Mohamed Sahnoun
Mohamed Sahnoun | |
---|---|
Ismat Kittani[2] | |
Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the OAU in the Congo | |
Assumed office 1993 | |
UN/OAU Special Representative for Great Lakes Region of Africa [3] | |
Assumed office 1997 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Chlef, French Algeria | 8 April 1931
Died | 20 September 2018 Paris, France | (aged 87)
Alma mater | New York University[4] |
Occupation | Diplomat |
Mohamed Sahnoun (
Early years and Algerian War
Mohamed Sahnoun was born in 1931 in
There, he started to work in the 'Social Centers' created by former French Resistance fighter
During his early years Mohamed Sahnoun also got acquainted with the pacifist NGO Service Civil International in Algeria in 1952–53; he participated in several of their international workcamps and even became the head of their Algerian branch for some time. This provided him with an enduring philosophical background (see infra) and also with an important network of trusted friends who would be of great assistance to him through the events of the 1950s. Mohamed Sahnoun then resumed his studies at New York University where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degrees, both in political science.[15]
Diplomatic career
At the service of Algeria
Mohamed Sahnoun first became diplomatic advisor of the
- Deputy Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) (1964–1973)[15]
- Deputy Secretary-General of the League of Arab States in charge of Arab-Africa dialogue (1973–1975).[15]
- Algerian Ambassador to Federal Republic of Germany (1975–1979)[15]
- Algerian Ambassador to France (1979–1982). Under his leadership, an agreement was reached between France and Algeria regarding social security and retirement settlement for Algerian workers in France.[15]
- Head of the Algerian diplomatic mission to the United States (1982–1984)[15]
- Algerian Ambassadeur d'Algérie to the United States (1984–1989). During his tenure, he organised a state visit by president Chadli Bendjedid to Ronald Reagan, the first official visit ever of an Algerian head of state to the United States.[15]
- In 1989, Sahnoun is called to take over urgently as Algeria's Ambassador to Morocco, in order to succeed ambassadeur Abdelhamid Mehri, who is himself urgently requested to take the presidency of FLN after the 1988 October riots in Algeria; he becomes simultaneously Algerian Ambassador to Morocco and secretary of the Arab Maghreb Union (1989–1990).[15]
- His name was mentioned as a possible recourse candidate for the Algerian presidential election of April 1999 but it is finally Abdelaziz Bouteflika, a former foreign minister who had retired from public office since 1981, who stood as a " free candidate " for and from FLN.[18]
At the service of the United Nations
- Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).[19]
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Somalia (April to November 1992).[19] In this position, the efficiency of his diplomatic style is unanimously recognised and promising results are achieved;[18] however his peacebuilding action was interrupted by the lack of efficient backing from the UN[20] and by the US military impatience to intervene. Mohamed Sahnoun resigned in protest. The intervention led by the US-backed Unified Task Force (code-named Operation Restore Hope) actually ended in utter disaster.[21]
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the OAU in the Congo (1993).[19]
- Special Adviser to the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the Culture of Peace Programme (1995–1997).[19]
- United Nations/Organization of African Unity (OAU) Special Representative for the Great Lakes region of Africa (1997).[19]
Studies and reports
- Mohamed Sahnoun was a member of the Brundtland Commission on environment and development and co-author of the Brundtland report, which coined the expression sustainable development and its definition.
- Co-chair with Canadian government established the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) in September 2000 under the joint presidency of Gareth Evans and Mohamed Sahnoun. In February 2001, the ICISS suggested the phrase "responsibility to protect" as a way to avoid the "right to intervene" or "obligation to intervene" doctrines and yet keep a degree of duty to act to resolve humanitarian crises.[22])
- Pearson fellow with the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, Canada (1994).[19]
- Member of the Special Advisory Group of the War-torn Societies Project, a joint endeavour of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) and of and the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.[19]
Personal commitments with NGOs
- Board member of International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) from 1990 to 1996, and from 2003 to 2009.[23]
- President of Initiatives of Change International, Swiss-based iNGO which promotes effecting social change beginning with personal change, and works particularly on reestablishing dialogue and trust between opposing parties as a contribution towards peacebuilding, good governance and sustainable economic development (2007–2008).[24]
- President of the Caux Forum for Human Security (2008–2012),[25] a project which annually brought together 300 people active in human security, aiming to build a worldwide coalition of conscience that recognises the importance of building trust among actors at all levels to achieve meaningful change.
- Vice-president of the board of University for Peace (UPEACE), UN-mandated organisation, established in December 1980 as a Treaty Organisation by the UN General Assembly; senior advisor for the Africa and Middle-East UPEACE programmes and chair of the UPEACE consultative Council for Africa.[26]
- Co-chair of the International Advisory Board for the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.[27]
- Member of the Earth Charter Commission and served as a member of the Earth Charter International Council.
Books
- In 1994, Mohamed Sahnoun published "Somalia: The Missed Opportunities",[28] a book in which he analyses the reasons for the failure of the 1992 UN intervention in Somalia; he shows in particular that, between the start of the Somali civil war in 1988 and the fall of the Siad Barre regime in January 1991, the United Nations missed at least three opportunities to prevent major human tragedies. When the United Nations tried to provide humanitarian assistance, they were totally outperformed by NGOs, whose competence and dedication sharply contrasted with the United Nations' excessive caution and bureaucratic inefficiencies. If radical reform was not undertaken, warned Mohamed Sahnoun, then the United Nations would continue to respond to such crisis in a climate of inept improvisation.[29]
- In 2007, Mohamed Sahnoun also published (in French) a largely autobiographic novel set in Algeria in 1954, Mémoire blessée (Hurt Memory'’); its main character, Salem, a man of faith and dialogue'’, is jailed and tortured because of his convictions. He is however rescued by French people, some civilian, some military and some ecclesiactic – who all take great risks to shield him. The book is clearly an evocation of the events which marked the author's younger years (see above the early years and Algeria wars section), but it also calls for human solidarity and the protection of the weaker.[30]
Philosophy
Mohamed Sahnoun met
Distinctions
- A secondary school bears his name in the city of Oued Sly in Chlef, Algeria, his birthplace.
- 2007 "Elizabeth Haub Prize for Environmental Diplomacy" (link is external)'. The award, which recognizes significant achievements in the field of environmental law and diplomacy, was conferred on 14 May at a ceremony in New York.[33]
Sources
- Phillip C. Naylor, Historical Dictionary of Algeria, Scarecrow Press, Oxford, 2006 ; p. 400
- United Nations press releases
- Interview of Mohamed Sahnoun by Katherine Marshall in the Huffington Post on 10 May 2011 [10]
See also
References
- ^ "UNITED NATIONS OPERATION IN SOMALIA I (UNOSOM I) - Background (Full text)".
- ^ UNITED NATIONS OPERATION IN SOMALIA I
- ^ United Nations Press Release
- ^ https://uk.iofc.org/sites/uk.iofc.org/files/media/document/3c/3-cvsahnounnov06.pdf.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ [1] Archived 12 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
- ^ earthcharter.org http://earthcharter.org/about/mohamed-sahnoun/.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ "UNITED NATIONS OPERATION IN SOMALIA I (UNOSOM I) - Background (Full text)". un.org. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- ^ Press release of the United Nations on 27 January 1997: Mohamed Sahnoun of Algeria nominated UN/OAU special representative for great lakes region of Africa [2]
- ^ UPEACE – University for Peace [3] Archived 31 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ International Institute for Sustainable Development "Mohamed Sahnoun biography". Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ a b Initiatives of Change, interview with Katherine Marshall [4]
- ^ Henry Clement-Moore, L'Ugema (1955–1962) : témoignages, Casbah Éditions, Alger, 2011
- ^ a b Sybille Chapeu, Des Chrétiens dans la Guerre d'Algérie: l'action de la mission de France, Éditions « Atelier Ed De L'», Paris, 2004
- ^ Les ennemis complémentaires: guerre d'Algérie, par Germaine Tillon, Éditions Tirésias, 2005, p. 216
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Mohamed Sahnoun". berkleycenter.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
- ^ Ainsi était le "Che" par Ahmed Ben Bella, Le Monde diplomatique, novembre 1997 [5]
- ^ Interview de Mohamed Sahnoun par Katherine Marshall dans le Huffington Post le 10 mai 2011 [6]
- ^ a b Phillip C. Naylor, Historical Dictionary of Algeria, Scarecrow Press, Oxford, 2006 ; p. 400
- ^ a b c d e f g Source : United Nations press release, 27 January 1997, last consulted 7 March 2015 [7]
- UN Secretary Generalto accept this criticism led to the early end of Mohamed Sahnoun's mission in Somalia
- ISBN 978-2-7467-3053-3, p. XVI.
- ISBN 978-0-7546-7410-8
- ^ "Our People | IISD". iisd.org. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- ^ a b " Un musulman à la tête du centre de Caux ", paper in the Swiss daily Le Temps (Geneva) mercredi 6 décembre 2006.
- ^ "HOME | Caux Forum for Human Security". cauxforum.net. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- ^ "About UPEACE". University for Peace. Archived from the original on 31 August 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- ^ "About Us: Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect". globalr2p.org. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
- ISBN 978-1-878379-35-1
- ^ Book Review by Gail M. Gerhart in Foreign Affairs, March/April 1995 [8]
- ISBN 978-2750902988
- ^ a b Interview dans Breaking down barriers 1945–1975, 30 years of voluntary service for peace with Service Civil International, Olivier Bertrand, Paris, 2008 (in French) [9]
- ^ "Holistic Approach | Caux Forum for Human Security". cauxforum.net. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- ^ Site of the Elizabeth Haub Foundations