The multilateral system is not working well for many reasons. But for certain tasks in improving human security it remains the only alternative. The conundrum for civil society actors is that, to get things done, they must accept the multilateral system, which itself is often a cause of ineffectiveness and in which they are usually marginalised.
David Atwood, Director of the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva, has spent most of his life in peace and social change work. In this talk, he draws on a wide range of examples including international processes on land mines, small arms and chemical weapons to evaluate how Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) influence disarmament negotiations and identifies some lessons for the future.
David has written a chapter on the same theme in the Disarmament as Humanitarian Action project’s latest volume of research entitled Thinking Outside the Box in Multilateral Disarmament and Arms Control Negotiations. Text of the chapter can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking on: Chap3-Atwood-DHA-III.pdf
Friday, 19 January 2007
