UNITAR
UNITAR

17 September 2019, New York, USA- United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) New York Office wrapped up a series of core diplomatic trainings for the United Arab Emirates Diplomatic Corps in preparation for the upcoming 74th General Assembly. The training took place at the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the UN, and lasted from 3rd -12th September, 2019.

To kick off the second week of training, Mr. Pelayo Alvarez, Programme Coordinator at UNITAR introduced Professor Ms. Alexandra Carter and her team from Columbia Law School. Professor Carter designed the module to be rigorous, intellectually engaging, and interactive for the delegates. Module 4 covered topics on multilateral negotiations and leadership. The full-day session included activities centered around the importance of listening, utilizing strong leadership skills, and the importance of understanding position versus interests. The UAE delegates enjoyed the hands-on activities, and concluded the day with a greater understanding of negotiation, mediation and multilateral conflict resolution skills.

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Module 5 included another session on negotiations, seeing as negotiation skills are a crucial skill for UN delegates. Delivered by Dr. Jimena Levia-Roesch, fellow at the International Peace Institute and Dr. Rebecca Webber Gaudiosi, former US Diplomat to the United Nations, the objective of Module 5 was to help delegates gain an understanding of the negotiation process in the diplomatic arena. This workshop gave participants the unique opportunity to practice and receive feedback in order to strengthen their negotiation and leadership skills. The workshop was centered around the handbook, “Negotiation at the United Nations: A Practitioner’s Guide.” This handbook explored the power and responsibility of each individual in forging successful multilateral outcomes.

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Module 6 shifted the emphasis from negotiations to voting practices, rules of procedures, and the right of reply. Mr. Larry Johnson, adjunct professor of law at Columbia Law School and the former Assistant Secretary-General in the Legal Affairs led the whole-day session, offered insight on his experience working at the UN to the UAE delegates. This workshop provided training on how to draft a UN Resolution, starting from the rules and terminology, to the process of underpinning its adoption. By the conclusion of this Module, UAE delegates had a better understanding of the structure of UN resolutions. Rules and practices relating to the adoption of resolutions and decisions were also covered during the session.

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UNITAR

Module 7, titled, “Diplomatic mediation, Conflict Resolution, and Communication,” emphasized the art of conversation. Dr. Guido Bertucci, from Governance Solutions International, aimed to increase competencies for both bi-lateral and multilateral negotiation skills for the delegates. Dr. Bertucci helped the delegates gain an increased awareness of principles, trends and challenges of conflict resolution, as well as a better understanding of the underlying causes of conflict. By the end of the module, the delegates engaged in a mock negotiation and had to come up with a final resolution on complicated international issues.

The training series ended with closing remarks delivered by UNITAR New York’s head of office, Mr. Marco Suazo. During the concluding speech, Mr. Suazo discussed his own experience as a career diplomat serving at the UN, and was thrilled to see the delegates practice the skills acquired during the past few days in the simulations. He expressed gratitude to the UAE mission for their partnership, and offered his best wishes to the UAE delegates. Ambassador Suazo presented the delegates with UNITAR certificates of completion as a marker for their achievements in the past week of training.

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