Mr. Mari Yamashita, Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General of Part 2 (and Director of Belgrade Office, United Nations Institute for Transitional Authority for Cosovo) (April 3, 2021 (Japan time) (Overview)))

≪Yokohama International Human Resource Development Project≫

―Lectures for university students in Yokohama by Japanese staff of the United Nations -

Mr. Mari Yamashita, Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General of Part 2 (and Director of Belgrade Office, United Nations Institute for Transitional Authority for Cosovo)

Lecture (April 3, 2021 (Japan time) (Overview)))

●Date and time of implementation:
Wednesday, April 3, 2021, 21:00-23:15 JST
(Belgrade time, Wednesday, April 3, 2021, 14:00 to 16:15)
(Wednesday, April 3, 2021, 08:00 to 10:15)

●Speaker:
Representative of UN Secretary-General (and Director of Belgrade Office, United Nations Institute for Transitional Authority for Cosovo)
Mari Yamashita

●Method of implementation: Online

●Participant: 15 students from Yokohama City University's Faculty of International Science and the Faculty of Liberal Arts

●Teacher in charge: Associate Professor Makoto Seta, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Yokohama City University
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Associate Professor Takashi Yoshinaga, Faculty of Business and Commerce
　　　　

●Contents of the lecture:
①"International Peace and Safety"
- Maintaining international peace
- Dispute Prevention
- United Nations Actor
- UNMIK United Nations Kosovo provisional governing organization
②United Nations Career

At the lecture, Mr. Yamashita talked about the appeal of the United Nations, the United Nations' beliefs on international peace and security, trends in international peace and security, the United Nations Actors for conflict prevention, peace and security, specific examples of UN preventive diplomacy, and the United Nations Transitional Authority for International Peace and Security, and the United Nations Transitional Authority for International Relations and Security.

At the beginning of the lecture, he sent a message to the participating students saying, "The United Nations is a workplace where you can feel working with the heartbeat of the world based on the beliefs set forth in the United Nations Charter, and I hope that the United Nations will be considered as a career."
In the field of specialization, the UN’s conviction to maintain international peace is the UN’s conviction, in particular, the spirit of the preamble of the UN Charter is the most important, and the international peace and security trend is that the large migration of people, including migrant refugees, has a significant impact on the environment and human rights sectors, and that the distribution of interests related to international economy and trade is inequality, and trade, and other matters, and other matters.
Among the United Nations Actors, in particular, the Secretary-General, in particular, spoke in detail about the fact that they sometimes play a role as the sixth permanent member of the Security Council for peace and security, and that they are conducting their own activities ("circular activities") that take on the functions of substantive conflict prevention, mediation, mediation, and mediation by conducting dialogue with anyone without discrimination from a fair and impartial standpoint. In addition, as specific examples of UN preventive diplomacy, he gave examples of the Kashmir dispute and the Korean Peninsula, etc., and explained from a practical professional perspective.

On the other hand, there is an example of emotional repulsion arising from the basic stance of the United Nations supporting minority groups in addition to the recent activities of UNMIK, and emotional repulsion caused by the UN’s basic stance to support minority groups (* Kosovo, the minority groups that had been supported by the United Nations before the independence of Kosovo, have become a majority in the region after the independence of Kosovo.

During the Q&A session on the field of specialization, participants from participating students.
"What is the significance and mode of 'quiet diplomacy' by the Secretary-General?" "How is the process of creating the Secretary-General's message and its public position?" "What is the aspect of setting the agenda at the Security Council when a conflict party is a member of the Security Council?" "What is the goal of the United Nations Transitional Authority for Cosovo (UNMIK) to solve the Kosovo problem, and how to approach countries without national recognition?"
I had a question like that.

In the second half, he talked about "International Career Perspectives" as a career section.
First of all, he talked about the opportunity to become a UN employee, his thoughts on the United Nations since his school days, why he chose the post so far, and the fun of his work in each post.
For example, he became a UN employee in the 1990s, when the international community was undergoing major transformation, and in 1994 he participated in the United Nations Joint Mission of the European Security and Cooperation Organization (OSCE) and assisted in elections in Armenia shortly after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. In 1996, he was dispatched to the former Serbian governing region in eastern Croatia.
He also talked about the United Nations' workplace that is easy for women to work from the perspective of work-life balance and life planning, methods for working at the United Nations (competitive tests, etc.), the experience and attitudes required when hiring, and also provided advice on future student life and other topics.

In the Q&A session on careers, the participating students asked, "Is there any option to become a diplomat in Japan?" "Why do you think it would be good to increase the number of Japanese staff working at the United Nations?" 、
I had a question like that.

A total of 15 students from Yokohama City University's Faculty of International Science and Technology and the Faculty of Liberal Arts participated in this lecture.

At a later date, the student said
"In relation to the Kashmir issue, I was very interested in what kind of exchanges were taking place within the Security Council by clearly and concretely speaking about trends in each country within the Security Council." "It was very impressive that he talked about the splendor based on the beliefs of the United Nations and the significance of the activities." "I felt strongly that it led to increased my motivation and being stimulated." "When I heard this lecture, I felt again that I would like to work in some way in the international community while feeling the movement of the world." "With a view to working for an international organization, I wanted to acquire specialized skills and work hard from now on to create a career that could increase my added value."
I had such comments.