04 June 2020 16h00 - 17h30

Covid-19 Webinar Series: Global Crisis, Global Risk and Global Consequences 10

Location

Online

Session 10: Impact of COVID19 on UN Peace Operations: Can Chaos and Crisis be Turned into Purposeful Transformational Change?

This Webinar session will explore the impact of COVID19 on UN peace operations, recognizing the current immediate challenges and actions taken by missions to pull through the crisis, but also and in particular, the focus of the conversation will be on what could and should be done to turn chaos and crisis into purposeful transformational change? Already prior to the onslaught of COVID19, the political and financial support for multilateral cooperation including through UN peace operations had been drastically drawn down, with budgets and personnel for UN missions cut by 25 % since its peak in 2015. COVID19 is already generating profound negative socio, economic and political challenges across the world, with a sharp rise in poverty, inequalities, and with political systems struggling to cope. The need for a collective effective tool to support countries seeking to prevent sliding further into chaos and conflict, to provide the space for political solutions between adversaries to be found, and to support institutional frameworks that can build peace, will be as critical as ever. But, given the limited resources available, what is required to make UN peace operations truly fit for purpose through and in a post-COVID world? What specific innovations and transformations should be pursued to not only mitigate the crisis of today, but to turn the current overtaxing situation into an opportunity for developing a proactive impactful strategy for the future?

Ms Annika Hilding Norberg, Head of Peace Operations and Peacebuilding, GCSP. Annika Hilding Norberg leads the GCSP’s work on peace operations and peacebuilding with a specific focus on dialogue, research and policy development, and education and training. Key focus is on strengthening leadership for peace at all levels (with an emphasis on UN and EU missions and operations). She serves on the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform Management Committee. Prior to joining the GCSP, she was the founder and director for 21 years of the International Forum for the Challenges of Peace Operations (CF), a joint platform of 22 countries, incl. the 5 Permanent Members of the UNSC. The aim of the CF is to strengthen the planning, conduct and evaluation of UN peace operations. Originating from when Ms Norberg served as President of the London School of Economics (LSE) International Relations Society, the Forum was founded in 1996 as part of her research studies at the LSE. Ms Norberg coordinated the Forum based at the LSE (1996-2000), the Swedish National Defence College (1997-2002) and the Folke Bernadotte Academy, an agency of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2003-2017). Ms Norberg is main editor of more than 80 Forum and other reports and policy briefs. She holds a BSc of International Relations from the LSE and an MA in International Politics from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. In 2008, Ms Norberg was awarded the Silver Medal of the Swedish Royal Academy of Military Science for her contributions to strengthening UN peacekeeping.

Mr Luis Carrilho, UN Police Adviser, UN Headquarters, New York. Mr Luis Carrilho was appointed United Nations Police Adviser in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in 2017. Mr. Carrilho previously served as Chief Superintendent with the Polícia de Segurança Pública in Portugal. He served as United Nations Police Commissioner in three United Nations peacekeeping operations, notably in the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) (2014-2016), the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) (2013-2014) and the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor‑Leste (UNMIT) (2009-2012). He also served in the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) (2000-2001) and the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) (1996-1998). Mr. Carrilho previously worked in the office of the President of the Republic of Portugal as the Head of Security and as the Commander of Close Protection of the Security Police in Lisbon. He studied at the Instituto Superior de Ciências Policiais e Segurança Interna.
Ms. Natascha Hryckow, Coordinator UN Panel of Experts on Somalia and GCSP Global Fellow.Ms. Hryckow is an experienced leader of multilateral interventions with a particular interest in conflict and post conflict environments. Senior management roles include Regional Conflict Advisor for the World Health Organisation (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen), Political Director and Head of country for Somalia and Kenya for the European Maritime Capacity Building mission EUCAP Nestor,, Political Director and Deputy for the Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan with the NATO. She has dealt with crises in Syria 2016/17, Guinee (Ebola response) 2013/14, Darfur 2008, Timor Leste 2007, and Pakistan 2006. At the GCSP, she serves as the Inaugural Chair of the Conflict Analysis Network, (CAN). She is the treasurer for The International Association of Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (PHAP). Ms. Hryckow holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Science from La Trobe University (Australia) and was awarded a Rotary Peace-Building Fellowship to attend Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)
Ralph Mamiya is an Executive-in-Resident Fellow at the Geneva Center for Security Policy, a Non-Resident Fellow in the Peace and Security Section of the Global Governance Institute, and a Non-Resident Adviser of the International Peace Institute (IPI) in New York. He has extensive experience in working for the United Nations in protection of civilian matters, including serving in the UN Mission in Sudan and the UN Mission in South Sudan, as well as Team Leader of the Protection of Civilians Team of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). Ralph conducted a Joint Assessment of Conflict and Stability for the German government on the situation in Darfur (October 2018-April 2019). Key publications include: Protection of Civilians (co-edited), Oxford University Press, 2016; Engaging with Non-State Armed Groups to Protect Civilians: A Pragmatic Approach for UN Peace Operations, International Peace Institute (2018), The Primacy of Politics and the Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping Operations, International Peace Institute (May 2018), “The Protection of Civilians in Security Council Practice”, in The Oxford Handbook on the Use of Force in International Law, Oxford Univ. Press (with H. Wilmot, edited by Marc Weller, March, 2015).

Dr Mike Kelly AM, President, Palantir, Australia. Dr Kelly was recently appointed President of Palantir Technologies Australia. Prior to this, Dr. Kelly served as a Member of Parliament from 2007 to 2013 and 2016 to 2020. Dr. Kelly held several executive positions in the Rudd and Gillard Governments, including serving as Minister for Defence Materiel, Assistant Shadow Minister for Defence Industry, on the Shadow National Security Committee, and Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. Before entering Parliament, Dr. Kelly served in the Australian Army for 20 years, incl. being deployed to international operations in Somalia, Bosnia, East Timor, Iraq and a hostage recovery mission in Kenya. Dr. Kelly was awarded the Chief of the General Staff Commendation, made a Member of the Order of Australia and received the UN Force Commander’s Commendation in 2002.Dr. Kelly is a leading expert on peace and stabilisation operations, post-conflict reconstruction and counter-insurgency. He holds a PhD from the University of New South Wales and has published two books along with numerous articles and chapters in books.

Ambassador Yvette Stevens, Executive-in-Residence Fellow at the GCSP and Former Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the United Nations Office at Geneva mbassador Stevens has had a broad and long experience in the United Nations System. An Engineer by training, Ambassador Stevens studied at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute and at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London. She taught Engineering at the University of Sierra Leone for six years, before joining the United Nations in 1980, as a Village Technology Expert in ILO. At UNHCR, she served as Evaluation Officer as well as Chief of the Technical Support Section of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, both of which involved thorough analyses of refugee situations in about 30 countries, all over the world. She also served UNHCR in Africa, first as Deputy Liaison Representative in Ethiopia (1995 to 1997) and as the UNHCR Representative to Kenya and Somalia (1997 to 1999). In the latter capacity, she acted as the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia on a number of occasions. From 1999 to 2004, she worked as Director in DESA, the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa. Before retirement, she was the United Nations Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator and Director of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva from 2004 to 2006. After retirement from the UN, between 2006 and 2009, Ambassador Stevens worked as a freelance consultant on humanitarian issues as well as on disaster risk reduction in Africa. She worked as an Energy Policy Adviser to the Government of Sierra Leone from 2009 to 2012, before being appointed as Permanent Representative in Geneva. As Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone, Ambassador Stevens was active, inter alia, on human rights issues, (including Child Early and Forced Marriage, Persons Living with Albinism and Women’s Rights); trade (Women and Trade, Trade Assistance to Least Developing Countries); disarmament (Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems). She was a Geneva Gender Champion.