Human Rights — Past Speakers

Ambassador+Robert+Ford.jpg — **Ambassador Robert Ford**

Former U.S. Ambassador to Syria

Robert Ford finished a thirty year career with the U.S. Department of State in April 2014. He was the U.S. Ambassador to Syria from 2011-2014, receiving the Profile in Courage award in 2012 from the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston for his human rights work, and a Presidential Honor award in 2012 for his stewardship of the American Embassy in Damascus during a crisis period. He was also presented with the Distinguished Service award, the State Department’s highest award, by Secretary of State John Kerry in March 2014. Ford was the U.S. Ambassador in Algeria 2006-2008 and also served five years in Iraq helping the Iraqis establish their permanent government through three rounds of elections.

He is now a scholar at the Middle East Institute where he writes and speaks about Iraq, Syria and North Africa. He is also a fellow at Yale University Jackson Institute where he teaches about Arab politics and diplomacy.

Ambassador Ford spoke at The Common Good in 2017: Syrian Civil War: End in Sight? : Ambassador Robert Ford. We are thrilled to announce Ambassador Ford joined The Common Good in Conference Call with Ambassador Robert Ford-- Syria, he briefed us on the withdrawal of the US troops in Syria. Twitter: @fordrs58

‘Former U.S. Diplomat Weighs In On U.S. Troop Withdrawal From Syria’, NPR, 25 December 2018

Tom O’Connor, ‘U.S. Will Lose Syria to Iran and Abandon Kurdish Allies’, Newsweek, 19 June 2017

William Shawcross is a distinguished journalist, broadcaster and commentator who has covered international conflicts and conflict resolution and has reported for the Sunday Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, and Rolling Stone magazine, among many other publications. He is the bestselling author of many books including biographies of Rupert Murdoch, the Shah of Iran and the official biography of the Queen Mother. In 2003, he was named New Statesman’s Man of the Year. He is a chairman of Article 19, a London based charity and pressure group which defends the rights of free expression enshrined in Article 19 of the Declaration of Human Rights; a board member of the International Crisis Group; and was a member of the High Commissioner for Refugees’ Informal Advisory Group from 1995–2000.