CONFERENCES AND SPECIAL MISSIONS HISTORY Congress of Vienna

CONFERENCES AND SPECIAL MISSIONS

HISTORY • Congress of Vienna 1814 – End of Napoleonic Wars • Paris 1918 – End of First World War, defeat of Germany and Austria • Netherlands neutral in WWI, so Indonesia unaffected • Major decisions about future of Europe – Germany gets savage war reparation debts – Germany’s colonies distributed among victors

MODERN TIMES • Huge number of international conferences now – Over 10, 000 pa. • About 30 UN-related conferences per month – In the larger or more active foreign ministries, some officials are conference specialists • NGOs more prominent – UN Climate Change Conference Warsaw: • More conferences in Asia too, eg East Asia Summit

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES • Why hold a conference? • Conference types – Information – Aid (pledging) – Negotiation v deliberative – Expert/ technical • Periodic – General Assembly PBB; ASEAN, APEC

NEGOTIATIONS Involve: • Compromise • Information • International Norms • Norms and law • Normative texts • Conventions

CONFERENCE PROCEDURE AND NEGOTIATIONS Conference Mandate Agenda Work program Accreditation Select Chair, Rapporteur, and committee heads • General debate • Committee work • • • Procedure • General debate – formal • Committees less formal • Informal discussion [“corridor discussion”] • “Formal -informal” discussion (contact group) – Chairman’s initiative

DELEGATION TASKS • Read the brief – Understand carry out nation’s objectives – Divide up the work • Negotiations • Seek allies, like-minded – Example – for Indonesia , usually ASEAN – Everyone checks with USA if possible

PAK X’S PROPOSAL • Devise draft resolution – Accords with national aims – Accords with conference mandate • Pass copies to allies – First consultation with ASEAN – Maybe also with US, Japan, China • May go to committee • Next to plenary session • Approved by conference – How? Consensus, strong vote, weak vote? • Negotiation We can be happy to win, as long as we are content not to triumph. D Vare

CONCLUSIONS • More and more international conferences • Positive – strengthens a rules-based order – Can benefit smaller and poorer nations – Deters larger more powerful nations from arbitrary action, but not always • Negative – costs, “too much talking”, too much bureaucracy; ultimate results are. . . what?

SPECIAL MISSIONS • Convention on Special Missions 1969 • Many types • Usually conducted by large organisations or nations – US, UN • In crises • Or long-running global issues • UN – Sec-Gen - More than 30 Special or Special Advisers , especially for Africa • USA – Ambassadors-at. Large as of 2012 – – Freedom of Religion Women’s Issues War Crimes HIV/ Aids • Many US special envoys for Middle East over the years – Eg look up “Kissinger shuttle”