Question 9

How can the UN can best prepare its people for the challenges ahead? What skills and training will they need?

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  • Abdulla Saeed AlAjeeli

    United Nations is considered without any competitors the most influencing intergovernmental organisations that promote international co-operation and creates and maintain international order. Today many international strategies are either done by or related to one of the United Nations institutions. I will discuss what the United Nations need and connect it with the necessary skills that its peoples needs.
    Since the technological trends are dramatically moving forward and the world is now connected in one global bubble the one who uses technology better will get more opportunity than others. United States President Donald Trump tweets without doubt influences decisions globally. Imagine if several representatives of United Nations have similar tools, technological tools to use it for influencing global decisions to achieve their goals.
    The use of technology it’s not exclusive on participation in social media, the internet and similar tools but also in every field that united nations interested on. Lately, United Nations focused on environmental issues, infrastructure and health. However, they should at least not only follow the latest technological trends but be the leaders on using these trends.
    On the other, United Nations need to understand states as states and understand each other. For example, People’s Republic of China had always been suspicions about embassies that’s why other states usually try to have economic and cultural relations with them. United Nations could do the same by training their people on understanding every state motivations.
    United Nations should also encourage their people to learn languages as much as they can. The official languages are not enough to deliver their message. To deliver their message they need to persuade and to reach the receptors emotions and feeling. Learning different languages will make them deliver their message directly without the disadvantage of the translation.
    By learning different languages also they will be able to merge and mix up with the people of the each nations, understand their point of views and also learn how to influence their decisions. However, United Nations people will also get the chance through language understand the needs directly without the impact and the role of states to manipulate through media and other tools the people’s opinion.
    Neutrality in making decisions is the main message that United Nations should present globally. To provide and deliver such message United Nations should give its people some skills training courses and similar programs.These will let them understand that United Nations goals are easy to be achieved through neutral policies and neutral decisions.
    United Nations could establish a unique institution which proved both skill and educational courses.
    To conclude, United Nations until now in my opinion does not have the capability to satisfy every nation neither achieved all of its goals. But to do so, United Nations need to focus on human resources development from the inside. The more pressure on its people to learn and improve themselves the closer to achieve the organisation goals.

  • Maryam Rashed AlShehhi

    The United Nations came into being in 1945, after the devastation of the Second World War, with one central mission, which is to maintain the international peace and security. The UN does this by working to prevent conflicts by helping parties in conflict to achieve peace ‘peacekeeping’, flourish peace, protect human rights, another purpose of the un is to deliver humanitarian aid and promote sustainable development. However, because of demographic trends, raising political issues, economic ups and downs, raise in population and many other reasons, UN today is facing many challenges to achieve their purposes and role.
    In my opinion, today, there are many new ideas and ways for the United Nations to better prevent crisis and end violent conflict. I will be outlining the symptoms of the challenges the UN faces and will suggest a better ways and processes maintain peace and security that the UN can perform around the world, I will also give my personal opinion about what are the needed skills and training courses they would need to do so.
    During the Cold War, there was a strict limit on what could be agreed by way of action by the UN in the field of conflict prevention and resolution. Whether it is in peace and security, climate change, international justice or global trade, there has been only a little progress, and the Security Council is unable to ensure peaceful outcomes. The pressure for quick results and ‘successful’ outcomes is itself a ruthless challenge. To begin with, mediation is a science and an art. Although many mediation skills may be taught, the development of a skilled mediator requires experience in dealing with people in all conditions and under all circumstances.
    Many conflicts haven’t been resolved or brought to an end, the United Nations can solve it successfully through mediation or the action of third parties acting, but the mediator should be a very good one so he could be able to bring the right and beneficial solutions that cannot be refused. Mediators require diverse and varied multi-disciplinary skills to effectively resolve the conflict. Although every conflict and every mediation process will be a bit different, there are some steps and skills which a mediator will need to consider in every case, and points to take into account. Preparation, basic rules of communication and confidentiality will be essential because differences in communication style can also lead to conflict through frustrations and misunderstandings of intent and purpose, he should also consider whether he should have separate meetings with each party to develop a better understanding of the issues before mediating a joint meeting. Active listening skills are much needed, Questioning and clarifying skills as well. Also, emotional understanding to understand the underlying emotions, and summarizing skills to set out the main points of controversy, and underlying emotions, and also to help the participants to re-frame issues in less emotive language. I believe that the most important thing is a mediator must not take sides.
    The mediator will need to acknowledge points made by both parties and spend equal time with each person or on their issues. It’s never going to help to point out that someone is unreasonable, but you can help them take a ‘reality check’ by asking what they would consider a reasonable outcome, and then asking whether they think the other party would agree.
    Coaching is a very useful skill in conflict resolution. It is extremely effective in assisting parties to shift from narrow thinking to more broad, and open thinking. This allows parties to take in, and consider more information than their initial assumptions, and thoughts, about the situation.