Office at the United Nations, New York

As part of its Midday Forum Series the UNU hosted the newly appointed Turkish Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, His Excellency Mr. Ertuğrul Apakan. With internal and international conflicts still a reality Mr. Apakan discussed how the international community can best fulfill its role and responsibilities as a mediator in conflict situations. The session was moderated by UNU-ONY's Director, Dr. Jean-Marc Coicaud.

Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Time: 1:15pm to 2:30pm EDT, GMT -5
Venue: Conference Room 9, UN Headquarters, NY, New York

Event reports both in PDF and Word format:

• Report for Event - Download Word Version
• Report for Event - Download PDF

  
  Event Pictures
  

  
  Background Readings:
  

  • Triad in Crisis: The Important Relationship of Humanitarian, Intervention and Reconstruction Organisations, The International Business Community, and Societies in Conflict - PDF
  • 'From Shelf to Field - Functional Knowledge for Conflict Management' - PDF
  • The Responsibility to Protect - PDF
  • UNGA - Address by the Turkish Prime Minister - LINK
  • Turkey Address at the UN - Responsibility To Protect /UNGA - LINK
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  Speaker Profile
  Ertuğrul Apakan, born in Bornova-Izmir, Turkey, in 1947, and married with two children, was recently appointed as the Turkish Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Apakan served as the Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey from December 2006 until August 2009, and as Deputy Under-Secretary for Bilateral Political Affairs from 2004 to 2006. From 2000, he was Director General for Bilateral Political Affairs and Maritime Affairs and Aviation.

  Having joined the Foreign Ministry in 1971, Mr. Apakan held increasingly responsible positions, including as the Second Secretary in the General Directorate of Political Affairs (1975), Head of Section in the Department of Middle East and Africa (1980), and Head of the Department of Bilateral Economic Relations (1987). He also served overseas as Second Secretary at the embassy in Vienna (1975), First Secretary in Kuwait (1978) and Counsellor of the Permanent Mission to the United Nations Geneva Office (1982).

  In 1992, he was appointed Deputy Director General for Cyprus and Greece in the Foreign Ministry, and in 1996 the Turkish Government appointed him ambassador in northern Cyprus.

  Mr. Apakan received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Ankara University and earned a master's degree in economics at the Aegean University in Izmir, Turkey, in 1970.

  Moderator Profile

  Dr. Jean-Marc Coicaud is the Director of the United Nations University (UNU) Office at the United Nations in New York. He was Senior Academic Officer at the UNU in Tokyo from 1996 to 2003. Before joining UNU, he served in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General as a speechwriter for Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1992-1996). A former fellow at Harvard University (Center for International Affairs, Department of Philosophy and Harvard Law School, from 1986 to 1992), Coicaud has held appointments such as Cultural Attaché with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Legislative Aide with the European Parliament (Financial Committee), Associate Professor at the University of Paris, Visiting Professor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure-Ulm in Paris and Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management. He has also taught at the New School for Social Research (New York). He has been a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (Washington, D.C.) and a Global Research Fellow at New York University School of Law. Coicaud holds a Ph.D. in political science-law from the Sorbonne and a Doctorat d'Etat in philosophy from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques of Paris. In addition, he holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in literature and linguistics. Jean-Marc Coicaud is a member of the Advisory Board of Carnegie Council's Global Policy Innovations (New York). He also serves as an adviser for the Fondation pour l'Innovation Politique (Paris).

  Jean-Marc Coicaud has published 14 books in the fields of comparative politics, political and legal theory, international relations and international law. They are available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic, and include the following single-authored books: Politics and Legitimacy: A Contribution to the Study of Political Right and Political Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2002), Beyond the National Interest (United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), Kokuren no Genkai/Kokuren no Mirai (Future of the UN/Limits of the UN - Fujiwara Shoten, 2007), Mai Xiang Guo Ji Fa Zhi (Towards the International Rule of Law - Sanlian Shudian, 2008). His latest book, co-edited with Hilary Charlesworth, is Fault Lines of International Legitimacy (Cambridge University Press, 2009).