Should U.S. Foreign Assistance Be Tied to Human Rights?

On Thursday, October 22, 2015, The McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University hosted the debate, "Should U.S. Foreign Assistance Be Tied to Human Rights?” Many countries that receive U.S. humanitarian, development, or security assistance are also places where human rights are violated. The key question under debate was how the United States should handle this: does U.S. assistance empower the abusers, or provide needed relief to the victims? What is the right U.S. policy?

Featuring Dan Runde, William A. Schreyer Chair and Director, CSIS; Omer Ismail, Senior Advisor, Enough Project; Douglas Ollivant, ASU Future of War Senior Fellow, New America; Andrew Natsios, Director of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, Texas A&M University and former USAID Administrator; and, Kurt Volker, Executive Director of The McCain Institute.