United Nations University will organize the seventh regular session of its six-week UNU International Courses (UNU-IC) at UNU Centre in Tokyo, Japan, from 15 May through 23 June 2006. The UNU-IC programme is designed for postgraduate students and young professionals (with a college or university degree) in various occupations in Japan and abroad who wish to pursue careers in international fields in public-service or private organizations, including the United Nations, multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations as well as national foreign service organizations. The courses are designed to provide analyses of global issues from both theoretical and empirical perspectives.

The UNU International Courses are taught in a cooperative fashion by a team of scholars and practitioners comprising both in-house and outside experts. One of the unique features of the UNU-IC is that many of the practitioners come from United Nations organizations. Another important characteristic is the direct access to teaching faculty and the support provided to course participants by the UNU in-house academic staff who serve as academic counselors. The UNU-IC also draw on the research projects undertaken at the UNU Centre in Tokyo and at various UNU Research and Training Centres and Programmes (RTC/Ps) located around the world. The courses, though advanced in nature, are open to graduate students and professionals in various occupations who are not necessarily specialists in the field.

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The four courses to be offered in May and June 2006 are:

1. United Nations System: Structural, Institutional and Normative Challenges;

2. Environmental Change: Managing Risks;
3. Human Rights: Concepts and Issues; and
4. International Cooperation and Development.
   

There will be eighteen 90 minute sessions per course - i.e., three sessions per week over the six week course period. The courses will involve considerable reading and study, but will be scheduled to allow students to have sufficient preparatory and review time for each session.

The expected learning outcomes for UNU-IC participants include:

• Deep, sophisticated understanding of the subject at a high level
• Sharpened analytical and problem-solving skills
• Intellectual interaction with a wide cross-section of lecturers and fellow participants from around the world from diverse academic and professional backgrounds
• Social interaction with fellow participants from diverse cultural backgrounds

The learning environment and facilities prepared for the UNU-IC include:

• Complementary theoretical and practical perspectives, from academic experts and practitioners, respectively
• Guest lectures by leading specialists and practitioners in Japan and overseas, including those in the UN system
• Access to the library and other resources of UNU
• Close contact with UNU in-house specialists in small-group settings
• Opportunity to sample life in one of the world's great metropolises

The UNU-IC will be administered and coordinated by UNU Centre. Each of the courses will be handled by a responsible UNU academic officer (or a team of UNU academic officers), who also will teach at least part of the course. In principle, each course will be taught by a combination of the academic staff of UNU Centre and the RTC/Ps, adjunct professors and other scholars involved in related UNU research projects, and representatives of various UN agencies and other internationally oriented organizations, as well as prominent professors from universities in different parts of the world and professional experts in relevant fields.

The tuition fee per course is Japanese yen 100,000 - about US$950 at the current UN exchange rate - or Japanese yen 150,000 (about US$1,450) for two courses. Those participants from developing countries* who take two courses and who can demonstrate a need for financial assistance are invited to apply for a limited number of UNU fellowships. (Those who wish to apply for a UNU fellowship should complete the UNU Fellowship Application form, which is available here or as a hard copy upon request.)

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The UNU has located a low-cost hotel facility in Tokyo to accommodate course participants from outside Tokyo and Japan.

Application 

Applicants for the UNU-IC should submit their application dossier - consisting of (i) a completed application form with photo and signature; (ii) an original copy of transcript of academic records at the college or university level, or certified copies of original transcripts (these will not be returned to the applicant, so please do not include originals of certificates of diplomas or degrees); (iii) TOEFL scores (minimum: paper-based 550/computer-based 213) or equivalent proof of English-language proficiency for non native speakers; (iv) three confidential letters of reference on official letterheads (these will not be returned to the applicant); and (v) a UNU Fellowship Application for those who are applying for a UNU fellowship (see "Tuition and Fellowships")
These must be received by 15 January 2006. Applicants may apply to take one or two courses, and can reapply in subsequent years to take additional courses.

If you wish to apply for the courses, please visit our website at http://www.unu.edu/ic/ for a copy of the brochure and UNU-IC application form. If you have further questions, please contact:

Ms. Wilma James, Training Assistant, UNU-IC Secretariat, United Nations University Centre
53-70 Jingumae 5-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8925, Japan
Tel: +81-3-3499-2811; Fax: +81-3-3499-2828; E-mail: james@hq.unu.edu

The deadline for applications is 16 January 2006.

Please note that your application will only be considered upon receipt of the fully completed application form with photo and signature together with all other original documents.

We will acknowledge receipt of your application only when it is complete (including the three confidential letters of reference). Due to the high volume of applications that we receive for the courses, UNU is unfortunately not able to acknowledge receipt of each document pertaining to your application. At the end of the selection process, we will contact only those who are short-listed; this will be done by 15 March. Your application and other documents will not be returned to you.

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The UNU International Courses Committee will review applications primarily based on the following criteria:

• Relevance and level of the applicant's educational and professional background;
• Linkage of the chosen courses with the applicant's future career plans;
• Demonstrated interest of the candidate in issues of global concern;
• Analytical capacity;
• Academic and professional performance; and
• English language skills.

UNU is committed to achieve geographical and gender balance and genuine diversity in all its research and teaching activities.

Course Requirements

UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM: STRUCTURAL, INSTITUTIONAL AND NORMATIVE CHALLENGES

The United Nations system is under challenge. Globalization has converted the world into a global village; this "death of distance" enables non-state actors and individuals to move beyond their historically peripheral roles. Although sovereign states remain the central actors in international relations, they cooperate hesitantly, if at all, with designs for improving the international order. The "rule of force" remains predominant and often trumps the "rule of law". Universal values, such as democracy and human rights, have been misappropriated and exploited for political purposes. A vicious cycle of ruthless terrorism countered by questionable anti-terrorist, actions has developed. Millions of children die from curable diseases. Cities are devastated by natural disasters, the impacts of which are exacerbated by a lack of competencies to prevent and react. It seems that it is more difficult to manage the world today than at any previous time.

However, it is precisely in such an environment that the UN, as the most comprehensive multilateral institution, remains vital. It is an idea, a symbol of an "imagined community" of strangers. The UN exists to bring about a world where fear is changed to hope, want gives way to dignity, and apprehensions are turned into aspirations.

The course introduces the historical evolution and contemporary significance of the UN system. It analyses the role and effectiveness of some of the UN's principal organs: the General Assembly, the Security Council, and special agencies and programmes worldwide. The concept, principles and reality of the international civil service are another focus area. The course concludes with an assessment of the UN's potential for efficient and legitimate international action.

• Introduction: Theories of International Organizations
• The Liberal Experiment: The League of Nations
• Discussion: Anarchy vs. Order in International Society

• UN Charter: Principles and Purposes of the UN
• The General Assembly, Its Committees and Organs
• Discussion: Global Governance or Global Government?

• Security Council: Functions, Composition, Powers and Limitations
• The Right of Veto and Reform of the Security Council
• Discussion: Debating a Security Council Resolution

• Origins and Principles of International Civil Service
• The Office of Secretary-General
• Discussion: Can the ICS Ever Transcend the Divisions of International Politics?

• International Court of Justice
• Specialized Agencies and Programmes: UNDP, UNICEF, UNHCR
• Discussion: UN Global Reach and Efficiency - Advantages and Disadvantages

• Activities and Coordination at the Country Level
• Indian Ocean Tsunami Relief Operation
• Final Discussion: Multilateralism Under Challenge?

The course will be taught by the staff of the UNU Peace and Governance Programme and selected guest lecturers.

ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: MANAGING RISKS

"Risk" refers to the probability that a particular hazard - be it linked to personal, economic, social, political or environmental circumstances - will lead to losses or other unfavorable outcomes. Risk is an unavoidable part of life; we cannot, at all times, be sure of how matters around us will develop. However, we can decrease the risk of a particular hazard by taking suitable precautions, and we can minimize the scale of the loss that might be incurred by being prepared, by putting into place relief and recovery mechanisms that will allow speedy action once a disaster has occurred. To effectively minimize risk and increase coping capacities, we need to know, as much as possible, how high the risk is that a particular hazard will cause harm, and what its probable impacts may be.

Environmental risk assessment and management are processes that aim to reflect scientific knowledge and expertise in environmental policy, in order to minimize possible adverse impacts of environmental hazards such as disasters, health hazards or disruptions of the ecosystem. Risk assessment is a scientific tool that allows us to analyse the nature of a risk; risk management utilizes the results of this assessment to help decision makers (in governments, industries or NGOs) decide on the appropriate actions to reduce the risk and to increase the level of preparedness.

The course is aimed at persons interested in environmental risk management from a policy perspective. The course provides current status information and an introduction to scientific theories, and examines case examples of risk assessment and management in designing local, national or multilateral policies for sustainable development in different environmental areas. Indicators for measuring risk, different levels of uncertainties, geographical and inter-generational equity issues, and the time-scales necessary for the risk reduction measures to become effective are among the issues addressed in the course.

Week One- Climate Affairs and Risk Communication

• Global Warming and Creeping Environmental Problems
• El Niņo and La Niņa
• Hurricanes

Week Two - Environmental Risk Assessment, Conventions and Their Interlinkages

• Risk Assessment and Management
• Persistent Organic Pollutants
• Multi-lateral Environmental Agreements and their Interlinkages

Week Three - Water and Ecosystem Resource Management

• International Waters, Water Management and Development
• Forest and Mountain Management

Week Four - Disaster Risk and Management

• Hard and Soft Disaster Mitigation Measures
• Financial Instruments for Disaster Management
• Urban Risk Management

Week Five - Biological Resources

• Convention on Biological Diversity
• Protection of Traditional Knowledge, Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing
• Risk and Benefit of Genetically Modified Organisms

• Assessment of Environmental Values and Services
• Sustainable Production
• Sustainable Consumption

Lecturers

The course will be taught by the staff of the UNU Environment and Sustainable Development Programme and external experts from the field of environmental research and studies.

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HUMAN RIGHTS: CONCEPTS AND ISSUES

The concept of human rights has been essential to the development of democratic systems and international institutions. It has also been, and continues to be, at the centre of much heated debate concerning its scope, its validity in different cultural contexts, and the legitimacy of its application to justify infringements on nation-states' sovereignty.

The course is intended to provide participants with the knowledge and awareness to address human rights issues from historical, comparative and global perspectives in order to develop feasible solutions to current problems related to human rights. It starts with a thorough overview of the philosophical and legal basis of the concept of human rights, its historical development and its political implications, with a strong emphasis on the differing perceptions and definitions of human rights in different national, historical and cultural contexts. Based on this theoretical foundation, the course reviews and evaluates the legal basis and political functions of human rights organizations, and specifically explores the role of regional human rights regimes. This knowledge is then applied and expanded through an analysis of past and current human rights practices, instruments and institutions in two specific areas: children's rights, and human rights and development. The course closes with an analysis of the political implications and pedagogical challenges of human rights education.

Week One - Human Rights: Concepts and Norms

• Notions and concepts of human rights
• Human Rights in Historical and Cultural Contexts

• Historical Development of International Human Rights Instruments and Organizations
• Institutional Mechanisms Within the UN System and Evaluation of their Effectiveness
• Roles of Governments, Non-Governmental Organizations and Experts

• Roles and Functions of Regional Human Rights Regimes
• Different Regional Approaches to Human Rights
• Globalization and Regional Human Rights Regimes

• Norms, Institutions and Practices Concerning Children's Rights
• Linkages Between Different Actors
• Child Abuse and Exploitation

• Linking Development and Human Rights: Conceptual Issues
• Rights-based Approaches to Development
• Case Studies

• Pedagogical Approaches to Human Rights Education
• Political Issues in Human Rights Education
• Actors in Human Rights Education

• The course will be taught by in-house and external academics specializing in human rights issues as well as officials from human rights-related organizations.

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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

The course particularly highlights the roles of different actors and the principle of best practice in international cooperation. It also gives substantial attention to political issues, questions of gender, culture and the social dimension of development, and to alternative approaches to development thinking. The analysis of case studies is an important element of the course, which also considers the challenges facing key actors in development cooperation, including the roles of the United Nations system and the Bretton Woods institutions.

Week One - Development Theory, History and Policy

• Introduction and Overview of Thought and Practice in Development
• Evolution of Aid and International Cooperation for Development: From the Marshall Plan until the 2005 World Summit
• The Millennium Development Goals Approach: Scope and Limitations

• The Different Schools of Economic Thought: An Overview
• Poverty Reduction, Poverty Alleviation: Successes and Failures of Bretton Woods Institutions' Development Policies in the Past Twenty Years
• Discussion: Can Economic Growth Benefit the Poorest? Why Do Inequalities Continue to Grow?

• Developing Countries and the World Trade System
• Fair Trade: A Concept and Vision for the Future?
• Eco-Social Visions of Alternative Development

• Roles of Women in Development
• Gender Perspectives on Poverty Reduction
• Development Practice and Gender Mainstreaming

• Linking Development and Human Rights: Conceptual Issues
• Rights-based Approaches to Development
• Case Studies

• Urbanization, Education, Environmental Hazards, Health and Hunger: Challenges for the Twenty-First Century
• Governance, Democratization, Participation: is Empowerment the Way Forward?
• Wrap-Up Session: A Vision for a Better Future?

• This course will be taught by the United Nations University staff and selected guest lecturers from academic organizations around the world, as well as officials from international organizations and Japan's development cooperation agencies.