Meeting Notes - January 20, 2010
From New York to the Field: A Dialogue on UN Peace Operations
Ellie Hearne, rapporteur
The relationship between UN member states and UN peace operations is a complex one that may be best addressed by enhancing the dialogue among concerned parties.
Only member states have the political, financial, and human resources needed to endow a UN mission with the components of success. Similarly, Special Representatives of the Secretary-General (SRSGs), the heads of UN missions, are unique in their ex officio ability to make or break a peace operation, and in that they may significantly enhance an operation’s credibility and effectiveness through measured judgment, strength of character, and on-the-ground acuity.
This meeting note reflects the conversations on this subject held during a day-long IPI conference entitled “Special Representatives of the Secretary-General and UN Member States: Towards an Interactive Dialogue.”
Attendees included a selection of SRSGs (current and former), permanent representatives of missions to the UN, representatives from the highest levels of the Secretariat, and keynote speaker UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The conference sought to foster closer ties and share lessons learned among those represented, with a view towards working better in concert.
The meeting was held under the Chatham House Rule and took place on June 19, 2009.
The Global Observatory
New Book by “Ground Zero” Imam: Moderation in the Face of Extremism
While promoting interfaith understanding, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf was attacked by extremists who used the issue to fan the flames of Islamophobia.
Key Global Events to Watch in May
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.
Contact Us
Adam Lupel | Publications
E-mail
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.