UNITAR Organizes Two Workshops on Political Analysis and the Law of the Sea for Delegates from the KSA Ministry of Foreign Affairs

30 July – 10 August 2018, London, United Kingdom – As a continuation of its long-standing collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UNITAR successfully delivered two successive five-day training workshops in London on Political Analysis and on the Law of the Sea. In total, the workshops were attended by 27 Saudi Arabian Diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The events took place as part of the numerous training workshops UNITAR will be delivering across 2018 for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The first two days of the Political Analysis workshop were led by Dr. Christopher Phillips, an associate professor in International Relations at Queen Mary University of London, who firstly explored different theoretical approaches through which political events can be interpreted and analysed. Participants were also actively involved in a group analysis of current global crises. Led by Mr. Imad Mesdoua, a qualified political analyst, the second part of the workshop mainly focused on key methods for political analysis.

The training programme on the Law of the Sea started with an introduction to the political underpinnings of the Law of the Sea and Maritime Zones and Baselines. The trainer, Dr. Richard Caddell, Lecturer in Law at Cardiff University, provided the participants with an overview of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea and covered topics such as Human Rights at Sea and Maritime Security. The following days were led by Dr. James Harrison, Senior Lecturer in International Law at the University of Edinburgh School of Law, who taught participants about regional seas programmes and contentious and advisory proceedings. On the third day, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) introduced its work and premises to the delegates.

Feedback from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the participants was very positive, with 84% of the participants agreeing that they intend to use the content of the workshops in their careers. UNITAR looks forward to the upcoming series of workshops with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs taking place throughout the year.

Image 1 and 2: Participants with Dr. Christopher Phillips and Mr. Imad Mesdoua respectively in workshop on Political Analysis

Image 3: Workshop on the Law of the Sea: Dr. Richard Caddel and the participants