UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY TO HOLD SEMINARS AT HEADQUARTERS 22 AND 25 FEBRUARY

Press Release
UNU/195

UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY TO HOLD SEMINARS AT HEADQUARTERS 22 AND 25 FEBRUARY

NEW YORK, 27 January (UNU) -- The United Nations University will host two seminars at Headquarters in February, one on the legitimacy of international organizations and the other on trade, development and the environment.

On 22 February, a seminar on “Trade, Development and the Environment After Seattle and Bangkok” will be held in Conference Room C from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 to 6 p.m.

The seminar will deal with trade and sustainable development issues as they relate to the concerns of developing countries, with particular attention to the outcomes of the Seattle and Bangkok conferences, disguised barriers to trade, globalization and the integration of small vulnerable economies. Speakers will include: Jorge Vigano, Deputy-Director/Counselor, World Trade Organization; Murray Gibbs, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; W. Bradnee Chambers, United Nations University/Institute of Advanced Studies; Steve Charnovitz, Wilmer Cutler & Pickering; S. Mansoob Murshed, United Nations University/World Institute for Development Economic Research; Constantine Michalopoulos, Senior Advisor, World Bank; and Dick Self, USTR.

On 25 February, a seminar devoted to “The Legitimacy of International Organizations”, a policy research project that is part of the University's Peace and Governance Programme, will be held in Conference Room B from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Conference Room C from 3 to 6 p.m.

This seminar is intended to disseminate, prior to their issuance in book form, the policy findings of the project, which has now reached its final stage. Questions addressed by participating academics and practitioners include the following: What are the distinctive dimensions of the legitimacy of international organizations? What are their comparative advantages? What division of labour could be envisaged between international organizations and other international actors? What are the fields (security, development, human rights, international legal and functional norms) in which international organizations are likely to be most needed in the future?

Guest speakers will include: Susan Marks, Cambridge University, United Kingdom; Veijo Heiskanen, Director of the Institute of International Economic Law, University of Helsinki, Finland; G.C.A. Junne, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Jean-Marc Coicaud, United Nations University; and Robert Howse, University of Michigan Law School, United States. Specific topics to be covered include democracy and international governance, the use of force, the impact of

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globalization on international organization, United Nations peacekeeping and the legitimation of the World Trade Organization.

For further information, please contact the United Nations University Office in North America (tel: 963-6345; fax: 371-9454; e-mail: UNUONA@IGC.APC.ORG. If interested in attending, kindly send your full name, title, department, e-mail address and telephone number by fax or e-mail to UNUONA before 11 and 16 February, respectively.

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