Post-Conflict Governance
& Human Rights

PILPG’s Peace Negotiation Summer School commences on Monday, July 15, 2024. Day four of the summer school includes mini lectures with experienced peace negotiators and topical experts, and a panel discussion with former Ambassadors to the United Nations Human Rights Council. This page includes the schedule for the day, details on the experts who presented, additional resources and a recording of the July 18 zoom session.

Click on the video above to watch a recording of this session.

Schedule:

Expert Insight Videos

Lawyers in Peace Negotiations with Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran
Negotiation Preparation with Vartan Oskanian
Lessons Learned from former Prime Minister of Montenegro Igor Luksic

Additional Resources

Experts:

  • Axel M. Addy is best known for his remarkable accomplishment as the Minister of Commerce and Industry of Liberia and Chief Negotiator of Liberia’s historic accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) concluding several bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations. The Liberia’s Accession is recognized as one of the fastest accessions for an LDC in the history of the WTO.

    As a strong advocate for the multilateral trading system, in 2017, in Buenos Aires, at the WTO’s MC11, he successfully rallied members’ sponsorship of the Declaration on Investment Facilitation and ITC led Declaration on Women and Trade. He also co-sponsored the Declaration on the g7 Plus WTO Accession Group to support and promote currently acceding governments including supporting the development of the WTO Trade for Peace Program, advocating for trade for peace in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCS). He currently serves as the host of the WTO’s first podcast, Trade for Peace, showcasing the work of policymakers and entrepreneurs operating on the frontline of the trade and peace nexus in FCS. He is also a member of the Friends of Multilateralism Group (FMG), a Geneva based “think tank of independent experts firmly committed to promoting multilateralism and shared growth in the multilateral trading system (MTS).”

    He is the Founder/CEO of Ecocap Investment Group (EIG) where he provides advisory services for acceding governments, companies exploring investment opportunities in Africa and multilateral institutions supporting trade for development and peace initiatives. He also serves as mentor for young entrepreneurs innovating solutions in response to the SDGs. He has co-authored several articles and a chapter in a book, “WTO, Trade Multilateralism in the 21st Century.”

  • Joachim Rücker has served as Special Representative of the Federal Government for the Middle East Stability Partnership from 2016-2017, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Office of the United Nations and to the other International Organizations in Geneva from 2014 to 2016, and President of the UN Human Rights Council in 2015.

    Prior to  these appointments, Mr. Rücker had served as Inspector General at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany in Berlin, and as Germany’s Ambassador to Sweden.

    Mr. Rücker served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General at the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) from 2006 to 2008. He served as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the UNMIK/EU Pillar for Economic Reconstruction from 2005 to 2006. From 1993 to 2001, Mr. Rücker served as Mayor of the City of Sindelfingen. He worked as a Foreign Policy and European Integration Adviser, Social Democratic Parliamentary Group, German Bundestag in Bonn from 1991 to 1993.

    Mr. Rücker has also held various postings with the Federal Foreign Office of Germany from 1979 to 1991, including serving in Vienna, Dar es Salaam and Detroit. Mr. Rücker has a degree and a PhD in economics from the University of Freiburg.

  • Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran is the prime minister of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, which aims to realize accountability for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide committed by Sri Lanka against the Tamil minority and to create a separate Tamil state, called Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. He was the former legal advisor to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). By profession he is a lawyer in the United States.

  • Ambassador Aguirre is the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay and former Permanent Representative, Head of the Mission of Paraguay to the United Nations Office in Geneva. He was Vice President of the UN Human Rights Council in 2015.  

    In addition to these posts, Ambassador Aguirre has held positions as Paraguay’s Ambassador to Canada, the United States, and Brazil. Ambassador Aguirre also spent part of his career working for the United Nations, with posts including a resident representative for Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela and resident representative for Guatemala, to the United Nations Population Fund.

  • Ambassador Keith M. Harper is a Partner at Jenner & Block where he is Chair of the Native American Practice and Co-Chair of the Human Rights and Global Strategy Practice. From 2014 to 2017, he served as United States Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the U.N. Human Rights Council. From 2010 to 2014, Ambassador Harper served as Commissioner on the President’s Commission on White House Fellows. He has taught law as an adjunct at both American University Washington College of Law and Catholic University Columbus School of Law.

  • Ambassador Jorge Lomonaco is a career diplomat of 30 years, awarded the rank of Ambassador of Mexico in 2009. Ambassador Jorge Lomonaco has a record of success as an international negotiator on human rights, democracy, disarmament and international justice, including chief negotiator and lead proponent of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, recognized by the Nobel Peace Prize of 2017.

    Ambassador Lomonaco has been involved in managing complex organization and extensive collaboration with representatives of all nations, members of civil society, international organizations’ officials, think tanks, the academy, international courts, expats, media, local communities, advocates and victims of human rights violations.


  • Vartan Oskanian served as minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Armenia from 1998 to 2008. Prior to his ministerial appointment, he held several high level positions in the ministry, and has been Armenia’s chief negotiator for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan from 1995 till the end of his ministerial tenure.

    After leaving his ministerial position in April 2008, Mr Oskanian established the Civilitas Foundation, a think tank and center for public advocacy in Yerevan, which remains one of the most reputable institutions in Armenia. Mr Oskanian was elected to the Armenian Parliament in 2012, where he served for five years.

    Mr Oskanian has taught a course “Politics of Self-Determination and Secession,” at the Center of Armenian Studies at the University of Southern California and at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts.

    Since 2019, Mr Oskanian is serving as advisor to the CEO of RECOM, a renewable energy company with solar projects globally.

    Mr Oskanian has an MS in Government Studies from Harvard’s extension program and an MA in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Tufts University.

  • Dr. Gregory P. Noone is the Executive Director of the Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG). Dr. Noone currently leads the Yemen track two diplomacy team and served as the Senior Legal Advisor for the Human Rights Documentation Solutions project. Dr. Noone has conducted PILPG justice system assessments in Uganda and Côte d’Ivoire as well as provided transitional justice assistance in post-Gaddafi Libya and to the Syrian opposition. Dr. Noone was also part of the international effort investigating the Myanmar government’s atrocities committed against their Rohingya population. He worked as an investigator in the refugee camps in Bangladesh and as one of the legal experts on the report’s findings.  Previously, Dr. Noone worked as a Senior Program Officer for the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), served as a Captain in the United States Navy, as the Commanding Officer of the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS) reserve unit, and as the Commanding Officer of the Navy JAG International and Operational Law reserve unit as well as the Director of the Department of Defense’s Periodic Review Secretariat (PRS). 

  • Dr. Igor Lukšić is the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Integration (2012-2016). He also served as the Minister of Finance 2004-2010, Member of Parliament of Montenegro 2001-2003, and Member of Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro 2003-2006. 

    Luksic stood as an official candidate for the UN Secretary General in 2016 advocating for a more efficient and effective United Nations, able to respond to the SDG agenda along with peace operations. He also advocated for the stronger voice of the youth.

    Spending almost 18 years of his professional career in the public sector and serving in several governmental positions, Dr. Luksic was committed to political and economic freedoms giving boost to many economic and political reforms based on rule of law and a business friendly environment. Dr. Luksic advocated for transparency, and put emphasis on dialogue and proactive approach both related to domestic and foreign relations. While Prime Minister of Montenegro, Dr. Luksic opened accession talks with the EU and completed accession to WTO. As Finance Minister Montenegro, Dr. Luksic pursued significant public finance management and tax reforms, obtained first ever credit rating, sold first Eurobonds and made significant steps to improve Doing Business ranking, and took part in different projects attracting FDI to the country and coordinated efforts to implement anti-crisis economic policy during the crisis 2008-2009.  As Foreign Minister, Dr. Luksic was among the key cabinet members working to meet NATO membership conditions and was crucial in launching the Western Balkans 6 initiative. As a new in-house initiative, he set up an economic diplomacy structure within the ministry.

    Currently, Dr. Luksic serves on boards and as an advisor in different business and academic entities dealing with sustainable development, business acceleration and impact financing.

  • Ambassador Yvette Stevens has a vast experience, working for 28 years in six United Nations entities, covering humanitarian assistance globally, as well as development and peace and security in Africa.

    Following her retirement from the United Nations, as the United Nations Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator, she returned home to Sierra Leone and served as Policy Adviser to her government for three years, before being appointed as Ambassador and Permanent Représentative to the United Nations and other organizations in Geneva. In this capacity she represented her country at the Human Rights Council, first as observer and later as observer. At the HRC, she was very active, inter Alia, in the human rights of women, people living with albinism and prevention.

    After her retirement as Ambassador, she was appointed by the President of the HRC, to serve as Chair/Rapporteur of a group of three to spearhead widespread consultations among stakeholders on how the HRC can enhance its role in the prevention of human rights violations. She presented her report to the Council in March of 2020.

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