Launch Report and Round Table Discussion: "Relevance of Older One-Dimensional UN Peace Operations"

The Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung (FES), the Effectiveness of Peace Operations Network (EPON) and the Department of Politics and Governance of the University of Nicosia have the pleasure to invite you to the launch of a new report, entitled:

A Comparative Study of Older One-Dimensional UN Peace Operations. Is the Future of UN Peacekeeping its Past?

By Dr. Alexandra Novosseloff

And a Round Table Discussion on:

The Relevance of Older One-Dimensional UN Missions for Future UN Peacekeeping

The event will take place on April 7, 2022 from 15:00 to 17:45 at UNESCO Chair Amphitheatre, University of Nicosia. Following the measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is mandatory to RSVP by emailing office(at)fescyprus.org. On the day of the event, you will be required to show your SAFEPASS or your negative antigen rapid test, which is valid for 24 hours from the time of sampling, along with your identification document.

The aim of the new FES/EPON report is to highlight some of the common features of first-generation unidimensional peacekeeping operations, like the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) and others such as UNTSO (Middle East), UNMOGIP (India and Pakistan), UNDOF (Golan), UNIFIL (Lebanon) and MINURSO (Western Sahara). These features include the way they are perceived by the Security Council, their deployment in parallel to a peacemaking process, the positioning of great powers towards them, and the extreme sensitivity of local political actors towards their activity. The objective is to look at how these types of missions, which were first established during the Cold War era, may become more relevant again in the future. In the current context of a paralyzed Security Council, lessons from missions created during previous eras of superpower rivalry may be helpful to navigate future tensions.

PROGRAM

15:00 Welcoming remarks     

• Professor Andreas Theophanous, Head of the Department of Politics and Governance, President of the Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs, University of Nicosia
• Professor Hubert Faustmann, Director of the Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung (FES) Office in Cyprus and Professor for History and Political Science, University of Nicosia
• Dr. Cedric de Coning, Research Professor, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and Coordinator, EPON

15:15 Presentation of the report

• Dr. Alexandra Novosseloff, Consultant NUPI, Non-resident Senior fellow, International Peace Institute

15:30 Roundtable, chaired by Cedric de Coning, NUPI & EPON

Speakers/Presenters:

• Mr. Colin Stewart, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus
• Mr. Jack Christofides, Deputy Head of Mission, UNIFIL
• General Robert Mood, former Head of Mission of UNTSO and UNSMIS (Syria)
• David Haeri, Director, Policy, Evaluation and Training Division, Department of Peace Operations, United Nations

Other participants to the roundtable:

• Raphaëlle Guillon, former desk officer MINURSO, former special assistant to the head of Mission in Libya
• Judy Hylton, Senior Adviser, UNTSO
• Wolfgang Weibrod-Weber, former SRSG Head of Mission MINURSO

17:00 Q & A session

17:30 Concluding remarks by Colin Stewart, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus

17:45 Closing of the roundtable

17:45-18:30 Reception