In August 2018 The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts at the University of Chicago and the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen's hosted Global Conflict | The Human Impact conference, which offered a distinctive opportunity to assess the lessons learned from the peace agreement, as well as the daunting challenges and human toll of the world's current refugee crisis, the largest population of displaced people since World War II.

Gathering at Queen's, leading voices from around the world engaged in robust debate and discussed strategies that focus on reducing the prevalence of violent conflict and its tragic impact on people, especially families. Key content areas and panel discussions also included "Policy responses to the current global refugee crisis" and "Impact of the refugee crisis on individuals and families", to highlighted evidenced-based research on various conflicts as well as first-person narrative accounts, and to explore conflicts and humanitarian issues through the eyes of global leaders who are working on-the-ground to address these challenges.