Panel Discussions - Thursday, June 03, 2010
NATO: “UN Cannot Achieve Everything on Its Own”
"Everybody realizes that even the UN, with its broad mandate, large experience, and unique position among international organizations, often cannot achieve everything on its own,” said General Stéphane Abrial, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), at an IPI roundtable discussion on June 3rd.
“This is not a new realization,” he added. “In many ways, the concept of regional arrangements or agencies foreseen by the UN Charter is an embodiment of this idea. However, since the end of the Cold War, this has become ever more relevant, as the challenges facing the international community have grown in scope, nature and complexity.”
In his remarks, General Abrial, who is of French nationality and the first European to be appointed permanently as head of a NATO strategic command, described the positive ongoing trend in UN-NATO relations, as well as an important history of engagement, from Bosnia, to Kosovo to the current cooperation in Afghanistan. He also commented on the role and relevant activities of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation (ACT), based in Norfolk, Virginia. One important dimension of the ACT is to help NATO develop relationships, interaction and practical cooperation with partners, nations and international organizations, such as the UN.
The roundtable discussion, conducted under the Chatham House Rule of nonattribution, further explored the topic of UN-NATO partnership in conflict-affected states, as well as the development of what NATO calls the “Comprehensive Approach.” The goal of the Comprehensive Approach, General Abrial explained, is to enhance the effectiveness of civilian-military cooperation in the field, as well as to develop a strong network of partnerships among the various organizations working to achieve peace and stability. In that respect, Abrial suggested expanding the UN-NATO partnership to take advantage of both organizations' lessons-learned databases, participate jointly in exercises and training, as well as use the ACT in Norfolk as a hub of interaction between the two organizations.
The discussion was chaired by Dr. Edward C. Luck, IPI Senior Vice President for Research and Programs, and was attended by members of the UN diplomatic community and senior UN staff.
General Abrial’s remarks
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A list of key upcoming meetings and events with implications for global affairs.
The Global Observatory is a new website by IPI, providing timely analysis on peace and security issues, interviews with leading policymakers, interactive maps, and more.
Recent Events
May 10, 2012
Arbour: What the Rule of Law Means
“In my understanding of the rule of law, fundamentally, what the rule of law means is that it embraces the principle of equality before the law,” Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group (ICG), told an IPI audience on May 10, 2012. Ms. Arbour outlined that this means that no one is above the law and everyone has both equal protection and equal benefit of the law. 
May 03, 2012
Shachtman: Cyber Threats Akin to South Bronx, Not Pearl Harbor
“There’s not a danger of a cyber Pearl Harbor… it’s more like the South Bronx circa 1999, where there’s a danger that it becomes such a tough neighborhood that no one wants to set up shop there and people move out,” Noah Shachtman, editor of the Danger Room blog at Wired magazine and non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, told an IPI audience at a panel on cyber security on May 3, 2011.
April 27, 2012
Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems
An April 27th roundtable discussion at IPI titled “Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems” examined the progress, prospects and challenges of regional and international early warning and response mechanisms to monitor, anticipate, and mitigate potential conflict situations in Africa.