Seminar on International Negotiations and Decision Making in the Context of the United Nations

05 April 2016, New York, USA - The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) New York Office organized together with the generous support of the Permanent Mission of The Netherlands to the United Nations and the Clingendael Institute of International Relations, the training on “Seminar on International Negotiations and Decision Making in the context of the United Nations” on 4 and 5 April 2016. This event was organized as a flow-up to the meeting among the UNITAR Executive Director Mr. Nikhil Seth and the Permanent Representative of The Netherlands, Ambassador Karel Van Oosterom as new ways to strengthen the working collaboration among UNITAR and the Permanent Mission of The Netherlands.

The seminar was attended by 30 delegates from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) with the aim to strengthen the diffusion and better understanding of decision-making at the global and national level, and also to reinforce the abilities of diplomats in the practice of international negotiations.

Negotiation skills have become an indispensable tool in the international political arena. Solving complex international issues in a multicultural and often multilateral setting require excellent negotiation abilities. Throughout the training course delegates learned new strategies on how to become more effective as a negotiator and achieve better results.

UNITAR also introduced at the seminar the complexities on the UN System as a way to increase the insights in functioning of the United Nations and understanding of influencing decision-making processes and organs. It was also discussed that in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the SDGs, countries will need to be well prepared and fully engaged in the decision-making and decision-shaping environment to better implement the SDGs at home. Therefore, participants expressed that a training seminar like this one was a great opportunity to gain new skills to help their countries build capacity for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Participants learned about strategic concepts in international negotiations and how to stay in control of complex and difficult negotiation situations. In the seminar at least four strategic approaches in negotiations were presented with practical exercises and interactive approaches with multiple negotiation simulation exercises. The training was a unique mix of UN related knowledge, personal feedback and understanding of the process of negotiations.

At the end of the two day seminar, participants received a certificate for achieving successfully the completion of the training which was issued by the Clingendael Academy and UNITAR.

Photos: Participants and facilitators of the seminar