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HIGHLIGHT


Federal Councillor Burkhalter - ISF Opening

From 22 to 24 April, the GCSP hosted the 10th International Security Forum (ISF), with funding support from the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

The conference was opened with a keynote speech delivered by Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, while other notable speakers at the conference included Ms Tarja Halonen, Former President of Finland, Mr Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva (read his address) and Ambassador Anatoly Antonov, Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation (read his address). In total the ISF convened 29 panels, 125 panelists and around 700 participants from around the world.

The overall theme for the conference was 'Facing a World of Transitions', with three main strands focusing on 'Human Security', 'Managing Transitions in the Middle East and North Africa', and 'Conflict and Arms Control'. Panels and discussions ranged from the 'US, China and the Asia-Pacific Century', through 'Global Environmental Change', to 'New Issues in Peacebuilding'.

Besides convening solutions-oriented panels, we hope that ISF has also made concrete contributions towards resolving some of the challenges discussed throughout the conference by promoting networking among the conference participants, and engaging via social media with an engaged and active virtual audience.
  • Take a closer look here at the issues covered during the conference  

NEWS

During the month of April, the Emerging Security Challenges Programme took advantage of the NPT Preparatory Committee meetings held at the UN Office in Geneva to organise a number of disarmament activities (see below). The events ranged from public discussions with senior government officials to invitation-only retreats to examine trends in non-proliferation, disarmament and arms control.
  • 30 April: NGO Briefing on the Conference on a WMD-Free Zone in the Middle East at the UN in Geneva >>More 
  • 27 April: Workshop on "Prospects for the Open-Ended Working Group on Disarmament" at the GCSP in Geneva >>More 
  • 22 April: "Nuclear Weapons: The State of Play" PrepCom Side-Event at the UN in Geneva >>More 
  • 20-21 April: Retreat for NPT PrepCom Heads of Delegation in Glion, Switzerland >>More 
  • 09 April: Publication launch: "Moving Beyond Nuclear Deterrence to a Nuclear Weapons-Free World" >>More 
Opening of Second Session of NPT Review PrepCom

The GCSP releases its 2012 Annual Report: "A Year of Transition"

The report presents key activities and achievements of the Centre in 2012 in its three main areas of work (professional training, policy research and public dialogue) while putting the emphasis on the change process which made 2012 a "year of transition". Among the main changes was the new programmatic structure which saw the consolidation of the Centre's activities in three new programmes: Leadership in Conflict Management, Emerging Security Challenges and Regional Capacity Development. >>More
2012 Annual Report Cover

On Friday 25 April, Dr Nils Melzer, Senior Programme Advisor and Senior Fellow at the GCSP, presented his study on "Human Rights Implications of the Usage of Drones and Unmanned Robots in Warfare" at a Joint Hearing of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence of the European Parliament in Brussels. The hearing examined legal and policy challenges as well as issues of transparency and accountability arising from the increased use of drones and other unmanned weapons systems. >>More 
Dr Nils Melzer


Du 8 au 12 avril, les trente participants et accompagnateurs de l' ITC 27 ont particip� � l'exercice Coalition 2013 � l'Ecole militaire � Paris. Cet exercice, d'une dur�e totale de trois semaines, est consid�r� par beaucoup comme le plus grand exercice d'Etat-major aux niveaux op�ratif et tactique. Plus de 700 participants (diplomates, militaires, journalistes, chercheurs, etc.) ont pris part � l'exercice. >>En savoir plus
Exercice Coalition 2013 Paris


The 14th New Issues in Security Course (NISC) opened on 10 April 2013. The course brings together 24 participants from 19 countries as well as from M�decins Sans Fronti�res (MSF). The participants come from the ministries of foreign affairs, defence, interior, and justice of their respective nations. The NISC is a 3-month course which focuses on new, non-traditional threats to security. In 2013 the course covers current issues such as climate change, migration and demography, food and health security, developments in the Middle East and human security. >>More
From NISC Brochure


EVENTS

This Public Discussion will reflect on both current trends in Sino-U.S. relations and on possible future prospects. It will seek to answer the following questions: 1) Are Sino-U.S. relations ripe for renovation, restructuring or reset? 2) Is there the political will and strategic skill in China and the U.S. to construct a cooperative relationship addressing contemporary sources of insecurity? >>Register
Source: Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)



The main speaker will be Mr Feroz Hassan Khan, former Brigadier General in the Pakistani army, currently on the faculty of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. He is the author of Eating Grass: The Making of the Pakistani Bomb (Stanford University Press, 2012), which portrays an insider's account of the Pakistani nuclear programme. He served in the Strategic Plans Division, Joint Services Headquarters of the Pakistani army, and was involved with Pakistan army's supervision of the nuclear programme until his retirement in 2003. >>Register
Feroz Hassan Khan


On 1 May, the GSCP organised in collaboration with the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) a public discussion on the role of civil society in political transitions. Guest speakers included Dr Thania Paffenholz (IHEID), Professor Riccardo Bocco (IHEID) and Dr Yasmine Farouk (Cairo University). Dr Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou (GCSP and IHEID) chaired the event. The discussion presented the interim findings of the project "Arab Spring: Challenges during Political Transitions and Comparative Lessons for Civil Societies in the Middle East and North Africa" launched in 2011 by a team of researchers at IHEID and the GCSP with a range of international partners. >>More
Dr Yasmine Farouk


GCSP Senior Fellow and Senior Programme Advisor Dr Nils Melzer chaired this debate at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights among high-level military and humanitarian practitioners and academic experts on the geographical scope of military operations in the context of international law. The discussion highlighted growing concerns over the blurring territorial confines of contemporary military confrontations, particularly in relation to the current U.S. policy of drone attacks against suspected terrorists, but also the potential emergence of military conflicts in cyberspace. >>More
� Cpl Mark Webster


This outreach event was organised by the GCSP and DCAF to present and discuss the independent oversight mechanism to be launched this summer (in the form of an association) in order to promote, govern and oversee the implementation of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoC) and to promote the responsible provision of security services and the respect of human rights and national and international law. The panelists gave an overview of the process so far and the challenges specific to their stakeholder pillars (i.e. industry, civil society and governments), as well as the next steps. >>More
U.S. Army photo by Sgt Russell Gilchrest


TRAINING


13-24 May - Executive Course on Multilateralism: "The Evolving Multilateral System - International Geneva Policy Debates".This course represents an essential event for diplomats and other government officials already posted or to be posted in a multilateral setting, as well as for those particularly interested in multilateralism. Each year, it welcomes the new generation of Swiss diplomats. Limited places are also available for diplomats from other states. This annual course is organised for the 8th consecutive year by the GCSP in association with the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and with the support of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. >>More
 
21-28 June - European Security and Defence College (ESDC) Course on Peacebuilding (Austria). The course is jointly organised by the Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ASPR), the Austrian Ministry of Defence and Sports, and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) in the framework of the Academic Programme of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC). Since 2009, the course has provided professionals from diverse backgrounds with a comprehensive approach to peacebuilding. >>More



10 April-3 July -
14th New Issues in Security Course (NISC): "Global Peace and Security: Challenges and Responses". The NISC is designed to address the main challenges facing global peace and security, and to search for effective responses to these challenges. This course aims to prepare participants for enhanced policy planning, decision making and practical implementation in a range of complex and interlinked peace and security situations. This year, 26 participants from 21 countries are taking part in the course. >>More  

 

09 October-7 June - 27th International Training Course in Security Policy (ITC). The ITC is designed to train participants who will serve in the broad area of security policy and will interact in some form with international agencies engaged in security-related political and military decision-making. >> More 

 

 

RECENT TRAINING COURSES:  

 

29 April-7 May - 5th Defence Attach� Orientation Module for West African, Central African and Maghreb Countries. The course, held in Dakar, Senegal, brought together 35 participants from 16 different countries including, for the first time, 4 participants from the Maghreb (Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia).  >>More    

   

24 April-2 May - GCSP Expert Training Modules: Demography (24 April); Movement of People (25 April); Climate Change (30 April); Food Security (1 May); Global Public Health (2 May). >>More

24-25 April - GCSP Expert Training Module on New Frontiers in Intelligence. This training module explored the impact of rising challenges on the practice of intelligence. A particular emphasis wase placed on new technologies, new partners, new actors and their impact on both analysis and operations. >>More

22-26 April - ESDC Advanced Course for Political Advisors in EU Missions and OperationsThis course (consisting of three five-day modules) was conducted under the auspices of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) in partnership with the Austrian National Defence Academy and the Egmont Institute in Brussels. >>More

17-19 April - Seminar on Leadership and Cooperation in Complex Environments. The seminar was led by the German Armed Forces College, in collaboration with the GCSP. It is designated for 15 German Officers preparing for future senior leadership positions in international and multidimensional environments.>>More

 

 

RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS 


GCSP is proud to present the following new publications:

GCSP Geneva Paper - Research Series n�12

World Views: Negotiating the North Korean Nuclear Issue

by Alain Guidetti (ed.)

>>Download publication
Geneva Paper 2013 n�12

GCSP Policy Paper 2013/4

Domestic and Regional Challenges in Mali after the French Intervention

by Dr Gerald Hainzl

>>Download publication

PP 2013-4 Hainzl Cover

GCSP 2012 Annual Report

A Year of Transition

>>Download publication
2012 Annual Report Cover

GCSP Policy Paper 2013/1

Quelle s�curit� pour l'Occident dans un ordre mondial post-occidental :
le troisi�me �accord transatlantique� de l'OTAN ?


by Dr Graeme P. Herd

>>Download publication
PP_2013-1_Herd_FR

All GCSP publications are available for download on the GCSP website. Contact: [email protected].

TESTIMONIAL ON THE 10th INTERNATIONAL SECURITY FORUM (ISF)        


Testimonial_KKDr Khalid Koser, Deputy Director and Academic Dean, GCSP

I had the distinct honour to chair three panels at the International Security Forum, on 'US, China and the Asia-Pacific', 'Diasporas: Global Players in Regional Transformations', and 'Security: The Next Millennium Development Goal'. While the panels of course covered very different topics - and their diversity is in itself a testament to the variety of issues included in ISF - three things struck me as I chaired each panel. The first was not just the calibre of the interventions, whether delivered from an academic, policy, or practitioner perspective, but the ability of all the speakers to bridge these usually very distinct professional approaches. Shared commitment towards better information and data, analysis, and solutions, meant that the panelists uniformly talked to - rather than past - one another. Second was the engagement of the audience. Despite the large numbers (over one hundred in each of the panels that I chaired) and the less than conducive layout of the conference rooms, each panel generated genuine debate and dialogue. This was not a case of preaching to the converted, and in some cases some very fundamental disagreements over principle and purpose arose. Finally, more prosaically but no more importantly, my job as chair was made infinitely easier by the professionalism of the staff supporting the conference - although I have a minor gripe that I was given Swiss chocolates to hand out to each of the panelists but received none myself!

Two weeks on, GCSP is wrapping up ISF, a task that ranges from preparing a web report to recycling banners and conference bags. The initial low that  always comes at the end of an enormous project like ISF has been overtaken by a genuine pride in the event and what it achieved. GCSP has been proud to host the ISF and to contribute to its growing profile as the global go-to conference on security issues.

Khalid Koser ISF 2013