Negotiation

Carter School hosts activist whose organization documents war crimes in Ukraine

Mariam Aburdeineh — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 15:31:57 +0000

Carter School hosts activist whose organization documents war crimes in Ukraine Mariam Aburdeineh Mon, 03/13/2023 - 11:31

In This Story

Karina Korostelina

Alpaslan Özerdem

Daniel Rothbart

On February 24, the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution hosted “One Year After: Ukraine War Analysis and Prospects,” an all-day virtual event to discuss the effects of the war and potential post-war contexts.

The event featured Romantsova Oleksandra, executive director of the Center for Civil Liberties, the first Ukrainian organization to win a Nobel Peace Prize. The recognition, which the human rights organization received in 2022, was due in part to their work documenting war crimes against civilians in occupied areas of Ukraine.

Karina Korostelina (left) and Romantsova Oleksandra during the virtual event, "One Year After: Ukraine War Analysis and Prospects."

Oleksandra spoke about her work to an audience of about 50 people, and answered questions about the war via Zoom. The discussion was moderated by Karina Korostelina, professor and co-director of Mason’s Program for the Prevention of Mass Violence.

“The war in Ukraine has presented a real challenge to those who favor negotiated outcomes,” said Carter School Dean Alpaslan Özerdem in his opening remarks. “However, even if the political space is constrained for negotiations at the moment, we shouldn’t write off what conflict resolution could achieve in the future.”

Oleksandra began by explaining how her work started in 2014—around the time Russia invaded Crimea—and explained how they started with a hotline where they gathered questions about Crimea and Donbas before starting field work there.

After summer 2014, and the disputed Crimean status referendum, their mobile teams on the ground were blocked, Oleksandra said.

“They don’t give the possibility of Ukrainian human right defenders of going into the territories,” she said. “So, we collect[ed] information using the help of our partners from Belarus, from Russia, and from other countries.”

Oleksandra described various ways her team collects information, including gathering testimonials from individuals or relatives of those who have been prosecuted. The team also investigates sites where crimes occurred, and documents the aftermath with photos and video.

Other times, the Center for Civil Liberties uses data from institutions, such as hospitals.

“We have a lot of evidence that sexual crimes happened, too, like thousands of cases. People [don’t] very directly speak about that with prosecutors or police, but they easily speak with doctors,” Oleksandra said. “That’s why we have some statistics, and we have a national line where the people can call and speak about that.”

Oleksandra’s organization has used all this information to create databases and maps of where human rights violations have occurred.

“We have now more than 33,000 cases [of] potential war crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide,” she said. “Why ‘potential’? Because at the end, only courts can give this characteristic and classification.”

“[The] International Criminal Court is working now in Ukraine,” Oleksandra said. “We support them. We give them information, but they will cover maybe 20 cases.”

Despite a backlog of cases waiting to hit the courts, the work is still worth pursuing. Oleksandra said documenting evidence is important to punish those who committed atrocities, bring justice, protect human rights, promote public awareness, influence policy, and move toward sustainable peace.

Oleksandra said their ideal is to create a new model to deal with the thousands of other cases that demand attention. She also hopes an international tribunal against crimes of aggression would be assembled to hold Russian leaders accountable, including President Vladimir Putin.

“I’m really glad to speak with people who are thinking about what happened in Ukraine and trying to understand what kind of experience Ukraine now can give all the world about war crimes,” Oleksandra said.

The session was also meaningful for attendees.

“The presentation was outstanding,” said Carter School Professor Daniel Rothbart.

“The selection of [Oleksandra’s] Center for Civil Liberties for the Nobel Peace Prize demonstrates just how vital her work is for bringing peace to this war-torn nation,” he said. “The center represents an inspiration to all of us hoping for a peaceful end to this tragic violence in Ukraine.”

Click here to watch recorded sessions from "One Year After: Ukraine War Analysis and Prospects."

Topics

Russia-Ukraine war

Ukraine

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Collected Resources on the Ukraine Invasion

a2c8605a-8799-4c95-a603-7f6cea1bd9ff (Paul Snodgrass) — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 17:28:28 +0000

Collected Resources on the Ukraine Invasion a2c8605a-8799-… Thu, 04/07/2022 - 13:28

In This Story

Point of View Statement on Conflict in Ukraine: Negotiate Peace Now

The Carter School has collected articles and seminars written and presented by our faculty to help researchers, peacebuilders, and knowledge seekers understand the scope and impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine. As new resources become available, they will be added to this page.

Student Initiative

The Carter School Peace Engineering Lab and students of the “CONF 695- Peace Engineering and Participatory Approaches to Narrative” course have launched Sensemaking in Ukraine to bring to light the experiences of everyone who has been affected and better understand what can be done to improve the situation in the short term and prepare for peace.

Seminars

Karina Korostelina spoke at a web conference hosted by Al Jazeera Center for Studies on March 28 and 29, 2022 entitled “Redrawing Spheres of Influence: The Dynamics and Implications of the Russian-Ukrainian War.”

Karina Korostelina co-organized a panel entitled Conflict, politics and crisis in Ukraine Implications for EiE, an Education in Conflict & Emergencies Seminar on Monday April 11, 2022.

On April 6, 2022, the Russian and Eurasian Studies Program at George Mason University held an online discussion featuring Karina Korostelina on the Current State of Russia's War on Ukraine with the participation of faculty with specializations in history, politics, and conflict analysis and resolution

Articles

Karina Korostelina was featured in Mason News on March 4, 2022: The conflict in Ukraine is fueled by Putin’s information war, Carter School expert says. Here’s what needs to be done.

Richard Rubenstein wrote The Ukrainian Conflict and the Imperial World System for CounterPunch on March 4, 2022.

Alpaslan Özerdem wrote an article for The Conversation entitled, What the Montreux Convention is, and what it means for the Ukraine war, published March 1, 2022.

Susan Allen and Paula Garb are signatories to the letter Independent American and Russian Women Call for Peace published in The Nation and in Russian at Новые известия on February 15, 2022.

Social Media Image Credit: Image by M.Bitton is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license via Wikimedia Commons.

Updated April, 12, 2022

Topics

Ukraine

School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution

Peacebuilding

Violence

Negotiation

International Relations

Point of View Statement on Conflict in Ukraine: Negotiate Peace Now

a2c8605a-8799-4c95-a603-7f6cea1bd9ff (Paul Snodgrass) — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 19:38:10 +0000

Point of View Statement on Conflict in Ukraine: Negotiate Peace Now a2c8605a-8799-… Wed, 03/30/2022 - 15:38

In This Story

The opinions and views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the Carter School or George Mason University, its affiliates, or employees.

Add Your Signature

Peace and Conflict Resolution scholars and foreign affairs practitioners convened at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School’s Point of View research and retreat facility in Mason Neck, Virginia issued the following appeal to the conflicting parties in Ukraine:

All parties to this conflict are now hurting. The costs in human life and suffering are mounting and the damaging effects of the conflict are rippling around the world. It is high time for the parties to agree to an immediate and complete cessation of hostilities. Continuing the struggle inevitably multiplies the damage and poses increasing risks that nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction may be used.

Along with the U.N. Secretary General, we believe that conditions now exist for negotiating an agreement acceptable to all parties. The parties should therefore set about negotiating a comprehensive peace agreement with no preconditions.

We call on the international community to support peace as it emerges, offering humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding support for the long-term process of recovery.

In addition, it is imperative that all OSCE Participating States commit to a throughgoing review of the existing security architecture. This review should begin immediately with a view to updating the Helsinki Final Act and other security agreements at the OSCE’s forthcoming 50th Anniversary in Helsinki in 2025.

Signatories are listed below. Others are invited to join the statement and to distribute it widely. To be added as a signatory, please provide your information here.

John M. Evans
Former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia

Jeffrey Sachs
University Professor at Columbia University

Jack F. Matlock, Jr.
U.S. Ambassador to the USSR, 1987-91

Richard Falk
Professor of International Studies, Emeritus, Princeton University

Ambassador Jacques Paul Klein
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (Ret.)

Alpasian Ozerdem
Dean, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University

Christopher R. Mitchell
Professor Emeritus, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University

Susan H. Allen
Director, Center for Peacemaking Practice, George Mason University

Richard E. Rubenstein
University Professor, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University

Karina Korostelina
Professor, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University

Sergey Utkin, Leading Researcher, Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences

Daniel Rothbart
Professor, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University

Prabha Sankaranarayan
President and CEO, Mediators Beyond Borders International

Hugh DeSantis
Former career office, U.S. State Department, Author

Sara Cobb
Professor, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University

Dr. Margarita Tadevosyan
Research Assistant Professor
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University

Ivan Kislenko
Fulbright Scholar

Alex van Oss
(Former) Coordinator, Caucasus Area Studies
Foreign Service Institute

Michael Shank
Adjunct Professor at New York University's Center for Global Affairs and George Mason University's Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Dr. Lara Olson
Consultant, Peacebuilding and Conflict Sensitive Development
Research Fellow, Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies (CMSS), University of Calgary, Canada

David Carment
Professor of International Affairs, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Fellow, Institute for Peace and Diplomacy,

Cynthia Lazaroff
Founder and Director, Women Transforming Our Nuclear Legacy

Omar Grech
Director, Centre for the Study and Practice of Conflict Resolution, University of Malta

Rene Wadlow
President, Association of World Citizens

Kevin Avruch
Henry Hart Rice Professor of Conflict Resolution Emeritus
Professor of Anthropology Emeritus, George Mason University

Peggy Mason
Former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament to the United Nations
Current President of the Rideau Institute

Antonio Carlos da Silva Rosa
Editor, Transcend Media Service

Jake Lynch
Associate Professor, Peace and Conflict Studies
The University of Sydney

Diane Perlman
U.S. Convenor, TRANSCEND

John Scales Avery, PhD

Michael Loadenthal
Executive Director, The Peace and Justice Association

Jeremy Wildeman
Adjunct Professor, Adjunct Professor at the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies, Carleton University; and in International Development Studies, Trent University

J.M. Flagg
Chicago, Illinois

Jan Oberg, dr hc, director
The Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, TFF
Lund, Sweden

Dr. Mary Wade
Founder, Building Respect in Community (BRIC), Philadelphia, PA

Professor Marianna Muravyeva
Russian Law and Administration
For Legal and Peaceful Conflict Resolution
Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

Tatsushi Arai
Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Kent State University

Dr. Paula Garb
University of California, Irvine Center for Citizen Peacebuilding

Alma Abdul-Hadi Jadallah
Advisory Board Member and Part-Time Faculty, Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Sean Howard
Adjunct Prof. of Political Science, Cape Breton University

Douglas Irvin-Eriksen
Assistant Professor, Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Dr. Peter Langille
Director, Sustainable Common Security

Marie Myers Lloyd
Member, Ceasefire.ca

Nicholas Ourusoff
Educator in Computer Science, Chomskian Activist

Dr. Gordon Yanchyshyn
Psychiatrist

Connie Duchene
Council of Canadians

Emmanuel K. Akyempong
Graduating Senior, Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Irene McPhee
Mother, Grandmother, Human

Dr. Paul Owen
Retiring Politician, Counselor

David Parnas

Phyllis Creighton
Honorary Life Member, Science for Peace

Sara Petite

Eleanor Coffey

Larry Kazdan
Global Citizen

Crl Boychuk

Sk. Tawfique M. Haque, PhD.
Professor and Director South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) and Center for Peace Studies (CPS) Chair, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. Katherine Li
Assistant Professor, Department of English & Modern Languages Adviser, Center for Peace Studies (CPS), North South University

Ambassador Shahidul Haque
Professorial Fellow South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG), North South University

Dr. Abdul Wohab
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology Coordinator, Center for Peace Studies (CPS), North South University

Dr. Ishrat Zakia Sultana
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. M Jashim Uddin
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. Bulbul Siddiqui
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. Helal Mohd. Mohiuddin
Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. Harisur Rahman
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. Md Rizwanul Islam
Professor & Chair, Department of Law, North South University

Dr. Norman K. Swazo
Professor, Department of History and Philosophy, North South University

Ahmed Hossain
Professor, Department of Public health, North South University

Dr. Nova Ahmed
Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North South University

Dr. Raymond Kwun-Sun Lau
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. Mohammed Nuruzzaman
Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Ms. Parisa Shakur
Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, North South University

Tata Zafar
Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Tasmia Nower
Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. Hasanuzzaman
Assistant Director, Office of External Affairs, North South University

Dr. Md. Jakariya
Professor, Department if Environmental Science and Sociology, North South University

Mizanur Rahman
Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Fahd Bin Zahed
Lecturer, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, North South University

Dr. Tasnuva Enam
Assistant Professor of Psychology, Department of History and Philosophy, North South University

Farin Shabnam Ritu
Research Associate, South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) and Center for Peace Studies (CPS), North South University

Md. Parvez Hasan Yousuf
Research Associate, South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) and Center for Peace Studies (CPS), North South University

Rudmila Khan
Research Associate, South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) and Center for Peace Studies (CPS), North South University

Miad Islam
Research Assistant, South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) and Center for Peace Studies (CPS), North South University

This image by Zach Rudisin is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license via Wikimedia Commons.

Topics

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Stephen Kotev

admin_alpha — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:24:01 +0000

Stephen Kotev admin_alpha Tue, 10/20/2015 - 19:24

Adjunct Faculty, Carter School

Contact Information

Personal Websites

StephenKotev.com

Biography

Stephen Kotev is a Washington D.C.-based conflict resolution consultant offering mediation, negotiation and facilitation services, conflict and leadership coaching, training, and somatic education to private and government clients (including TSA and over 15 other Federal Agencies) since 2009. For the past 13 years, he has served as adjunct faculty at George Mason University’s Carter School in Arlington, Virginia.

ADR Experience and Qualifications

Over 1,400 hours of mediation and conflict resolution training, encompassing EEO and workplace disputes, cross-cultural communication and advanced facilitation skills
Certified conflict coach, specializing in workplace disputes
Successfully mediated cases involving, age, disability, harassment, retaliation, equal pay/compensation, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual harassment, promotion/lack of promotion, fee disputes, management/employee disputes, cross-cultural conflicts, discrimination, performance reviews and other general workplace conflicts
Adjunct professor with George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution since 2007
Lead facilitator for the HR&A Business Transformation Team of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Conducted trainings for international and national audiences including the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Qatar, Germany, Northern Ireland the Transportation Security Agency, the Harvard Negotiation Insight Initiative, the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution, Kennesaw State University and numerous community mediation centers

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Chair of the Association for Conflict Resolution Taskforce on Safety in ADR
One of only two individuals to have been employed by both of the nation’s two largest ADR membership organizations – the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution and the Association for Conflict Resolution
Member of the Association for Conflict Resolution

Education and Certification

M.S., Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, 2006
B.A., History and Peace & Conflict Studies, University of Waterloo, 1997
International Exchange, Peace & Conflict Studies, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, 1995-1996
Mediation Skills Training Institute, LMPC, 1991
Certified Conflict Coach, Conflict Coaching Matters LLC, 2013
Mediating EEO and Workplace Disputes, Northern Virginia Mediation Service, 2010
Advanced Facilitation Skills, Northern Virginia Mediation Service, 2005
Certified in Embodied Peacemaking, Dr. Paul Linden of Being in Movement
Black Belt in the Japanese Martial Art of Aikido and Blue Belt in Brazilian Jiu‐Jitsu