UN HQ

This afternoon I had a meeting with the UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations (in UN parlance: USG DPKO) at the United Nations in New York. Though it was my second time to the UN headquarters, I still felt awed. The building is grand and feels imbued with a rarified sense of history and significance. Or perhaps that was just me, projecting my awe onto Le Corbusier’s design.



As I waited in the lobby, most of the UN staff moved about routinely as they returned from their lunch hours, and I thought back to my time working at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Tanzania. I remember at first being impressed by the tribunal, the courtrooms, the judges’ robes and wigs, even my security ID badge. However, as time passed, what once felt impressive and official faded into comfortable familiarity. My thoughts wandered to my eventual placement at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and my anticipation to be back in that atmosphere. The next thing I knew, I was being escorted upstairs for my meeting.

The USG was interested by the Insight Fellowship Program and impressed by the opportunities it presents to young professionals interested in conflict management. We spoke about my experience at the ICTR and my future role at the ICC, and then specifically about my planned placements. He reinforced others’ recommendations concerning Lebanon, i.e., the security situation is highly unstable and it is not the right time to go. He also added a new dimension to my thinking by bringing up the fact that the conflict in the Middle East is so deep-rooted and complex that it’s almost not worth it to go there for only three months, especially if I do not plan on a long-term career with a Middle East focus. The problems in Lebanon are intricate and multi-layered: from tensions between various ethnic and religious groups, to managing the refugee crisis and Hezbollah, to internal political power struggles, to the relations with Syria and the greater Middle Eastern conflict, to overarching international geopolitical concerns. The issues are so dynamic that I may not be able to wrap my head around everything that’s going on there in such a short period of time and thus I risk feeling like I’m not making any kind of difference or contribution. He suggested that a more circumscribed conflict, such as the Balkans, Sri Lanka, or Timor-Leste could provide a more a productive and interesting setting in which to study and promote conflict management.

Generally the USG was very supportive of my work, which was very encouraging coming from such an experienced and influential figure in the field. He left me with a lot to think about regarding how I want to craft my year to maximize my learning experience as well as my impact.