MISSION

ACWPS advances peace and security for women, their families, and communities

through graduate education and training, on-the-ground engagement, expert analysis, and advocacy.

ACWPS promotes human dignity, individual liberty, and equality of opportunity for all women and girls

through our work implementing the U.S. Women Peace and Security Act of 2017

and the UN Security Council’s WPS agenda.

Women, Peace and Security and the U.S. Continued Role in Afghanistan

Now that Afghanistan is off the media radar, what’s going on behind closed doors, is there hope for Afghan women?

Have strides been made to improve U.S.-Afghan relations with the defacto government, and what is the U.S. role in Afghanistan?

ACWPS is pleased to announce that our own Senior Fellow Eunice Apio has made the shortlist of six finalists for the U.S. Institute of Peace’s 2022 Women Building Peace Award.
Congratulations to the finalists! These women were chosen from among nominees from over 25 countries for the vital impact they have had in preventing conflict, challenging violence and finding peaceful solutions. Stay tuned for the November 30 announcement of the award recipient!

ACWPS Legal Counsel Abbe Jolles, Dr. Grace Hoffman, Nicole Gordon, and ACWPS President Dr. Susan Yoshihara at DSCU’s WPS PME Workshop

The ACWPS President and Fellows participated in the WPS Professional Military Education Workshop hosted by Defense Security Cooperation University. ACWPS Fellows serve as DSCU WPS advisors and instructors contracted through TCG and Country Intelligence Group.  

The Workshop gathered 65 WPS and Security Cooperation academics and professionals in a hybrid format to address how WPS advances Security Cooperation. 

14 Scholars presented 12 papers shared through 4 panels focused on Allies and Partners, Professional Military Education, Measurement and Transparency, and Great Power Competition. 

ACWPS Fellow Dr. Grace Hoffman's paper, "Women, Peace, and Security in Post-WWII Japan", looked at a historical example of how the U.S. has previously acknowledged the importance of WPS principles to achieve security objectives in a changing world. Her paper considered General Douglas MacArthur's role as well as Beate Sirota Gordon's, who wrote women's rights into the new Japanese constitution. 

Guest speakers included Congressman Mike Waltz, co-chair of the WPS Caucus, Nicole Gordon, Beate Sirota Gordon's daughter, and Dr. Sabine Lee. Dr. Lee, who works closely with ACWPS Fellow Eunice Otuko Apio, spoke of Children Born of War and shared the trailer of the film "The Wound Is Where the Light Enters".

Read Dr. Yoshihara’s Statement to the lantos human rights commission on the genocide of uyghurs in china

CONGRATULATIONS TO ACWPS SENIOR FELLOW EUNICE OTUKO APIO FOR WINNING THE JANZI AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING BOOK OF 2021 FOR HER NOVEL ZURA MAIDS ABOUT HUMAN TRAFFICKING.