Threats, Challenges, Vulnerabilities and Risks

The United Nations University Office at the United Nations is organizing an event as part of the UNU Worldwide in New York Series entitled "Coping with Global Environmental Change, Disasters and Security" which will be focused on the book of the same title.

This policy-focused Global Environmental and Human Security Handbook for the Anthropocene (GEHSHA) addresses new security threats, challenges, vulnerabilities and risks posed by global environmental change and disasters. In 5 forewords, 5 preface essays 95 peer reviewed chapters, 164 authors from 48 countries analyse in 10 parts concepts of military and political hard security and economic, social, environmental soft security with a regional focus on the Near East, North and Sub-Sahara Africa and Asia and on hazards in urban centres. The major focus is on coping with global environmental change: climate change, desertification, water, food and health and with hazards and strategies on social vulnerability and resilience building and scientific, international, regional and national political strategies, policies and measures including early warning of conflicts and hazards. The book proposes a political geo-ecology and discusses a 'Fourth Green Revolution'.

Agenda:

• Introduction by Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director of the United Nations University, Office at the United Nations in New York (UNU-ONY).

• H.E. Ambassador Professor Dr. Joy Ogwu, Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations, author of a foreword.

• H.E. Ambassador Dr. Peter Wittig, Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations.

• Mr. Jorge Laguna-Celis, Delegate to the Second Committee, representing the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations.

• Hans Günter Brauch, Adj. Professor, Free University of Berlin; senior CASA fellow, UNU-EHS (Bonn); chairman of AFES-PRESS, Germany; co-editor, author.

• Úrsula Oswald Spring, Professor, Centro Regional de Investigaciones Multidisciplinarias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (CRIM-UNAM, Cuernavaca, Mexico); first MR Chair on Social Vulnerability, UNU-EHS; co-editor, author.

With the UNU Worldwide in New York Series, the United Nations University Office at the UN, New York, as part of its mandate, showcases the recent work of UNU Institutes from around the world. In conjunction with other experts from different organizations, UNU researchers share new ideas and highlight new policy avenues in the areas of security, environment and development.

***

Jean-Marc Coicaud is the Director of the United Nations University (UNU) Office at the United Nations Headquarters (New York). He was Senior Academic Officer and Director of Studies at the UNU Headquarters (Tokyo) from 1996 to 2003. From 1992 to 1996, he served in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General as a speechwriter for Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. A former fellow at Harvard University (Center for International Affairs, Department of Philosophy and Harvard Law School, from 1986 to 1992), Coicaud has held appointments such as Cultural Attaché with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Legislative Aide with the European Parliament (Financial Committee). He has also been a Visiting Professor at the École Normale Supérieure-Ulm in Paris and has taught at the New School for Social Research (New York). In addition, he has been a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (Washington, D.C.), a Global Research Fellow at New York University School of Law and a Visiting Scholar at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University (Beijing). Coicaud holds a Ph.D. in Political Science-Law from the Sorbonne and a Doctorat d'État in philosophy from the Institut d'Études Politiques of Paris. Jean-Marc Coicaud has published 14 books in the fields of comparative politics, political and legal theory, international relations and international law. They are available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic, and include the following single-authored books: L'introuvable démocratie autoritaire (L'Harmattan, 1996), Légitimité et Politique (Presses Universitaires de France, 1997), Politics and Legitimacy: A Contribution to the Study of Political Right and Political Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2002), Beyond the National Interest (United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), Kokuren no Genkai/Kokuren no Mirai (Future of the UN/Limits of the UN - Fujiwara Shoten, 2007), Mai Xiang Guo Ji Fa Zhi (Towards the International Rule of Law - Sanlian Shudian, 2008). His latest book, co-edited with Hilary Charlesworth, is Fault Lines of International Legitimacy (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

Her Excellency Ambassador Dr. Joy Ogwu, Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations and former Foreign Minister of Nigeria. Prior to her appointment as Nigeria's Foreign Minister, she served as the first female Director-General of Nigeria's Foreign Policy Think-Tank - the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA). In this period, she concurrently served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Centre for Advanced Social Science (CASS) and Member of the United Nations Secretary General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, culminating in her appointment as the first African female Chairperson of the Secretary-General's Advisory Board for 2006. A Professor of Political Science and International Relations since 1993, she lectured at the Command and Staff College, Jaji, National War College and the Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS). In her academic studies she focused on Latin America and on possibilities of an intensified South-South relationship between Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. In her public service as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on International Relations she made valid contributions to the development of Nigeria's foreign policy. Her publications include: (Ed.): Nigerian Foreign Policy: Alternative Futures (Macmillan 1986); (Ed.): Nigeria's International Economic Relations; Dimensions of Dependence and Change (1988, Rev. 2005; The Economic Diplomacy of the Nigerian State (1992, 2001); The Nigerian Navy and the South Atlantic (1995); (Ed.); New Horizons for Nigeria in World Affairs (2005). She has published extensively in scholarly journals and books and lectured on South-South and Latin America's foreign relations. Several publications appeared in Portuguese, Spanish, and French.

His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Peter Wittig, Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations. Ambassador Wittig joined the German Foreign Service in 1982. He served in Madrid, New York, Bonn (as private secretary to the Foreign Minister) and as Ambassador to Lebanon. While Ambassador to Cyprus he also acted as Special Envoy of the German Government for the Cyprus Question. In 2002 Dr. Wittig was appointed Ambassador in the Directorate-General for the United Nations and Global Issues in the Foreign Office in Berlin and became Director-General in 2006. After reading History, Political Science and Law at Bonn, Freiburg, Canterbury and Oxford Universities, he taught as an Assistant Professor at the University of Freiburg. Ambassador Wittig has written articles on the history of ideas and on foreign policy. Dr Wittig is married to journalist and writer Huberta von Voss-Wittig.

Mr. Jorge Laguna-Celis is the delegate to the Second Committee, representing the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations. Prior to this, he was working in the Embassy of Mexico in Kenya (2006-2010) with the Permanent Mission of Mexico as Deputy Head of the Mission, Deputy Permanent Representative to UNEP and UN Habitat, and in the Foreign Ministry of Mexico with the Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior and with the Mexican Diplomatic Academy (2005-2006). He obtained an MA in International Trade and Sustainable Development Policies from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, Paris (2000-2002) and a BA in International Relations from El Colegio de México, Mexico City (1996-2000).

PD Dr. Hans Günter Brauch is the Adjunct Professor (Privatdozent) at the Faculty of Political Science and Social Sciences at the Free University of Berlin. Since 2005, he has been a fellow at the Institute on Environment and Human Security of the United Nations University (UNU-EHS). He is also the chairman of Peace Research and European Security Studies (AFES-PRESS) since 1987 and editor of the Hexagon Book Series with Springer Publishers. He was the guest professor of international relations at the universities of Frankfurt on Main, Leipzig and Greifswald and at the teachers training college in Erfurt. From 1976-1989 he was a research associate at Heidelberg and Stuttgart universities, a research fellow at Harvard and Stanford University and he was also teaching at the universities of Darmstadt, Tübingen, Stuttgart and Heidelberg. Co-editor of: Security and Environment in the Mediterranean (2003); Globalization and Environmental Challenges (2008); Facing Global Environmental Change (2009); Coping with Global Environmental Change, Disasters and Security (2010).

Professor Dr. Ursula Oswald Spring is the Research Professor at the National University of Mexico (UNAM) in the Regional Multidisciplinary Research Centre (CRIM) in Cuernavaca, Mexico. She is also the first Munich Re Chair on Social Vulnerability, UNU-EHS. Professor Oswald was General Attorney of Ecology in the State of Morelos (1992-1994) and National Delegate of the Federal General Attorney of Environment from 1994-1995. She was President of the International Peace Research Association (1998-2000); General Secretary of the Latin-American Council for Peace Research (2002-2006). For her scientific work she received the Price Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (2005), the Environmental Merit in Tlaxcala, Mexico (2005. 2006); the Price of Development of the UN in Geneva. She was recognized at the Women Academic in UNAM in 1990 and 2000; Women of the Year 2000. She works on non-violence and sustainable agriculture with peasants and women and with Diverse Women for Diversity.

And for additional information on this book launch including a press folder with several free texts from this book please visit:

http://www.afes-press-books.de/html/hexagon_05_PressConf_Presentations.htm#NY

The United Nations University Office at the United Nations is organizing an event as part of the UNU Midday Forum Series entitled "Realizing the Development Potential of Diasporas".


This seminar will cover a range of issues concerning diaspora communities, including diaspora investment and entrepreneurship, the financial and non-financial channels of diaspora contribution, and areas where policies can effectively leverage diaspora capital to facilitate development. The speakers will emphasize the importance of public policies to widen the role of diaspora in contributing to development. They will also suggest a categorization of diaspora activities and a framework for understanding diaspora diversity and its impact on development. The seminar is part of the UNU Midday Forum Series, which offers an intimate and informal platform of discussion to the UN permanent missions, the UN Secretariat, UN agencies, academia, NGOs and the private sector to exchange ideas on important topics related to the UN.



Speakers:

• Introduction by Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director of the United Nations University Office at the United Nations in New York (UNU-ONY)

• Krishnan Sharma, Economist, Financing for Development Office, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations (UNDESA)

• Paul Ladd, Advisor to UNDP on issues related to inclusive globalization, including development finance, debt sustainability, trade and migration.

• Manuel F. Montes, Chief, Development Strategy and Policy Analysis Unit, UNDESA

• Selim Jahan, Director, Poverty Practice, United Nations Development Program

Speakers' Profiles

Jean-Marc Coicaud is the Director of the United Nations University (UNU) Office at the United Nations Headquarters (New York). He was Senior Academic Officer and Director of Studies at the UNU Headquarters (Tokyo) from 1996 to 2003. From 1992 to 1996, he served in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General as a speechwriter for Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. A former fellow at Harvard University (Center for International Affairs, Department of Philosophy and Harvard Law School, from 1986 to 1992), Coicaud has held appointments such as Cultural Attaché with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Legislative Aide with the European Parliament (Financial Committee). He has also been a Visiting Professor at the École Normale Supérieure-Ulm in Paris and has taught at the New School for Social Research (New York). In addition, he has been a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (Washington, D.C.), a Global Research Fellow at New York University School of Law and a Visiting Scholar at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University (Beijing). Coicaud holds a Ph.D. in Political Science-Law from the Sorbonne and a Doctorat d'État in philosophy from the Institut d'Études Politiques of Paris. Jean-Marc Coicaud has published 14 books in the fields of comparative politics, political and legal theory, international relations and international law. They are available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic, and include the following single-authored books: L'introuvable démocratie autoritaire (L'Harmattan, 1996), Légitimité et Politique (Presses Universitaires de France, 1997), Politics and Legitimacy: A Contribution to the Study of Political Right and Political Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2002), Beyond the National Interest (United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), Kokuren no Genkai/Kokuren no Mirai (Future of the UN/Limits of the UN - Fujiwara Shoten, 2007), Mai Xiang Guo Ji Fa Zhi (Towards the International Rule of Law - Sanlian Shudian, 2008). His latest book, co-edited with Hilary Charlesworth, is Fault Lines of International Legitimacy (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

Krishnan Sharma is an Economist in the Financing for Development Office of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. He is the lead economist for analyzing developments relating to private capital flows to developing countries and providing policy recommendations. His recent achievements include collaborating with the World Economic Forum to devise ways to mitigate the risks faced by private investors in infrastructure projects in developing countries. Sharma has also undertaken extensive research on economic and financial issues relating to emerging economies in Asia and Latin America, and has published papers and books on issues ranging from corporate bond market development to GDP-linked securities and the Asian financial crises. He is currently working on a project concerning the impact of Diasporas on entrepreneurship. Prior to joining the U.N., Sharma worked in the financial sector in London. He was a senior economist at the Henley Centre for Forecasting and later an economic affairs advisor at Old Mutual International Asset Managers.

Paul Ladd joined the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2006, and currently heads up the teams working on issues related to 'inclusive globalization' - including trade, development finance, and migration. He also led the policy team that prepared UNDP's contribution to the September 2010 Summit on the Millennium Development Goals. Before moving to New York, Paul was a policy adviser on international development for the UK Treasury, including the period building up to and through the UK's Chair of the G8 and European Union in 2005. Previously he had been Chief Economist and acting Head of Policy with the UK charity Christian Aid, the UK Department for International Development's economic adviser for South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland, and a financial adviser in the Central Bank of Guyana. Paul received his BSc in Economics and his MSc in Quantitative Development Economics from the University of Warwick.

Manuel F. Montes is Chief of Development Strategies at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). He leads the team that produces the World Economic and Social Survey, an annual UN publication on development and international cooperation issues since 1947. Previously, he was Regional Programme Coordinator, Asia Pacific Trade and Investment Initiative, UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka; Programme Officer for International Economic Policy at the Ford Foundation in New York, 1999-2005; Senior Fellow and Coordinator for Economics Studies at the East-West Centre in Honolulu, 1989-1999; and Associate Professor of Economics at the University of The Philippines, 1981-1989. He has been a visiting scholar at the Institute for Developing Economies in Tokyo, at the United Nations University/World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU/IWDER) in Helsinki, and at the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS). He holds a PhD in Economics from Stanford University. He held the Central Bank Money and Banking Chair at the University of the Philippines from 1984 to 1991.

***

Information about the book is available on:

http://unu.edu/unupress/2011/RealizingDevPotentialOfDiasporas.html

 

Background readings:

"The Impact of Remittances on Economic Insecurity"

Available at: http://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2009/wp78_2009.pdf

The world is changing rapidly. The recent developments in the Arab world have altered the global political landscape, with inevitable consequences for global governance. The complexity of the issues involved and the speed with which events are unfolding makes it difficult for governments and organizations to know how to respond. How are multilateral institutions dealing with the economic, social, political and security challenges of the democratic transformation in the Arab World? Why was the international community not able to predict the transformations that are currently underway in North Africa and the Middle East? How can we foresee future developments in other regions of the world in the years ahead?

The seminar is part of the UNU Midday Forum Series, which offers an intimate and informal platform of discussion for the UN permanent missions, the UN Secretariat, UN agencies, academia, NGOs and the private sector to exchange ideas on important topics related to the UN.


Speakers:

• Álvaro de Vasconcelos, Director, European Union Institute for Security Studies
• Luis Peral, Research Fellow, European Union Institute for Security Studies

Moderator:

• Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York.

Speakers' Profiles:

Álvaro de Vasconcelos has been the Director of the EU Institute for Security Studies since May 2007. Prior to this, he was the co-founder and head of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (IEEI) in Lisbon from 1981 to 2007, where he launched several networks including the Euro-Latin American Forum and EuroMeSCo. Over the past ten years, Dr. Vasconcelos has been involved in the coordination of EuroMeSCo, the 50-member strong Euro-Mediterranean network of foreign and security policy research centers which contributed to the first chapter of the Barcelona Process. He has served as special advisor to the Portuguese Government on defense and home affairs, and published extensively on European and International Politics. He is author and co-editor of many books, articles and reports, notably in the areas of EU foreign and security policy and on the world order. These include, Portugal: A European Story, La PESC: Ouvrir l'Europe au Monde, The European Union, Mercosur and the New World Order, and A European Strategy for the Mediterranean. He edited the Chaillot Paper, Partnerships for effective multilateralism - EU relations with Brazil, China, India and Russia, the EUISS Report The EU and the world in 2009 - European perspectives on the new American foreign policy agenda, edited and contributed in the EUISS Report The European Security Strategy 2003-2008 - Building on common interests and contributed in the EUISS Report Union for the Mediterranean - Building on the Barcelona acquis. He also contributed and edited the book What ambitions for European defence in 2020, the book The Obama Moment - European and American perspectives with Mr. Marcin Zaborowski and the book Quelle défense européenne en 2020?, with a preface by Catherine Ashton. He is also a regular contributor to the Portuguese written press, radio and television, and a frequent contributor to the European press. His syndicated articles (Project Syndicate) appear in many reference newspapers worldwide. Álvaro de Vasconcelos is a Chevalier of the Order of the Légion d'Honneur (France) and a Comendador do Ordem do Rio Branco (Brazil).

Luis Peral is a Research Fellow at the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) in Paris. Prior to this, he was the Director of the Conflict Resolution and Crisis Management Program at the International Centre of Toledo for Peace; a Senior Research Fellow at the Global Governance Program and a Senior Researcher at the Ramón y Cajal Research Programme of the Spanish Government at the Centro de Estudios Politicos y Constitucionales (Center for Political and Constitutional Studies) in the Spanish Ministry of the Presidency. Dr. Peral was a lecturer of Public International Law at the University Carlos III of Madrid, a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan Law School and a lecturer at the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (Sanremo) and at the European Master Course on Democratization and Human Rights of the European Inter-University Center (Venice). He is the Director of the Cuenca International Colloquium on Refugee Law and the academic coordinator of the Carlos II University MA on International Cooperation and Humanitarian Action. He is also a member of the Refugee Law Reader Editorial Board and the Steering Committee of the International Colloquium on Refugees and Post-Conflict Reconciliation. He has under-taken extensive academic research and published widely, particularly Éxodos masivos, supervivencia y mantenimiento de la paz (Trotta, 2001), which had a focus on International Refugee Law, Humanitarian Law, European Human Rights Law, and UN Peacekeeping. Other publications include Global Security in a Multipolar World (ed.) (2009); 'EUPOL Afghanistan', in G. Grevi; D. Helly; and D. Keohane (ed): European Security and Defence Policy. The First Ten Years (199-2009), EUISS, Paris, 2009; 'Transforming an Unrealistic War. Bringing the UN Back into Afghanistan', in Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Issue XI.1, Winter-Spring 2010; 'Afghanistan: Challenges of Stability and Opportunities from Chaos', CITpax Report n.2, 2007; 'Threats to Human Security. The Need for Action?' FRIDE Document n. 15, 2005; and 'EU Protection Scheme for Refugees in the Region of Origin: Problems of Conditionality and Coherence', ESIL Papers, European Society for International Law Forum, 2005.

Jean-Marc Coicaud is the Director of the United Nations University (UNU) Office at the United Nations Headquarters (New York). He was Senior Academic Officer and Director of Studies at the UNU Headquarters (Tokyo) from 1996 to 2003. From 1992 to 1996, he served in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General as a speechwriter for Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. A former fellow at Harvard University (Center for International Affairs, Department of Philosophy and Harvard Law School, from 1986 to 1992), Coicaud has held appointments such as Cultural Attaché with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Legislative Aide with the European Parliament (Financial Committee). He has also been a Visiting Professor at the École Normale Supérieure-Ulm in Paris and has taught at the New School for Social Research (New York). In addition, he has been a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (Washington, D.C.), a Global Research Fellow at New York University School of Law and a Visiting Scholar at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University (Beijing). Coicaud holds a Ph.D. in Political Science-Law from the Sorbonne and a Doctorat d'État in philosophy from the Institut d'Études Politiques of Paris. Jean-Marc Coicaud has published 14 books in the fields of comparative politics, political and legal theory, international relations and international law. They are available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic, and include the following single-authored books: L'introuvable démocratie autoritaire (L'Harmattan, 1996), Légitimité et Politique (Presses Universitaires de France, 1997), Politics and Legitimacy: A Contribution to the Study of Political Right and Political Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2002), Beyond the National Interest (United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), Kokuren no Genkai/Kokuren no Mirai (Future of the UN/Limits of the UN - Fujiwara Shoten, 2007), Mai Xiang Guo Ji Fa Zhi (Towards the International Rule of Law - Sanlian Shudian, 2008). His latest book, co-edited with Hilary Charlesworth, is Fault Lines of International Legitimacy (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

Background reading:

Global Governance 2025: At a Critical Juncture
http://www.iss.europa.eu/uploads/media/Global__Governance_2025.pdf

The Arab Democratic wave - How the EU can seize the moment
http://www.iss.europa.eu/uploads/media/The_Arab_Democratic_Wave_-_how_the_EU_can_seize_the_moment.pdf

The European Strategy and Policy Analysis System Pilot Study 2011 Presentation
29aprilESPAS Presentation.pdf

This is a side event of the 19th UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD19) in New York organized by UNU-ONY and the Interagency Committee (IAC) for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD).

The side event aims to highlight the role of education in promoting consumption and production systems that lead to low carbon, inclusive growth. In order to meaningfully contribute to this goal, the stakeholders of sustainable consumption and production (SCP), including children and young people, need to be engaged in empowering learning processes, leading to more sustainable practices.

Members of the Interagency Committee for the DESD will present and assess ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) actions that have the potential to reorient modern consumption and production patterns. The discussion will focus on analysis of the processes and projects that simultaneously pursue two interrelated goals: 1) engagement and empowerment of the key SCP stakeholders, including youth and children, through learning processes, and 2) facilitating consumption and production that leads to low carbon inclusive societies. By doing so, both process and results of learning and empowerment will be discussed.

Speakers:

• Ms. Fabienne Pierre (PhD), Associate Programme Officer, UNEP DTI
• Kazuhiko Takemoto, Senior Fellow, United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies
• Zinaida Fadeeva, Research Fellow, United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies
• Mark Richmond, Director, Division of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, UNESCO
• Stephanie Hodge, Programme Specialist responsible for Cross-Sector Coordination, UNICEF
• Suchitra Sugar, Consultant, UNICEF Education Section

Moderator:

• Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York.
  

Speakers' Profiles:

Fabienne Pierre works as Associate Programme Officer for the United Nations Environment Programme, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics. Under the Marrakech Process on Sustainable Consumption and Production, she has developed activities and projects on sustainable lifestyles, consumption and education. She holds a Ph.D in social sciences, focusing on sustainable development policies and governance at the international level. Dr. Pierre's presentation will focus on education for sustainable lifestyles, with a focus on the UNEP/UNESCO YouthXchange programme - updates and forthcoming developments

Mr. Takemoto was appointed as the Senior Advisor to the Japanese Minister for International Cooperation in August 2010. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) and a Policy Advisor for Global Change Research at the University of Tokyo IR3S. Prior to these appointments, he was the Vice-Minister for Global Environment Affairs and developed policies on international environmental cooperation and global environment, in particular, climate change. He also served as the Director-General of the Environmental Management Bureau (2005-08), responsible for air and water quality management and enhancement of the environmental co-benefits. Mr. Takemoto served in the OECD/EPOC as Vice Chair (2004-07) and the Special Assistant to the President of the UNFCCC COP3 (1997). He has a Master of International Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins University SAIS (1992) and a Bachelor of Engineering in Environmental Planning from the University of Tokyo (1974).

Dr. Zinaida Fadeeva is a Research Fellow at the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS). Her main responsibilities include undertaking research projects and organizing activities within the framework of the Education for Sustainable Development Programme. Her research interests relate to the topics of inter-organizational learning and partnerships development, assessment of higher education, and sustainable production and consumption systems, among others. She also coordinates and teaches sustainability-related courses at several universities in the Asia-Pacific region and leadership programmes for the private and public sectors. Before joining UNU-IAS, she worked with research and non-governmental organizations in Europe and the former Soviet Union countries, dealing with questions of industry and the environment, nature protection, ecosystem management, human rights and governance.

Mark Richmond is the Director of the Division of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development in UNESCO's Education Sector; he is also the UNESCO Global Coordinator for HIV & AIDS.

Stephanie Hodge is a Programme Specialist responsible for Cross-Sector Coordination in UNICEF's Education Division. Prior to this, she held positions providing multi-sectoral support to UN agencies and programmes. Stephanie began her UN career as a JPO-UNDP in Indonesia (Education) in 1994. Thereafter, she joined UNDP headquarters in NYC as Knowledge Network Facilitator responsible for developing the global knowledge management strategy and initiating the first ever Global Environment and Energy Practice Knowledge Network. She reoriented her professional interests from education to the environmental side of sustainable development and has consistently advocated for inter-sectoral planning as a pathway to sustainable development. In 2004, Stephanie was an independent consultant leading several strategic UN programme evaluations on issues ranging from disaster risk reduction, agricultural technology and development, quality education, environment and emergency preparedness /post-conflict recovery. She was employed in Southern Sudan and Bosnia as an advisor on Disaster Risk Reduction; in Bangladesh, Mongolia and Vanuatu, she developed DRR national platforms and action plans; in Mongolia and Vanuatu, she directed the development of the National Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and through the process defined, implemented and promoted a new framework to support fragile communities in management of hazards and disasters. As an Institutional Development specialist (Public Administration - Harvard 2006), Stephanie reviewed the performance of the UNESCAP's regional institution for Agricultural technology -UNAPCAEM and supported UNEP to develop a new strategy for Environmental Education (2008-2011). Concurrently, she conducted evaluations of several Global Environmental Facility projects in Southern Africa, Latvia and Albania. Stephanie supported the Papua New Guinea Department of Education develop its Universal Basic Education Plan 2010-2015 in September 2009. Prior to her work with UN agencies, Stephanie spent three years as a volunteer teacher in Botswana and South Africa (1990-1993). She holds a Bachelor of Education and Geography degree, MUN, Newfoundland, (1987), Environmental Leadership Studies, Berkeley University of California (2002), Master's Degree in International Comparative and Basic Education, University of East Anglia (1997) and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from Harvard University with a focus on environmental studies (2006). Stephanie is the author, co-author and editor of several relevant publications, including the case study "Researching comparative educational practices in Botswana and Canada-Rights of Children to Cultural Education," and "Disappearing Lake Chad and Institutional Incumbency".

Suchitra Sugar is working in the UNICEF Education Section as a consultant on issues of climate change, disaster risk reduction and environmental education. Her primary focus has been on supporting the mainstreaming of climate change and disaster risk reduction in education to promote child rights and equity. She has also fostered the creation of a learning community around this work through which she has provided resources and guidance to UNICEF country offices. Prior to working at the UN she worked with the Natural Resources Group and the Urban Park Rangers of the New York City Parks Department. She completed her Masters work on Forest Ecology in the Natural Resources Department of Cornell University.

Jean-Marc Coicaud is the Director of the United Nations University (UNU) Office at the United Nations Headquarters (New York). He was Senior Academic Officer and Director of Studies at the UNU Headquarters (Tokyo) from 1996 to 2003. From 1992 to 1996, he served in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General as a speechwriter for Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. A former fellow at Harvard University (Center for International Affairs, Department of Philosophy and Harvard Law School, from 1986 to 1992), Coicaud has held appointments such as Cultural Attaché with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Legislative Aide with the European Parliament (Financial Committee). He has also been a Visiting Professor at the École Normale Supérieure-Ulm in Paris and has taught at the New School for Social Research (New York). In addition, he has been a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (Washington, D.C.), a Global Research Fellow at New York University School of Law and a Visiting Scholar at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University (Beijing). Coicaud holds a Ph.D. in Political Science-Law from the Sorbonne and a Doctorat d'État in philosophy from the Institut d'Études Politiques of Paris. Jean-Marc Coicaud has published 14 books in the fields of comparative politics, political and legal theory, international relations and international law. They are available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic, and include the following single-authored books: L'introuvable démocratie autoritaire (L'Harmattan, 1996), Légitimité et Politique (Presses Universitaires de France, 1997), Politics and Legitimacy: A Contribution to the Study of Political Right and Political Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2002), Beyond the National Interest (United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), Kokuren no Genkai/Kokuren no Mirai (Future of the UN/Limits of the UN - Fujiwara Shoten, 2007), Mai Xiang Guo Ji Fa Zhi (Towards the International Rule of Law - Sanlian Shudian, 2008). His latest book, co-edited with Hilary Charlesworth, is Fault Lines of International Legitimacy (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/csd/csd_csd19.shtml

Contact Person: Zinaida Fadeeva, UNU-IAS, 

rceservicecentre@ias.unu.edu

UNU Contact Person: Portia Gama, UNU-ONY, 

gama@unu.edu

More information::

• Here and Now! Education for Sustainable Consumption http://www.unep.fr/scp/marrakech/taskforces/pdf/H&NMay2010.pdf, UNEP & Italian Task Force on Education for Sustainable Consumption
• Visions for Change. Recommendations for Effective Policies on Sustainable Lifestyles http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx1321xPA-VisionsForChange%20report.pdf, UNEP & Task Force on Sustainable Lifestyles, 2011
• Report of the International Task Force on Sustainable Lifestyles http://www.unep.fr/scp/marrakech/taskforces/pdf/SLT%20Report.pdf, Swedish Ministry of the Environment, UNEP, 2010, available in English, French, Spanish and Chinese

***

This seminar will show how changes in price structure and sustainable infrastructure can lead to poverty reduction in a green economy. The speaker argues that the transition towards a low carbon green growth cannot be realized without a fundamental restructuring of the price structure, by internalizing ecological prices through environmental taxes and environmental fiscal reform. The two core features of environmental fiscal reforms, revenue neutrality and double dividend, are powerful tools for changing the price structure while stimulating economic growth. 

In terms of sustainable infrastructure, the speaker makes a case for developing countries to promote sustainable infrastructure through urban planning and design, green buildings and making the switch from private transportation to public transportation modes so that they are not locked into unsustainable consumption and production patterns. 

The seminar is part of the UNU Midday Forum Series, which offers an intimate and informal platform of discussion for the UN permanent missions, the UN Secretariat, UN agencies, academia, NGOs and the private sector to exchange ideas on important topics related to the UN. 

Speaker:

• Rae Kwon Chung, Director, Environment and Development Division, UNESCAP, Bangkok, Thailand

Moderator:

• Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York.

Speakers' Profiles:

How is legitimacy defined? To what ends can international organizations use their legitimacy to carry out their functions and duties? How does legitimacy translate into an organization's recognition by its peers and the people it serves?

Legitimation can come in many ways, including through the process of deliberation, from following correct procedures, and by achieving substantive results. Each of these has different implications for the work of the United Nations. The seminar examines ideas about how legitimacy can be made, how it can be used, and how it can also be lost in the context of the United Nations and its operations.

This is the introductory seminar in the new UNU Legitimacy Series, which provides a platform for critical discussions with academics and public intellectuals about issues of legitimacy as they arise in various aspects of the work of the United Nations.

Chairs:

• Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York.
• Ian Hurd, Associate Professor at Northwestern University and visiting fellow at the Niehaus Center on Globalization and Governance at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

Presentations by:

• Ian Hurd, Associate Professor at Northwestern University and visiting fellow at the Niehaus Center on Globalization and Governance at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
• Tom Tyler, Professor of Psychology and Law, New York University

Speakers' Profiles:

Tom R. Tyler is a Professor at New York University. He teaches in the Psychology Department and the Law school. His research explores the dynamics of authority in groups, organizations, and societies. In particular, he examines the role of judgments about the justice or injustice of group procedures in shaping legitimacy, compliance and cooperation. He is the author of several books, including The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice (1988); Social Justice in a Diverse Society (1997); Cooperation in Groups (2000); Trust in the Law (2002); and Why People Obey the Law (2006).

Jean-Marc Coicaud is the Director of the United Nations University (UNU) Office at the United Nations Headquarters (New York). He was Senior Academic Officer and Director of Studies at the UNU Headquarters (Tokyo) from 1996 to 2003. From 1992 to 1996, he served in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General as a speechwriter for Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. A former fellow at Harvard University (Center for International Affairs, Department of Philosophy and Harvard Law School, from 1986 to 1992), Coicaud has held appointments such as Cultural Attaché with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Legislative Aide with the European Parliament (Financial Committee). He has also been a Visiting Professor at the École Normale Supérieure-Ulm in Paris and has taught at the New School for Social Research (New York). In addition, he has been a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (Washington, D.C.), a Global Research Fellow at New York University School of Law and a Visiting Scholar at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University (Beijing). Coicaud holds a Ph.D. in Political Science-Law from the Sorbonne and a Doctorat d'État in philosophy from the Institut d'Études Politiques of Paris. Jean-Marc Coicaud has published 14 books in the fields of comparative politics, political and legal theory, international relations and international law. They are available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic, and include the following single-authored books: L'introuvable démocratie autoritaire (L'Harmattan, 1996), Légitimité et Politique (Presses Universitaires de France, 1997), Politics and Legitimacy: A Contribution to the Study of Political Right and Political Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2002), Beyond the National Interest (United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), Kokuren no Genkai/Kokuren no Mirai (Future of the UN/Limits of the UN - Fujiwara Shoten, 2007), Mai Xiang Guo Ji Fa Zhi (Towards the International Rule of Law - Sanlian Shudian, 2008). His latest book, co-edited with Hilary Charlesworth, is Fault Lines of International Legitimacy (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

The relationship between the United Nations and its partners in the private sector and civil society involves accommodating diverse parties with competing values and priorities, and potentially contradictory notions of legitimacy. This session examines the challenges of legitimacy, focusing on key questions of the processes and politics of accountability, from the perspective of the UN's relations with various non-state actors. These include, but are not limited to, local groups that interact with UN field operations, partner groups that provide funding or operational expertise, activist NGOs that seek to influence the UN, and countless other groups and individuals with a stake in UN operations.

The seminar is part of the UNU Legitimacy Series, which provides a platform for critical discussions with academics and public intellectuals about issues of legitimacy as they arise in various aspects of the work of the United Nations.

***

Chairs:

• Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York.
• Ian Hurd, Associate Professor at Northwestern University and visiting fellow at the Niehaus Center on Globalization
  and Governance at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International
  Affairs, Princeton University

Speakers:

• Valerie Sperling, Associate Professor of Political Science, Clark University
• Roland Rich, Executive Head, United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF); Officer-in-Charge, United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP)
  

Speakers' Profiles:

Valerie Sperling is Associate Professor of Political Science at Clark University (Worcester, MA).  She is the author of Altered States: The Globalization of Accountability (Cambridge University Press, 2009), and Organizing Women in Contemporary Russia (Cambridge University Press, 1999), and the editor of Building the Russian State (Westview, 2000).  Her research on the Russian women's movement, as well as militarism and patriotism in Russia, has been published in various journals and edited volumes.  At Clark, Sperling teaches courses on globalization and democracy, revolutions and political violence, mass killing and genocide under communism, Russian politics, and gender politics.

Roland Rich is Executive Head of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), a United Nations General Trust Fund, which supports democratization around the world, focusing on projects that strengthen the voice of civil society, promote human rights, and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes. He is concurrently Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP), a gateway for corporate and philanthropic partnership opportunities with the UN family. Prior to UNDEF, Mr. Rich was at the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies of the Australian Defence College, teaching and mentoring colonel-level officers. In 2005, Mr. Rich was a research Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington DC. Between 1998 and 2005, Mr. Rich was the Director of the Centre for Democratic Institutions at the Australian National University, Australia's democracy promotion institute for the Asia-Pacific region. Mr. Rich joined the Australian foreign service in 1975 and had postings in Paris, Rangoon, Manila and, from 1994-1997, as Australian Ambassador to Laos. He has also served as Legal Advisor and Assistant Secretary for International Organisations in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Mr. Rich holds a Ph.D from the Australian National University and a law degree from the University of Sydney. He has contributed to The Journal of Democracy, Agenda - A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Global Governance, and The Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies. In 2004, together with Edward Newman, he edited The UN Role in Promoting Democracy, examining areas of comparative advantage the UN had in this field. His most recent book is Pacific Asia in Quest of Democracy (2007), which surveys the current state of democratic consolidation among the countries along Asia's Pacific Rim.

Ian Hurd is Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and a visiting fellow at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. He has written widely on international organizations and international law, including the books International Organizations: Politics, Law, Practice (2011) and After Anarchy: Legitimacy and Power in the UN Security Council (2007) which won prizes from the International Studies Association and the Policy Sciences Society. His articles and essays have appeared in International Organization, Foreign Affairs, Global Governance and other journals. His current research is on the interaction between international law and international politics, with a focus on laws on war, torture, and humanitarian intervention.

Jean-Marc Coicaud is the Director of the United Nations University (UNU) Office at the United Nations Headquarters (New York). He was Senior Academic Officer and Director of Studies at the UNU Headquarters (Tokyo) from 1996 to 2003. From 1992 to 1996, he served in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General as a speechwriter for Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. A former fellow at Harvard University (Center for International Affairs, Department of Philosophy and Harvard Law School, from 1986 to 1992), Coicaud has held appointments such as Cultural Attaché with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Legislative Aide with the European Parliament (Financial Committee). He has also been a Visiting Professor at the École Normale Supérieure-Ulm in Paris and has taught at the New School for Social Research (New York). In addition, he has been a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (Washington, D.C.), a Global Research Fellow at New York University School of Law and a Visiting Scholar at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University (Beijing). Coicaud holds a Ph.D. in Political Science-Law from the Sorbonne and a Doctorat d'État in philosophy from the Institut d'Études Politiques of Paris. Jean-Marc Coicaud has published 14 books in the fields of comparative politics, political and legal theory, international relations and international law. They are available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic, and include the following single-authored books: L'introuvable démocratie autoritaire (L'Harmattan, 1996), Légitimité et Politique (Presses Universitaires de France, 1997), Politics and Legitimacy: A Contribution to the Study of Political Right and Political Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2002), Beyond the National Interest (United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), Kokuren no Genkai/Kokuren no Mirai (Future of the UN/Limits of the UN - Fujiwara Shoten, 2007), Mai Xiang Guo Ji Fa Zhi (Towards the International Rule of Law - Sanlian Shudian, 2008). His latest book, co-edited with Hilary Charlesworth, is Fault Lines of International Legitimacy (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

Mr. Ripoll will talk about the EU's relationship with the UN, the relationship between Europe and emerging countries and the role of values in these entities. Mr. Ripoll will also examine what the financial crisis and the jasmine revolution have meant for Europe's emergence as an actor and the challenge for Europeans to either be a more cohesive society or one that is more dual America.


Speaker:

• Antoine Ripoll, Chef de Cabinet du President, European Parliament

Moderator:

• Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York.

Speakers' Profiles:

Antoine Ripoll has devoted his career so far to the European construction. After the OECD, he moved to Brussels where he held various positions at the European Commission, and at the European Parliament, the rising body since the Lisbon Treaty. He is currently the Chief of Staff of Joseph Daul, EPP (European People's Party) Group Chairman in the European Parliament, and the Deputy Secretary-General of the EPP, the most important and influential in Brussels. Mr. Ripoll was Special Advisor in charge of the Eastern and Central European Countries' accession to the EU; the European Parliament Administrator in charge of Environment/Public Health Committee and later on, the Civil Liberties Committee. He was also in the Press Service and Strategy Unit. Mr. Ripoll speaks French, English and Italian.

Jean-Marc Coicaud is the Director of the United Nations University (UNU) Office at the United Nations Headquarters (New York). He was Senior Academic Officer and Director of Studies at the UNU Headquarters (Tokyo) from 1996 to 2003. From 1992 to 1996, he served in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General as a speechwriter for Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. A former fellow at Harvard University (Center for International Affairs, Department of Philosophy and Harvard Law School, from 1986 to 1992), Coicaud has held appointments such as Cultural Attaché with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Legislative Aide with the European Parliament (Financial Committee). He has also been a Visiting Professor at the École Normale Supérieure-Ulm in Paris and has taught at the New School for Social Research (New York). In addition, he has been a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (Washington, D.C.), a Global Research Fellow at New York University School of Law and a Visiting Scholar at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University (Beijing). Coicaud holds a Ph.D. in Political Science-Law from the Sorbonne and a Doctorat d'État in philosophy from the Institut d'Études Politiques of Paris. Jean-Marc Coicaud has published 14 books in the fields of comparative politics, political and legal theory, international relations and international law. They are available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic, and include the following single-authored books: L'introuvable démocratie autoritaire (L'Harmattan, 1996), Légitimité et Politique (Presses Universitaires de France, 1997), Politics and Legitimacy: A Contribution to the Study of Political Right and Political Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2002), Beyond the National Interest (United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), Kokuren no Genkai/Kokuren no Mirai (Future of the UN/Limits of the UN - Fujiwara Shoten, 2007), Mai Xiang Guo Ji Fa Zhi (Towards the International Rule of Law - Sanlian Shudian, 2008). His latest book, co-edited with Hilary Charlesworth, is Fault Lines of International Legitimacy (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

Background Reading:

Stopping the Drift: Recalibrating the Transatlantic Relationship for a Multipolar Age
Center for European Studies
http://www.thinkingeurope.eu/content.php?hmID=20&smID=34&ssmID=207

The European Union and the United States: Global partners, global responsibilities
European Commission
http://www.eurunion.org/partner/euusrelations/EUUSGlobParts.pdf

Changes in international politics since 1945 have forced the United Nations Security Council to adapt its operations, structure and procedures, trying to maintain its legitimacy in the eyes of Member States, while remaining loyal to the UN Charter. Does the Security Council need to reform to ensure its legitimacy, and what effect would reforms have on its status and influence? This panel considers issues of membership reform, Charter amendment, and changes in working methods as they contribute to and detract from the Council's legitimacy.

The seminar is part of the UNU Legitimacy Series, which provides a platform for critical discussions with academics and public intellectuals about issues of legitimacy as they arise in various aspects of the work of the United Nations.

Chairs:

• Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York.
• Ian Hurd, Associate Professor at Northwestern University and visiting fellow at the Niehaus Center on Globalization and Governance at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

Speakers:

• Thomas Christiano, Professor of Philosophy and Law, University of Arizona
• Sam Daws, Director, Project on UN Governance and Reform, Centre for International Studies, Oxford University

Thomas Christiano is a Professor of Philosophy and Law at the University of Arizona and Co-Director of the Rogers Program in Law and Society at the University of Arizona. He is an editor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics, as well as the author of The Constitution of Equality: Democratic Authority and Its Limits (2008) and The Rule of the Many (1996). Professor Christiano has published many papers, mainly in moral and political philosophy, with emphases on democratic theory, distributive justice, and global justice. He is now engaged in projects on the foundations of equality as a principle of distributive justice and on the basis of international justice, the legitimacy of international institutions, and human rights. He is currently a Laurence S. Rockefeller Visiting Fellow at the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University where he is working on a project about democracy principles and the legitimacy of international institutions. 

Sam Daws directs a project on UN Governance and Reform at the Centre for International Studies of the University of Oxford. He is concurrently the managing director of 3D Strategy, a strategic communications company which provides advisory services to governments, international organizations and foundations. He also serves as the United Nations Foundation's Representative in the UK. He was previously Executive Director of the United Nations Association of the UK, and prior to that served as First Officer in the Executive Office of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York. He has served as a senior advisor on UN issues for nearly 25 years, based in New York, Geneva, Calcutta, and London. Sam has co-authored or edited six books on the United Nations, including "The Oxford Handbook on the UN" and "The Procedure of the UN Security Council". He is currently completing a third book for Oxford University Press, on the reform of the UN Security Council. He was a visiting fellow at Yale and Cambridge Universities, and has lectured at the UNU in Tokyo, the LSE, and Oxford University. Sam is an alumnus of the Prime Minister's Top Management Programme of the UK National School of Government, and of London Business School, CASS Business School and the UNU International Leadership Academy in Amman. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Academic Council on the UN System.

Ian Hurd is Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and a visiting fellow at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. He has written widely on international organizations and international law, including the books International Organizations: Politics, Law, Practice (2011) and After Anarchy: Legitimacy and Power in the UN Security Council (2007) which won prizes from the International Studies Association and the Policy Sciences Society. His articles and essays have appeared in International Organization, Foreign Affairs, Global Governance and other journals. His current research is on the interaction between international law and international politics, with a focus on laws on war, torture, and humanitarian intervention.

Jean-Marc Coicaud is the Director of the United Nations University (UNU) Office at the United Nations Headquarters (New York). He was Senior Academic Officer and Director of Studies at the UNU Headquarters (Tokyo) from 1996 to 2003. From 1992 to 1996, he served in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General as a speechwriter for Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. A former fellow at Harvard University (Center for International Affairs, Department of Philosophy and Harvard Law School, from 1986 to 1992), Coicaud has held appointments such as Cultural Attaché with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Legislative Aide with the European Parliament (Financial Committee). He has also been a Visiting Professor at the École Normale Supérieure-Ulm in Paris and has taught at the New School for Social Research (New York). In addition, he has been a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (Washington, D.C.), a Global Research Fellow at New York University School of Law and a Visiting Scholar at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University (Beijing). Coicaud holds a Ph.D. in Political Science-Law from the Sorbonne and a Doctorat d'État in philosophy from the Institut d'Études Politiques of Paris. Jean-Marc Coicaud has published 14 books in the fields of comparative politics, political and legal theory, international relations and international law. They are available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic, and include the following single-authored books: L'introuvable démocratie autoritaire (L'Harmattan, 1996), Légitimité et Politique (Presses Universitaires de France, 1997), Politics and Legitimacy: A Contribution to the Study of Political Right and Political Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2002), Beyond the National Interest (United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), Kokuren no Genkai/Kokuren no Mirai (Future of the UN/Limits of the UN - Fujiwara Shoten, 2007), Mai Xiang Guo Ji Fa Zhi (Towards the International Rule of Law - Sanlian Shudian, 2008). His latest book, co-edited with Hilary Charlesworth, is Fault Lines of International Legitimacy (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

The seminar will focus on assessing the meaning of the institution and functioning of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the evolution of the system of international relations in aspects of humanitarian law, human rights, conflict prevention and globalization.

The speaker will also address some objections to the ICC, including perceptions of it as a threat to sovereignty and its vulnerability to political manipulation. Issues of justice versus reconciliation and the prosecution of acts of terrorism in the ICC will also be touched upon.

The seminar is part of the UNU Midday Forum Series, which offers an intimate and informal platform of discussion for the UN permanent missions, the UN Secretariat, UN agencies, academia, NGOs and the private sector to exchange ideas on important topics related to the UN.

Speaker:

• Ambassador Robert Toscano, Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Speaker Profiles:

Ambassador Roberto Toscano is presently Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in Washington DC. He was an Italian diplomat from 1969 to 2010, serving in Chile, the Soviet Union, the United States, UN/Geneva and, as Ambassador, in Iran (2003-2008) and India (2008-2010). In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs he was Head of Policy Planning for seven years. He has an Italian Law degree and an M.A. in International Relations from the School of Advanced International  Studies - SAIS of the Johns Hopkins University, Washington, where he was a Fulbright Fellow.  In 1987-88 he was a Fellow at the Center for International Affairs of Harvard University. He is the author of a number of books and articles (in particular on human rights, conflict prevention, ethics and international relations) published in Italy, the US, France, Spain and India. He speaks English, French, Spanish and Russian.

Operations in defense of international peace and security are highly prominent representations of the United Nations in the world, prompting frequent questions about the legitimacy of their presence. Do UN peace and security operations reinforce or undermine the legitimacy of the organization as a whole? This session considers the connections between legitimacy and peace operations in practice, and examines the challenges and opportunities presented by these missions.

The seminar is part of the UNU Legitimacy Series, which provides a platform for critical discussions with academics and public intellectuals about issues of legitimacy as they arise in various aspects of the work of the United Nations.

Chairs:

• Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York.
• Ian Hurd, Associate Professor at Northwestern University and visiting fellow at the Niehaus Center on Globalization and Governance at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

Speakers:

• Roland Paris, University Research Chair in International Security and Governance, University of Ottawa
• Leanne Smith, Deputy Chief, Peacekeeping Best Practices Section Policy, Evaluation and Training Division

Speakers' Profiles:

Roland Paris is the University Research Chair in International Security and Governance at the University of Ottawa, founding Director of the Centre for International Policy Studies, and Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. His research interests are in the fields of international security, international governance and foreign policy. Before joining the University of Ottawa in 2006, he was Director of Research at the Conference Board of Canada, the country's largest think tank; foreign policy advisor in the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Privy Council Office of the Canadian government; Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado-Boulder; and Visiting Researcher at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. He has won two awards for public service and four awards for teaching. Paris' writings have appeared in leading academic journals including International Security and International Studies Quarterly. His book At War's End: Building Peace After Civil Conflict (Cambridge Univ. Press 2004) won the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving Global Order and the International Studies Association's prize for best book on multilateralism. He has co-edited two other volumes on peace-building and is co-editor of the Security & Governance book series at Routledge. From 2006 to 2010 he co-directed the Sustainable Peace-building Network, a collaborative research project involving more than two dozen scholars around the world, funded in part by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Paris is a fellow of the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute, and a member of the board of directors of the World University Service of Canada. He holds a Ph.D. from Yale University, an M.Phil. from Cambridge University, and a B.A. from the University of Toronto.

Leanne Smith is Deputy Chief of the United Nations Peacekeeping Best Practices Section, and former Deputy Chief of the Peacekeeping Situation Centre at the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations. She has been practicing law, diplomacy and public policy across a variety of fields including the Australian judicial system, the NGO sector, regional human rights organisations, the Australian Foreign Service and the UN, in Southeast Asia, the Balkans, Afghanistan and Sudan. Leanne began her legal career as a clerk to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. Her interest in international human rights law led her to volunteer for several human rights NGOs in Indonesia. She worked for the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) on anti-discrimination and indigenous issues and for the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions. Leanne served with the Australian Foreign Service from 1999 - 2007 where she worked on both policy and legal issues including: disarmament; human rights and refugee law; Pakistan/Afghanistan relations; the law of treaties, law of the sea and corporate planning. She spent three years (2001-2004) as the Australian Second Secretary in Belgrade accredited to the  FRY (Serbia and Montenegro), Kosovo, Macedonia and Romania. From 2005-2007 Leanne was seconded from the Australian Foreign Service to the UN in Afghanistan where she worked first as a human rights field officer for UNAMA and then for OHCHR and UNDP as an international technical adviser to the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In her recent position with the NGO Independent Diplomat, she has also advised marginalised states and political groups, such as the Government of South Sudan, on diplomatic strategy. Leanne is a Masters in Public Policy Graduate of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University where she was also a Religion, Diplomacy and International Relations Fellow and Law and Public Policy Fellow. She graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Arts (Asian Studies) and a Law Degree with Honours.


Ian Hurd is Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and a visiting fellow at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. He has written widely on international organizations and international law, including the books International Organizations: Politics, Law, Practice (2011) and After Anarchy: Legitimacy and Power in the UN Security Council (2007) which won prizes from the International Studies Association and the Policy Sciences Society. His articles and essays have appeared in International Organization, Foreign Affairs, Global Governance and other journals. His current research is on the interaction between international law and international politics, with a focus on laws on war, torture, and humanitarian intervention.

This seminar will consider the legitimacy of the UN in the development field by addressing the following questions: What is its legitimacy compared to the Bretton Woods institutions? Is the development model promoted by the UN more legitimate than the one promoted by the BW institutions or the private sector? What is the legitimacy of the UN in the field of development compared the G8 and G20? There will also be discussions on whether the 2008 financial crisis gave more or less legitimacy to the UN development paradigm.

The seminar is part of the UNU Legitimacy Series, which provides a platform for critical discussions with academics and public intellectuals about issues of legitimacy as they arise in various aspects of the work of the United Nations.

Chairs:

• Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York.
• Ian Hurd, Associate Professor at Northwestern University and visiting fellow at the Niehaus Center on Globalization and Governance at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

Speakers:

• Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
  
• other speakers to be confirmed
  

Speaker Profiles:

Jomo Kwame Sundaram (Jomo K. S.) has been Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in the United Nations' Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) since January 2005, and (Honorary) Research Coordinator for the G24 Intergovernmental Group on International Monetary Affairs and Development since December 2006. In 2007, he was awarded the Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. Jomo has authored over 35 monographs, edited over 50 books and translated 12 volumes besides writing many academic papers and articles for the media. Jomo was Professor in the Applied Economics Department, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya until November 2004, Founder Director (1978-2004) of the Institute of Social Analysis (INSAN) and Founder Chair (2001-2004) of IDEAs, International Development Economics Associates (www.ideaswebsite.org) where he now serves on the Advisory Panel. He was also on the Board of the United Nations Research Institute on Social Development (UNRISD), Geneva (2002-4). He is on the editorial boards of several learned journals. During 2008-2009, he served as a member of the [Stiglitz] Commission of Experts of the President of the United Nations General Assembly on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System.


Ian Hurd is Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and a visiting fellow at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. He has written widely on international organizations and international law, including the books International Organizations: Politics, Law, Practice (2011) and After Anarchy: Legitimacy and Power in the UN Security Council (2007) which won prizes from the International Studies Association and the Policy Sciences Society. His articles and essays have appeared in International Organization, Foreign Affairs, Global Governance and other journals. His current research is on the interaction between international law and international politics, with a focus on laws on war, torture, and humanitarian intervention.

In 1983, the United Nations convened the Brundtland Commission to address the serious deterioration of the environment and natural resources. 28 years later, multiple conferences and several international agreements on, what has the international community been able to achieve and what are the issues today? The UN Secretary-General's High Level Panel on Global Sustainability, made up of renowned world figures, has been tasked with formulating a new vision for sustainable growth and prosperity, along with mechanisms for achieving it.  Their final report is due at the end of 2011 and this seminar will look at some of the issues that have arisen from their work up to now.

The seminar is part of the UNU Midday Forum Series, which offers an intimate and informal platform of discussion to the UN permanent missions, the UN Secretariat, UN agencies, academia, NGOs and the private sector to exchange ideas on important topics related to the UN.


Speaker:

• Janos Pasztor, Executive Secretary, Secretary-General's High Level Panel on Global Sustainability
  

Moderator:

• Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York.

Speakers' Profiles:

Janos Pasztor is currently the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Secretary-General's High-level Panel on Global Sustainability. Since April 2008, he has also directed the UN Secretary-General's Climate Change Support Team. A national of Hungary (and later also of Switzerland), he received his MS and BS degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). During the last 25 years, he has worked for various United Nations as well as non-governmental organizations on issues of energy and environment, and over time increasingly on climate change. His assignments have included work with the World Council of Churches (WCC), the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), and the secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, or the Earth Summit '92).  During the period of 1993-2006, he worked at the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in various positions. Before joining the office of the UN Secretary-General in New York in 2008, he was director of the UN Environment Management Group (EMG) in Geneva.

Jean-Marc Coicaud is the Director of the United Nations University (UNU) Office at the United Nations Headquarters (New York). He was Senior Academic Officer and Director of Studies at the UNU Headquarters (Tokyo) from 1996 to 2003. From 1992 to 1996, he served in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General as a speechwriter for Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. A former fellow at Harvard University (Center for International Affairs, Department of Philosophy and Harvard Law School, from 1986 to 1992), Coicaud has held appointments such as Cultural Attaché with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Legislative Aide with the European Parliament (Financial Committee). He has also been a Visiting Professor at the École Normale Supérieure-Ulm in Paris and has taught at the New School for Social Research (New York). In addition, he has been a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (Washington, D.C.), a Global Research Fellow at New York University School of Law and a Visiting Scholar at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University (Beijing). Coicaud holds a Ph.D. in Political Science-Law from the Sorbonne and a Doctorat d'État in philosophy from the Institut d'Études Politiques of Paris. Jean-Marc Coicaud has published 14 books in the fields of comparative politics, political and legal theory, international relations and international law. They are available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic, and include the following single-authored books: L'introuvable démocratie autoritaire (L'Harmattan, 1996), Légitimité et Politique (Presses Universitaires de France, 1997), Politics and Legitimacy: A Contribution to the Study of Political Right and Political Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2002), Beyond the National Interest (United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), Kokuren no Genkai/Kokuren no Mirai (Future of the UN/Limits of the UN - Fujiwara Shoten, 2007), Mai Xiang Guo Ji Fa Zhi (Towards the International Rule of Law - Sanlian Shudian, 2008). His latest book, co-edited with Hilary Charlesworth, is Fault Lines of International Legitimacy (Cambridge University Press, 2009).