for all through enhanced stewardship of the Earth for current and future generations. ‘It is imperative that we revisit our shared values and connect its spirit to this new journey, including principles of international law, Earth trusteeship and wonderful efforts such as the Earth Charter which connects wisdom of indigenous knowledge and systems,” said Neshan Gunasekera, Member of the World Future Council and Chair of the Earth Trusteeship Initiative. “These call on all of us, present here and now, to build trust amongst each other, across generations, to ensure that we play our small part in preserving the integrity of our Earth’s systems.’
MEGA is established as a ‘big tent’, inclusive coalition of civil society organizations, legislators, academics/scientists, private sector actors and other stakeholders, working in cooperation with governments, and with a laser focus on strengthening global governance of the environment.
As CGS Executive Director Rebecca Shoot reflected: “For practically as long as there has been a global governance system as we know it, our organizations have advanced a shared vision of a better, more equitable, and inclusive world by harnessing the power of diverse coalitions. We are honored to join with allies from every region and sector now to apply this same strategic approach to perhaps the most critical challenge of all: saving our planetary home.”
Legal Alternatives to War: Increasing the universality and effectiveness of the International Court of Justice
March 16, 2024. Resolve international conflicts in the courtroom, not the battlefield, the LAW not War crowdfunding campaign is live. We invite you to watch the promo video, make a donation and circulate to your networks.
“From the smallest village to the global stage, the rule of law is all that stands between peace and stability and a brutal struggle for power and resources. I note the importance of accepting the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court and call on all Member States to do so without any reservations.”Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General. Remarks to the UN Security Council Thematic Debate on the Rule of Law amongst Nations, January 12, 2023
“I prefer law to war under all circumstances.”Benjamin Ferencz (1920-2023), Prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunals. International champion of international law who popularised the motto ‘Law not War.’
Project outline
LAW not War is a new global campaign to enhance the jurisdiction and use of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in order to assist countries resolve international disputes peacefully rather than through recourse to the threat or use of force.
The principal objective of the campaign is to increase the number of States accepting the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ, with the aspiration to achieve universal acceptance of jurisdiction by 2045, the 100th anniversary of the United Nations.
In addition, the campaign works to enhance ICJ jurisdiction through:
Promoting greater use by UN bodies of the option to request Advisory Opinions from the ICJ;
Encouraging disputing States to make more frequent use of the option of taking cases to the ICJ by mutual agreement;
Encouraging more frequent use of the compulsory ICJ jurisdiction provision in a number of international treaties, and promoting the inclusion of compulsory ICJ jurisdiction in additional treaties;
Encouraging states to adopt constitutional amendments or legislative measures to affirm the UN Charter prohibition of war and the obligation to resolve international disputes peacefully including through recourse to the ICJ.
The campaign employs a mixture of education about the value and impact of ICJ jurisdiction, and advocacy to enhance such jurisdiction.
Authority, influence and impact of the ICJ
The ICJ has had considerable success at resolving international disputes, including some that involved the threat or use of force. Examples include:
Nicaragua v United States, which helped end US aggression against Nicaragua and paved the way for the Central American Peace Accords;
The Nuclear Tests case, which helped end nuclear testing in Pacific;
Chad v Libya, which resolved their territorial dispute and ended their armed conflict,
Costa Rica v Nicaragua, which resolved their territorial dispute over the Isla Portillos and ensured withdrawal of the Nicaraguan military forces.
The authority of the ICJ within the United Nations system, and the unique contribution the ICJ plays with respect to the application of the law, ensures that its decisions exert considerable influence and impact on the parties and other stakeholders in its cases.
An analysis of ICJ cases undertaken by Judge C.G. Weeramantry (former Vice-President of the ICJ), for example, indicated that approximately 90% of ICJ cases are implemented – either fully or mostly.
However, its role is limited by the fact that its jurisdiction is based on voluntary acceptance. As such, many disputes that could potentially be resolved with the help of the ICJ are not brought to the court because of refusal of one or more parties to accept its jurisdiction.
ICJ jurisdiction – general provisions
ICJ jurisdiction is conferred through a variety of processes including:
Voluntary declarations by UN Member states – under Article 36 of the ICJ Statute – by which they unilaterally accept compulsory jurisdiction for any dispute between them and other states that have also made such declarations (74 countries have made such declarations);
Mutual agreement by disputing states to take a specific legal issue to the court;
Advisory Opinions which are requested to the Court by the UN Security Council, UN General Assembly (UNGA) or other UN organs and specialized agencies which have been granted authority by the UNGA to request such opinions;
International treaties which provide for ICJ jurisdiction in disputes between States Parties relating to obligations under the treaty in question.
LAW not War is working to increase acceptance and use of ICJ jurisdiction through all four of these processes, but is placing a strong focus on enhancing the first process list above – increasing the number of voluntary declarations accepting ICJ jurisdiction for any international legal disputes.
ICJ jurisdiction – working with like-minded countries
The UN Summit of the Future, scheduled for September 2024, provides an opportunity to highlight the role of the ICJ and build support for universal acceptance of its jurisdiction.
A large number of civil society organizations, facilitated by the Coalition for the UN We Need, have been consulting and cooperating on a Peoples Pact for the Future which includes 33 recommendations to the Summit that have considerable support around the world. One of these is the recommendation that “all UN Member States should be encouraged to accede, by no later than 2035, to the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to ensure the peaceful settlement of disputes.“
C4UN will organise a second Global Futures Forum in May 2024 to build political traction for the recommendations in the Peoples Pact for the Future.
Cosponsoring and participating organizations
Founding/cosponsoring organizations:
LAW not War is a joint campaign established and managed (cosponsored) by:
Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace
Basel Peace Office
Citizens for Global Solutions
Peace Action, Training and Research Institute of Romania
UNFOLD ZERO
World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy
World Future Council.
Participating organizations include:
Act for Change / Agir pour le Changement (Congo)
Actions Communautaires pour le Développement de la Femme (Congo)
African Centre for Human Rights Education (Senegal)
All Souls Nuclear Disarmament Task Force (USA)
Asociación Española para el Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos (Spain)
Association for Promotion of Sustainable Development (India)
Association of World Citizens (France/International)
Baltimore Nonviolence Center(USA)
Blue Banner (Mongolia)
Center for Enlightenment and Development (Malawi)
Center for Peace and Global Governance (USA)
Clean Climate and Environment Campaign Initiative(Nigeria)
Centre International de Droit Comparé de l’Environnement (France)
Center for United Nations Constitutional Research (Serbia)
CGS Board Chair, Executive Director, and Board Members participated in Recommendations from the 2023 Congress of the World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy
Critical issues for humanity, such as the climate/environment crisis, a global erosion in human and civil rights, lack of progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the rise of armed conflicts and authoritarian regimes, require better global governance according to member organizations of the World Federalist Movement – Institute for Global Policy (WFM-IGP). The organizations reaffirmed their shared commitment to advancing effective global governance on 11 and 12 November 2023 at the 29th WFM-IGP biennial Congress, attended by 70 delegates and observers from 29 countries.
“International law and global governance mechanisms must be strengthened in order to better manage the critical problems facing humanity,” explained WFM-IGP Congress Chair Donna Park, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. She further observed: “World Federalism offers an effective model for a peaceful, secure, just, democratic, equitable and sustainable world. The policies and programs advanced over the weekend would help humanity build such a world.”
To advance international law, human rights and justice, the Congress resolved to support an international treaty to codify and provide accountability for Crimes Against Humanity and strengthen its recently launched Legal Alternatives to War (LAW not War) program to enhance the universality and effectiveness of the International Court of Justice. The Congress also resolved to continue its active support of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and promote the establishment of additional judicial institutions to meet global challenges not under ICC jurisdiction, including crimes against the environment, corruption, organized crime and persistent and unchecked violations of human rights, ensuring effective remedies for victims.
“The challenges we face today require global solutions, and world federalism provides the necessary framework for effective international cooperation,” says Rebecca A. Shoot, Co-Chair of the WFM-IGP Commission on International Justice, the Rule of Law and Human Rights, working out of Washington, DC, USA. “Respect for the rule of law, support for international judicial institutions, and protection of human rights must be the bedrock of this cooperation. By adopting concrete proposals to apply these principles in practice, WFM-IGP and its member and affiliated organizations take important steps to advance the vision and promise of the UN Charter for a world governed by law not war.”
To promote peace and human security, the Congress discussed common security approaches to address and resolve armed conflicts. In addition, the Congress called on States to phase out policies of nuclear deterrence; affirm the norm and practice of non-use of nuclear weapons; adopt policies of no-first-use of nuclear weapons; slash nuclear weapons budgets and re-allocate these resources to peace, climate protection and the SDGs; and commit to achieve the global elimination of nuclear weapons no later than 2045, the 100th anniversary of the UN. The Congress also advanced governance proposals to protect outer space for peaceful purposes and to ensure effective governance of Artificial Intelligence.
To enhance environmental and economic governance, the Congress supported the work of the Climate Governance Commission to help establish effective environmental governance mechanisms. Congress also affirmed the joint initiative of WFM, Citizens for Global Solutions and the Climate Governance Commission to launch the Mobilizing an Earth Governance Alliance (MEGA) Program to implement CGC 2023 report recommendations and complementary global environmental governance proposals, including pricing carbon, elaborating the concept of Earth Trusteeship, reforming the Bretton Woods institutions, and creating an empowered Global Environment Agency and UN Parliamentary Assembly.
“At root, it is not an environmental crisis,” says John Vlasto, WFM-IGP Executive Board Chair, based in London, UK. “Humanity has created a global governance crisis – resolve this and we can unite to live in harmony with each other and with nature.”
“The concrete proposals and exciting campaigns advanced by the World Federalist Movement provide feasible approaches to managing the world better,” says Alyn Ware, WFM-IGP Program Director, based in Prague, Czech Republic. “By strengthening current global governance mechanisms, we can resolve international conflicts more justly and humanely, prevent war and facilitate global cooperation to protect the environment and ensure a sustainable world for current and future generations.”
This Congress comes at a challenging time for humanity and our planet. Action to animate these words is more necessary than ever. “We have only one world and need to preserve it. For this, we need Parliament at the UN to address the democratic deficit at the UN, disastrous global climate crisis, prevent wars, bring regulations in the use of outer space and Artificial Intelligence,” stated Dr James Arputharaj, WFM-IGP Executive Board Member based in Bangalore, India.
To move more resolutely toward a world federation of nations, Congress urged commencing a process for a UN Charter Review Conference based on Article 109(3) of the Charter to strengthen the United Nations and establish a UN parliament. This process would recognize sovereignty of planetary citizens as co-decision makers alongside States, backed with universal and enforceable rule of law; replace the war system with peaceful conflict prevention and resolution; and honor the earth’s ecological boundaries.
About the World Federalist Movement- Institute for Global Policy
The World Federalist Movement/Institute for Global Policy, founded in 1947, is a non- profit, non-partisan civil society organization that promotes global governance to address peace and security, human rights, the environment and other transnational issues. The organization is governed by its Congress, comprised of 43 member organizations from across the globe that work to determine the broad policy direction of the organization. For inquiries, please contact Alyn Ware, Program Director at ware@wfm-igp.org.
Today, August 1, 2023, Citizens for Global Solutions (CGS) welcomes Bruce Knotts as its incoming President, succeeding Bob Flax, whom CGS congratulations on his retirement.
In his new capacity, Mr. Knotts will represent CGS as a pro bono and ex officio member of our Board of Directors, working closely with CGS Executive Director Rebecca Shoot, who continues in her leadership role and maintains responsibility for the organization’s daily functions and programs. CGS Education Fund Vice Chair and Action Network Chair Matt McDonough remarked of the transition:
“It is with profound gratitude that we say farewell to our current President. Bob Flax has guided this organization to a restructuring of or board, our Committees, and our staff. Bob is leaving us with a comprehensive road map called a Theory of Change. As a result of Bob’s skill and dedication we are poised to move to the next level of our mission.
And, in Bruce Knotts, we have just the leader to guide us through these steps. During his long career as a U S Department of State diplomat and his second career as an officer in large nonprofits, Bruce has developed both skills and contacts that he will put to good use as he helps to build toward the organization he sees us becoming. We all look forward to growing our organization under Bruce’s auspices.”
Mr. Knotts began his career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia, followed by deployments in Saudi Arabia and Somalia (the latter with the World Bank), before joining the Department of State as a U.S. diplomat in 1984. Over the course of his State Department career, he had diplomatic assignments in Greece, Zambia, India, Pakistan, Kenya, Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, where he served as Regional Refugee Coordinator for West Africa, and The Gambia, where he served as Deputy Chief of Mission. He also worked closely with several UN Special Representatives and observed UN peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone from 2000-2003. Upon his retirement from the Foreign Service, Mr. Knotts began directing the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO) in 2008. He has founded faith-based advocacy initiatives for sexual orientation/gender identity human rights at the United Nations and continues to advocate for the rights of women, indigenous peoples, and sustainable development in moral terms of faith and values.
On the occasion of Mr. Knotts’ appointment, Ms. Shoot reflected, “Bruce embodies CGS’s vision, mission, and values. From his time in the Peace Corps through his diplomatic career, human rights advocacy, and representation at the United Nations, his life and work animate our organization’s commitment to global cooperation for the betterment of humanity and our planet. CGS will benefit greatly from his thought leadership and I look forward to our cooperation as our organization continues to flourish and grow.”
Concurrent with his role at CGS, Mr. Knotts will continue to serve as the chair of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security; as co-chair of the UN NGO Committee on Human Rights; as a member of steering committee of the NGO UN Security Council Working Group; and as the UN representative of the International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women.
Contact: Rebecca Shoot at outreach@globalsolutions.org
Senior Representative, Bahá'ís of the U.S. Office of Public Affairs
Anthony oversees the development of the Bahá'ís of the United States Office of Public Affairs programs and strategic direction. He joined the office in 2010 after spending four years at the Baháʼí World Center in Haifa, Israel representing it to the diplomatic community, civil society, and parts of the host government. A lawyer by training, he spent 21 years in the U.S. Agency for International Development in legal and managerial positions in Washington, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Botswana, and Egypt. Anthony holds a B.A. in Economics, an MBA, and a J.D. from Harvard University.
James Lowell May
Program Officer
James May is a programme and project development specialist. He has lived in Serbia since 2005, and prior to joining Citizens for Global Solutions, worked across the Western Balkans on a broad range of issues including human, minority and child rights, accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Holocaust commemoration, democratic participation, social justice and economic empowerment, and environmental restoration.
James began working in the Western Balkans on issues related to accountability for human rights violations, first for the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, a coalition of NGOs active in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, as the network’s development coordinator, then the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights, leading a research project documenting the nomenclatural of the Milosevic Regime, and then the Federation of Jewish Communities in Serbia, running a Holocaust research and education project.
James then transitioned from accountability to efforts to protect and fulfil the rights of marginalised communities. For a decade James worked for the Centre for Youth Integration, an NGO that provides specialized services for children and youth in street situations in Belgrade, where he began as a volunteer before taking up a permanent role, while concurrently volunteering for community mental health organizations, as well as consultancy work for a number of local and international organizations, and most recently branched out to apply his experience to the environmental sector, focussing on social impact assessments and community-oriented nature-based solutions projects.
James has a degree in Archaeology from University College London. He was born and grew up in Great Britain. He is an avid cyclist.
Honorable David J. Scheffer
Former U.S. Ambassador
Amb. David J. Scheffer is senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), with a focus on international law and international criminal justice. Scheffer was the Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law (2006-2020) and is Director Emeritus of the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He is Professor of Practice at Arizona State University (Washington offices). He was Vice-President of the American Society of International Law (2020-2022) and held the International Francqui Professorship at KU Leuven in Belgium in 2022. From 2012 to 2018 he was the UN Secretary-General’s Special Expert on UN Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials, and he was the Tom A. Bernstein Genocide Prevention Fellow working with the Ferencz International Justice Initiative at the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (2019-2021).
During the second term of the Clinton Administration (1997-2001), Scheffer was the first ever U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues and led the U.S. delegation to the UN talks establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC). He signed the Rome Statute of the ICC on behalf of the United States on December 31, 2000. He negotiated the creation of five war crimes tribunals: the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, and the ICC. He chaired the Atrocities Prevention Inter-Agency Working Group (1998-2001). During the first term of the Clinton Administration (1993-1997), Scheffer served as senior advisor and counsel to the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dr. Madeleine Albright, and he served on the Deputies Committee of the National Security Council. Ambassador Scheffer received an A.B. (Government and Economics) from Harvard College, B.A. (Honour School of Jurisprudence) from Oxford University (where he was a Knox Fellow), and LL.M. (International and Comparative Law) from Georgetown University Law Center.
Alex Andrei
Director of Technology and Design
Alex is an experienced professional in designing digital products, managing online applications, and providing IT consulting services. Their background is in working with online applications design, digital accessibility, learning management platforms, user experience and interface design for online and mobile applications. They have over 10 years of experience working with higher-education institutions, nonprofits, and business.
He believes that in today’s rapidly evolving landscape, organizations need to adapt and thrive in the digital realm to gain a competitive edge and be as successful as they can be. Alex specializes in supporting organizations in their digital transformation initiatives and creating effective user experiences and driving efficiency through technology to empower people.
As Director of Technology and Design, Alex focuses on identifying opportunities to integrate various technologies in ongoing operations and new initiatives at CGS to support programs, partners, and team members in achieving their goals.
Alex has a passion strategically leveraging cutting edge technologies to maximize the value of what can be done with limited resources to create a lasting impact and great experiences for people.
Jon Kozesky
Director of Development
Jon brings over 17 years of experience in development and fundraising in both the public and private sectors. He started his career in politics working in the Ohio Statehouse and later in the office of U.S. Congressman Steven LaTourette, as well as former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. After leaving Capitol Hill, Jon pursued his passion of helping nonprofits secure the resources they needed to best serve their constituents. This passion led to his founding of Jon Thomas Consulting, a boutique nonprofit management and development firm serving organizations across the United States and throughout the world in streamlining their processes and maximizing their revenue growth through grant writing, government affairs, donor stewardship, and major event planning.
Prior to his fundraising career, Jon proudly served his community as a firefighter and water rescue diver. In his personal time, Jon is a champion competitive sailor and a bit of a thrill-seeker, having skydived and bungee jumped on 6 continents.
Hannah Fields
Communications Officer
Hannah Fields is a communications and digital content specialist with over ten years of experience working in the nonprofit, global health, and higher education sectors. She has supported organizations, such as Mayo Clinic and the American Academy of Political and Social Science, with editorial projects, digital content management, and a broad range of communications outreach. During her time in global health, she worked alongside Christian Connections for International Health (CCIH) to assist in their mission of advancing health and wholeness for all people through capacity-building, networking, fellowship, and advocacy.
Hannah also has a background in book publishing, having received her Master of Letters in Publishing Studies from the University of Stirling. She has worked with several US and UK publishers to create high-quality printed and digital products for readers. Hannah also founded Folkways Press in 2020 to create a platform for authors of all backgrounds to use the power of their words to address social issues through themes of mental health, human rights, and more.
Marvin Perry
Accounting Manager
Marvin has been working in the areas of HIV/AIDS, international peace and human rights. He has worked with both national and international non-profits in the DC area. Marvin brings years of experience in non-profit finance and administration. Marvin is a certified human resources professional and holds an MBA from Howard University School of Business.
Peter Orvetti
Communications Consultant
Peter Orvetti is an editor and political analyst who has spent most of his career providing daily intelligence briefings for the White House across four presidential administrations, as well as multiple Cabinet agencies, trade associations, and Fortune 500 companies. He is the author of several “Young People’s Guides” to various U.S. federal elections and is a former daily columnist for NBC Universal’s Washington, D.C., website.
He has been involved with CGS and other world federalist organizations for more than a decade and publishes the daily “One World Digest” email newsletter. He is also a theater reviewer and an actor in both professional and amateur productions.
Drea Bergman
Director of Programs
Drea Bergman has been shaping world citizens developing global youth programs as Director of Programs for CGS. She is a public policy researcher with master’s degrees from Maastricht Graduate School of Governance and the United Nations University-MERIT (Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology). She specializes in evidenced-based public policy programs using mixed-methods research and has focused especially on spearheading digital transformation for a variety of NGOs and foundations. Some of her other projects have included research in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. More recently, she has lent her expertise by providing strategic planning for social enterprise start-ups.
Bob Flax
CGS Education Fund President
Bob Flax, Ph.D. is the former Executive Director of Citizens for Global Solutions (now retired). He has spent a lifetime addressing human suffering, first as a psychologist, then as an organization development consultant, and for more than a decade, as a global activist through the World Federalist Movement. He also teaches in the Transformative Social Change Program at Saybrook University.
Bob has a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy from New York University (1977), an M.A. in Psychology from Long Island University (1980), a Ph.D. in Psychology from Saybrook Institute (1992), an M.A. in Organization Development from Sonoma State University (2007), a Certificate in Global Affairs from New York University (2015) and a Diploma in Global Leadership at the UN Peace University in Costa Rica (2019).
Bob’s love of adventure has led him to international trekking, scuba diving, and climbing the tallest mountains on 3 continents. He also maintains a Buddhist meditation practice and lives in a co-housing community in Northern California.
Rebecca A. Shoot
Executive Director
Rebecca A. Shoot is an international lawyer and democracy and governance practitioner with more than 15 years of experience in the non-governmental, inter-governmental, and private sectors supporting human rights, democratic processes, and the rule of law on five continents.
In nearly a decade with the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Rebecca held numerous positions in headquarters and the field supporting and leading democracy and governance programs in Central and Eastern Europe and Southern and East Africa. She subsequently moved to a leadership role steering NDI’s Governance projects globally and directing programming for the bipartisan House Democracy Partnership of the U.S. House of Representatives. Rebecca created a global parliamentary campaign for Democratic Renewal and Human Rights as Senior Advisor to Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), an international network of legislators committed to collaboration to promote democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Prior to that, she directed PGA’s International Law and Human Rights Programme and ran PGA’s office in The Hague. Most recently, she helmed global programming to promote gender equality and criminal justice reform for the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI).
Rebecca is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and is a member of several bar associations, including the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA), where she serves as Advocacy Director for the International Criminal Court (ICC) Committee. She served as a Visiting Professional in the Presidency of the ICC and has provided pro bono legal expertise to The Carter Center, International Refugee Assistance Project, United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, and U.S. Marine Corps University, where she helped develop the international humanitarian law curriculum.
Rebecca earned a Juris Doctorate with Honors from Emory University School of Law, where she received several academic distinctions, including the David J. Bederman Fellowship in International Law and Conley-Ingram Scholarship for Public Interest Leadership. She earned a Master of Science in Democracy & Democratisation from University College London School of Public Policy and a Bachelor of Arts Magna Cum Laude in Political Science from Kenyon College. She holds certificates in Conflict Analysis from the U.S. Institute of Peace and in Public International Law from The Hague Academy of International Law.
As Executive Director of CGS, Rebecca will continue her current role as Co-Convener of the Washington Working Group for the International Criminal Court (WICC), a diverse coalition of human rights organizations, legal associations, former government officials, and leading legal professionals. CGS and WICC have a rich and intertwined history that this dual appointment brings full circle, with CGS formerly serving as host for the coalition and with several current and former common Board and National Advisory Committee members.
She also acts, directs, and writes for the theater.
Helen Caldicott
Physician, Author, and Speaker
Helen Caldicott is a physician, author, and anti-nuclear advocate. She founded several associations dedicated to opposing the use of nuclear power, depleted uranium munitions, nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons proliferation, and military action in general. In 1980, she founded the Women’s Action for Nuclear Disarmament (WAND), which was later renamed Women’s Action for New Directions. In 2008, she founded the Helen Caldicott Foundation for a Nuclear Free Future.
Blanche Wiesen Cook
Professor, Author, and Historian
Blanche Wiesen Cook is a Distinguished Professor of History and Women’s Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. She is author of a three-volume biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, as well as The Declassified Eisenhower: A Divided Legacy of Peace and Political Warfare.
David Cortright
Author, Activist, and Leader
David Cortright is director of Policy Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and chair of the Board of the Fourth Freedom Forum. In 1977, Cortright was named the executive director of he Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy (SANE), which under his direction became the largest disarmament organization in the U.S. Cortright initiated the 1987 merger of SANE and the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign and served for a time as co-director of the merged organization. In 2002, he helped to found the Win Without War coalition in opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
He is the author or co-editor of 19 books including Waging Peace in Vietnam: U.S. Soldiers and Veterans Who Opposed the War, Gandhi and Beyond: Nonviolence for a New Political Age, and Peace: A History of Movements and Ideas.
Andrea Cousins
Psychologist, Psychoanalyst, and Anthropologist
Andrea Cousins is a psychologist and psychoanalyst who has practiced for more than 30 years. She has a doctorate in anthropology from Harvard University and a Doctor of Psychology degree from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology. Her father, journalist and peace activist Norman Cousins, served as president of the World Federalist Association and chairman of the Committee for Sane Nuclear Policy, and was honored with recognitions including the United Nations Peace Medal.
Gary Dorrien
Professor, Author, Social Ethicist
Gary Dorrien is the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of Religion at Columbia University. An Episcopal priest, he has taught as the Paul E. Raither Distinguished Scholar at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and as Horace De Y. Lentz Visiting Professor at Harvard Divinity School.
He is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America’s Religion and Socialism Commission and the author of 18 books on ethics, social theory, philosophy, theology, politics, and intellectual history.
Daniel Ellsberg
Lecturer, Writer, and Activist
Daniel Ellsberg is a political activist and former military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, Ellsberg precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of the U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War, to The New York Times, The Washington Post and other newspapers.
Since the end of the Vietnam War, Ellsberg has continued his political activism, giving lecture tours and speaking out about current events. Ellsberg was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 2006. In 2018, he was awarded the 2018 Olof Palme Prize for his “profound humanism and exceptional moral courage.”
Oscar Andrew Hammerstein
Painter, Writer, Lecturer, and Historian
Oscar Andrew Hammerstein is a painter, writer, and lecturer. He has taught graduate-level courses on New York theatre history and general musical theatre history as an adjunct professor at Columbia University. He is the author of The Hammersteins: A Musical Theatre Family.
Randy Kehler
Pacifist Activist
Randy Kehler is a pacifist activist who served 22 months in prison for returning his draft card in 1969 and refusing to seek exemption as a conscientious objector, seeing that as a form of cooperation with the Vietnam war effort. He played a key role in persuading Daniel Ellsberg to release the Pentagon Papers, and later served as executive director of the National Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign. Kehler and his wife Betsy Corner refused to pay taxes for military expenditures, resulting in the federal seizure of their Massachusetts home in 1989. They continue to withhold their federal income taxes.
Gordon Orians
Ecologist
Gordon Orians, an ornithologist and ecologist for more than half a century, has focused his work on behavioral ecology and the relationships between ecology and social organization, as well as on the interface between science and public policy. He was director of the University of Washington Seattle’s Institute for Environmental Studies for a decade and has also served on the Board of Directors of the World Wildlife Fund and on state boards of the Nature Conservancy and Audubon.
Orians was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1989 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1990.
William Pace
International Organizer
William Pace was the founding convenor of the Coalition for an International Criminal Court (ICC) and a co-founder of the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect. He has been engaged in international justice, rule of law, environmental law, and human rights for four decades, serving as executive director of the World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy, secretary-general of the Hague Appeal for Peace, director of the Center for the Development of International Law, and director of Section Relations of the Concerts for Human Rights Foundation at Amnesty International, among other roles. He is the recipient of the William J. Butler Human Rights Medal from the Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the ICC.
James T. Ranney
Professor, International Legal Consultant, and Author
James T. Ranney is an adjunct professor of international law at Widener Law School. He co-founded the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center in Montana and served as a legal consultant to the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. He has written extensively on the abolition of nuclear weapons and the establishment of international dispute resolution mechanisms.
Rick Ulfik
The Founder of WE, The World, and the WE Campaign
Rick Ulfik is the founder of We, The World, an international coalition-building organization whose Mission is to maximize social change globally. He and his organization work closely with the New York Center for Nonviolent Communication, where he has been a facilitator since 2004. He is also the co-creator of the annual 11 Days of Global Unity - 11 Ways to Change the World, September 11-21.
He is an award-winning composer and keyboard player who has written, arranged, produced and orchestrated music for television networks, feature films, commercials, and albums. He has performed with Queen Latifah, Phoebe Snow, Carlos Santana, Bernadette Peters, and Judy Collins.
John Stowe
Bishop
John Stowe is the Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky. He is a member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, a mendicant religious order founded by Francis of Assisi. In 2015, Pope Francis appointed Stowe bishop of the Diocese of Lexington. He is the Episcopal President of the U.S. board of Pax Christi, an international Catholic Christian peace movement with a focus on human rights, disarmament, nonviolence, and related issues.
Barbara Smith
Author, Activist, and Scholar
Barbara Smith has played a significant role in Black feminism in the U.S. for more than 50 years. She taught at numerous colleges and universities for 25 years and has been published in a wide range of publications including The New York Times Book Review, Ms., Gay Community News, The Village Voice, and The Nation.
Among her many honors are the African American Policy Forum Harriet Tubman Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lambda Literary Award, and the Stonewall Award for Service to the Lesbian and Gay Community. In 2014, SUNY Press published Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith.
William J. Ripple
Conservationist, Author, and Professor
William J. Ripple is a Distinguished Professor of Ecology in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University. He has published two books and has authored more than 200 scientific journal articles on topics including conservation, ecology, wildlife, and climate change. He was the co-lead author on the 2020 paper “The World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency,” which was endorsed by more than 14,000 scientist signatories from around the world. He is the director of the Alliance of World Scientists, which has approximately 26,000 scientist members from 180 countries.
Mark Ritchie
President, Global Minnesota
Mark Ritchie is Chair of Minnesota's World Fair Bid Committee Educational Fund. From 2019 - 2022 he served as president of Global Minnesota, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization devoted to advancing international understanding and engagement. Ritchie was Minnesota's elected Secretary of State from 2007 to 2015. Since leaving elected public service, he has led the public-private partnership working to bring a world exposition (World's Fair) to Minnesota and he has served on the board of directors for LifeSource, Communicating for America, U.S. Vote Foundation, and Expo USA. He is also a national advisory board member of the federal Election Assistance Commission, where he serves as National Secretary.
Kim Stanley Robinson
Author
Kim Stanley Robinson is the author of many works of science fiction, including the internationally bestselling Mars trilogy, and more recently Red Moon, New York 2140, and The Ministry for the Future. His work has been translated into 25 languages, and won awards including the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards. In 2016, asteroid 72432 was named “Kimrobinson.”
Leila Nadya Sadat
Special Advisor to the ICC Chief Prosecutor, Professor, Author
Leila Sadat is the James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law at Washington University School of Law and the director of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute. She is an internationally recognized expert on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and served as Special Advisor on Crimes Against Humanity to Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda of the ICC. She is also the director of the Crimes Against Humanity Initiative, a multi-year project to study the problem of crimes against humanity and draft a comprehensive convention addressing their punishment and prevention. She is a former member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, served as the Alexis de Tocqueville Distinguished Fulbright Chair at the University of Cergy-Pontoise in Paris, and is the author of several books.
Martin Sheen
Actor, Activist, and Leader
Martin Sheen is an Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe Award-winning actor who has worked with directors including Francis Ford Coppola and Oliver Stone, in addition to starring as the U.S. president on the long-running television drama “The West Wing.” In his early days as a struggling actor in New York, he met activist Dorothy Day, beginning his lifelong commitment to social justice.
The self-described pacifist was an early opponent of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and has been a consistent opponent of nuclear arms. As honorary mayor of Malibu, California in 1989, he declared the city a nuclear-free zone. Nearly 20 years later, Sheen was arrested during a protest at the Nevada Test Site. Sheen said in 2009 that he had been arrested 66 times for acts of civil disobedience, leading one activist to declare Sheen to have “a rap sheet almost as long as his list of film credits.”
Sheen has also been active in anti-genocide and pro-immigrant causes, as well as in the environmental movement. In 2010, he told a crowd of young people, “While acting is what I do for a living, activism is what I do to stay alive.” In a 1963 episode of “The Outer Limits,” he portrayed a future astronaut wearing a large breast patch that read “UE. Unified Earth.”
