Last week, the Connect U.S. Fund convened leaders from human rights NGOs for a discussion with administration officials on advancing the international human rights agenda. The meeting was co-hosted by Elisa Massimino of Human Rights first and Ted Piccone of the Brookings Institution.

In an article in Foreign Affairs magazine, Human Rights Watch Executive Director Ken Roth citicizes President Obama's incomplete implemention of his human rights promises.

Recently, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) ordered the ICC judges to re-examine whether charges of genocide should be added to an existing arrest warrant for Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir for crimes of war and crimes against humanity. Currently, Sudan’s ruling party does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC and Bashir has threatened to expel humanitarian agencies from Sudan as he did in 2009.

A key question is how publics in Muslim countries are likely to react to the ICC taking further action against Bashir.

Priscilla Lewis and Sue Veres Royal, US in the World

The Connect U.S. community has a real opportunity to highlight the issues that are most important to us: climate change and its impact on developing countries; human rights; nonproliferation; and striking a balance between State/USAID and the Defense Department.