Thursday, September 17, 2026 @ 6:00 PM, Tanoan Country Club, 10801 Academy Blvd NE

The Program: Crashing Through the Guardrails:Accountability and Atrocity in 2026 

The international legal guardrails built to protect civilians in wartime are approaching a breaking point. Drawing on the speaker’s experience as a protection of civilians advocate in Washington, DC, this talk traces that erosion across three fronts — arms, conduct of hostilities, and accountability — with a focus on US foreign policy and the human costs of ongoing wars in the Middle East. 

Presenter: John Ramming Chappell is a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for International Policy whose research and writing focuses on international law, armed conflict, and US foreign policy. He has published commentary and analysis in leading policy publications including Just Security, Lawfare, The Hill, Arms Control Today, and Opinio Juris, as well as a number of academic journals. His analysis has also featured in media outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Politico, and CNN, among others.

John worked for five years at Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), where he led advocacy campaigns on atrocity prevention in Palestine, Sudan, Yemen, Nigeria, maritime Latin America, Ukraine, and elsewhere. He has also worked at several other advocacy and research organizations.

John holds a J.D. and M.S.F.S. from Georgetown University and is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. He serves on the Board of Directors of the New Mexico Holocaust and Intolerance Museum. John is recognized as an expert with the Forum on the Arms Trade and teaches international criminal law as a legal trainer for the Model International Criminal Court Program of the Kreisau Initiative.

Thursday, September 17, 2026 – 6:00 PM
Tanoan
Country Club, 10801 Academy Blvd. NE