Tackling Southeast Asia's Refugee Crisis

The CSIS Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies is pleased to invite you for a panel discussion analyzing the refugee crisis in Southeast Asia, the reasons for the refugee departures, the responses of neighboring countries and the international community, and exploring possible solutions.

Panelists will be The Hon. Anne Richard, assistant secretary of State for population, refugees, and migration; Ambassador Pisan Manawapat, Embassy of Thailand; Ms. Jana Mason, senior adviser for external relations & government affairs, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; Mr. Michel Gabaudan, president of Refugees International; Mr. Daniel Sullivan, director for policy and government relations, United to End Genocide; and Mr. Keith Luse, former Republican Senior Staff Member for East Asia and the Pacific, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Hon. Anne Richard is the assistant secretary of State for population, refugees, and migration. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Richard was the vice president of government relations and advocacy for the International Rescue Committee. She was also a non-resident Fellow of the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and a board member of the Henry L. Stimson Center.

Ambassador Pisan Manawapat is the Thai ambassador to the United States. Before arriving in Washington in February 2015, Amb. Pisan served as Thai ambassador to Canada, Belgium, the European Union, India, and Luxemburg. He has also served as deputy chief of mission in Tokyo.

Ms. Jana Mason is senior adviser for government relations and external affairs at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Washington office. Ms. Mason acts as a liaison for UNHCR and represents the agency’s interests with the U.S. government and with nongovernmental organizations and other entities.

Mr. Michel Gabaudan is the president of Refugees International. Prior to this role, he served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ regional representative for the United States and the Caribbean. Mr. Gabaudan’s career with UNHCR spanned more than 25 years, including service in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific.

Mr. Daniel Sullivan is the director for policy and government relations at United to End Genocide. Previously, Sullivan worked for Human Rights First, the Brookings Institution, and the Albright Stonebridge Group, where he assisted former secretary of state Madeleine Albright in her role as co-chair of the Genocide Prevention Task Force.

Mr. Keith Luse is former Republican Senior Staff Member for East Asia and the Pacific, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2003 until 2013. Mr. Luse has served as executive director of the National Committee on North Korea since July 2014. He was staff director for Senator Richard Lugar at the Senate Agriculture Committee from 1999 through 2002.