UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY SEMINAR ON PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY

19 September 1996

Press Release
UNU/178

UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY SEMINAR ON PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY

19960919 Secretary-General Leads Headquarters Discussions, Reviews Foundations of International Efforts to Avert Conflict

NEW YORK, 19 September (UNU) -- The United Nations University (UNU) held a one-day seminar at United Nations Headquarters on Monday (16 September) on "The United Nations and Preventive Diplomacy: Foundations, Instruments and New Actors". The seminar -- involving members of the United Nations Secretariat and the academic community -- was intended to serve as the beginning of an ongoing process of informal and free-flowing dialogue and political analysis. The aim was to identify emerging actors in preventive diplomacy, and to suggest possible ways and means of establishing and developing new partnerships with the United Nations in the prevention of international conflict.

Chaired by Professor Heitor Gurgulino de Souza, Rector of the UNU, the seminar explored the following areas: the foundations of preventive diplomacy; the instruments of preventive diplomacy; and the new and emerging actors involved in the process of preventive diplomacy. The opening speaker was Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who discussed the foundations and methodology of preventive diplomacy. Assistant Secretary-General Alvaro de Soto of the Department of Political Affairs, reviewed measures undertaken by the United Nations Secretariat to address the problems posed by new modalities of preventive diplomacy. Professor Michael Doyle of Princeton University discussed entities past and current involved in preventive diplomacy, including regional organizations, non-governmental organizations and the media.

Among others taking part were Thomas Franck (New York University School of Law), Atul Kohli (Princeton University), Edward Luck (United Nations Association/USA), Stephen Marks (Columbia University), W. Ofuatey-Kodjoe (City University of New York), John Oneal (Yale University), Benjamin Rivlin (City University of New York), Stephen John Stedman (Stanford University), Ruth Wedgewood (Council on Foreign Relations), Thomas Weiss (Brown University), and William Zartman (Johns Hopkins University).

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As a follow-up to this first event, the University intends to organize regional meetings which will deal with the scholarship and approaches to preventive diplomacy of developing countries.

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Note: Further information may be obtained from: United Nations University Office in North America (DC2-1462; Tel: 212-963-6387; Fax: 212-371-9454; E- mail: unuona@igc.apc.org).