Successful Partnership between UNITAR and the Gulf Cooperation Council in 2016

5 - 16 September 2016. Geneva, Switzerland - The partnership between UNITAR and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was successfully launched with a first component in July in Riyadh, and followed by two-weeks in September in Geneva. The main goal of the cooperation was to strengthen the knowledge and expertise of employees from the Gulf Cooperation Council and strengthen their skills to better understand and engage in multilateral decision-making processes.

The partnership between UNITAR and GCC for 2016 was structured in two training components. The first two-week component took place in Riyadh, capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in July 2016. The programme comprised both thematic as well as capacity-building skill-oriented sessions given by experts on the United Nations System, Human Rights Diplomacy, Peace and Security, Labour Law, Negotiation Skills and Intellectual property, linked to strategic interests of the GCC region.

Out of the 30 participants which attended the workshop in Riyadh, UNITAR then selected 10, whose contribution were the most outstanding, to attend the next component in Geneva. The two weeks spent in Geneva from 5 – 16 September 2016, were an opportunity to meet some of the people working in the International Geneva, not only from the United Nations but also from other key actors such as the ICRC, the Permanent Delegation of the League of Arab States and the Permanent Delegation of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. In addition to this, the participation in some sessions of the Human Right Council 33, and to fully grasp what the International Geneva really is about in a two-day workshop on Negotiation Drafting and Outcomes.

By the end of the components, the GCC participants were able to comprehend the United Nations System’s structure and organs, gain general knowledge on the structure and mandate of the WTO, ILO, and Human Rights’ bodies, gain knowledge in the field of peace and security and the relevance for the GCC and effectively operate in the Geneva’s multilateral working environment.

After the closure of the two-week study visit in Geneva, and the final ceremony for 2016, both His Excellency, Ambassador to the Permanent Delegation of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, Mr. Adel Essa Almahri, and UNITAR’s Executive Director, Nikhil Seth, mentioned the excellent outcome of this collaboration and the satisfaction of the participants and both parties to this partnership.

For more information about the customized training activities of UNITAR’s Multilateral Diplomacy Programme, please contact Philippe Aubert at philippe.aubert@unitar.org.

Photos: © UNITAR