JICA Vice President Hiroshi Kato asserted that Japan maintained its “consistent” characteristics of its bilateral aid, with its emphasis on socioeconomic infrastructure and human resource developments aimed at poverty reduction, despite of repeated changes in the ODA Charter in 1992, 2003 and 2015.
At a panel discussion held in Oslo on transitional justice experience of Timor-Leste, former SRSG Hasegawa acknowledged successful peacebuilding of Timor-Leste and then pointed out the need for national leaders and people to change yet again their mind-set and mentality for nation building as its requirement differs from peacebuilding.
Professor Hasegawa explained to the HPC program associates the purpose of UN peacebuilding and how UN integrated missions work on the ground to build sustainable peace and development.
Twenty seven UN staff and professionals from Japan and five other countries engaged in peace, humanitarian and development assistance enhanced their communication and leadership competencies in multidisciplinary peace operations.
The 14th East Asian Seminar on the UN System was opened by Professor Keiko Oizumi of the Japan Association for UN Studies (JAUNS), Ambassador Chen Jian, President of the China Academic Net for UN Studies (CANUNS) and former Foreign Minister Han Sung Joo, Chairman of the Korea Academic Council on the UN System (KACUNS) on 13 December 2014 at Doshisha University in Kyoto.
On 20 November 2014, JICA held an international symposium which looked at Japan`s ODA from historical, political-economic and comparative perspectives. Professor Hasegawa called for conceptualizing Japanese aid in a global governance perspective.
The 2014 PKO International Conference was held at Sookmyung Women`s University Centennial Memorial Hall on 13 November 2014. At the conference organize by the Korea Peacekeeping Operations Center, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and Korea AcaSedemic Council on the United Nations System, Professor Sukehiro Hasegawa spoke about the implications of financial, troop and civilian contributions made by Japan to UN peacekeeping operations since Japan became the member of the United Nations in 1956.
Professor Sukehiro Hasegawa chaired a panel discussion on the senior mission leadership held on 22 October in Cairo, Egypt. Funded by the Government of Japan, the 9th AU Senior Mission Leadership (SML) course was organized by the African Union and hosted by the Cairo Regional Centre for Training on Conflict Resolution & Peacekeeping in Africa (CCCPA). As a mentor, Professor Hasegawa also delivered lectures on peace mission leadership, perspective of a SRCC, integrated mission planning and peacebuilding mission during his stay in Cairo for five days.
The Fourth Library Talk was opened by UNU’s Library Chief Mayako Matsui and chaired by Professor Sukehiro Hasegawa. Dr. Vesselin Popovski then outlined some key shifts that have taken place in the legislative, executive and judiciary roles of the UN Security Council since the end of the Cold War which are taken up in the new volume “The Security Council as Global Legislator”, edited by himself and Trudy Fraser (Routledge, 2014). (Emmi Okada, UNU Junior Fellow)
On 16 September 2014, the Presidents of the United Nations Association of Japan, China and Republic of Korea met in Xian, Shaanxi Province in China, along with the representatives of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA). They held candid exchanges of their views on the topics of “the Thoughts of Lao Tzu and the Harmony & Prosperity of East Asia”, “Buddhism Exchanges in East Asia during the Tang Dynasty” and “Prospects of Peace Building Operations and Humanitarian Challenges Ahead”.