Stephen Pomper Senior Director for Policy Washington, D.C. Please submit all media inquiries to spomper@crisisgroup.org and media@crisisgroup.org or call +1 (202) 785-1638 Crisis Group Role Steve Pomper is based in Washington, D.C. and is the Senior Director for Policy. Professional Background Prior to joining Crisis Group, Stephen served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights at the National Security Council under President Obama. He also served as the Senior Director for African Affairs. Prior to joining the staff of the National Security Council, he served in a variety of roles with the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, where he specialised in international humanitarian and human rights law, including as the Assistant Legal Adviser for Political-Military Affairs and acting Assistant Legal Adviser for Afghanistan, Pakistan and South and Central Asian Affairs. Outside government, Stephen has been a Senior Policy Scholar at the U.S. Institute of Peace and a Leonard and Sophie Davis Genocide Prevention Distinguished Fellow at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and was in private practice at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. He is a non-residential Senior Fellow at the Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute and the NYU Law School Center on Law and Security, and a Guest Author for the Just Security web blog. Stephen received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College, summa cum laude, and his law degree from Yale Law School. Languages English (native) In The News 15 Mar 2019 [On US visa restrictions against the ICC] the United States should be working to root out war criminals, not intimidate their prosecutors. Bloomberg Stephen Pomper Senior Director for Policy 4 Jan 2019 A relatively modest trade would help kickstart a more meaningful diplomatic process [between the U.S. and North Korea]. A verified shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear facility wouldn’t end North Korea’s program but it could be significant. Washington Examiner Stephen Pomper Senior Director for Policy 7 Dec 2018 Bringing Heather Nauert aboard in a sub-Cabinet role will diminish the position [of US ambassador to the UN] yet further AP Stephen Pomper Senior Director for Policy 1 Dec 2018 Wednesday's vote sends an important and long overdue message that it's time for the U.S. to end its participation in the conflict in Yemen. Middle East Eye Stephen Pomper Senior Director for Policy 22 Nov 2018 Les deux partis au Congrès perdent patience face à la campagne menée par l’Arabie Saoudite au Yémen. Il y a des raisons d’espérer que le Congrès interviendra pour contrer MBS, même si Trump ne le fait pas. L'Orient-le-jour Stephen Pomper Senior Director for Policy 9 Oct 2018 [Nikki Haley] was a divisive force, attacking institutions and NGOs that serve transparency and basic rights and working to transform humanitarian assistance into a political weapon. Foreign Policy Stephen Pomper Senior Director for Policy Latest Updates Commentary / Middle East & North Africa 10 April 2019 Yemen Cannot Afford to Wait The scars in the country run deep – and the U.S. shares responsibility. Also available in العربية Op-Ed / United States 18 September 2018 Trump’s Refugee Fiasco The administration just slashed the number of refugees the U.S. will admit to a record low. Its reasoning doesn’t pass the laugh test. Originally published in Politico Op-Ed / United States 14 June 2018 Why Trump Should Take It Slow With Kim Jong Un Any successful deal with North Korea will require an extraordinary amount of patience and attention to detail. Originally published in Politico Magazine Commentary / United States 11 April 2018 Eight Big Questions on War and Peace for Mike Pompeo With a dizzying range of international crises and conflicts facing the U.S., the confirmation hearing of incoming Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday 12 April is a chance to gauge the administration's future tack. Crisis Group's U.S. Program Director Stephen Pomper identifies eight critical issues that are likely to dominate Pompeo's incumbency and that senators should raise. Op-Ed / United States 5 April 2018 The US and ICC May Still Steer Past Each Other–Why and How Since the International Criminal Court's prosecutor announced that she would seek permission to open an investigation into the situation in Afghanistan, the United States and the ICC have been on a slow motion collision course. The stakes are high for the court, and how these maneuvers unfold could have a profound impact on its future work. Originally published in Just Security Load more