The United Nations Association of Sweden (UNA Sweden) and the Netherlands Association for the United Nations (NVVN), in cooperation with UGlobe, the Utrecht Centre for Global Challenges, and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden Law School, invite you to a conference in The Hague. The conference will focus on the challenges and opportunities of occupying a seat, by Sweden and the Netherlands, in the United Nations Security Council in 2018. What are and should be the countries’ priorities? What are the possibilities for cooperation? What difference can the countries make as elected members?
The seminar consists of four panels. The first addresses the overall work of the Security Council, the priorities of Sweden and the Netherlands during 2018, and the challenges ahead. The three following panels will go deeper into specific issues relating to the Security Council and the UN’s peace work. The first one focusses on mass atrocities and how they can be prevented, addressed, and how to hold perpetrators accountable. The second one focusses on the women, peace and security agenda and how to ensure women’s participation in peace processes, as well as sexual and gender-based violence. The third and last one will focus on the youth, peace and security agenda, and how to include the voices of youth in peace processes, and also how the issue of children in armed conflict is and ought to be addressed.
Time: Wednesday the 20th of December, 13:00 – 17:15
Place: Leiden University, Wijnhaven Building, Room 346. The Wijnhaven Building is situated at Turfmarkt 99, The Hague, very close to Den Haag Centraal (train station).
Registration: RSVP by emailing viktor.sundman@fn.se no later than the 17th of December.
Programme
13:00 – 13:05 Opening remarks by the conference organizers
- Viktor Sundman, Peace, Security and Disarmament Officer at UNA Sweden
- Otto Spijkers, University Lecturer of the Utrecht University School of Law and Board Member of NVVN
13:05 – 13:50 Panel on the Security Council
- Chair: Otto Spijkers
- Marriët Schuurman, Leader of the Task Force for the 2018 UN Security Council membership of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands
- Machiko Kanetake, Assistant Professor of the Utrecht University School of Law
- Aleksander Gabelic, Member of the Swedish Parliament and Chairman of UNA Sweden
13:50 – 14:10 Coffee break
14:10 – 14:55 Panel on mass atrocities
- Chair: Viktor Sundman
- Youssef Rahman, Senior Political Affairs Officer at Amnesty International Netherlands
- Tineke Ceelen, Director of Stichting Vluchteling
- Kirsten Meersschaert, Director of Programs of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court and the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect
- Jens Petersson, Deputy Secretary-General of UNA Sweden
14:55 – 15:15 Coffee break
15:15 – 16:00 Panel on women, peace, and security
- Chair: Simone Filippini, Executive Director at Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, and Chair of NVVN
- Caecilia van Peski, United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Volunteers, and NVVN
- Hanne Cuyckens, Lecturer at Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs of Leiden University College
16:00 – 16:30 Coffee break
16:30 – 17:15 Panel on youth, peace and security
- Chair: Arne Muis, Strategic Studies Analyst at Amnesty International Netherlands
- Elian Yahye, Netherlands Youth Representative to the UN General Assembly
- Representative of Save the Children (tbc),
- Representative of United Network of Young Peacebuilders (tbc)
The program will be followed immediately by a reception
