IIASA Deputy Director General for Science Leena Srivastava will speak at the Global Annual meeting of the Academy Council on the United Nations System focusing on the urgent need for a more comprehensive and authoritative approach to global threats of a non-military nature.

Toward a Fit for Future United Nations © Kts | Dreamstime.com

How can the UN system ensure it is “fit for the future” and “fit for purpose” ? How can scholars, practitioners, students, science and technology experts, and community-based actors engage and collaborate more fruitfully in devising pathways that will result in growth and prosperity for all? Across the global landscape, many are calling for action to improve human security, dignity, social justice, global public health, protection of basic human rights, and multilateral cooperation.

The 2021 Academy Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) Annual Meeting is bringing together prominent speakers to address these vital questions. Experts include Mark Malloch Brown, President of the Open Society Foundations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping; Melissa Fleming, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, and former UN General Assembly President, Maria Fernanda Espinosa.

IIASA Deputy Director General for Science Leena Srivastava will speak at an online roundtable discussion addressing the need for a Security Council to respond to increasing non-military global crises, such as the recent pandemic, changes in climate, and water and food insecutiry etc. The discussion is organized by the Foundation for Global Governance and Sustainability (FOGGS).

This event will take place online, please register to attend.

 


Thursday, 24 June 2021 18:30-19:45 CEST

Roundtable: A ‘Security Council’ for Non-Military Global Crises?

The roundtable discussion will focus on the urgent need for a more comprehensive and authoritative approach to global threats of a non- military nature, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing climate crisis, recurring financial crises, and food and water insecurity.  It will explore the need for a body like the FOGGS-proposed 'Global Resilience Council' that could be seen as a counterpart to the UN Security Council, with similar collective response and obligatory powers but in charge of non-military threats.

Chair: Richard Kinley, FOGGS

Participants:

  • Harris Gleckman, FOGGS
  • Maja Petrea C.E. Groff, Global Governance Forum, Global Challenges Foundation, Leiden University
  • Tapio Kanninen, Global Crisis Information Network Inc., (GCINET)
  • Augusto Lopez-Claros, Global Governance Forum
  • Leena Srivastava, Deputy Director General for Science, IIASA
  • Silke Weinlich, Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik, German Development Institute.

ABOUT ACUNS

The Academic Council on the United Nations System is an independent nonprofit association of scholars, practitioners, institutions, and individuals active in the work and study of the UN. ACUNS stimulates and supports dialogue and research about issues of global concern and international cooperation. Through events, publications, and online networking opportunities, ACUNS fosters analysis and debate about major international challenges. It aims to increase the accessibility of the UN system to scholars,and facilitates the development of new scholarship about the UN and international affairs. ACUNS recognizes exceptional scholarship in the UN system, while also striving to translate and disseminate academic knowledge into practical recommendations for policy advisers and policymakers. Through its work, ACUNS seeks to nurture the growth of excellent scholarship, legal instruments, and informed policy solutions to global challenges.