The UNITAR Programme in Peacemaking and Preventive
Diplomacy was initiated in 1993 to enhance the effectiveness of
the United Nations' efforts in conflict prevention and resolution.
Since then, the programme has expanded to provide a range of research
and training as follows:
Main Activities
Programme for Briefing and Debriefing Special and Personal Representatives
and Envoys of the Secretary-General
This project is being carried out to preserve
and pass on the valuable lessons and experience of Special and Personal
Representatives and Envoys of the Secretary-General (SRSGs) and
to ensure these are used to refine and enhance UN peace operations.
The project has five components: 1) the debriefing of current and
past representatives through in-depth interviews; 2) the preparation
of a book for new SRSGs based on a distillation of the major issues
raised in those interviews; 3) the production of a set of
DVDs/videos of the interviews; 4) a regular seminar for SRSGs
and senior UN staff to provide a forum to share experience and lessons
and to promote dialogue; and 5) input into the current Headquarters
briefing programmes for SRSGs based on the recommendations of SRSGs.
Based on a number of in-depth interviews,
a first draft of the book, On Being a Special Representative
of the Secretary-General, was prepared for use exclusively within
the UN system and provided to all current SRSGs and senior Headquarters
staff. A second edition of the book has just been produced
and distributed.
As well, a collection of DVDs of interviews
with SRSGs have been edited and distributed to all SRSGs and to
UN Headquarters. Both the DVD collection and the book are given
to new SRSGs as part of their briefing process.
To date, three seminars have been held in
Switzerland with SRSGs and senior Headquarters and Agency staff.
The first seminar took place in March 2001; the second in
October 2002 and the third in October 2004. These meetings
ensure that SRSGs are able to share their experiences and lessons
with each other and provide a forum for grappling with the complex
problems they are facing. In addition, the meetings provide
a networking opportunity, where relationships are fostered and developed.
The presence of SRSGs and senior Headquarters and Agency staff
also allow SRSGs to highlight problems which recur across missions
and to consider how these can be resolved. The next seminar
is planned for late 2007.
The programme is funded by the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs of Sweden, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
of Switzerland and the Department for International Development
of the United Kingdom.
Special
Representatives, senior UN staff and heads of UN agencies; donors;
and UNITAR staff at the 2004 SRSG Seminar.
UNITAR-IPA Fellowship Programme in Peacemaking and Preventive
Diplomacy
This annual programme, now in its fourteenth
year, offers advanced training in conflict analysis, negotiation
and mediation to mid- and senior-level UN staff, diplomats
and representatives of regional organizations. The primary
focus is on preventing and resolving disputes through the
United Nations. Senior United Nations staff members, including
Special Representatives of the Secretary-General and renowned
academics and practitioners serve as resource persons for
the programme to discuss the latest knowledge and practice
in the field.
Participants
in the Fellowship Programme in Peacemaking and Preventive
Diplomacy engaged in conflict analysis.
The next two-week training programme will
be held in Holmenkollen, Norway in July 2007. It offers a comprehensive
framework for how disputes begin, escalate and are resolved. Case
studies of conflict situations are analysed to develop an understanding
of the issues, obstacles and problems which occur. The programme
also offers advanced practice in the skills needed to carry out
effective preventive diplomacy and peacemaking and is organized
in cooperation with the International Peace Academy in New York.
The programme is currently supported by the
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada,
the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs of Sweden and the Department for International Development
of the United Kingdom.
UNITAR Regional Training
Programme to Enhance Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding in
Africa
Africa continues to be affected by conflicts
which are undermining efforts to bring about sustainable development.
This programme was developed to increase the number of governmental
and non-governmental officials in Africa who are adequately trained
in conflict analysis, negotiation and mediation skills. It
was developed as an extension of the Fellowship Programme with a
specific focus on Africa. The programme provides training
for officials from Foreign Ministries, as well as from Offices of
the President and Prime Minister of African states. In addition,
participants are also selected from inter-governmental and non-governmental
organizations working in the field of peacebuilding in Africa. The
programme, now in its seventh year, places an emphasis on the challenges
that African policy-makers face in their efforts to assess and respond
to conflicts on the continent. It is designed to strengthen
the coordination and collaboration among actors and institutions
and to provide a cadre of persons who could be called upon to use
their skills to assist peace missions in Africa. The next
training programme is planned for late 2007. These programmes
have been funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade of Canada, the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, the GrandDuchy
of Luxembourg, the New Zealand Agency for International Development,
the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs of Sweden and the Department for International
Development of the United Kingdom.
UNITAR Sub-Regional Training
Programme to Enhance Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding in
Southern Africa
Tim
Murithi introduces a panel of speakers to participants in
the UNITAR Sub-regional Training Programme on Conflict Prevention
and Peacebuilding.
The UNITAR Training Programme to Enhance
Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding in Southern Africa
was established to provide advanced training in conflict
analysis, prevention and resolution to middle and senior
level professional staff from Ministries of Foreign Affairs
and Defence of Member States of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC). In addition, it also invites the participation
of relevant members of staff from the SADC Secretariat,
as well as representatives of key non-governmental organizations
working on peacemaking in Southern Africa.
This programme focuses on the pressing need
to address issues of peacemaking in the Southern Africa region
and the challenges faced by practitioners and decision-makers
in their efforts to assess and respond to the current and potential
conflict situations in the sub-region. The first programme was
held in March 2000, and the second in February 2001 in Harare,
Zimbabwe. The third, fourth and fifth programmes were held in
the spring of 2003, 2004 and 2005 in Cape Town, South Africa.
These programmes have been funded by the Royal Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Denmark.
Training Programme to Enhance the Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding
Capacities of
Indigenous Peoples' Representatives
This programme provides advanced training
in conflict analysis and negotiation to key representatives of indigenous
peoples. The focus is on a problem-solving negotiation approach
to strengthen participants' capacity to more effectively negotiate
to have their needs met, while also promoting constructive relationships
between members of their communities and those in the dominant community.
Indigenous experts including Members of the UN Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues as well as other specialists and representatives
of regional organizations, serve as resource persons for the training
programme.
The international training programme is conducted
annually at the time of the UN Working Group on Indigenous
Populations
held at the United Nations in Geneva. International training programmes
have been organised in Geneva in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005
and 2006. As well, a regional training programme is conducted
in a different part of the world each year. The first regional
programme was held in Mexico in 2001 for indigenous representatives
of the Americas. The 2003 regional programme took place in Thailand
for representatives of the Asia-Pacific. The 2004 regional training
was organised in Tanzania for indigenous representatives of Africa.
The 2006 regional training programme was held in Morocco for representatives
of the Great Lakes, Central, North and West Africa. Planning is
underway for the next regional programme for the Pacific.
Participants,
resource persons and UNITAR staff at the Training Programme to
Enhance the Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding Capacities of
Indigenous Peoples' Representatives.
In May 2002, the UNITAR Seminar for Members
of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
was organized in New York at the request of a number of Permanent
Forum Members. The Seminar was planned to assist their efforts to
prepare for and implement the first historic meeting of the Permanent
Forum on Indigenous Issues at United Nations Headquarters, and to
facilitate work on their important mandate.
The programme has been funded by the Department
of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada, the Royal
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, the Ministry for Foreign
Affairs of Finland, the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, the Royal
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, the Ministry for Foreign
Affairs of Sweden, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
and the Ford Foundation.
Former
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, addressing
Permanent Forum members at the UNITAR Seminar for Member of the
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
