What’s Next for the U.S. Hostage Recovery and Deterrence Enterprise after the Election

With the recent release of Americans and others held abroad, the McCain Institute is hosting a public event, “What’s Next for the U.S. Hostage Recovery and Deterrence Enterprise after the Election,” on Wednesday, November 20.  

This open-press public event and subsequent closed-doors strategy session will serve as the foundation for policy recommendations to prepare for the next administration, Congress, and commemoration of the U.S. National Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day next March. Together with SPEHA, the Foley Foundation, we are developing an event that will be bipartisan and bicameral that recognizes the enduring importance of deterring hostage-taking and bringing all American captives home.  

The Freedom for Political Prisoners Initiative (FPPI) is a program of the McCain Institute at Arizona State University that seeks to further the legacy of Senator McCain held hostage as a POW for 1,966 days and his advocacy for dissidents, political prisoners, hostages, and all those wrongfully held.  FPPI is a convener and a legal, media, and educational advocacy program for wider policy changes informed by supporting specific individual cases.  By putting a laser-focus on political prisoners around the world and telling their stories, we are able to address freedom, individual rights, and democracy.  We also know that for them individually, there’s nothing more painful than being forgotten.  For the societies and the world, keeping them and their stories alive gives them and us hope of a better future and for a safe, free, and just world.