At the conference held on “the Future of the United Nations” at JGU, GPAJ President Hasegawa made a keynote speech on the implications of the Meiji Restoration for the future of the United Nations.
At the courtesy of Ms. Kim, several students of the secretariat are preparing to conduct a simulation conference of the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council. Seen in the photo are from the right: Yuki Nakai, Shion, Kusumi Saei, and Yamane Miko. Also shown is Nakano Shinsuke in computer screen participating in the preparatory meeting from Okinawa.Also participated are Maejima Daiki and Hino Moe.
At an exhibition on “The Chinese Army to Protect the World Peace” held in New York, Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support, Atul Khare, commended China for currently deploying a total of 2,508 uniformed personnel, including 70 women, to 8 of the UN’s current peacekeeping missions, including UNMISS, UNIFIL, and MINUSMA. Khare also noted China has contributed approximately 5.8 million dollars to UN Peacekeeping through the Peace and Security Trust Fund since 2017.
The President of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) welcomed nearly two years ago the appointment of Achim Steiner as the Organization’s new Administrator. UNDP then occupied still the central role in the UN development system. Today, former and current officials of UNDP see the possibility of Secretary-General António Guerres’s organizational reform may put UNDP as uncertain if not in peril.
Chef de Cabinet David Chikvaidze of United Nations Office in Geneva discussed and agreed to hold the second Geneva Dialogue between Asian Scholars and senior officials of UN and International Organizations on September 2-4, 2019 in a meeting held with Executive Director for Academic Exchange of UN Association of Japan and Director of ACUNS Liaison Office in Tokyo Sukehiro Hasegawa.
Speaking in English, he said “I call on all of us to rebuild trust toward the system for international trade. That should be a system that is fair, transparent, and effective in protecting IP (intellectual property) and also in such areas as e-commerce and government procurement.”
Angela Merkel championed a global world order in her address at the World Economic Forum in Davos while Shinzo Abe declared that it was time to rebuild trust in free trade.
Some participants found positive and encouraging signs while others remained skeptical about the possibility for South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and his major adversary, the former vice-president and opposition leader Riek Machar and other tribal leaders to translate the agreement reached in September 2018 into the formation of a stable government. A summary report of discussion will follow.
Asahi newspaper published an op-ed on Triangular Partnership by Takakazu Ito, Senior Programme Officer, Department of Operational Support of the United Nations on 10 January.
On New Year’s Day, 1st of January 2019, my wife, daughter and I made a bus tour to Bellinzona through Swiss Alps mountains, arriving at San Bernardino Pass at more than 2,000 meters high in the Swiss Alps. We finally arrived at Lugano.
More than six months have passed since Mr. Kit Kitatani passed away. I recently met Mrs Akiko Kitatani. She is over 90 years old but very healthy, speak clearly and walk well. Please join me in wishing her continued good health and happiness throughout New Year 2019.
A year-end party was held at the French restaurant, Les Cristalline in Aoyama, Tokyo. In addition to the memories of the events that took place this year, the participants talked about how to move forward next year in the meeting of the Board of Directors on February 9.
Mr. Yasushi Akashi looked at how the UN peace operations had evolved over the years in Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa and pointed out the need to ascertain how Japan can contribute to the UN peace operations in the future. Mr. Akashi served as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Cambodia and in the former Yugoslavia.
2018 Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum was held at JICA Ichigaya Building on December 8, 2018. It was opened by former Under-Secretary-General and Special Representatives of the Secretary-General Mr. Yasushi Akashi and keynote speech was delivered by Ambassador Fumio Iwai, Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the International Peace Cooperation Headquarters of the Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan. Please find the program with pictures of meetings and participants.
HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Generations for Peace met with GPAJ President Sukehiro Hasegawa, Vice President Mio Sato and Secretary General Masakuni Tanimoto and explained the activities of the Generation for Peace (GFP) since it was founded as a peace-through-sport initiative of the Jordan Olympic Committee in 2007.
