You can access (1) the latest provisional program from here and (2) the latest administrative and logistics information (as of 10/JUL/2018) from here. If you are interested in participating, please contact ACUNS Tokyo Deputy Director, Associate Professor Ai Kihara-Hunt. Her e-mail address is kiharahunt[*]yahoo.com (Please change [*] to @ when sending an email).
Ambassador Simona LESKOVAR of Slovenia and Counselor Nuno Alvares Moniz Marques ALVES of Timor-Leste will present challenges faced by their countries. (26/05/2018)
Slovenia became an independent country on June 25, 1991, and currently it is considered the most advanced among nation states born out of the former Yugoslavia but it still faces many challenges. Timor-Leste regained its sovereignty in 2005 and adopted its democratic form of governance but its democratic institutions remain fragile. The counselor will explain the outcome of May 12 national assembly elections.
António Guterres proposes a 50 percent increase in regular posts in the Peacebuilding Support Office at a Security Council`s High-level Briefing session on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace (25/04/2018)
António Guterres also calls for strong partnerships beyond the United Nations and a broad and inclusive approach with international financial institutions including the World Bank, and other multilateral donors, the business community, civil society and local actors.
Ms. Shoko Noda-Tackling Climate Change as a Representative of the UN System in the Maldives (22/04/2018)
Ms. Shoko Noda, UN Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative for UNDP in the Maldives has been featured on the “People” column of Asahi Newspaper. In the article, Ms. Noda talks about how she became interested to work for the UN as well as introducing her current work in the Maldives. You can read her article (in Japanese) here.
Delegates from China, Korea and Mongolia meet with Japanese political leaders and government officials as well as Japanese experts and scholars on UN peace operations (19-20/04/2018)
In their discussion of protection of civilians (POC) issues, East Asian groups examined the Kigali Principle and Cruz Report, and recommended that four countries should strengthen the coordination of their pre-deployment and on-site POC activities while noting progress made by the annual Khan Quest operations exercise in Mongolia.
Ms. Shoko Noda- Series: “Thinking about Sustainability Issues in the Maldives” (19/04/2018)
Ms. Kaoru Nemoto, United Nations Information Centre Director, visited the Maldives from 10 to 16 March 2018, observing the frontlines of climate change adaptation and mitigation. She also met with the Resident Coordinator, Ms. Shoko Noda, and reported on the impacts of climate change to the people of the Maldives, including unpredictable weather patterns and rising sea levels. Ms. Nemoto’s reports on Huffpost Japan (in Japanese) can be read from here.
The Liberal Democratic Party Foreign Affairs Research Committee and the World Federation Japan National Diet Committee briefed about the current UN reform efforts. (11-12/04/2018)
At the request of Mr. Seishiro ETO, Chairman of both Committees, the President of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan explained the development of UN reform efforts carried out by Secretaries-General of the United Nations, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-moon and António Guterres.
[Obituary] Katsuhide Kitatani (1931-2018) (09/04/2018)
Mr. Kitatani passed away at 6:00 a.m. April 6, 2018 in Tokyo with his wife, Akiko, at his side. The funeral took place at the Minato Citizens’ Funeral Hall “Yasuragi Kaikan” in Minami Aoyama, Tokyo, at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, April 9. Mr. Kitatani was 86 and 6 months old and was survived by Akiko, his wife of 56 years, his twin sons Jun and Ken, their wives Nicole and Nina (Mami) and Jun and Nicole’s two children, Noah and Laila.
Sukehiro HASEGAWA “United Nations Peacebuilding – What is needed to build a world without conflicts?” NOW ON SALE (23/03/2018)
The author who has stood on the front line of UN peace operations reflects the path travelled by Boutros-Ghali with his Agenda for Peace, Kofi Annan In Larger Freedom, Ban Ki-moon`s HIPPO panel and António Guterres` Conflict Prevention, and identifies what makes decisive difference in conflict resolution and prevention.
Former Japanese Ambassador and UN Under-Secretary-General Kenzo OSHIMA emphasizes the leadership of Secretary-General is indispensable. (17/03/2018)
Oshima found significant Secretary-General António Guterres` assessment that the UN suffered from “Fragmented structures, Byzantine procedures, Endless red tape.”