International Republican Institute

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The International Republican Institute (IRI) is a nonprofit, ostensibly nonpartisan organization.

Since its founding in 1983, IRI's stated mission has been to expand freedom throughout the world by teaching and assisting with political party and candidate development, good governance practices, civil society development, civic education, women’s and youth leadership development, electoral reform and election monitoring, and political expression in closed societies.

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[edit] Summary

IRI works closely with the United States State Department, the United States Agency for International Development, the National Endowment for Democracy, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and International Foundation for Election Systems. The majority of its funding comes from the United States federal government.

IRI maintains offices around the world and conducts programs in Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burma, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, East Timor, Egypt, Estonia, Georgia, Guatemala, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somaliland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Venezuela, West Bank and Gaza, and Zimbabwe.

The staff and board of directors of the IRI include many prominent Republicans, most of whom are involved in various capacities in foreign policy or international business.

[edit] Background

The International Republican Institute (IRI) was founded in 1983, after President Ronald Reagan's 1982 speech before the British Parliament in Westminster in which he proposed a broad objective of helping countries build the infrastructure of democracy. Quoting the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he stated: "we must be staunch in our conviction that freedom is not the sole prerogative of a lucky few but the inalienable and universal right of all human beings."

The Westminster speech led to the establishment of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) by Congress in 1983. The NED is a mechanism that channels congressional funds to the four institutes: the International Republican Institute (IRI), the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS), and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). These organizations provide technical assistance to aspiring democrats worldwide.

In its infancy, IRI focused on planting the seeds of democratic institutions and processes in Latin America. Since the end of the Cold War, IRI has broadened its reach to support democracy around the globe. IRI has conducted programs in more than 100 countries and is currently active in 70 countries.

IRI's president, Lorne Craner, assumed leadership on August 2, 2004. From 2001 to 2004, Craner served as Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the U.S. State Department. Craner previously served as IRI's president from 1995 to 2001.

[edit] Involvement in Haiti

IRI was accused by former American ambassador Brian Dean Curran of undermining his efforts to hold peaceful negotiations between Aristide and his opposition after contested senatorial elections in 2000. According to Curran, Stanley Lucas, then IRI's representative in Haiti, advised opposition leaders not to compromise with Aristide, who would soon be driven from power. Curran also alleged that Lucas represented himself to the opposition as the true envoy of Washington, and his advice—which was contrary to that of the State Department—as advice from the American government. [1]

Otto J. Reich, who was the State Department's top official on Latin America under Colin Powell, described a change in American policy toward Haiti with the arrival of the Bush administration. According to Reich, Aristide fell somewhat out of favor with the change of American executive, though Powell continued to publicly profess U.S. support for the democratically elected leader. Curran's allegations were corroborated by Luigi R. Einaudi of the Organization of American States. [2]

[edit] IRI Board of Directors and Officers

[edit] Board of Directors

[edit] Officers

  • Lorne Craner, President
  • Judy Van Rest, Executive Vice President
  • Georges A. Fauriol, Senior Vice President
  • Elizabeth Dugan, Vice President for Programs
  • Harold W. Collamer, Chief Operations Officer
  • Sonya Vekstein, Chief Financial Officer
  • Thomas Barba, General Counsel

[edit] References

  1. ^ IBogdanich, Walt and Jenny Nordberg, "Mixed U.S. Signals Helped Tilt Haiti Toward Chaos", New York Times, 29 Jan. 2006. [1]
  2. ^ Ibid. [2]

[edit] External links

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