building 100,000 miles of new infrastructure to reach those who need it most. >> charter communications supports c-span if as a public service along with these other television provider s, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> this afternoon federal rerve chair jerome powell will talk about monetary policy and the economy as he gives an an update on the central bank's next move on interest rates. tch the full news conference live at 2:30 p.m. eastern on c-span now,ur free mobile video app, or online at c-span.org. >> in 2024 more than 60 countries are holding elections. up next, pro-democracy advocates discuss the importance of defending human rights defenders and anti-corruption activists from autocratic regimes. this was part of a conference held by the society for international development-united

states. ♪ >> may i have your attention, please? may i have your attention, please? the next part of our session here, as we all know, we had the lightning contest, and the next video that we're going to show is ukraine in crisis. and i suggested to katherine that that we show the video now, just before defending the defend pers, because i want you to see what happens when a country that

does not have good governance tries to take over another country that's protecting its democracy. and so, please, take a look, watch this. it's not a very happy video, but it's uplifting towards the end. so with that -- and also i would like you to know that the person in the video is here with us. anna of the church world or service. [applause] and maybe you can talk to her after, after this session. but it's really an important intro to the topic that that we're going to talk about this afternoon. so with that -- >> hello. i i am a anna, and i'm program manager for church world service.

[speaking in native tongue] i am a ukrainian. in the center of kyiv, and i just became a mother, and i was sure that the war would never if happen. but this time i didn't know that in eight years we would be forced to seek e shelter in the united states to avoid a death. ed today i -- [inaudible] if to say i am ukrainian, and this is one of the more than 40 million other stories of ukrainians who became victims of russia aggression. at the beginning of 2021, i was a successful lawyer in the government, and suddenly are everything changed. [background sounds] [inaudible] where to find food, where to sleep, whether my mom was still alive. we have -- [inaudible] virtually all our life and --

[applause] >> thank you very much, anna, for sharing your experience with us. when we think about the most important factors for improving economic growth or improving access to health and education services or addressing the

issues that affect if us you have because of climate change or poor use of resources, one factor that comes to mind immediately is good governance. we know that elections are keys to the quality of governance that any country will have. can and this year, as you may have heard, more than 60 countries are holding elections or have held elections. i believe india is having their elections a right now as we speak. we also know that democracy's not a one and done issue. it needs constant affection and nurturing. so the next panel will discuss the importance of protecting those that protect the democratic space and will share lessons learned in addressing the challenges to it. but before we start with the panel, i would like to introduce

mr. leland prevant who is the president and and ceo of creative associates international. . with leland's experience in strategic planning, finance, technology and program management, creative has played a key role in areas such as elections, good governance, education, economic growth and youth development. under leland's leadership, creative has successfully supported countries around the world to realize the positive change that they're looking for for themselves. and so without further ado, please join me in welcoming leland prevant. [applause] >> gloria, i didn't memorize all the nice remarks i was -- [inaudible] all right. i do like speaking contemporaneously are.

gloria, thanks for the nice introduction. gloria has just recently joined creative's global advisory board. thank you for joining us. and if people in the room are wondering -- and some of you have learned from experience -- if gloria ever gives you advice, you should take it. excellent advice. we're here today, i'd like to introduce shannon bream, assistant administrator for democracy, human rights and governance. we're pleased to be, we're pleased to be in this year when half of the world will soon be casting ballots. at the same time, it does feel

as if that's something to celebrate, but there's associated risk. it feels as if democracy itself is on the ballot this year. so we're looking forward to positive change, but we're also here to work at positive change. what's important is that this panel, like many of the people in this room, are working in smart and clever ways to be supporting effective democracy that we need that avoids the are risks of electoral violence, and it makes sure that the people's voice is heard. so we're all big supporters of the -- [audio difficulty] assistant add a morer --

administrator. [applause] >> thank you, leland, for that introduction. and, folks, what you can't see from your seats or online is that he did that without any notes. so thank you for setting up the panel so perfectly, and thank you, gloria, for also reminding everybody of what this is all about and and what we're here to talk about today. and most importantly, thank you to the u.s. chapter for inviting us to be here to talk about an issue that's so critical for both democracy and development, and that is defending the defenders in the year of elections. so i'm shannon if green. i have the honor of using usa -- uasid's -- which i think is a real testament to how central this work has become to development, and i'm happy to be

here with so many development change makers around the world, particularly these three folks who are on the panel with me today. all of whom are fierce advocateds rising to meet the challenges facing us when it comes to democratic development. we all know the that statistics. we are in our 18th year of democratic decline which means that there is a lot at stake with this year's elections. so i think for this crowd something that's really important to underscore is it's not just high stakes for those of us who care about and are focused on democracy, human rights and governance. the stakes are also really high when it comes to development because with we know that a country's democratic rah trajectory can make -- trajectory can make a real difference in its development trajectory. it also, frankly, makes a big difference in how we as the u.s. government and we as usaid are

able to partner with governments. so we all a have a lot at stake this year and a lot to be the concerned about. in particular, what often happens in the leadup to elections. and that is increased threats to the defenders of democracy who are trying to make sure that elections at least present the opportunity of being competitive and inclusive is and free and fair and participatory. so what we're seeing in too many countries around the world is regimes using highly sophisticated strategies to tilt the playing field in order to preserve their power well in advance of election day. this playbook includes miss ifing independent voices, curbing basic rights, limiting political competition and undermining the very activists who are trying to uphold checks

and balances for new laws that are the restricting nonif governmental organizations -- nongovernmental organizations or media who are receiving assistance from international donors. and make no mistake about it, this is not incident aal. this is part of a strategy that some incumbents are using to really attack the core pillars of democracy which, of course, include elections in order to safeguard their power. however, we like to say that the glass is not half full, it is half empty, and that is because every single today we bear witness to the courageous efforts of human rights defenders, civic activists, anti-corruption champions and democratic reformers who are fighting for freedom for more inclusive and equitable governance, for human rights and, yes, for free and fair elections. often at great personal cost.

and i think that is really the meaning of what it means to be a world in crisis with sparks of hope. we can't lose hope because when elections are allowed to be even nominally democratic and participatory and competitive, we have the real chance of turning things around. and we've seen that, fortunately, in a couple of cases that the i think are notable. for instance, in guatemala indigenous activists took to the streets to peace any protest efforts -- peacefully protest efforts to overturn and discount the results of the 2023 elections, and now we have a president who is a true anti-corruption crusader who at least can help turn the country and put it on a new path. in liberia earlier this year, the peaceful transfer of power between opposing political parties served an inspiring

counterpoint to unconstitutional changes of government and the reentrenchment of the military and politics in ore parts of west africa. and, of course, in poland the recent victim9 i of the democratic -- victory of the democratic opposition was a test thement to the resilience of polish civil society in the face of government attacks denouncing liberalism. the election results have reshaped not only the country's political trajectory, but also has really important implications for the future of europe. finish these are examples that are very positive but, of course, they wouldn't have come about if it were not for the dogged efforts of civil society, government officials, election observers, people who are running election management bodies, anti-corruption activists for media and so many others who play an instrumental role in preserving and

protecting democracy. and we have three such people on the panel. were really in -- you were you are really in for a treat today, because these three folks are some of the most dynamic defenders of democracy that i know, and we are very fortunate to have them with us today of. we have all the way to my left the managing director for public engagement at humanity united where he leads efforts to build understanding, promote accountability9 and martial action among key stakeholders to cultivate conditions for peace and freedom around the world. to my immediate left, i have claudia escobar who is a lawyer and former judge of the court of appeals in guatemala. during her tenure she took a courageous stance against corruption by exposing interference. this led to her resignation when the then-head of guatemala's congress conditioned her election on an exchange for a

favorable judgment with for the party in the government at the time. but she herself is a true defender of democracy and has paid the price. and then in the middle we have kay who is a remowned political scientist -- renowned political scientist, researcher, activist and human rights defender in madagascar and beyond. committed to justice, kay has dedicated her efforts to elevating the voices of those silenced, offering them support and the means to claim their rights and demands the change they deserve. she is the vice chair for transparency international and has served as transparency international madagascar's executive director since 2018 when i met her. so without further ado, we're going to get started with our panelists, and wyoming -- and from sudan or syria where local civic actors have taken the lead

during protection -- in protection if during conflict to guatemala, we've seen the power of local, citizen-led are civic engagement. of course, humanity united is deeply engaged in those localization everies. so how can development professionals like those in this room best live up to our commitments, have local actors really leading this work and open, closing and close spaces? >> thank you, shannon, and thank you for having us and for inviting me to be a part of this conversation. it's an porn one. i think the premise of your question one, i reflect on the progress. the idea of local actors being in the driving seat, right, is something that is, to me, in development and evolution that was made. there's a lot to do, but we're making progress. that's something we should applaud. and and i think for me that means honoring those the with that lived ex, pierce, people

most proximate to the issues and most close to the conflict that we're living in, on the front lines, right? if that means a lot of times we have conversations where we invite people to be9 the table, we ask them a couple of questions and we say we're involved. that's not meaningful solutions. we get closer by saying, okay, you all are here, how about society? but many people can perceive -- somewhere else and that is white, it's western, it's institutional, and that would be part of the process. and i think that meaningful encollusion does not look like that. insofar as a humanity united, we think of power, we think of our own power as donors, as folks who are in these -- [inaudible] institution, how do we use that power, acknowledge it, right? not pretend we don't have power, but how do we share that power, use our voice to be at the table, building trusted partners

who can say to us, actually two, you got that wrong or, please, don't do that again because you're causing harm. i think those people at the tip of the spear, many of these folks -- two of them sitting next to us today -- they're judges, they're in courtrooms, they're investigative journalists putting their lives at risk. it's how we get closer to what we're all trying to get to in this year of elections, right? i think for usaid, shannon, you and i were talking about the localization commitment that the you have, and and it should fund more people at the local level because that's closer to where we wet go. but it's the beginning -- we get to. i think for leaders in development or maybe sitting in this room, we're thinking beyond our bottom line and bottom line being the financial bottom line. a friend of mine -- [inaudible] sustainable impact. the sustainable impact of the work that we're trying to do. so making hard choices. we should say no to this thing because we're not in the best position to do it. we should, in fact, let somebody else be at this table. how do we expand band that table

and make sure the people at the tip of the school are in decision-making roles. us as donors, our internal assumptions, underlying assumptions that we make about various actors, how do we make sure we're not -- we don't have flawed assumptions but also we create processes that allow other people to be at the table and to be able to compete. it's very hard. i've worked at the national democratic institute as an ingo. i know what it's like to get said dollars and how much effort it takes to manage them. okay, we're taking that risk, right? some of that will be lost if we do not necessarily as donors, we're copps of that and we say yet and still, how do we begin to do this work, right? and i think changing our assumptions, i think also another piece for us has become mental health, right? thinking about the mental health and well-being of folks on the front lines. how do we make sure we're saying there's x amount of dollars

we're given, we're allowing for cost recovery of mental health if things or, better yet, just giving general operating support so you all get to decide what is most important. do i prioritize mental health, or do i prioritize sending an investigativeer out -- investigator out into the field. how do we think differently about the work that we're trying to do because we are in a tate of crisis, and that requires us to think different hi and to make progress which we are making, but continue to make that progress. we need to be better at including people who are on the front lines especially in this year that is so critical. >> thank you, kehinde. i'm really hoping we can come back to some of those ideas. i think the idea of local actors being in the driver's seat is part of the dna of those of us who work on democracy, how many rights and governance issues because that's how real change happens. can and i'm really glad that you pulled out the need to be attuned to people's mental health and resill yens issues, because -- resilience issues, because we see the strain of doing this work on people's

physical, mental and other health. so i'm going to go to you next. claudia, talk about what we and should be doing as those interested in supporting elections particularly where there are risks of fraud through transnational organized crime networks have taken root, where there are high rates of corruption, where disinformation is really clouding the picture in terms of what tease actually going on. like -- what's a actually going on. what do you think we should be thinking about and doing in these spaces? thanks. >> thank you. thank you for inviting me to this panel. it's an honor for me to join. i think there is a few things that can be done that international community should be focused on supporting democracy defenders and firefighters, especially when there is elections, there are elections because that's the opportunity that we have to change a path.

so i think one thing is protect the defenders. we have to make sure that they have -- to see what risks they are facing, and hopefully they don't have to get out of the country, but sometimes their security becomes a real issue, and you need safe passages to get them out. we also need to create networks of similarity. i think that creative networks is extremely important for human right defenders across borders. legal and technical assistance is also needed. in some cases they are persecuted, they are criminalized, and they need support to defend themselves. and also sometimes also to promote if reforms, to promote legal reforms and also that requires some help from the legal profession. some other issues that needs to

be focused on, you know, creating workshops and programs tailored for specific needs. [inaudible] i think is important to give them the opportunity to express themselves beyond their borders. i think that the focus of the international community on what is happening in countries that are trying to build democracy is extremely important because then anti-democratic leaders know that they are being watched, and that can also be something that can help. and, of course, financial support. this requires a lot of resources to fight for democracy, and i think that donors and international community should try to focus on what is needed in the windows of hope when we can really move forward. and also create safe havens. i think that's something that you talk about mental health,

but sometimes defend pers are exhausted and just need a time to regain their -- [inaudible] and need to get out of the focus and the fight for some time and then come back. and i think that, that's also something that we could be thinking about. >> thank you so much, claudia. kay, i'm going to ask you a similar question. when i met you a couple years ago in madagascar, i was really struck the about the variety of threats facing anti-corruption activists and human rights defenders even in a country that is considered to be, you know, maybe an imperfect or flawed democracy, but a democracy nonetheless are. so similar question to you. what can the international community do to better support the brave efforts of activists in civil society in places like mad madagascar? >> yeah. thank you, shannon. i think that, you know, claudia already elaborated a bit on this, but i will insist on the

need for advocating for the protections, the adoption of protection lawses because this is really something that we need especially in weak governments such as in madagascar. there are some provisions. for instance, you know, protecting the defenders, those who have been, who have witnessed corruption in their nation, but these are very limited provisions, and they are not -- [inaudible] so we need the stand-alone legislation are, but this is not just in that mad gas car. transparency -- madagascar. transparency international is working in -- [inaudible] countries around the world, and two-thirds of them are struggling because of this lack of protection for, you know, human rights defenders and anti-corruption cam patients. so we are facing -- campaigners. so we are facing harassment, we are facing strategy corruption from, you know, the main source

of the --. we have, for instance, in madagascar we have exposed one case of monopoly in the -- [inaudible] trade between madagascar and europe, and we blew the whistle against that. and then we have -- like we are the ones, you know, who perpetrated the crime. so this has to change. it also requires legal protection, more collaboration between countries and government because corruption is a transnational phenomenon, ask and you cannot tackle this only on a national level. and defend pers are doing what they can, but they have limited powers. they are just individuals. and even tribes and powerful networks such as transparency international, yes, we need the cooperation of the government and -- [inaudible]

who can really break the cycle of impunity which goes around corruption. and in addition to that, there is also safe havens. it's really when something happens to an anti-corruption defender, there should be an active network present for them being to protect them at the very moment. because sometimes they have cases where -- today, help can come but three months later. then maybe i'll be dead or i'll be jailed or i'll lose everything i have. but it has to be an immediate if response. and part of this, this is already one of the requests to express the words governance and donors, is to have a kind of emergency visas to bring against the defenders in case of need. because, you know, for applying

to vice saws especially from -- visas especially for countries like ours in the -- mad gas daughter to the u.k. takes three months. if you want to go to canada, it can take longer, six months. so emergency situations require emergency responses. so this is really something we are pleading for. and, you know, one thing very important which is very simple to do but most of the time we forget about it is to keep talking about this, keep remain if -- reminding the world that threatening defenders including anti-corruption campaigners is bad. this is a really bad thing because it goes against the commitments made towards human rights. if the defenders and anti-corruption activists are doing what they're doing, it's not for the sake of, you know, making a buzz or whatever. it's for protecting human rights in the countries where we are

operating. we have to remember that there are -- [inaudible] in a few years, you know we won't achieve this as a human community. there's six years left, so there are lots of doubts about that because of corruption. if we keep exposing corruption for, you know, even more platforms and also solutions for us all together as human community to achieve those goals, so if the defenders are not protected, we lose a lot in this. and governments keep -- [inaudible] of money in such development, protecting human rights as long as corruption is not -- [inaudible] then we will be sailing as a community. so that's why we really need to insist on that. these are a few, you know, ideas that we can implement.

i think very easily, we just need the real will, political will, across the global world so we don't have to give up even if it's a kind of heavy burden. >> yeah. k, what i love about what you and claudia just did is just really illustrate the proliferation of threats that a widening community of defenders -- so it's the legal threats and lawsuits, it's the physical harassment, it's online intimidation and harassment, it's the reputational risk and on and on and on. and the targets of those threats are just ever increasing. so we now see domestic election observers or people who are administrator -- administering elections or environmental defenders all feels the -- feeling the heat of that pressure. and it's only getting worse in this year of elections because

governments do not want to tolerate criticism or dissent because with it undermines their electoral prospects. so just is really important that we stay attuned to these risks and collectively mobilize to address them. that said, i promised that we were going to find those sparks of hope. the glass is half full, so, claudia, i'm going to go back to you and ask the questioning you know, many in some end stances we have -- instances we have seen elections result in a u-turn or at least the opportunity to put the country on a different a rah correctly. trajectory. when that happens, as it did recently in guatemala, how do you want us as a community to mobilize in order to really nurture that opening? >> well, i think in those moments we need to put the eyes on the countries that are having those opportunities. i think the -- nations of

elections are very, very important -- monitoring elections are very, very important. i think the role that the international community can help together with the citizens in your countries is key. as you said before, you know, in guatemala the indigenous community had to defend the election in guatemala a because we have an attorney general that is being recognizinged -- recognized internationally as a corrupt leader, and she was trying to undermine the election. and to favor -- leaderser, politicians and different factors that control the country for many decades. so i think that the role of civil society is extremely important but needs to be backed up by the role and the focus of the international community. i think that legal frameworks or reforms are also important before something like that can happen, and that's, again, when

we need the support of the illegal community -- legal community. i think we need to trust in the judicial system. if the judicial system is already corrupt, then there is a threat that democracy's going to payment and for me -- fail. and for me, the fight for democracy is really the defenders of the judiciary. and that's also something that is key to fight corruption. the fight against corruption is not asymmetrical because corrupt people have networks, they have resources, they have links to organized crime, they get together to corrupt all the institutions. so we we need to protect institutions. and that's something that requires a lot of effort. that also requires education. people need to be aware of what is going on and what is the importance of the election and what is at play. and that's when they need to also recognize when we have

democratic leaders versus kleptocratic leaders who usually have, as i said before, more resources, more opportunities. so is when really the democratic nations need to get together and help the leaders that are fighting for freedom and fighting for democracy. and that also requires economic support. in different kinds. so i will insist that the most important thing will be really the independence of the institutions but especially the institutions that are in the justice system and the lek tomorrow -- electoral system. >> thank you. and that gives me an opportunity to say that is exactly what usaid's democracy delivers initiative is meant to do. it's to really surge those investments when there are windows of opportunity to help keep those, you know, transitions on track and to keep that window of opportunity open

for as long as possible including by investing in democratic institutions and economic prosperity. so so important, and we're really trying to link those two things together more deliberately. okay, ke do -- i keep wanting to call you kay. we talked a little bet about the defenders of democracy and the type it is of people who are on the front lines. often times those people come together at the international anti-corruption conference which is happening in june. what are your hopes for this year's conference in and in particular, you and i have talked about this before, but, like, what is the role of young people as, you know, people who are really on the front lines defending democracy and calling for free and fair elections? enter yeah. thanks. i will start with this last question, you know, because we are here to find the spark of hope, and young people are the

ones in the anti-corruption world because with it's, the as i said, it's a heavy environment. and it's difficult to handle with. but we have -- for our 110 chapters that young people are there and ready to fight corruption, and that's the main hope that we have. the reason why they are ready to fight back against corruption is that they are witnessing, you know, the weight of this corruption on their daily lives. finish and they are -- what corruption and kleptocracy's doing at the global level because most of those violent conflicts, those wars that we have today across the world are fueled by corruption. that's the thing. so the goinger generations, i will say, is hoping for more peace and more sustainability in their livelihoods, and they are hoping for more. they are just hoping in some countries for access to services

a because this is also something which is -- by corruption. for instance, we have a project that we are doing right now. as a movement, global affairs canada, and the -- released to support young women and girls to accept services incolluding health care -- including health care and education. and this is done through tightening collaboration, and this is something good. this is working. and once again, young people as well can be great warriors against corruption because they have new ideas, and they are very fond of technology, you know? we are in an era where artificial intelligence is everywhere, but we have to seaz the opportunity -- seize the opportunity to learn what are the pros and cons of this technology because the corrupt people and networks are also using them. but young people are very good in terms of creativity, you

know, creating anti-corruption apps, for instance, or, you know, really using those softwares and technology for sparkling and pushing for good initiatives. so that's something that we have to sustain very globally. we will have the 21st additional radio, the international anti-corruption conference is here, and this is really one of the signature events of transparency international along with the -- [inaudible] and this year we will hold the conference in lithuania because it's very symbolic. this year -- gained independence back 30 years ago, so we really wanted to organize the conference in a country which has resisted against autocratic and has committed to fight against corruption to build a

healthier democracy. so we would like to learn rest -- lessons from that government. that's why we will be there. and -- [inaudible] a community of practitioners around the topic of anti-corruption. so that'll be policymakers, activist researchers from all walks of life. it's really a community. people are from academia, journalists, investigative journalists on pill if lahrs of -- pillars of anti-corruption. so really, first of all, it's about the trends of anti-corruption, what is going on right now. what are the new tactics adopted by corrupt people, because corruption is always in motion and so are we. the anti-corruption fighters have also evolved and adjust our strategies accordingly. so the ikcc brings opportunity. and this year's topic will be

confronting global threats -- [inaudible] i think that it's -- because -- [inaudible] line across the words, and we need a remedy. and that remedy e is related to the fight against corruption. but beyond that, we need to rebuild -- around the world and upper levels. so that will be the main focus. so we of will have, you know, discussions around -- defending the do defenders is the first of them. so that's why i was really happy when you decided to convene me to this great event. i flew directly from madagascar to be here so i can tell you, it's a pretty long way. but -- [laughter] it's really important to tell the world that this is important, defending the defenders. that's the main thing. and then you have, we will explore also the link ams between corruption, democracy, of course, but also human rights

very importantly. and also environmental crimes, because this is running all across the globe, you know? the amazon rain forest is consumed by corruption. in madagascar there is a huge wildlife trafficking -- to china. this is about corruption. all of this destruction of human and environmental heritage around the globe is linked to that. so we need to find a tragedy. -- a strategy. many things going through the discussions, but what we really want to do is to build on the precious momentums because last i was here in d.c. cohosted by the u.s. government, and at the closing of this in 2022 we were discussing about the needs to strengthen the anti-corruption community and coalition.

so it is now the time to make that happen beyond words and and commitments. i mean, it's really teem for action because -- time for action because during those two years things are -- [inaudible] changed and sifted in a negative way. our corruption perceptions index have shown that there is a stagnation in the fight against corruption. the rates of corruption are going higher around the world, but the strategy of corruption is stagnating. and and this is something that we have measured during the last decade. so i think i've come to do something. we need to kick -- i mean, we need to make things move and to really be with creative and innovative. so that's the point of being, getting together and -- [inaudible] you know? haas december there was also ths also the conference of -- to the

united nations' convention against corruption. and that happened here in the u.s. again in atlanta. a lot has been here because we celebrated the -- [inaudible] that's a big win. something has been achieved, but there is a huge gap still in terms of implementation of that is correct call end venn -- tactical convention. defending the defenders is once again part of it. the need to have national original legislation is to protect anti-corruption act. so -- [inaudible] who give us a platform to discuss the are resolutions which have been made this there. so this is an open invitation to all of you. i hope to see you there. if. >> thank you so much. so all three of you with guys have talked about the importance of coalitions and networks. and as you know, during the most recent decade there has been

more civic mobilization than ever before. usaid, new powered by the people, a new initiative is really trying to invest in building social movements. i know humanity united has as a well. the question is how do you see us needing to tap into the momentum and the vibrancy of social movements in this year of elections? >> thank you. and i like this question because with i feel like it's the opposite of the response i gave you earlier. i think at issue, we often think of this as we share a lot of false choices, and i think we often sound like we're making a false choice as well. it's local actors or international community, and the truth is, we're all part of this conversation. i think the crisis that we described, the crazies that you've touched -- crisis that you've touched on and talked about today, there's enough for all of us to do. and when we think of young people being on the streets protesting, folks have been in courtrooms fighting for rights,

monitoring election, doing investigative reporting, all these things, although autocrats might be getting smarter and better at their work, there's also moments of hope that we all have here and that folks are doing great york. -- work. so i think the question is how do the we as a development community sort of martial our own action to get there, to be able to support them if to have them -- [inaudible] i think some of that is retooling our own effort and reimagining what the world can look like. what does the world look like to be the able to say, yes, we're going to do use our voice instead of you, shannon, as the usaid -- [laughter] this is what we need you to do, this is how we need you to platform people. this is how we need you to support -- [inaudible] i think that there's concrete examples of ways that we can use our voice and how we think about that as, like, the work that we have, i think, is a necessary part of this. building solidarity. i think that there's a lot of solidarity movements, and we've seen some of this begin to

happen. folks in nigeria connecting with folks in sam by. >> ya -- zambia. i think that's a global solidarity movement, and it's a thing that we need more of. us as practitioners can help move further along, right? and i think it's the human right defenders, as we talk about, have a lot of risk. how do we begin to carry some of those risks, right? i think there's places where it's impossible, perhaps inappropriate to give funds directly to organizations, right? to local actors because it actually puts them at risk. saying we're able to, like, take that risk and do that the on behalf of folks to support that work, right? if i think that there are enough folks in this room with decades of experience doing their work. how to put that into action to support people as we say this is a crisis, let's all be creative and think about what's the role that we have, how do we build those movements. i think the at humanity united our building team has been typing a lot of work at

understanding the new york stock exchange access between efforts and and social networking. and we really do see when those things come together, you can address reform, financial cop stabilities and all these other things. so we know that a there's ad road map. focus like ke and claudia have shown us what that looks like. how do we enter that,s i think, it's part of the conversation. and i think one of the things we often talk about is western institutions are in many places safe havens. autocrats put their funds in our backyard. what our role as a folks in these spaces to say the way that we don't actually have, the way we reduce kleptocracy is figuring out how to reduce the intakers of those funds. how do we put, pressure on our own stakeholders, you all in government, our financial institutions and any other places. i think the social movements in the countries we are all working are doing their best. there's a lot more that we can do. >> thank you so much. so now we have time to take a couple of questions from the

audience. i hope that this has been inspiring for you as it has been for me and that it provoked some thoughts and some good questions. so we have folks passing around mics. i see the firsthand right the center of the room. >> thank you, joolly. i'm i'm -- from agreely innovative, and thank you. really love you're putting this on certain stage for us. i have a question about the countermeasures towards the violence, the death threats that come from nonstate sources in these countries. it seems to me that the international community has particular if power over state-forced violence, verbal violation, social media violence. are there any countermeasures that you can speak to deal with the trauma of feeling that walking out the door may mean physical threats to one's family

and others? and i think we're all feeling that here in this country as well, that things can get very heated, but you're speaking to something that's of order es of magnitude more and wanted to hear about how to deal with nonstate threats to human rights defense. >> thank you so much. let's take one or two more. over here. >> thank you so much. thank you so much for all the panelists as well. i would like to see everyone's perspective on the contribution of the private sector in the fight against corruption, particularly more strategies surround engaging the private sector and private sector institutions. thank you. >> anyone on this side of the room. >> thank you. simon -- with the cloud burst

group. first of all, my thanks and compliments to the panel for your contributions today and all the work that you do. i'd be interested in hearing your perspectives on any of the learning gaps that are holding back the advancement of this field. at cloud burt we're currently -- burst, we're currently working with the elections and political processing team at usaid to develop first and test an election assessment framework that helps identify country-specific needs and opportunities. as well as an election assistance after-action review methodology to help usaid identify best practices for electoral assistance. but what other types of research and analysis are needed to help advance this field? >> great questions. and we thank you for that support. okay. so one on countering the threats from nonstate actors. second on the role of the private sector and, third, on learning gaps.

want to start? >> i'll take the private sector one. i think, so there's a lot here, but at least at hu we began with what was sort of -- should do things, but i think we believe it's responsibility. so i think part of this is what are the things that we think the private sector needs to do. we all know, to ke's point, development matters, and corruption is a, corruption reduces development, right? corruption reduces democratic trajectory. so how do we make sure that we are being in partnership with private sector actors. and i think what is the bottom line, how do we use bottom line language to have this conversation, but still make sure we're using right space frameworks because it's not just about the bottom line, right in it's about what you want the world to look like and how do we get closer to doing that. for us, it's been finding that nexus so we're not necessarily an tag knicks, but we also believe there's a responsibility and how do we marry those things together. >> go ahead, claudia. >> yeah. i think it's important to take

into consideration we're in a globalized world, and and of the countries have free trade agreements. i think that the free trade agreements need to enhance the -- against corruption from the rule of law, and i think a great example would be -- [inaudible] if agreements and how they really have promoted rule of law in different countriesment -- countries. and that's an example that we follow in other regions, and it will help as a tool to promote the rule of law and and to fight corruption in countries where there is a lack of democratic values. >> we're leaving this here to keep our 45-year commitment to covering congress. the senate is returning from recess to resume legislative work this afternoon. coming up, members will vote on whether to begin debate on a 5-year faa reauthorization bill. current faa a programs expire on may 10th. live now to the senate floor here on c-span2.