From July 8 to July 19, 2024, the Perry Center convened 60 participants from 19 countries for the resident phase of two concurrent courses, Strategic Implications of Human Rights and Rule of Law (HR/ROL 2024) and Cyber Policy Development and Artificial Intelligence Applications for Defense (CYBER/AI 2024). Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere Jana Nelson joined Perry Center Director Dr. Paul J. Angelo on July 8 to welcome participants from both courses. “Through frank and collaborative dialogue,” she said, “we can reinforce strong and transparent norms that will apply across military domains to safeguard our national interests and hemispheric stability.” CSIS Senior Associate and 2015 Perry Award recipient Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith closed out the first day with a keynote presentation on human rights and rule of law dynamics in the Caribbean. During the two-week session in Washington, DC, each group engaged with more than 20 experts and officials.
For the first time, the human rights course was taught in residence in English with a focus on the English-speaking Caribbean – a result of interest expressed at the 2023 Caribbean Nations Security Conference in Jamaica. Course participants had the opportunity to visit the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Topics addressed in this year’s cybersecurity course included changes to the US cybersecurity strategy, the evolution of emerging and convergent digital technology, generative artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. The course was updated to align with the objectives of the US Department of Defense Cyber Strategy, particularly towards Latin America and the Caribbean, which fosters cooperation among countries with shared interests and values.
Dr. Michael Horowitz, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Development and Emerging Capabilities, and Ms. Kemba Walden, President of the Paladin Global Institute and former National Cyber Director, provided remarks at the graduation ceremony on July 19. Ms. Walden put the July 19 security incident into context, addressing cyber policy and partnerships, and Dr. Horowitz outlined the “Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of AI and Autonomy,” urging graduates to advocate its principles in their home countries.
Perry Center Director Paul J. Angelo encouraged graduates to “embrace the opportunities to build bridges across sectors, to innovate in the face of adversity, and to champion the principles of democracy, good governance, and human rights.” He emphasized that countering threat networks “requires an even stronger network of dedicated security and defense practitioners working collaboratively across the hemisphere to uphold the rule of law, preserve democratic governance, and safeguard security.”
As we celebrated the achievements of both courses, the Perry Center also extended our appreciation to course directors Dr. Arturo Sotomayor (HR/ROL) and Dr. Boris Saavedra (CYBER/AI); deputy course directors Dr. William Godnick (HR/ROL) and Professor Celina Realuyo (CYBER/AI); our facilitators Dr. Borja Montes Toscano, Heriberto Acosta-Maestre, and BG (ret.) Juan Carlos Gomez; and our more than 40 distinguished guest speakers.
