Debating Standing Peacekeeping Capacity
One of our most talented and engaged partners, Annie Herro 
of Australia’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, convened a Model UN-style event in Sydney last month on ‘The UN and International Conflict Resolution” with fellow faculty members John Langmore and Wendy Lambourne. The focus of the event and its varied discussions was GAPW’s proposal for the establishment of a United Nations Emergency Peace Service (UNEPS).
Forty students enrolled in Annie’s program, most with master’s degrees from departments such as International Studies, Human Rights and Development Studies. Students selected a country out of a list of 20 and were asked to prepare a 3 minute position paper on UNEPS. They were then asked to move into their respective voting blocs (such as the Non-Alignment Movement) and decide on a joint position with respect to UNEPS. Finally, participants appointed bloc leaders in order to reach a negotiated consensus regarding the political viability of the proposal.
Annie reported that participant position statements were ‘very impressive’ as were written responses to assignments focused on the challenges and opportunities of achieving consensus on a UN reform proposal like UNEPS.
Raising the Bar for Peace Professionals
August 30, 2010 | New York City
Global Action recently hosted Gord Breedyk, co-director of Civilian Peace Service Canada (CPSC), an organization that is setting standards for assessing the competence and values of peace professionals heading into potential or actual conflict settings. The group that assembled included representatives of the UN’s Genocide Prevention Office, the World Federation of UN Associations, the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect, and other organizations whose work we support. Gord’s main thrust is that we must continue to develop an expanding cadre of peace professionals with high levels of skill in areas such as communications, mediation, conflict analysis and operational planning, along with a commitment to both non-violent conflict transformation and core values such as empathy, integrity and social justice. CPSC’s evaluation framework leads to board accreditation based on a resume review, written self-assessment, reference checks and oral interviews. CPSC does not do training per se, but is committed to developing ‘gold standard’ criteria for assessing the fitness of civilians to do effective work in conflict zones.
Global Action is excited about this program, in part because we believe that developing this cadre is a necessary supplement to UN-based efforts to implement the Responsibility to Protect with tools and capacities (including our proposal for a UN Emergency Peace Service) for which competent professionals with a commitment to non-violence would be particularly valuable. We also maintain that CPSC assessments could help raise the bar on competencies and values for many State and UN-sponsored field operations with peace and security dimensions.
Click here for more information on CPSC.
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GA Informal Interactive Dialogue: Early Warning & the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
August 9, 2010 | New York City
This past Tuesday August 9th, the General Assembly convened an informal interactive dialogue to discuss early warning and R2P. The morning session opened with a statement from Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and presentations from five featured panelists: Dr. Edward Luck, Special Advisor to the Secretary-General for R2P; Dr. Francis Deng, Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide; Dr. Bertie Ramcharan of the Geneva Graduate Institute of Development Studies; Professor Andrea Bartoli of George Mason University; and Professor Muna Ndulo of Cornell University Law School. In July 2009, the General Assembly held a similar discussion regarding the Secretary-General’s report on R2P. This year’s dialogue focused on the substance of early warning and assessment as part of the UN’s commitment to genocide prevention and responsibility to protect, with discussion based on the Secretary-General’s report on the subject issued on July 14, 2010. (A/64/864)
For the full report click here.
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A Celebration of the Next Generation
August 12, 2010 | New York City
International Youth Day was celebrated on August 12 and the UN has designated this upcoming year as International Year of Youth focused on the theme “Dialogue and Mutual Understanding.” We hope to have substantive involvement over this next year in promoting the skills and passions of young people in both UN and NGO settings. ‘Mutual Understanding’ is often an elusive concept in diplomacy but it is a part of youth’s social makeup and certainly of their self-understanding. In this Year of Youth, we all have much to learn from the next generation of diplomats and advocates. Global Action, in partnership with Soka Gakkai International, hosted a pizza party on July 29 to honor the service of the many disarmament-related interns and junior staff whose energy and commitment has sustained our organizations through a difficult three months of meetings on nuclear disarmament, small arms and light weapons, and the arms trade.
Click here for the full text of the UN resolution (A/RES/64/134) on the International Year of Youth.
Click here for the official International Year of Youth (IYY) website.
Click here for the ILO report on Global Employment Trends for Youth.
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Eliza Nagel ‘11: Working at the UN to advance global peace
Attending a debate in the UN General Assembly on the appropriate response to a humanitarian crisis is a thrilling experience for a law student considering a career in international public interest. This summer I was honored to receive a Rutgers’ Public Interest Law Foundation grant that enabled me to work for Global Action to Prevent War, a UN-affiliated consortium that seeks ways to end international conflict and genocide. I spent a fascinating 10 weeks involved in several compelling projects. As well as observing UN meetings and attending Security Council debates, I participated in the NGO Working Group for Women, Peace and Security - an organization formed to aid implementation of Resolutions 1325 and 1820. As part of this group that aims to strengthen women’s role in the prevention and resolution of conflict, I drafted research reports on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) involving female combatants in conflict areas. This research will be used for advocacy in the full implementation of these resolutions. Having the chance to work at the UN this summer, surrounded by others committed to human rights, has strengthened my resolve to use my law degree to work toward international peace.
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Arms Trade Treaty Preparatory Committee
July 12-23, 2010 | New York City
Over the past two weeks Member States, the UN’s Office of Disarmament Affairs and select NGOs convened for meetings of the Preparatory Committee to promote development of a formal Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The entire process aims to produce by the end of 2012 a legally binding instrument to regulate international arms transfers and ultimately eliminate the illicit trade in conventional weapons. At this first PrepCom, governments expressed their views on principles and elements for inclusion in the final Treaty, with debate centered around three major categories: feasibility, scope, and parameters. The next PrepCom will take place in New York in February 2011. Global Action’s Dr. Robert Zuber attended this ATT PrepCom and wrote daily articles (with Ray Acheson of Reaching Critical Will and members of the Control Arms Coalition) reporting on and analyzing the discussions. Click here
Ambassador Roberto García Moritán (Argentina), Chairman of the First Preparatory Committee
to access the blog where all the reports and articles were published.
Please click on the following links to view individual articles by Dr. Zuber:
“Sending a Message” - July 13
“Elements of Progress” - July 14
“A Day of Controversy” - July 16
“The End of the Beginning” - July 24
Please click the following link for an additional article by Daniel Mack of Instituto Sou da Paz, Brazil:
“What is the ATT for?” - July 16
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ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment 2010
ECOSOC Chamber, Temporary North Lawn Building
ECOSOC Chamber, Temporary North Lawn Building
July 13-15, 2010 | New York City
The 2010 ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment took place last week from 13-15 July. The meetings served as a forum for member states and humanitarian organizations to discuss the intricacies, challenges and activities related to strengthening UN humanitarian assistance. Improved coordination was also a major theme and topic of discussion throughout the three day event. Two panel discussions were convened and featured high-level member state, UN agency, expert and NGO participation. There was also an informal side event held on July 13th regarding lessons learned from experiences in Haiti, as well as several other informative side events including one hosted by the Swiss Mission on environmental emergencies.
For complete reports please click on the following links:
Panel on Humanitarian assistance in highly hazardous, or insecure and unsafe environments
Panel on Strengthening preparedness for humanitarian emergencies
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Nelson Mandela International Day
July 16, 2010 | New York City
This past Friday the UN held a commemorative ceremony in honor of Nelson Mandela, on occasion of the annual Nelson Mandela International Day on July 18th. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon was present and made comments along the South African Minister of International Relations and various member state representatives. Nelson Mandela Day and the commemorative event recognized Mr. Mandela’s contributions to peace and development as well as his dedication to the UN, and served as reminder of his efforts for universal freedom, social equity, and justice. The event also featured a video documentary screening, highlighting Mr. Mandela’s work with the UN.
Please click here to read the full report.
Additionally, please click here to visit the UN’s special commemorative website.
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The Security Council Open Debate on Civilian Protection
July 7, 2010 | New York City
On Wednesday July 7th, the Security Council held an open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon opened the session; other speakers featured were John Holmes, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The debate covered a variety of themes and issues surrounding civilian protection. Most notable were concerns for humanitarian access, accountability, protection for vulnerable groups, and peacekeeping mandates. The upcoming withdrawal of MINURCAT from Chad was also an important topic. The recent prevalence of attacks on humanitarian workers was strongly denounced, and urgent calls were made for all parties to conflict, including non-state actors, to adhere to international law obligations. Particular protection for the disabled, elderly, women and children was also emphasized.
Please click here to download the full report.
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UN Peacekeeping: Looking into the future
June 22, 2010 | New York City
The objective behind the General Assembly’s Peacekeeping talks was to provide a forum for discussion of the political issues revolving around peacekeeping and peacebuilding; the link between security and development; and for peacekeeping and the political process. Given that most of the missions carried out include a military, political, as well as humanitarian perspective, strategies of interventions need to incorporate peacekeeping and peacebuilding as the way to assure security and comprehensive development. There also needs to be sustainable national capacities that will allow for national development as well as peacebuilding.
Held on June 22, 2010, H.E. Dr. Ali Abdussalam Treki, President of the UN General Assembly, remarked in his opening comments that peace can only be achieved with the cooperation of the collective Member States; it is through this collective effort that necessary resources for peacekeeping can be provided and to survive “daunting challenges of planning an effective management of peacekeeping operations.” Accessibility to resources and overstretch in capacity must be addressed as part of the larger objective of obtaining “a more serious investment in prevention, political facilitation and mediation.” In reference to the Brahimi report, the UN’s current methods of dealing with conflict must be reevaluated because the current system is not consistently right and need to ensure that in carrying out its missions, the UN is not undermining national authorities. “One size fits all approaches do not work.” Finally, the voice, experience and expertise of the troops should be utilized by the Security Council and the Secretariat.
Download the report here.
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Rule of Law in Fragile States
June 8, 2010 | New York City
In light of the Secretary-General’s report on Strengthening and Coordinating United Nations Rule of Law Activities, the Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group and the Rule of Law Unit with Member States put together a panel discussion on the Rule of Law in Post-Conflict and Fragile Settings. The theme and objective of the panel discourse rested on the idea that in order to achieve international peace and security, emphasis needs to be placed on building a strong rule of law.
The foundation for this idea lies in that peace is not likely to be obtained unless confidence is instilled on the public that there is a legitimate legal structure of justice. Thereby, the justice system can deal with issues such as ethnic discrimination, abuse of power, denial of right to citizenship, and territorial disputes. But instilling such confidence is hard to achieve given the distrust that exists toward institutions promoting rule of law. The distrust is evident from the lack of stability and accountability that exists in a system where violators of human rights are granted impunity from the system of justice.
Download the report here.
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