Akio Miyajima, Japanese Ambassador to Turkey explained Turkey as a “rising power” with “volatility” and “resilience” in the turbulent Middle East region and beyond from various aspects including its diplomacy, military, domestic affairs, and economy. He emphasized that Turkey, a nation of 83 million people with tremendous potential holds the key to regional stability and global peacebuilding as the influence and commitment of the United States wanes and declines.
Former President and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate José Ramos-Horta calls for Japan, China and South Korea to forge partnership along with India to stabilize Asia and help other Asian countries reduce poverty and clean up their environment and provide positive leadership in the United Nations and the Global Community (05/09/2020)
President José Ramos-Horta was followed by former Under-Secretary-General Ameerah Haq who emphasized the importance of preserving the rule-based international order. They are joined by former SRSG to Afghanistan Tadamichi YAMAMOTO and Ambassador Yasuyoshi KOMIZO to IAEA in Vienna, Nippon University Lecturer Yuichi KUBOTA, JICA Peacebuilding Chief Koji SAKANE, Professor Takaaki MIZUNO, GPAJ Vice President Ken INOUE and Elizabeth GAMARRA, Rotary Fellow at ICU, Tokyo. Please click here for a video coverage.
The 45th GPAJ Online Seminar “Turkey under the Erdoğan administration” (12/09/2020)
Those who wish to participate, please pre-register at ”tanimoto[@]gpaj.org” by Monday, September 7. We’ll send you a return Zoom account.
David Chikvaidze on the Past, Present and Future of Multilateralism (04/08/2020)
Chef de Cabinet to the Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva David A. Chikvaidze asserts that we are on the verge of blundering into something far more devastating than the world has experienced before for a variety of reasons, not least among them, rapidly deteriorated relations among the most heavily armed and powerful States through the deliberate dismantling of disarmament commitments, a climate crisis wreaking havoc around the world, intrastate and regional armed conflicts threatening millions, dire poverty in large parts of the world, refugee flows at record levels, rampant inequality both between and within countries, escalating disputes over trade, sky-high debt, threats to the rule of law, attacks on the media and civil society resulting in mistrust among peoples, countries, communities and societies. Add to these, Chikvaidze points out that the ‘game-changing’ COVID-19 pandemic and what the world has before it, is a stage set for planetary calamity. In this fast-changing environment, new diplomatic policies and practices based on the principles of solidarity and inclusiveness are urgently needed, bringing together all relevant actors, from civil society, think tanks, academia to regional development banks. The collective response has an uneven record, with tensions often undermining the effectiveness of multilateral decision-making processes. But the world needs to be optimistic and hopeful. He advises that we should pull back from the precipice in time. Modern multilateralism is the only way to do this. Please click here for the full text of his paper published by Cadmus, Volume 4, Issue 2-Paln 2 – June 2020.
Kosovo Diplomats explain the Impact of the UN Intervention on Contemporary Kosovo (29/07/2020)
Moderated by Ms. Arbenita SOPAJ of GPAJ, Ambassador Leon Malazogu based in Japan and his colleagues Ambassador Hajdin Abazi in Australia, Ambassador Qendrim Gashi in France and Ms. Merdiana Leci, Department for Bilateral Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke about the contemporary Kosovo. Please click here for the full report of the seminar.
Online Conversations with Former President and Nobel Prize Laureate, José Ramos-Horta and Former Under-Secretary-General and UNMIT Head, Ameerah Haq on Saturday, 5th of September from 10:00 -12:00 Tokyo Time. (05/09/2020)
The conversation topic will center on “Global Governance in the Post-Corona Era: The Role of the United Nations, the United States and East Asian Countries.” This seminar will be conducted in English. Please click here to learn more about the program details. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP with your name and updated email address to Ms. Elizabeth Gamarra via egamarra15[@]yahoo.com. You will receive the official Zoom link prior to the event.
First online book review will be held on Spirit of Peacebuilding on 22nd August.(22/08/2020)
Mr. Koji SAKANE, JICA Senior Director for Peacebuilding Office, Professor Takaaki MIZUNO and Professor Katsumi ISHIZUKA will make general comments while GPAJ Vice President Professor KUMAGAI, Ambassador Motoo NOGUCHI、Mr. Ken INOUE, Professor AI KIHARA-HUNT and Ms. Arbenita SOPAJ will analyze reconciliation and transitional justice issues.
Direction of the ACUNS Tokyo Liaison Office Defined by Online Meeting (27/07/2020)
Members of ACUNS Tokyo Liaison Office, namely Sukehiro Hasegawa, Director, Ai Kihara-Hunt, Deputy Director, Herman Salmon, Deputy Director, Dahlia Simangan, Arbenita Sopaj, and Elizabeth Gamarra discussed how to reach out to the actual and potential members first in the Southeast Asia region and to hold its first online ACUNS Tokyo Forum on November 7. Click here for the concept paper.
Ambassador Leon MALAZOGU of the Republic of Kosovo to Japan will speak on the impact of the UN intervention in contemporary Kosovo at an online ZOOM conference on Wednesday, 29 July 2020 from 16:00 to 17:30.
Ambassador MALAZOGU will also discuss the implication of the advisory opinion of 22 July 2010 of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) entitled “Accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo” and its relevant orders. For details, please click here.
Professor Sukehiro Hasegawa Explains via Online Lecture to Graduate Students at Kwansei Gakuin University Lessons learned from Peacebuilding in Timor-Leste (08/07/2020)
Please click here for the recording of the lecture.