Preventive Diplomacy at the UN By Bertrand G. Ramcharan

The concept of preventive diplomacy has captivated the United Nations since it was first articulated by Secretary- General Dag Hammarskjöld a halfcentury ago. Successive generations of diplomats and statesmen have invested in the idea that diplomatic efforts might be able to head off international conflicts and disasters. Dramatic successes, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, contrast with dramatic failures, such as the inability of UN efforts to halt the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Drawing from his recently published book, Preventive Diplomacy at the UN, Bertrand G. Ramcharan, former Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights will trace the progression of preventive diplomacy at the UN, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses and comment on the prospects for preventive diplomacy in the current era dominated by the new challenges of genocide and terrorism. The book offers a chance for academics and policy-makers from the UN and beyond to reflect on and participate in the work of the United Nations. We hope to provide an engaging, interactive, and thoughtful experience to all in attendance. In this careful study, distinguished former UN civil servant Bertrand G. Ramcharan traces the history of the practice of preventive diplomacy by UN Secretaries-General, the Security Council and other UN organizations and assesses the record of preventive diplomacy and examines its prospects in an age of genocide and terrorism.

The concept, practice and achievements of preventive diplomacy at the UN was described by Margaret Vogt, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs as "a superb work of scholarship by one of the most versatile scholar/practitioners of the UN." And Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General underscored the topic and the relevance of the book by stating, "No task is more fundamental to the United Nations than the prevention and resolution of deadly conflict.

Prevention, in particular, must be central to all our efforts." Bertrand G. Ramcharan is Professor of International Human Rights Law at the Geneva Graduate Institute of International Studies, Chancellor of the University of Guyana and Senior Fellow at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at The CUNY Graduate Center. He has a doctorate from the London School of Economics and is a Barrister of Lincoln’s Inn. He was a member of the UN Secretariat for 32 years.

He served in the position of Deputy and then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2003 – 2004) at the level of Under-Secretary-General. Previously he had been Director with the International peacemakers and peacekeepers in the Former Yugoslavia, Director of the Africa I Division of the Department of Political Affairs and head of the speech-writing service of the Secretary-General. He has taught as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and as Visiting Professor at Faculty of International Law in Lund University, Sweden. He is the author and editor of some twenty-five books on international law, human rights and the United Nations. He is currently writing a book on Preventive Diplomacy at the UN: The Journey of an Idea for the United Nations Intellectual History Project.
BY RITU PANDEY