united nations advanced certificate faculty - Long Island University

UNITED NATIONS ADVANCED CERTIFICATE FACULTY
Henry Akintunde
Adjunct Professor of Economics
Long Island University
Jacques Fomerand
Head
United Nations University Office
in North America, ret.
Paul Hoeffel
Chief, UN NGO Section
UN Department of Public Information
Walter Hoffman
Executive Director
Center for UN Reform Education
Timothy Houlihan
Associate Academic Dean
St. Francis College
Dragos Kostich
Professor Emeritus
Long Island University
Akira Kusukawa
Director, European Council
UN Funds for Population Activities, ret.
Yasmine Sherif
Protection Consultant
International Rescue Committee
Khartoum, Sudan
James Sutterlin
Director, Political Affairs Division
UN Secretariat, ret.
Lester Wilson
Professor of History
Long Island University
UNITED NATIONS ADVANCED CERTIFICATE STUDENTS
Ebrahim Aamer, Bahrain; Betsuaye Abia, Nigeria; Faisal Al-Athba, Qatar; Ahmad Alhariri, Syria;
Maria Barry, United Kingdom; Maurice Brooks, USA; Peg Byron, USA; Claudine Charlet, Haiti;
Emilijan Djindjic, Yugoslavia; Camille Evans, USA; Zelia Evzona, Cyprus; Lourdeth Ferguson,
Guyana; Mauricio Forero-Jimenez, Columbia; Mirna Germano, Brazil; Daniella Gilles, Canada;
Helene Hoedl, Austria; Paul Irving, Jamaica; Fabiola Knight, Guatemala; Irma Lacey, Barbados;
Jemma Lessie, Grenada; Keith Middlemark, USA. Maria Montagna, Argentina; Steve Naber, USA;
Lisi Nelson, USA; Ulrika Nilsson, Sweden; Sophia Ojha, India; Edwin Perez, Dominican Republic;
Vincenzo Pugliese, Dominican Republic; Augusto Rabellino, Argentina; Sri Raman, India; Alexander
Romeo, USA; Grid Rroji, Albania; Hussein Sabbagh, Syria; Daniel Samuel, USA; Bryma Sylla,
Liberia; Edyta Tabor, USA; Toni Thompson; USA; Mohammed Tounkara, Guinea; Fan Xiao,
Peoples Republic of China
United Nations Graduate Certificate Program
Long Island University / Brooklyn Campus / Brooklyn, New York 11201
Lester N. Wilson, Ph.D., Director
(Lester.Wilson@liu.edu)
(www.liu.edu/un)
1

CHILD SOLDIERS IN SIERRA LEONE
The Reverend Jose M. Caballero Caceres, MA’98
Sierra Leone is a coastal West African
country that shares borders with Guinea
and Liberia. It has a population of close
to five-and-a-half million (July 2001
estimate) and includes 16 ethnic groups.
The rebel war in Sierra Leone, which
started in 1991 and ended in January
2002, was characterized by a mass displacement
of civilians, looting, the
destruction of homes and infrastructures,
the misuse of economic resources
and terrible atrocities inflicted on the
Father Caballero with Child Ex-Combatants civilian population–amputations, rapes,
mutilations, killings and abductions.
The link between diamonds and armed conflict in Sierra Leone is obvious and has been exposed,
investigated and universally deplored.
A key element to the prolongation of the war was the abduction/recruitment of children into the
fighting forces. Children were perceived to be the best fighters, as they were obedient and easily
manipulated. With over 50% of the population in Sierra Leone under the age of 18 and a war that
has lasted for over 10 years, the number of children who have been used as fighters or camp followers
is unknown.
Children abducted over the years were used as human shields, camp followers and “wives” and,
ultimately, they were trained to be soldiers. Following abduction, they were forced to carry heavy
loads on their heads and were ordered to pick up the weapons of those who were killed should
there be an attack on the group. They spent months trekking over hazardous terrain and many did
not make it to the main camps. All the children were forced to learn to “cock” and “load,” and
their commanders disposed of those who refused to learn. Punishment for not complying with
their new life and trying to run away was death. Those lucky enough not to be killed were tied to
a tree, with AFRC or RUF cut into their chests. Life for girls always started with rape, which was
usually done in full view of others. Girls as young as 10 years of age were forced to have sex on
a daily basis and with whomever. They returned home traumatized, diseased and suffering from
internal injuries.
Many children, some as young as seven years of age, were fighting on the government’s side.
They were initiated into traditional hunting groups that came under the framework of the Civil
Defense Force (CDF). Magical powers were bestowed on these children in initiation ceremonies,
and they were led to believe that they had special powers, such as being “bullet proof.”
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During the course of the war, hundreds of thousands of children were displaced internally, for
many, two or three times. Many others became refugees in neighboring countries. Finally, the
increased family impoverishment and continued separation of children from their families contributed
to the increase in the number of children on the streets and the arrests of children for common
crimes. These children were detained in facilities that were far below minimum international
standards and conditions.
The Xaverian Missionaries Programme for the
Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Child Ex-Combatants.
To address the needs of separated children (child soldiers, unaccompanied children and children
suffering from war-related stress UNICEF developed a Child Protection Program in Sierra Leone.
This programme succeeded in establishing structures for the demobilization and reintegration of
child soldiers and identification, registration, documentation and reunification of children separated
from their families.
In 1999, the Xaverian Missionaries joined UNICEF in this program. We offered a center where
children who had been with the fighting forces could start their process of rehabilitation. Our center,
St. Michael’s Interim Care Center, was located in Lakka, a small village near Freetown, the
capital city. By July 1999, large numbers of children were being admitted to St. Michael’s in
response to the Lome Peace Accord and, by January 2000, the center was well over capacity. The
reunification of children with their families was almost impossible. The center was becoming
unmanageable, and the general view was that the center had become a “parking-lot” where children
were placed and from which there was no way out.
In an attempt to solve this problem, we decided to move children out into the community and into
a program we called Alternative Care. This was something new and few people believed it would
work. However, we proved that it was possible. Eventually, UNICEF adopted the idea and our
program became a pilot for other centers in Sierra Leone. Journalists, researchers and world leaders
(among them UN Secretary General Kofi Annan) visited and studied the program. UNHCR
also asked us to establish a similar program for separated refugee children returning into Sierra
Leone.
Children from the fighting forces (released abductees, child mothers, ex-combatants and other
separated children) enter into the program through different channels. Since late 1999, most of the
children came from the demobilization centers, although significant numbers were captured and
handed over to UNICEF by the security forces, were part of a negotiated release/handover, or
were picked up by UN military personnel on patrol. Irrespective of the way they entered the program,
all the children had to spend a period of time in our center.
St. Michael’s was based on the principle of family care in an environment that facilitated smooth
reintegration. Children felt secure and comfortable in a protected environment. School, workshops,
sports and other activities kept them busy during the whole day. The idea was that children
could speak up and share their feelings. When they first arrived in the center they could be very
violent and tended to show off. Stories of killings, amputations, rapes and lootings were common
3

stuff during a child’s first weeks in the center. However, little by little he/she would tell the real
story: the fears, the violence suffered, the tortures. That was the beginning of rehabilitation. Once
the children told us their stories, we could provide an alternative to the violence and attempt to
reunify them with their families. Children could either return to school or learn a job.
Beginning the Rehabilitation Process
It was important that children realized that they had done wrong even though they were not
responsible for their actions. These feelings were clearly expressed in a prayer that many would
repeat almost every day: “Papa God, I did not want to do it. I was forced to do it. Please forgive
me.” Children whose parents could not be traced or whose families had rejected them were placed
in long-term care programs. Little ones were sent to foster families. Older children were difficult
to place and so group homes (a family taking care of four or five children) were set up to accommodate
them, most of whom were young men. Apprenticeship and independent living were also
responses to getting older children meaningfully occupied and back into the community.
By January 2002, most of the children who were with the fighting forces had been released.
(Tragically, a large group was forcibly taken to Liberia and later on to Ivory Coast where the
armed conflicts continued.) At the end of April 2002 St. Michael’s was closed down. By that time,
more than 3.000 children who had arrived in our center had been reunified with their families and
were attending school or learning a job, and more than 200 children were living independently,
working and taking care of themselves. However, there still remained a small number whose families
could not be traced or refused to accept them. They are still living in group homes and foster
families. A group of Sierra Leonean social workers that we have formed over the past years is
now in charge of the program. After serving and living for nearly five years with the children of
St. Michael’s programs, I feel now that I can move out and start new activities.
❃ ❃ ❃
4

INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR AKIRA KUSUKAWA
Vincenzo Pugliese
Professor Kusukawa has been a member of the UN Graduate Studies faculty since 1986.
Profiled in the 2004 “Who’s Who in America” (58th edition), he spoke with Cosmos’s Vincenzo
Pugliese at the end of Long Island University’s spring 2004 semester.
Your bachelor’s in Pre-Medical Science and then your M.D. from Kyushu University led you
to a Ph.D. in Medical Science, but with a major in demography. How did you become interested
in demographic issues?
Following my appointment as a senior lecturer in medical school at Kyushu University, I went to
the John Hopkins University School of Hygiene under the sponsorship of the Rockefeller
Foundation, where I met a number of physicians from developing countries. At that time, in the
early 1950s, the demographic situation in many developing countries was becoming a serious
problem. I wanted to dedicate myself to the medical areas of treatment and prevention, and demographic
factors became key elements in my work.
When you talk about treatment and prevention are you talking about a particular disease?
Of course. Tuberculosis was widespread in Japan prior to World War II. It was the major cause
of death. I was very much interested in preventing the spread of the disease, not just in its treatment.
Therefore, prevention required work not only in medicine and public health, but also the
economic, social and cultural situation of each affected area had to be considered. Hence, demographic
factors came into play.
5

The Second World War was underway while you were pursuing your bachelor’s in Japan.
Did the political / social changes of those days influence somehow the branch of learning you
chose to study?
Not a bit. I had decided to enter the medical science area. Fortunately, military service was
exempted for those joining this faculty. Therefore, I was not involved at all in anything connected
with the war.
You have had an extensive career at the UN, starting as a Social Affairs Officer in the
Population Branch of the Bureau of Social Affairs in 1957. How did it all begin?
Japan was admitted to the UN in 1956. The UN Secretariat, in 1957, was looking forward to
recruiting Japanese nationals, and the population branch within the Bureau of Social Affairs was
very much interested in recruiting young demographers. Around that time, the International Union
for the Scientific Study of Population, which was the only international academic organization,
recommended me. I was also supported by my university and by the Dean of the School of
Hygiene of Johns Hopkins University. As a consequence, I was one of the first seven Japanese
recruited by the UN secretariat.
You mentioned that the Secretariat was very much interested in having Japanese nationals
particularly in the area of population. Why was that?
During and immediately after World War II, Japanese life expectancy was very low because of
war casualties, including those caused by the atomic bomb. The life expectancy of Japanese males
went down to 20 years of age, which was equivalent to that of the ancient Greeks! However, life
expectancy went up quite quickly, as did the birth rate, thereby causing an explosive population
growth. In an attempt to moderate the population growth rate, the government reacted by liberalizing
abortions, which proved quite effective. For that matter, although family planning and abortion
were almost a taboo in the UN at that time, many improvements were made through the study
of demographic issues. I was particularly involved in life table constructions for Japan and with
the various technological aspects of concern to the UN population branch. All this was very much
in tune with my own research work.
From 1959 to 1960 there seems to be a break in your UN career, as you were appointed as a
Technical Adviser to the Council of Ministers of the government of Sudan. How did you like
this experience? Were you taken on to deal with a specific issue?
I was the technical adviser to the Council of Ministers of the Revolutionary Government of Sudan
(1959-60). One of my major assignments was to make an analysis of the first Sudanese population
census, which was taken by the government following independence. They wanted to incorporate
future population and labor projections into national development planning. I was assigned
to analyze this first census and make population projections based on my results. It was very challenging
technical work, and somehow we succeeded in making accurate projections for the next
15 years. The same procedure is still in use.
6

As a Commission Secretary of the Population Commission (1964-1974), what were your
duties? Were you involved in the preparation of the Annual Commission and/or the Annual
Report?
Of course. I had to prepare the Draft Agenda from A to Z and follow up with the election of officers,
i.e., a chairman, vice chairman and rapporteur. At that time, the GA was gradually showing
an interest in population matters, particularly at its 21 st session. The UN had always been a bit
reluctant to adopt population action programs, as these would imply advising governments on the
implications of rapid population growth in the areas of economic and social development. And
these programs frequently raised controversial and sensitive issues. Eventually, the GA recognized
their importance, so the Population Commission was charged to formulate policy and design programs
in the areas of fertility, mortality, migration, and population structure. All this led to the
1974 World Population Conference in Bucharest, the first UN intergovernmental population conference
to adopt an action program.
Have there been significant changes in the work of the Population Commission, either in
procedural or substantive manners, from the years of your tenure until now?
Yes. Around 1960, the growth rate of the world population peaked. In response, the UN worked
to develop and implement impartial and scientifically correct population policies that would be
suitable for member states. Also, member states sought advice from the UN on how to formulate
population policies that would be suitable to their own countries, considering their particular
social, economic and cultural realities. Therefore, the Population Commission was very much
involved in preparing draft resolutions for ECOSOC and the GA on those issues. At the same
time, there was a proposal by some member states (Denmark, the US, Japan) to create a fund for
population programs, based on voluntary contributions, since the UN budget was already allocated
to other areas. That’s how and why the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) was created.
During your career at the UN, what were the most relevant issues on population and migration?
Did you have to deal with any of them, and if so, in what way?
At the beginning, the UN suffered a big handicap in forecasting world population projections
owing to methodology limitations. We tended to underestimate future world population growth,
but gradually we improved the techniques and methodologies of the projections, which become
increasingly exact over time. In a sense, the demographic projections were far more accurate compared,
let’s say, to economic forecasting, which was a reason for us to be proud. Sometimes we
used what we called stable population models, because in some developing countries breakdowns
of fertility and mortality rates were not available. Another important task was carried out in cooperation
with the Statistical Office where we encouraged all member states to participate in a World
Population Census. Starting in 1980, and in cooperation with the Statistical Office, we have managed
to have almost global coverage of the population. That provided a basis for accurate demographic
interpretations for use in economic and social development planning. UNFPA has successfully
attracted considerable financial support for this very expensive enterprise.
7

What were the main functions of the Policy and Programme Development Unit of United
Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) while you were working as Special Assistant to its
Deputy Executive Director (1974-1977)?
Around that time, practically all member states had become quite aware of the importance of population
issues. Therefore, once a country had decided on a population policy, sometimes in association
with UNFPA, it wanted to know what kind of programs needed to be implemented in order
to fulfill that policy. In this respect I was heavily involved with almost all member states of the
developing world in policy formulation and the implementation of respective programs.
As Director of the Europe Branch of UNFPA (1977-1986), what were your major achievements
and challenges?
I worked mostly in Eastern Europe, where there had been some reluctance to formulate population
policies because of the current political situation. Gradually governments began to undertake
scientific population studies for use in economic and social development and finally they came to
understand the overall importance of population issues. Some governments, Hungary was an
example, were experiencing a population decline; they wanted to know how to alleviate the situation.
So the UN became involved in advising individual Eastern European member states on
population issues.
Since 1953 you have been linked to academia, as a senior lecturer of the Faculty of Medicine
at Kyushu University in Japan (1953-1957), then as a professor of demography in Bombay,
and lastly as Adjunct Professor at New York Medical College and Long Island University.
Why are you teaching?
I am very interested in being involved with the new generation and sharing my views and experience.
Sometimes I am confronted with very pointed questions, which I find exciting and challenging.
I always give my best to students, and the experience is mutually beneficial, as I get a lot from
them. I really don’t like what we call “one-way traffic.”
❃ ❃ ❃
The UNDPI/NGO/LIU Connection
Long Island University has been an NGO in association with the United Nations Department of
Public Information since 2000. Association is based on the university’s demonstrated interest in
United Nations issues and proven ability to reach large or specialized audiences. This is done
through information dissemination about UN activities, viz. academic programs devoted to UN
studies, newsletters, bulletins, and pamphlets, conferences and seminars.
8

ENDING INSECURITY MEANS ENDING THE OCCUPATION
Professor Yasmine Sherif
Professor Yasmine Sherif has served with the United
Nations for 15 years in Africa, Asia and Europe and
worked under Sergio Vieira de Mello’s leadership during
his term as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian
Affairs in New York. Professor Sherif recently has been
appointed Protection Consultant for the International
Rescue Committee in Khartoum, Sudan.
“I have come here to learn, not to teach,” Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN Special Representative
for Iraq, reassured the Iraqi people when he arrived in their devastated country last June. “I am
going to Iraq in solidarity with the Iraqi people,” Nadia Younes, his chief-of-staff told colleagues
as she signed up for the UN mission in Baghdad. A similar commitment to serve was held by
American Rick Hooper, who had previously worked with the UN in Gaza for seven years. All
three were among those killed on August 19, 2003, in the bombing of the UN headquarters in
Baghdad.
Sergio Vieira de Mello and his staff did what the United Nations does better than anyone, namely
serving a war-weary people in their quest for self-determination and democracy. The deaths of
this dynamic UN veteran and 22 other people raise serious questions that go well beyond improving
security for humanitarian workers. They compel us to examine the Bush administration’s questionable
approach to liberty and self-determination. If these indeed are the true intentions of the
US presence in Iraq, the coalition forces have fatally failed on at least three accounts:
First, as long as US armored vehicles roll down the streets of Baghdad, and Washington insists on
handpicking the Iraqi representation, there will no peace in Iraq. Reality on the ground demands
we recognize that the occupation itself has greatly contributed to the magnitude of violence.
Besides its illegality under international law, occupation, by definition, is an unnatural state that
prevents progress toward self-determination and national independence.
Second, the US administration has proven to be wanting in technical expertise with regard to
peacebuilding toward self-determination. During the abhorrent and totalitarian regime of Saddam
Hussein, Iraqis had no personal or political freedom, but they retained the basic necessities for
their immediate survival, and UN humanitarian agencies operated with relative security. Today,
despite the coalition intervention, Iraqis and the UN enjoy neither. The US appointed Governing
Council is deprived of the political power required to have any significant say in the affairs of Iraq.
Moreover, the infrastructure remains highly dysfunctional, while the security situation for skilled
national and international UN workers has never been as insecure, preventing the implementation
of a solid reconstruction program.
Third, and perhaps worst, the Bush administration lacks the humility needed to win the hearts of
9

a long-suffering people. In stark contrast to the words of Sergio Vieira de Mello and his staff, the
Bush administration, through US civil administrator Paul Bremer and his staff on the ground,
tends to tell the Iraqis what they should or should not do with an attitude of both teaching and
preaching. A case in point is Paul Bremer’s bullet-point orders to the Iraqi Governing Council following
the attack on the United Nations, whereby he urged the Council to give the public the
impression that this puppet body was in charge of the country. “Tell them that the Governing
Council needs to be seen governing, not later, but now,” the memo from his staff read. The patronizing
tone of Bremer’s command to the powerless Council, whose hands are tied to US directives,
did not go down well with some of its members. “We should have a real government, and then we
could begin to solve Iraq’s problems,” one Council member responded in indignation.
As for George W. Bush’s personal attitude to international problems, we are all too familiar with
his crusade-like approach in the name of the “civilized world.” Tragically, the definition of “civilization”
by the world’s most powerful political leader has proven to be a world order where international
human rights law and the UN Charter, both of which represent humanity’s most profound
and noble aspirations, are disregarded in favor of the US national interest.
Most absurdly, the Bush administration has cornered the United Nations into legitimizing its
breaches of international law. By adopting Security Council resolutions 1483 and 1500, the UN
— scrambling for space to protect the Iraqi people — was placed in the bizarre position of collaborating
with the very same power that had trashed its founding principles. As the Security Council
meets again to find a solution to a problem that is inextricably linked to the Bush administration’s
disrespect for the UN Charter, one can only hope that U.N. diplomats will be guided by Sergio
Vieira de Mello’s last words, spoken as he lay dying in extreme pain: “Don’t let them pull out the
mission.”
In remembrance of our colleagues who died for the founding principles of the UN, the Security
Council must now opt for a path that is consistent with the UN Charter and our universal standards.
Moving to end the occupation based on a clear timetable, allowing free and fair elections,
and restoring Iraqi sovereignty will be more effective at ending the current insecurity and instability
in Iraq than adding more tanks to the streets of an occupied country.
The UN must finally take charge of the reconstruction of Iraq simply because it knows something
that the current US administration has proven it does not understand: liberty and human rights
emerge out of trust and national ownership, not out of force and humiliation.
Professor Sherif’s article was published by Reuters Foundation Alertnet (based in London) on 3
September 2003. Reuters Alertnet reports on humanitarian global issues and primarily addresses
the humanitarian, UN, and NGO communities (the Web Site has an estimated 100,000
readers/month).
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10

ACUNS MEETS IN NEW YORK AND MOVES TO WATERLOO
James Sutterlin
The Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) held its annual meeting from 12-
14 June 2003 in New York City. The theme of the meeting was A World Free of Fear, and plenary
sessions dealt with various aspects of this broad subject. Ambassador William J. vanden Heuvel
recalled that freedom from fear was one of the four freedoms defined by President Franklin D.
Roosevelt as objectives for which the Allies fought in World War II and which underlay the founding
of the United Nations.
The well-attended meeting was highlighted by a public conversation with UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan conducted by Barbara Crossette, the former New York Times UN Bureau Chief at the
New York. The Secretary General responded frankly to questions on US/UN relations, the war in
Iraq, events in Liberia, and efforts being made by the UN to meet global economic development
and health care challenges. Nico Schrijver, former ACUNS Board chair, delivered the annual John
Holmes Memorial Lecture on The Use of Force Under the UN Charter: Restrictions and
Loopholes. The keynote dinner speaker was the Honorable William (Bill) Graham, the Canadian
minister of foreign affairs and international trade. The minister’s remarks clearly presaged the
welcome that ACUNS will receive in its new headquarters in Canada.
Having moved from Yale on 1 July, 2003, ACUNS is now happily ensconced on the campus of
Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada. ACUNS also enjoys the support of the
University of Waterloo and the Center for International Governance Innovation, both of which are
close neighbors of Wilfred Laurier. Waterloo is located just 45 minutes by car from Toronto’s
International Airport. With the change in location, ACUNS acquired a new staff. Alistair Edgar, a
professor at Wilfred Laurier University, is the new executive director. John Allison, who teaches
both at Wilfred Laurier and the University of Waterloo, will be in charge of outreach, while
Katherine Sage Hayes will be responsible for program development. While the cast and locale
have changed, the policy objectives of ACUNS remain the same.
ACUNS, Wilfred Laurier University, 75 University Avenue, West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
N2L 3C5 (acuns@wlu.ca; www.acuns.wlu.ca)
❃ ❃ ❃
APPLICATION DEADLINES
Comprehensive Examination 1 October 2004, 11 February 2005
Graduation: 1 October 2004 (January Degree), 7 February 2005 (May Degree)
11

INTERNSHIPS
THE OFFICE FOR COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS
Agnieszka Godos
While participating in the United Nations
Program at Long Island University, it is really
advisable to apply for an internship at the
United Nations Headquarters or at other
organizations affiliated with the UN. Just
think about the possibility of meeting people
from all over the world, working with a professional
international staff, participating in
conferences and briefings, attending Security
Council open meetings, and having access to
a rich source of information (very helpful in
finding material for your courses)!
After three days of introduction to the “UN family” you will begin working in your department,
where your supervisors will explain your responsibilities and areas of work. Most often your tasks
will include doing research, writing reports, taking notes during conferences, searching databases
or working on a specific project.
During my internship at the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),
Department of Policy Development and Studies Section, I did a lot of research on internally displaced
persons and their current situations in the countries where OCHA was conducting relief
efforts. I also worked on the project of preparing National Policy for IDPs in Uganda. Besides, I
had a chance to participate in a few inspiring meetings and conferences, e.g. Security Council
meetings on counter-terrorism, a conference on introducing methods of telecommunication in
Afghanistan, and a conference under the theme, Afghan Women Today: Realities and
Opportunities. Afterwards, I wrote summaries or reports and submitted them to my supervisor.
As I remember, every task was in a way interesting and absorbing. On the whole, the internship
was really challenging. I can assure you that it was a great and unforgettable experience; especially
when at the end you had the feeling of having made a contribution. A year has already passed,
but I feel like I finished my internship yesterday. It will give you memories forever, not only of
the place but also of the people you met and worked with.
At the end of the internship all the interns gather for a picture and short meeting with UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, with a traditional handshake. I was sad to see it all come to a close.
The internship not only gives you practical training, but it also can provide a rich social life as
well. To obtain an application form for an internship with the United Nations in New York City,
you may download www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/intern.htm.
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THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR PROJECT SERVICES
Sri Raman
My first task at the United Nations Office for Project
Services was to help in the preparation of its Annual Report,
which included gathering statistics, designing the pages,
contacting agents and clients and noting their comments,
and finally formatting the document. In the midst of this, I
had several other tasks to do, such as helping revise annual
budget papers, downloading reports on the Internet, accompanying
staff to meetings and taking minutes.
This internship gave me an opportunity to interact with UN staff from different countries and of
diverse cultural backgrounds. I also participated in some key decision-making meetings (Project
Acceptance Review Committee) as an observer and this gave me an understanding of how large
development programs are implemented.
I would say that this experience has developed and reinforced a lot of positive personal traits, such
as patience, maturity, confidence and prioritization of tasks. It also has given me an introduction
to office work and, above all, to the operational modalities of a vast international organization
such as the UN. It was a true introduction to diplomacy.
THE CARNEGIE COUNCIL ON ETHICS AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Elizabeth Nelson
I was an intern in the publications department of the
Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs for a
period of eight months. The publications department consisted
of the managing, associate and production editors,
and myself. Most of my time was spent working on the journal
Ethics & International Affairs, which at that time was
published annually.
I was able to work on various aspects of the journal. My responsibilities included coordinating the
placement of advertisements in the journal as well as updating and creating new indices. By far
the most interesting aspect was reviewing the articles that came in. The editors were eager for my
feedback and open to my suggestions for revisions.
I was able to use what I had learned from the UN Program during this internship, in the same way
that I was able to use what I had learned at the Council in my classes. The two complimented each
other very well. The Carnegie Council is a small, close-knit organization that was very welcoming.
Having a strong interest in academics, I found it a very inspiring place to work.
13

AT MEDICINS SANS FRONTIERES
Thanda
My internship at MSF-UN Liaison Office, from June 1998
to May 1999, exposed me to both NGOs and the UN. The
internship complemented what I had learned in LIU’s
International Humanitarian Assistance class. As an intern, I
assisted Catherine Dumait-Harper, MSF Representative to
the United Nations, to liaise with the UN, with Member
States and other NGOs.
I helped Ms. Dumait-Harper prepare for briefings, conferences, roundtables and panel discussions.
I attended UN-NGO meetings and informed MSF headquarters and field staff of UN
humanitarian activities. I updated contact lists in database and e-mail. I drafted memos and daily
correspondence, and coordinated meetings between MSF staff and UN officials. I organized and
kept records on MSF country missions and thematic issues. I attended MSF briefings and debriefings
of MSF doctors and nurses. In short, I helped facilitate MSF advocacy efforts involving the
United Nations, Member States and especially the donors, and NGOs.
AT THE UN DPI/NGO SECTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC INFORMATION
Lisa Matos
The DPI/NGO Section has two different offices inside the
UN where different work is done. The chief of the section,
Paul Hoeffel, wanted the interns to have an opportunity to
work in both the Resource Center and the 10 th floor office.
From September to mid-October, I worked on the 10 th floor
and helped organize the daylong DPI/NGO
Communications Workshop, which was held at the end of
November. The following six weeks I spent in the NGO/DPI
Resource Center.
I helped put the Communications Workshop program together and attended planning meetings
with the workshop speakers. The following six weeks I spent in the NGO/DPI Resource Center
where I also helped with the NGO accreditation process, sending out information, organizing the
files, etc. In working with the DPI, I acquired a different perspective on how international civil
society envisages the UN.
The DPI/NGO Section staff was my family during the time I was in New York for the internship.
New York can be a very intimidating city, but I always felt protected and taken care of by them.
They made me want to come back to New York and to the UN. The following year, Fall 2001, I
started the UN graduate studies program at Long Island University.
14

THE PH.D.
Hiroshi Kaihara
I graduated from Meiji University, a private university in Japan, in 1988.
Somehow I wanted to work for the United Nations. So I left Japan in 1993
and spent a year learning English at the University of South Alabama in
Mobile. The following year, I came to New York and began studies that
led to a Master’s Degree in Social Science and a United Nations Graduate
Certificate (1996). I chatted with Professor Wilson a lot. That helped
improve my oral communication skills and remains a good memory. I
stayed in the Brooklyn Campus dormitory and, although I could go anywhere
I wanted, I rarely ventured off campus, even to go to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Rather, I became completely absorbed in studying, almost like a
monk. Two books in particular opened my eyes: Ernest Gellner’s Plow, Sword and Book and Karl
Popper’s Open Society and Its Enemies.
In the fall of 1997, I became an International Relations major in the Political Science Department
at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). You have to do a lot to earn
a Ph.D.! You need to complete 60 credits of course work, pass two comprehensive exams (one
written, one oral), pass two foreign language tests, and write a dissertation. The written exam is
on your major and minor fields. During the oral exam, you are grilled by five professors. Actually,
I had fun because everybody listened to me! I passed the Japanese language exam, obviously, and
was able to substitute a Chinese course taken at Hunter College for the test in a second foreign
language.
The dissertation was one of my most frustrating experiences. First, I could not come up with a
good idea. Idly, one year passed by. So I changed my mind and decided to write on something I
could do with my present ability. I chose the political power structure of Japanese politics. Then
I had a very hard time communicating with my dissertation sponsor. You cannot get your dissertation
accepted unless your sponsor gives you the green light. The longer I worked with my sponsor,
the more I realized how our views differed. And this all happened even though I had chosen
the sponsor! Nonetheless, I successfully defended my dissertation in December 2003. That was
the final stage of the whole Ph.D. process. It took almost 7 years (from spring 1997 to fall 2003),
although I took two years of leave of absence.
Now, having acquired a Ph.D., the real test for me has started. Yes, I need a job!! The job market
for political science is too tight. Simply too many universities are producing too many Ph.D.s for
not very many tenured positions. Right now, I have a graduate teaching fellowship from the
Graduate Center, which guarantees me a modest salary for three years, and I am teaching
American politics, American foreign policy, world politics, and East Asian politics at Brooklyn
College as an adjunct instructor. Probably because I look young (although I am already 35, not
young at all by Japanese standards), naturally students challenge me freely. So I have to prepare
for their ambushes. Overall I enjoy teaching. After all, I am only discussing something I am interested
in. So if I can continue to teach with a better salary my life will not be so bad. My email
address is hkaihara@gc.cuny.edu.
❃ ❃ ❃
15

CERTIFICATE IN UNITED NATIONS STUDIES, 2003-2004
Betsuaye Wilson Abia
Mehret Asefaw
Joseph O. Babatunde
Roaslind M. Chandler
Aminata R. Coker
Agnieszka Godos
Aina Etuhole Iiyambo
Elba Janeth Lara
Lorna Allison Malcolm
Lisa Matos
Esther Dawn Nunez
PUBLICATIONS / PAPERS
Jacques Fomerand, The Role of the United Nations in the Fight Against Terrorism.
Conference Paper: 7 th Biannual Conference on International Perspectives on Crime, Justice and
Public Order. Bucharest, June 2004
Jacques Fomerand, “Issues Before the General Assembly: UN Humanitarian Interventions”, in
UN/USA Annual Issues Before the General Assembly, 2004
Jean Krasno and James Sutterlin, The United Nations and Iraq: Defanging the Viper, 2003
James Sutterlin, The UN and the Maintenance of International Security, 2 nd ed., 2003
Michael Tarallo (MA, ’95) UN Budgeting: A Sound Leap Forward, 2004
NEW COURSES
UN 717: The United Nations and Global Terrorism
This course explores these questions with particular attention to the novel features of the threat
posed by terrorism to international peace and security. It examines the effectiveness of applying
traditional models and mechanisms for dealing with the security challenges posed by terrorism
and addressing its root causes, and what can be done through the United Nations to contain and
suppress terrorism. Professor Fomerand
UN 716: The United Nations and the Middle East
The seminar will examine the events that led to the initial involvement and continued engagement
of the United Nations in the Middle East. Starting with the Balfour Declaration through the independence
of Israel followed by the various Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on
the situation to the present “road map”, the student will explore the role of the United Nations in
the Israel/Palestine question. The seminar will also discuss the impact of the Gulf War, the recent
intervention in Iraq, and the current challenges facing the United Nations in the fields of democratization,
disarmament, and human rights in the region. Professor Sherif
16

NEWS FROM FAR AND NEAR
Mahamadou Abou is in Sierra Leone, where he is the Executive Director of the OIC
Trust Fund for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Humanitarian Assistance. Manuel
Arcos, MS’01, has been promoted to Deputy Chief of the Security and Safety
Section in the United Nations Office at Vienna. Jose Caballero, MA’98, is in northern
Sierra Leone where he directs a new Xavarian Missionaries program based on
education (schools, formation of teachers, etc.) to help bring development to this
remote area of the country. Kelly Campion-Socol, MS’96, is database manager for
the Jacob Burns Film Center, a not-for-profit cultural arts institution in Pleasantville,
NY. Also, little Paige Nancy is a new arrival in the Socol household. (Please refer to
the “Class of 2025”.) Benjamin Enoma, MPA’98, is in the Ph.D. program at the
Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He received a Dean Harrison
Fellowship Award and an Urban Education University Fellowship. Jorge Flores,
MS’95, has returned to the Honduran Mission to the United Nations as deputy
ambassador. Milena Gomez Mikac, MS’96, is working for Canada Customs and
Revenue as an enforcement officer. Ricardo Mikac was added to the family on 11
June. Takakazu Ito is in the Security Sector Team at UNDP/Kosovo as a program
analyst. Leslie Jean-Pierre recently founded The Minority Peace Corps Association.
Tomoko Kase, MS’96, joined General Electric in Tokyo as a mid-career executive.
She recruits international staffing. Shova Khatry, MS’98, is still with UNEP in
Nairobi. Yashna Khatry (MS’30) was born in June 2003. Neil Liberty, MA’97, has
moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he is in his second year of teaching history and
English. Martha Mai-Gould, MS’02, has been appointed Deputy Project Manager
of the UN Office for Project Services’ Iraq Project. Alvaro Melo, MS’99, is organizing
a UN Program Alumni Advisory Committee. Md. Moslehuddin, MS’96 is an
account administrator in the New York City Office of Labor Relations. Elizabeth
Nelson, MS’01, is completing her first “grueling” year at Columbia University Law
School. Susan Ngo-Mandong, MS’95, has returned to the United Nations
Population Fund’s Africa Division after twenty months in the United Nations Office
of Projects and Services. Vincenzo Pugliese works as an assistant in the
Communications and Speechwriting Unit in the Executive Office of the Secretary-
General; Selvyn Saldano, MS’99, after a two-year assignment in Beirut, is contemplating
returning to New York, or perhaps to the Regional Commission for the
Caribbean. He successfully passed the “G to P” examination in 2001. Mohmmed
Saleh, MA’03, is in the Directorate of International Organizations at Bahrain’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also lectures to newly appointed diplomats on UNrelated
issues and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Peace Studies at Bradford University
(UK). Lester Wilson, PhD’63, as a member of the Executive Committee of NGOs
Associated with the UN Department of Public Information, is chairman of its
Communications Workshops and Elections Committees. He also is co-editor of the
Committee’s NGO Reporter.
❃ ❃ ❃
17

FALL 2004 SEMESTER COURSES
History 632:
Political Science 630:
Political Science 642:
UN 692:
UN 706:
UN 710:
Contemporary World History
Professor Wilson
The American Constitution and Political System
Professor Dimaio (Brooklyn, POL SCI required course)
International Organizations, United Nations and its Affiliated
Agencies
Professor Sutterlin
Modern Diplomacy
Staff
International Humanitarian Assistance
Staff
Research Methods
Professor Wilson
SPRING 2005 SEMESTER COURSES
POL 505:
POL 547:
POL 605:
SOC 606:
SOC 553:
UN 711:
Foundations of Political Theory
Professor Ehrenberg (Brooklyn, POL SCI required course)
Human Rights in World Politics
Staff
Conflict Resolution
Professor Sutterlin
Sociology of Population and Demography
Professor Kusukawa
World Social Development
Professor Wilson
Research Seminar
Professor Wilson
18

Vincenzo Pugliese, Editor
Photography: United Nations, UN/DPI Photo