SIA welcomes Josh Paul, former State Department official, Dr. Lana Baydas, Program Director at the ABA Center for Human Rights, and Nancy Okail from the Center for International Policy (CIP) to speak on Human Rights Due Diligence for the Arms Sector.  In today’s environment, manufacturers and exporters of defense articles (including articles on the CCL) may wish to pay greater attention to the compliance requirements and legal exposure faced by those whose defense articles are used by the end-user in ways that may violate both U.S. and international law.  It is possible that the defense industry will see an up-surge in both legislative efforts to strengthen end use requirements, as well as in litigation related to their own due diligence and licensed exports. All speakers will be taking questions.

Lana Baydas, Ph.D. is Program Director at the ABA Center for Human Rights. She directs the Proxy Warfare project at the Center. The project aims to restrain arms trade to governments with poor human rights records by developing evidence-based research and undertaking advocacy with arms exporting governments and arms companies. Lana Baydas held posts at headquarters and in field operations with the United Nations, Crisis Action, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. She holds a Ph.D. and LL.M. in public international law from the University of Glasgow in Scotland and a B.A. in political science from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.

Nancy Okail is President and CEO of the Center for International Policy. Dr. Okail is a leading scholar, policy analyst, and advocate with more than 20 years of experience working on issues of human rights, democracy, and security in the Middle East and North Africa region.  In 2020, Okail was appointed as a visiting scholar at the Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford University, focusing on accountability and the intersection of human rights and technology. Prior to joining Stanford, she served as Executive Director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), which under her leadership became an internationally renowned policy research organization.  Before coming to the United States, Okail worked on, managed, and evaluated foreign aid programs for several international organizations, including the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. In her subsequent role as Director of Freedom House’s Egypt program, Okail was one of the 43 nongovernmental organization workers convicted and sentenced to prison in a widely publicized 2012 case for allegedly using foreign funds to foment unrest in Egypt. She was then exonerated by a court ruling in December of 2018.  Okail holds a Ph.D. from the University of Sussex in the UK. Her policy analysis and political commentary have been featured in top outlets including the Washington Post, New York Times, Foreign Affairs, and Lawfare. She has been interviewed or quoted by The Guardian, BBC World News, MSNBC, and Al Jazeera, and she regularly speaks on current affairs panels at world fora and academic institutions.

Josh Paul resigned from the State Department in October, 2023 due to his disagreement with the Biden Administration's decision to rush lethal military assistance to Israel in the context of its war on Gaza, and his policy analysis on the topic has been featured across U.S. and global media. He had previously spent over 11 years working as a Director in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, which is responsible for U.S. defense diplomacy, security assistance, and arms transfers. He previously worked on security sector reform in both Iraq and the West Bank, with additional roles in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Army Staff (G8-FD), and as a Congressional staffer for Representative Steve Israel (D-NY). Josh grew up between London and New York, and holds Masters degrees from the Universities of Georgetown and St Andrews, Scotland. He is currently a consultant for DAWN and a recipient of the 2023 Callaway Award for Civic Courage.

Moderator: Sue Gainor is a widely recognized expert with over 35 years of government, military, and international experience focused on trade compliance, international trade, and foreign affairs. She has 20 years of experience in the defense and aerospace industry, 12 years of U.S. foreign policy and national security experience in the Department of State and Department of Defense, and 18 years (active and reserve) as a U.S. Air Force intelligence officer. Sue is the only former State Department Director of Defense Trade Controls Compliance (DTCC) who later led the trade compliance organization of one of the nation’s largest aerospace and defense companies. She is a widely recognized expert in political and international affairs and defense trade. Finely tuned cultural and political sensitivities make her uniquely able to deal effectively with U.S. government executives, foreign government officials, domestic and international lawmakers, business executives, and other stakeholders. 

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