World Affairs

Building Political Will in the Americas: An Opportunity for Global Leadership on Forced Displacement

January 21, 2021  • Aspen Ministers Forum

Conflicts, violence and acute failures in governance as we have seen in Venezuela and elsewhere in the Americas continue to force people from their homes and countries. With the numbers growing, but few able to find new homes, it is clear that our global refugee and migration systems are failing to respond.

As a new administration takes over in Washington, there are clear opportunities for leadership to recalibrate refugee and migration policies while countering the root causes of forced displacement at home and abroad.

In this conversation, three leaders — Madeleine Albright in the United States, Lloyd Axworthy in Canada and Mayu Brizuela de Ávila in El Salvador — discussed proposed domestic actions and policies as well as the international peace and security diplomacy needed to build political will and transform governance to reset the response to forced displacement.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof moderated the event, which was hosted jointly with the Aspen Ministers Forum, a program of the Aspen Institute.