The role of the United Nations in the current phase of crisis of international relations

Intensive theoretical-practical course (20 hours) on the structure, functioning and activities of the most important international organization of a generally universal nature and with general political competence.

Course director: Prof. Marco Ricceri

Teaching staff:

• Raffaele Cadin, associate professor of international law – Sapienza University of Rome
• Cristiana Carletti, associate professor of international law – Roma Tre University
• Sergio Marchisio, full professor of international law – Sapienza University of Rome
• Raffaella Nigro, associate professor of international law – University of Catanzaro “Magna Graecia”
• Carmela Panella, full professor of international law – University of Messina
• Attila Tanzi, full professor of international law – University of Bologna “Alma Mater Studiorum”
• Ugo Villani, professor emeritus of international law – University of Bari “Aldo Moro”

UNITAR teachers will take part in the initiative.

The lessons will be held live on the Zoom platform (students will receive an invitation link to the webinar, in their email inbox, one hour before the start of the lessons).

Date and time of the lessons:

• Thursday, 8 October 2020: from 15.00 to 19.00;
• Friday, 9 October 2020: from 9.00 to 13.00 and from 14.30 to 18.30;
• Saturday, 10 October 2020: from 9.00 to 13.00 and from 14.30 to 18.30).

Minimum number of participants: 25.

At the end of the course a certificate of participation will be issued.

• Nature, purpose and principles of the United Nations [italian]

In this introductory module, the distinctive legal characters of international organizations will be outlined, then a rapid historical retrospective will be outlined, which will introduce the analysis of the various chapters of the United Nations Charter in order to grasp the purposes and principles which inspire the Organization activities.

• Belonging to the organization [italian]

The acquisition of the status of member of the United Nations will be treated and its peculiarities will form the subject of this session.

• Organs, deeds, financial means [italian]

The module will deal with the structure and functioning of the UN, through an effective illustration of the bodies entrusted with governance and their composition, the taking of decisions within them and the legal value of the acts adopted, as well as a mention to the instruments through which the Organization finances itself.

• The main activities [italian]

During this course, chapters VI and VII of the Charter will be analyzed, which deal with actions aimed at promoting a peaceful solution to disputes or aimed at responding to threats to peace, violations of peace and acts of aggression.

• Negotiation techniques and strategies [italian]

This module foresees the presentation of communication techniques, indispensable in negotiating contexts to relate in an adequate and perceptive way with the various interlocutors.

• Peace-keeping and peace-enforcement operations in the global panorama [italian]

The legal basis and the main operations conducted under the auspices of the United Nations Department for Peace Operations (DPKO) at various latitudes will be briefly presented, with a look in particular to the Italian-led UNIFIL mission in Lebanon. Furthermore, the differences with peace-enforcement activities (so-called third generation operations) will be analyzed, in light of concrete cases in progress.

• The UN between security and development: the 2030 Agenda [italian]

The Focus will instead be dedicated to the overall analysis of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with particular attention to the developments that the Covid-19 pandemic has also caused on the ability to hit the targets within the set deadline.

• Moon Landing Exercise [italian]

This is a team-building exercise, simulating a fictional moon-landing scenario. Participants will be briefed on the exercise, they will be divided into groups to work together, and then will speak about their findings in the plenary session. The whole session will last between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on the participants’ time for discussion and debriefing.

• Career Development Session

This 1.5 hour session serves to provide participants with a basic understanding of the United Nations system from outside as well as from within. It will clarify the internal hierarchy at the United Nations, explaining the differences in positions as well as duty stations and their different responsibilities. It will then delve deeper into the financing of the United Nations and the challenges this brings for internal UN staff as well as for the recruitment process. Lastly, the webinar will also give an introduction of basic aspects of the application process for UN positions, including useful websites and resources. The session will be in English.

High school students, university students, recent graduates and professionals.

PayPal and bank transfer.