Security concerns with Aadhar --- There are many many security concerns related to the way Aadhar has been implemented in India, starting from how the biometric data is collected (through bank tellers who often store the data on their laptops before transferring to a secure server, wrong data being stored etc.), to how it is stored by various entities who are allowed to collect this information (while the biometrics have so far remained secure, there have been several breaches linked to Aadhar numbers and other personal information tied to the Aadhar, leading to cases of identity theft), and also the lack of fail-safe built in to the bio-metric system, where several people (especially from marginalised communities) are not verified through the system due to non-matching bio metrics, resulting in them being rendered without an identity in the eyes of the state.

Source author: Pavitra Ramanujam pavitra.ramanujam@gmail.com

Question of trust --- I think the question is one of trust. How do we trust that Apple or indeed the government will only use this technology for the limited purpose of identifying CSAM? If the past year is any indication, the trend seems to be the opposite, with states increasing surveillance measures in the guise of the pandemic and contact tracing apps being used well beyond their intended purposes in many countries - India, Singapore, Philippines are a few examples. The only way to guarantee that limits are set is with clear, unambiguous legislation and robust monitoring systems, which are unavailable in most countries.

And on the flip side, it also raises the issue of proportionality re the technology itself. Is it a proportionate response to the problem created by a few to surveil everyone with impunity?

Source author: Pavitra Ramanujam pavitra.ramanujam@gmail.com

WhatsApp & Metadata --- Although WhatsApp encrypts the conversations of its users 'end-to-end', they are still under scrutiny for their security practices, because while it is true that no one can read the content of your messages on WhatsApp, since the company stores our metadata - information related to who sent the message, location etc. - it is still often enough information to become an identifier, putting its users under some risk (unlike companies like Signal). While encryption is important, it is also important how data and information about the encryption is handled.

Source author: Pavitra Ramanujam pavitra.ramanujam@gmail.com

Evidence-based diplomacy and climate change --- When Red Cross in Australian started talking about climate change many years ago, it was seen as quite a political stance. We were stepping into a highly politicized debate and remember relying very much on research and agreed evidence. In hind sight it's an example of how neutral organisations can lead on politically contentious topics.

Source author: Joe Cropp joe.cropp@ifrc.org

IDRL -- an unsung hero --- One of the unsung heroes of emergency response, If there are an IDRL-ers in the group I'd love to hear some real-world examples how this works plays out day to day. How do complex legal negotiations play out in practice? Are there some simple things we can do to build a broader understanding of IDRL and its significance?

Source author: Joe Cropp joe.cropp@ifrc.org

NGOs, emergencies and development --- It's worth noting that many, possibly most, international NGOs have quite broad mandates. Indeed, many of the INGOs operating in today's emergencies started life as development and human rights NGOs and still bring this long-term approach to their work. I'd be interested to hear more about local NGOs and their mandates. .

Source author: Joe Cropp joe.cropp@ifrc.org

‘Persona non grata’ for permanent missions in NY --- The provisions of Section 13(1) of the UN-US headquarters agreement provide a process which gives the host state the chance to expel a member of a permanent mission to the UN. It is a possibility similar but not identical to the one provided under A.9 of the VCDR. Under the headquarters agreement, proceedings to expel a member of a permanent mission can only be commenced with the approval of the US Secretary of State and after consultation with that State. Thus, the host state may request that another State withdraw its representative but it cannot require its recall.

Source author: Giorgos Samouel samouelg@gmail.com

Hollow speeches condemning unilateral sanctions. --- Countries has always been making a hollow speeches condemning the unilateral illegal sanctions towards innocent countries, and nothing have been materialized. Since UN is propagating for the Human rights and peace maintenance, it is important for the UNSC to walk the talk atleast to protect the innocent people who are suffering because of the sanctions.

Source author: Frank John Mhina frankmhina01@gmail.com

UNILATERAL SANTIONS ON VENEZUELA AND ZIMBABWE --- There is no doubt that UNSC has mandated to carry out sanctions against states deemed to have created a threat to peace, but it has been overshadowed by the unilateral decisions which currently seen as the ridden in force towards advancing interests of powerful nations such as the US, UK and its allies in Venezuela and Zimbabwe. Although they have good intensions in creating democratic societies but they decisions have adverse effects on an innocent people. In 76th General Assembly, President Maduro called upon the support of the countries in removal of this illegal sanctions created by the US and the UK which seized and blocked Venezuela bank accounts with billions of dollars. In my view, if the US and the UK have genuine reasons against Venezuela and Zimbabwe, as the members of P5, they should tabled it in the UNSC and come up with the resolutions just like North Korea and Iran.

Source author: Frank John Mhina frankmhina01@gmail.com

not to interfere --- This has led to human rights violation by some leaders.

Source author: Mavis Tungulu mtungulu@gmail.com

external actors --- The conflict in Libya has been complicated by the involvement of external actors, many of whom seek to benefit economically and politically. Over half a dozen states are meddling in Libya, each with their own justification for doing so. However, regardless of justification, it is indisputable that the entrance of foreign actors into Libya’s civil war has prolonged the conflict and led to more violence.

Source author: Mavis Tungulu mtungulu@gmail.com

eternal actors --- I agree, we have seen it in the case of the Libyan conflict.

Source author: Mavis Tungulu mtungulu@gmail.com

Non-'conscious' AI can still spell doom --- I agree with this. I think what is more likely to happen than AI achieving 'consciousness' is that AI is going to get more and more complex so harder to control - smallest of changes creating ripple effects and unintended consequences and our dependencies on them would mean that we aren't able to 'turn them off', resulting in us being under the control of the AI not because it is more intelligent than us but because their complexities have made them too hard to control.

Source author: Pavitra Ramanujam pavitra.ramanujam@gmail.com

Policy must invoke reasonable limits --- There should definitely be limits to technological progress in related policy, so that it does not allow for unchecked innovation without considering the potential harm and impact on human rights and people. Facebook's mantra, "Move fast and break things", which has been adopted by tech companies en masse has resulted in a lot of negative consequences for people, with policy still struggling to catch up. So any state policy must encourage innovation but on basis of social and economic impact assessments.

Source author: Pavitra Ramanujam pavitra.ramanujam@gmail.com

Harm caused by cyber-weapons --- I think it is also important to frame this argument in terms of the potential harm that can be caused by cyber-weapons, as often cyber-attacks are dismissed as not as serious as physical attacks when there is in fact equal potential for long term damage to our societies and loss of life.

Source author: Pavitra Ramanujam pavitra.ramanujam@gmail.com

Potential to help PWDs --- Emerging technologies have the potential to remove so many inequalities and disabilities, especially for persons with disabilities. The kind of progress being made in terms of prosthetic limbs, tech for the blind, bionic exoskeletons etc. is immense and could truly create a more accessible world for so many.

Source author: Pavitra Ramanujam pavitra.ramanujam@gmail.com

Role of governments changing --- I think this role is definitely changing as governments look to be bigger stakeholders in cyberspace and are more keen to drive technological progress and adoption in an attempt to dominate the 'cyber race'.

Source author: Pavitra Ramanujam pavitra.ramanujam@gmail.com

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY STRATEGY AND CAMPAIGNS --- MFA of Vietnam in collaboration with other ministries and provinces through out Vietnam research experiences of other countries for building the PD strategy until 2030 with the view until 2045, in which the Party and Government would like to carry out series of PD activities at home and abroad. but the problems and challenges which we are facing now is that in on hand the national budget is small and limited because the national economy is affected by savage outbreak of Covid-19 Pandemic. In the other hand authorities in many provinces do not know well how is PD and how to carry out PD activities.

The mentioned above strategy is now on the first step of creating ideas. Hopefully in 2022 we can finish this work.

Source author: Nguyen Phan Hong Hai hai.nguyenphan@gmail.com

post-mortem --- it is important to have post-event evaluation not only to evaluate the success of the campaigns but also to provide recommendations for future campaigns. However, this is the element that most embassies/ MFA are seldom do

Source author: Wan Faizatul Afzan Ismayatim faizatul@kln.gov.my

I think this would be very useful --- I think this would be a very useful approach - especially for smaller countries to pool resources across a region of missions

Source author: Alison Reilly alison.reilly@dfa.ie

internal resources for PD --- I believe the desk officers, internal research assistant and other officers with specific interest on the issues that the MFA want to include in the PD strategy may form good sources for the country/ ministry's PD.

Source author: Wan Faizatul Afzan Ismayatim faizatul@kln.gov.my

roles of other ministries and agencies --- I believe this is the most important part of all public diplomacy campaigns not only to ensure the successful public diplomacy campaign/ strategy, but also to attract/ persuade the relevant agencies/ ministries to provide their full cooperation, time, energy and interest in the campaigns. This is because different agencies/ ministries have different priorities and interest.

Source author: Wan Faizatul Afzan Ismayatim faizatul@kln.gov.my

I agreed --- Users have to be wisely considered and be careful all the time when decided to use Emojis. It's quite not so different from using gesture in general. It might be differently interpreted or has different meaning in different societies.

Source author: Usaphea Horn usaphea.horn@gmail.com

Agree and wonder about measurement --- It is important to try to measure impact but I think one of the reasons it is so hard to do is precisely because ‘accumulation of time’ is such a factor in impact, having a presence over many years is part of building credibility and is an act of public diplomacy in its own right but it is intangible and the affect is hard to count

Source author: Alison Reilly alison.reilly@dfa.ie

It is vital to recognise that different skill sets are needed for different tasks --- In a communications role I had in another Department when we involved the policy experts to advise on content they were not familiar with the tone and style needed for social media so their recommended posts always had to be edited so that the language suited the medium but this could lead to a bit of a clash as they were the ‘experts’ and didn’t want what they perceived as their work being overseen or evaluated by a junior, even though the junior was the social media expert. There has to be buy-in to the value of digital diplomacy across the organisation so that people recognise the value of the work and the skills involved to generate successful campaigns

Source author: Alison Reilly alison.reilly@dfa.ie

The right platform is important --- Knowing the popular and right platforms for each region or country is very important since posting in the unpopular ones will be a waste of time and resources and will gain less or even zero audience. For example, in Cambodia the most popular ones are Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok. Most of us do not have Twitter account. In China, the popular ones are Wechat and Tik Tok.

Source author: Thida Sreng thidasreng@gmail.com

Overcoming cliches --- In our first office we overlooked a bar, one of a chain, called ‘Irish House’ with the slogan ‘Irish today, hungover tomorrow’. This was a constant reminder that although Ireland was not well known in Mumbai stereotypes did exist. Our Consulate is an ‘Ireland House’ with the trade and investment agencies co-located and Irish whiskey is a key export to India so raising awareness of both without immediately bringing to mind overindulging at a bar was sometimes tricky!

Source author: Alison Reilly alison.reilly@dfa.ie

One of realistic examples regarding the public diplomacy strategy of the Embassy of Cambodia in Bangkok --- The Embassy of Cambodia in Bangkok aims to promote the cultural and economic diplomacy through cooperate to organize an educational visit for all ambassadors in Bangkok to visit Siem Reap, Cambodia and organize seminars on investment in Cambodia to Japanese and Thai investors in Phnom Penh as well as connect them to the Cambodian companies.

Source author: Thida Sreng thidasreng@gmail.com

I agree --- Missions need to be ‘agile’ with the freedom to adapt to local audiences/circumstances. A message delivered in the same way in each country will not have the same level of impact in each country. Also it is really important to be able to react to what’s happen on the ground, to interact with people about what is important to them even if you stay within a broad common framework.

Source author: Alison Reilly alison.reilly@dfa.ie

Example from Cambodia --- For example, the Cambodian government have taken certain public diplomacy campaigns to make Cambodia as an investment center and also in response to negative economic impacts as a result of the partial withdrawal of EBA from Cambodia in 2020 as well as cope with the Covid-19 impacts on investment by aiming to reduce production cost, increase productivity and competitiveness and promote economic diversification. First, with regards to the measures aiming to reduce the production cost, the RGC has provided more incentives to investors and businesses through reducing the checking process at the border gate, cuting down logistical costs and decreasing the electricity fare. Second, regarding the measures to increase productivity and competitiveness, the RGC has provided tax and social security fund incentive, amended and developed new relevant laws and regulations and reduce the public holidays. Third, in order to promote economic diversification, the RGC has aimed to diversify the export market and turn SMEs into the driving force for economic growth which could create more jobs, increase local production and access to more goods instead of imports through set up a Committee to Promote and Develop SMEs, establish the Rural Development Bank (RDB) and launch the SMEs Bank in order to provide support to newly established SMEs.

Source author: Thida Sreng thidasreng@gmail.com

Absolutely agreed --- From my experience, though large diasporas are helpful in many ways in promotion of your embassy's goals, it is quite difficult to incorporate all to the implemented strategy. The Myanmar Ambassador in Canberra has thus built strong connection with group leaders from different cities that come to mobilise many scattered diaspora communities, and to participate in the Embassy's PD campaigns by contributing their efforts (i.e. in the celebration of national day, independence day, ASEAN committee meeting and ASEAN Day event.

Source author: Aung Naing Soe ansoe.mofa@gmail.com

To rethink is to develop --- To evaluate or review the overall approach, which often failed in many public offices including embassies, is quite important for developing strategies. It helps us to understand whether the results are positive or negative for the target populations. It also helps us to identify factors or external events that resulted the unintended effects as implemented program may have or bring other undesirable outcomes and consequences. Therefore, the constant interplay between evaluation and developing & implementing strategies is always necessary for the development of overall PD approach.

Source author: Aung Naing Soe ansoe.mofa@gmail.com

For sure, emojis are necessary when communicating informally these days --- Many of us grew up with emojis, and the lack thereof in one's texts can be perceived as cold. Informal whatsapp groups among diplomatic circles benefit from emojis as a means to avoid misunderstandings.

Nevertheless, formal diplomatic correspondence needs to be bereft of emotion to be taken seriously. When our states speak, they still have to sound sovereign. o_O

Source author: Ralph Vincent C. Abarquez ralph.abarquez@dfa.gov.ph

Internet commenters are not the most mature --- It really depends on the platform. YouTube, for example, makes it easy for people to have anonymous accounts and comment anonymously. When people are cloaked in anonymity, they have a greater propensity to comment something glib. Same thing with Twitter. In the case of Facebook, having one's face and personal details revealed can temper the language, but not necessarily the opinion.

There will be content where we will want discourse or opinions. But there is also content where we would want the general public to observe some modicum of respect. We see this in the official YouTube channel of the UK Royal Family, as comments are off for their videos.

Source author: Ralph Vincent C. Abarquez ralph.abarquez@dfa.gov.ph

Local employees --- In your experience, are local employees involved in developing your country strategy? Are they made to feel like an essential and equal part of the team? The UK has recently changed the designation of LE staff to "country-based" staff to diminish differences.

Source author: Liz Galvez LizG@diplomacy.edu

Our own experience has brought about challenges --- Our own domestic audience here is very critical of the consular services that my Ministry has been providing during the pandemic. It is no secret that passport applications have been delayed, and that we are hobbled by a combination of factors.

With this in mind, every single social media post that my Ministry has come out with over the past few months contains complaints about the slow delivery of passports. It doesn't matter if we're talking about bilateral celebrations or the olympics, the complaints have been incessant. It's out there and it's public.

From this, it's pretty easy to see that we have an urgent need to take care of public anger before we can even begin implementing a new campaign under any topic.

Source author: Ralph Vincent C. Abarquez ralph.abarquez@dfa.gov.ph

keeping your own nationals informed --- We saw how important this was at the start of the COVID pandemic. It is difficult to sustain because it is time intensive but it is probably worth it because having your own nationals bad-mouth their own embassy will be noticed by nationals of the host country and we all know that bad news travels faster than good.

Source author: Liz Galvez LizG@diplomacy.edu

Common action --- Thank you for these examples, Panika. I think a lesson here could be to make this kind of practice a regular occurence.

Source author: Liz Galvez LizG@diplomacy.edu

Regional collaboration --- How many of you act in concert with your missions in neighbouring countries so that you can capitalise on visits/events/initiatives (and by the way burden- share work in other languages - admittedly this is easier in Latin America than in Asia/Europe)

Source author: Liz Galvez LizG@diplomacy.edu

Large diasporas --- It mgiht be difficult to incorporate diaspora into your strategy if they are very numerous. Presumably those of you with large diaspora abroad are aware of community groups and leaders in key cities?

Source author: Liz Galvez LizG@diplomacy.edu

Fine example --- especially as it shows that one can engage on politically difficult issues even though the chances of full success may not be clear and that the EU was acting true to its declared values.

Source author: Liz Galvez LizG@diplomacy.edu

People's attention --- There are indeed risks associated with the use of emojis. Risks related to cultural misunderstandings could perhaps be reduced by working together with local employees of the embassy, as they are familiar with the local customs. Regardless of this, you are right to point out that the use of emojis increases attention. Due to the fact that the use of emojis has almost become the norm I wonder if we can really still do without them completely: A tweet that dispenses with all emojis may get "lost" in the mass of tweets.

Source author: Engin Gürpinar Engin.Guerpinar@gmail.com

It all depends on which emojis you are using ... --- I think emojis can make postings more appealing and even more accessible. Sometimes there are special emojis for certain topics or conferences that are used as an identification symbol (like the emoji of arms embracing the earth for climate protection or certain UN emojis for international conferences). This is like an online posting wearing a pin or badge at a conference, which I find quite smart. But I would also argue that when using smiley face emojis you have to be more careful, especially in an intercultural context. Not everyone will understand certain emojis in the same way.

Source author: Elisabeth Jaklitsch Elisabeth.JAKLITSCH@bmeia.gv.at

Digital partnerships --- You will have the chance to expand on this kind of activity next week, I hope.

Source author: Liz Galvez LizG@diplomacy.edu

Nice example --- Thank you for this, Elisabeth

Source author: Liz Galvez LizG@diplomacy.edu

Ministerial programmes --- Fully agree. How many of you aim to do as Faran suggests (and how difficult is it to get your Minister's cooperation)?

Source author: Liz Galvez LizG@diplomacy.edu

Well expressed, Takahiro --- Difficult especially when one knows how strongly feelings are held. UK is facing this situation with respect to its colonial past and slavery.

Source author: Liz Galvez LizG@diplomacy.edu

sharing is caring --- I agree that several people can run SM accounts, but my experience is that it needs a focal point or coordinator who is in charge of the posting schedule and ensures regular postings. For the actual content the different sections at the embassy (business, culture, political, environment, etc.) are responsible (although the focal point has a last spell and content check on the postings). At our embassy the creation of a SM focal point helped a lot to share the work load of running SM accounts.

Source author: Elisabeth Jaklitsch Elisabeth.JAKLITSCH@bmeia.gv.at

Unpredictable --- Involvement in initatives which may not fit the pattern of what local perceptions are could be an interesting avenue to explore. But should they be ad hoc or part of your overall strategy? Would you actively seek out such opportunities?

Source author: Liz Galvez LizG@diplomacy.edu

Planning --- Planning out a series of posts in advance is sensible but remember that in the event of a disaster or crisis this stream should be disabled. Embassies which forget to do will be accused of being insensitive. I'm sure you can think of recent examples

Source author: Liz Galvez LizG@diplomacy.edu

impact of high-level visits --- High-level visits by head of states, prime ministers or foreign ministers can be a very effect PD tool. In 2018 we had a high-level visit of our President, Chancellor and four ministers to China together with a business, cultural and science delegation. All in all around 300 participants. They stayed in China for a week visiting different cities and engaging with Chinese counterparts. The media coverage was extensive (for our standards) and the entire visit had a crucial impact in our bilateral relations. We still benefit from it today, even after a pandemic and souring relations. In our view the size of the delegation including President and Chancellor and the length of the stay made a difference here in China.

Source author: Elisabeth Jaklitsch Elisabeth.JAKLITSCH@bmeia.gv.at

Basics as a diplomat --- Thank you, Liz. Your precious words makes me go back to the basics as a diplomat.

Source author: Takahiro Hara takahiro.hara-2@mofa.go.jp

Docufiction Film --- Building on that, for 2022 we are producing a short docufiction movie on the cultural heritage of Italian Architects in Thailand, where image from monuments and palace of the past are blended with the story of re-discovery of her roots by a fictional Thai-Italian girl. Stay tuned!

Source author: Ugo Boni ugo.boni@esteri.it

Yes --- Emojis are part of the Social Media Language. Of course you have to use those that are in line with a diplomatic message and those who would use a teen agers :)

Source author: Ugo Boni ugo.boni@esteri.it

Keep your public aware of the Embassy is doing --- Indeed I think that building a community is really one of the most outcomes that you can have engaging in media. At least a third of our residents are followers of our Facebook page and many of them are very active. They might disagree with what we do but at least they know that we don't sit idle.

Source author: Ugo Boni ugo.boni@esteri.it

Painful, but sometimes necessary --- We keep the comment on open and we eliminate only those with insulting messages. Nonetheless, we noticed that on certain emotional topics (lately the vaccination campaign), it was counterproductive to leave comments open because they ended up in endless conversations among always the same 4 or 5 people who offered misguided or sterile opinion and stained on the overall tone of the page. Another option would have been to ban those users, but I deem it would have pose an even bigger dilemma.

Source author: Ugo Boni ugo.boni@esteri.it

Varied missions --- I think in addition to ensuring we don’t have one-off events it is also important that our ministerial meetings are varied as much as possible, showing the varying aspects of our countries. From what I have seen in recent time many visits to Asia are based on trade, and for us to develop meaningful relationships we really need to ensure we bring a varied portfolio.

Source author: Faran Foley faran.foley@dfa.ie

Importance of diaspora --- Absolutely agree, and from my experience the diaspora are incredibly passionate in also wishing to have an embassy that is meeting the mark and achieving significant outcomes for the country. Local staff also play a crucial role in our understanding also, and give a really unique insight into the country.

Source author: Faran Foley faran.foley@dfa.ie

Local employees --- Local employees of the embassies are also an important element. They speak the native language, are familiar with local conditions (particularly with regard to the use of social media in the host country), and often have a good local network.

Source author: Engin Gürpinar Engin.Guerpinar@gmail.com

Allowing discourse --- I have noticed similar, I think an important part is to allow doe public discourse - whether positive or negative. Of course, derogatory comments shouldn’t be accepted but it is important to allow for open discussion.

Source author: Faran Foley faran.foley@dfa.ie

I agree --- Members of the diaspora are an excellent resource because of their experience and knowledge of both sides. They are often able to notice even subliminal sentiments that a diplomat in rotation would not notice because of his limited experience.

Source author: Engin Gürpinar Engin.Guerpinar@gmail.com

Sometimes an image can have it all --- Looking at the two examples provided, when one thinks of the UK, one may also think of James Bond, and that entire franchise shows how royalty and bowler hats and innovation and excellence need not be mutually exclusive. It really helps to start from an existing positive image and have it be a conduit to send more messages. It also helps to reach a diverse audience.

For relatively lesser-known countries such as the Philippines, recognition is always a struggle, so if all someone knows about us are beaches, we do our best to build on that.

Source author: Ralph Vincent C. Abarquez ralph.abarquez@dfa.gov.ph

Emojis --- Emojis do help to attract people’s attention. Some of them can emotionalize the text message -- connect people with the text by making them feel. However, the success of using emoji is also depended on the understanding/knowledge of the public. Another shortcoming could be misinterpretation since some emoji convey different meanings in some societies. In addition, some emojis may look slightly different when they are shown on different operation systems – such as IOs and android. The using of emojis therefore should be extremely careful.

Source author: Panika PITTAVESTSOONTHON pa.pittayavestsoonthon@mfa.mail.go.th

Donors/Principles --- This is an interesting discussion as many times donor requirements don't necessarily reflect the actual needs on the ground. One more concern I have, having worked in both INGOs and now working at the grass-roots level when technically all the liberty is there given the complete independence from government funding, is always the ways of ensuring neutrality while advocating, in a way, against the current political approaches. Especially since migration is being mobilised politically to a large extent.

Source author: Marianna Stamoulaki m.stamoulakis@gmail.com

Motivation & Patience --- I really like this question as I am currently wondering the same thing being in advocacy only very recently. I assume that it would take some planning of short-term, mid-term and long-term objectives, so as to be able to measure on success and indeed be able to reflect on small wins while building on possibly larger objectives. I think it is a matter of patience as well as maintaining motivation by what any success would mean for the people we chose to support.

Source author: Marianna Stamoulaki m.stamoulakis@gmail.com

Limiting information --- In the current context of Mavrovouni camp in Lesvos, the camp management sets a prerequisite of confidentiality of all actors operating in the camp. That means that they are banned of sharing any information from what happens within the camp even after employment. On this basis volunteers have been banned from having access on site. Asylum seekers living inside are receiving threats if they share info from the inside. In this context, to what extent can evidence be acquired to inform HD?

Source author: Marianna Stamoulaki m.stamoulakis@gmail.com

civil-military relations --- This is where the entire work on civil-military relations comes into play. I'm only just starting to understand this work better but it's fascinating.

Source author: Barbara Wibmer barbara.wibmer@ifrc.org

confusion of different humanitarian actors --- Agreed on this point, however, sometimes it can also be good that NGOs can raise certain things that RCRC cannot but can then refer to. Much as how there is a crucial role for OHCHR in the UN system who speaks out on things that other organizations cannot. There are two sides to that coin.

Source author: Barbara Wibmer barbara.wibmer@ifrc.org

faith-based organizations - impartiality --- The contrary can also be said though - there are some faith-based organizations who are strongly committed to this principle and are key actors on the ground, amongst others in the current context in persuading people to get vaccinated.

Source author: Barbara Wibmer barbara.wibmer@ifrc.org

NS and Independence --- Independence as a humanitarian principle is also pretty difficult to comply with for many NS that are often very closely linked to the government and/or political parties. Leadership of NS have double roles in official functions for governments or parliaments and NS. It is impossible to be independent, in my opinion.

Source author: Barbara Wibmer barbara.wibmer@ifrc.org

not all humanitarian actors are the same --- That makes sense given that 1) what we're talking about is still a western-dominated concept and 2) there have been different actors who claimed humanitarian assistance and principles but then had very clear agendas...

Source author: Barbara Wibmer barbara.wibmer@ifrc.org

Agreed! --- Yes, I fully agree and that's where this principle becomes washed down a bit as donors can influence how assistance is shaped and delivered. Close and good working relations with donors and remaining principles helps but is not the full solution.

Source author: Barbara Wibmer barbara.wibmer@ifrc.org

stay when others go --- This is one way to guarantee humanitarian access when others don't have it. This is why staff can stay when others need to go. So both in terms of reaching vulnerable people but also in ensuring safety to those staff delivering humanitarian assistance.

Source author: Barbara Wibmer barbara.wibmer@ifrc.org

NS as an Auxiliary to the Government --- Often times I wonder if NS recognise their role and strength in working closely to governments and further advancing the humanitarian agenda?in my experience NS are overtaken by local NGO in terms of influencing and driving the agenda. definitely feel as IFRC we need to strengthen NS in this regard

Source author: Didi Monnakgotla didintle.monnakgotla@ifrc.org

Quiet diplomacy --- Agreed- hence it is critical to map stakeholders of influence and formulate engagement strategy as soon as possible. working closely and silently with key actors may have faster results

Source author: Didi Monnakgotla didintle.monnakgotla@ifrc.org

Volunteers perceived as traitors iv communities --- Could not agree more- whilst RCRC volunteers are guided by FP, responding in complex environments may lead to volunteers being victimized by tribal groups. FP are foreign to community groups - simple example is xenophobic attacks in South Africa, RCRC were victimized for offering support

Source author: Didi Monnakgotla didintle.monnakgotla@ifrc.org

NS are not NGOs, at the international level --- Sheebah, many countries equip NS with the characteristics of NGOs but they are not, at the international level. They cannot be as they are formed under legislation of one kind or another.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Unique access --- Thanks Sheebah and Taban. NS are not the only organisations which get access. The important thing is that because all governments in today's world are parties to the Geneva Conventions and hence attend the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent they repeat, in various ways at every conference their observance of the fundamental principles and the statutes of the Movement. They grant that unique access to NS, even though they might not appreciate that they do so.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Perception --- Exactly, Anna. Perception is everything in most cases, especially in a field situation.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Soft law and moral authority --- Yes, Wossene. It's important to learn what you can of the way these issues are handled, and respected or not, in the country in which you are working.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Resources from government --- Taban, I'd question whether NS get annual budget allocations from governments. I doubt it, but many get specific allocations for certain programs. One fairly common example is the provision of blood services, and another is for international programs. There are always risks in being too dependent on government for funds and my advice is to try to minimise dependence. Spread your sources.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

NGO registration --- Thanks Tabir and Emmanuel. There is no requirement that NGOs should be humanitarian. There are thousands of NGOs in fields like Environment, Industry, Commerce, Law, - the list goes on.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Objectives and short, medium or long-term interests --- Thanks Marwa and Anna. I do a lot of work on and with Myanmar, and confront this conundrum every day. I think that there are short term points - things to be put forward for action now, and there are long term objectives - like the restoration of democracy. It's much more difficult to give serious thought to the medium term. I'm grappling with that right now.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

"Why" questions --- Thanks Cara. I hope others can provide some examples on this but I'd note that the answers are not at all the same across the world's languages and cultures. I'm sure you see this a lot in your own work with asylum seekers from many different home environments.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Moral authority --- Maria, many leaders claim moral authority but it's sometimes a claim and usually without evidence of public support. This text, though, is about "soft law" instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - a document with weighty moral authority but without any international legal base or compliance mechanism.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Civil Society Organisations --- Shane, one of the good things about HD is that it extends to wherever it might help bring about an humanitarian result. Including CSOs.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

NS autonomy --- Thanks Taban. This is easy for us to say but in many countries it's a struggle. We should discuss this during the course.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Affected population as a source of evidence --- Ivy, Maria and John - I fully agree. We will deal with this again in the course, and also try to address the way evidence is gathered from community levels, including by social media. There are hazards with this, of course, and not a lot of smaller organisations have the capacity to sort out what social media brings forward.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Special Rapporteurs 2 --- Adding to this, SR's like this one, and like the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (set up by the UN Human Rights Council, have the power to do a good deal of naming and shaming. Much of this was put in place as a result of NGO HD and while it hasn't produced coercion it contributed to the willingness of various States to bring action against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

NS and NGOs --- Interesting discussion and thanks for your observation Gerhard. I sometimes worry that the public might see the NS as a "soft" cop because it so seldom makes public statements critical of the government. One thing I'd like to see more of is discussion in non-government fora at which a strategy for public statements is put in place which makes these statements coherent, and linked (behind closed doors) with quiet diplomacy actions.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Dialogue. --- Dialogue and trust with all parties of a local community is crucial to ensure a safer environment for humanitarian personnel to conduct their affairs. Humanitarian diplomacy is a tool that can build this much needed trust and common ground.It is a proposed solution that can build gaps and overcome political and ideological differences, whether perceived or not.

Source author: Emmanuel Henry Pierre manniepierre@hotmail.com

Donors and political agendas --- Thanks Cara. On the migration issue, this has had other sad results in that governments are increasingly asserting that their externalisation of their migration problems are funded by official development assistance in those other countries. The detention facilities operated in Nauru by and for Australia are reported as ODA to Nauru and OECD has never blinked.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Neutrality. --- Neutrality is a utility for safety. Organisations should adhere to principles. because perception as a political order can cause risk. Operating in a neutral and independent manner away from political or agency led coordination is one of the ways to ensure safety in a warring country.

Source author: Emmanuel Henry Pierre manniepierre@hotmail.com

Funding and independence --- Thanks for starting this thread Thierry and thanks to John, Ivy, Marwa and Maria for their comments. You remind me that I went to a conference in about 2006 organised by the EU to talk about EU assistance to countries hit hard by the South East Asian tsunami. One of the issues they were all reluctant to discuss was the hard fact that money provided by private donors was greater than funds given by some governments. It was interesting to see governments having to consider that independence might actually rule some of the directions of debate. It didn't last long though.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

The term "advocacy" --- Thanks for raising this Samban. Ivy's answer is very good. Find what works best in the language in question and in the culture where it is to be used.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Role of the media --- Thanks Samban. My experience is that the media don't take well to specific training but there are other ways of reaching them and it's good if HDiplomats can build relationships which help take advice into media organisations.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Role of media. --- It is a noble effort to seek to report atrocities committed during armed conflict as the media exposure can save lives and provide justice.. However, aid organisations should leave 'whistleblowing' to other media for the sake of their safety and continuing to provide much needed aid.

Source author: Emmanuel Henry Pierre manniepierre@hotmail.com

Punishing NS? --- Thanks Marwa. The Movement institutions continue to provide advice and support to both the NS you name to help them to achieve full compliance. It works fairly well at the operational level.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

NS and partnerships --- Thanks Shane. NS have a significant advantage in building relationships with actors outside the RCRC in that they can call on ICRC or IFRC for support as they do their work, and can usually also get support from the Geneva actors if that's needed for due diligence checks or information about the previous experience of other NS with those partners.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Faith based organisations --- Thanks Katlego. I've done a lot of work with FBOs, and when I was with IFRC I attended a lot of conferences organised by different faiths. I generally found them keen to work to achieve outcomes fully in accord with the FP of Impartiality, which for me usually meant them acting without discrimination as they delivered assistance to vulnerable people, with no attempts either to convert people or surround their assistance with religious symbols.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Organisations, Individuals and the FPs --- Thanks for starting such a good thread, Thierry. My short take on this is that there is a distinction between the experience of people living amidst vulnerability and the way that experience is represented in HD, and advocacy or negotiation. People are not "neutral" about their experience but they provide evidence of their conditions which humanitarian diplomats must then incorporate in the HD they design to achieve objectives which accord with the FPs. This is worth discussing further.

Source author: Christopher Lamb christopher.lamb17@gmail.com

Small states --- should opt for having a good number of honorary consuls to advance their national interest since honorary consuls are not paid.

Source author: Frank John Mhina frankmhina01@gmail.com

Transactional Diplomacy --- highly seen at the multilateral fora especially in the United Nations when countries from different continents seeking support for their candidatures. Normally, these seats allocated basing on the reginal and continent bases. Countries agreed to support one another when running for their seats

Source author: Frank John Mhina frankmhina01@gmail.com

Abusive of diplomatic status --- We have witnessed diplomats abusing their diplomatic status by committing acts which are prohibited in the eyes of law and still claiming for immunity from legal process. Recently incidence was from the spouse of the Belgium Ambassador to South Korea who slapped the shop worker and forced the Ambassador to apologies in publicly.

Source author: Frank John Mhina frankmhina01@gmail.com

Small income countries --- When doing e-communications it is important to take into account the internet access of small income countries. Many times, small countries need to rely on embassies buildings to have internet access. This lack of access could entail a unequal position for these countries in comparison with larger countries.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Already replied. --- Please scroll to the earlier HTs where you had asked this question, Phalla.

Source author: Asoke Mukerji asokem@diplomacy.edu

Please see the reply to --- your question above, Phalla.

Source author: Asoke Mukerji asokem@diplomacy.edu

International maritime law --- Disputes among seas are difficult, this can only be resolved by international maritime law specialists. Sometimes, disputes can be solved by bilateral meetings but with the advice of the international law experts.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Agree --- Agree it also could be that a bilateral negotiation mitigate further consequences

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

ECOWAS --- the power of which is given by the states themselves. looking beyond self.

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

thank you --- I questioned myself this too thanks for the informative article

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

Publics... --- ..need to be engaged on matters of security and threats to security from a very young age.

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

Economic diplomacy is used --- to counter the financing of terrorism. An example is how the USA's diplomatic strategy is to place sanctions and trade blocs on countries that it wants to signal its disapproval of the terrorism financing.

Source author: Alexya Vida Pérez alexyavida@gmail.com

Still a controversial definition --- Despite all the international laws created upon an aggression act, still in practical terms the "aggression" is a malleable term used depending political convenience.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Cooperation against enmity --- Probably, a initial step would be to mainain an colaborative approach trying to enhace cooperation mechanisms, and avoid to exacerbate enmity in the international system.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Double standards --- In order to affectively respond to this new dimension of security, governments and foreign ministries need to avoid operating with double standards in enforcing sanctions measures and accommodating biased political priorities.

Source author: Phalla Chem phalla.chem@gmail.com

Non-state actors --- Faced with the issue of countering threats from non-state actors who are now more than just capable of physical attacks, but also poses a threat to the country’s financial, cyber and developmental security, a new multidimensional approach to national security has been brought front and center.

Source author: Phalla Chem phalla.chem@gmail.com

safeguarding national security --- national security safeguards against threats and not only protect citizens but also the economic stability of its people

Source author: Rebecca Peyavali Iyambo riyambo@mirco.gov.na

of aggression --- Every nation faces threats which includes social, aggression by disgruntled nationals or neighbors, or global trends in economics that have an effect on national's welfare.

Source author: Rebecca Peyavali Iyambo riyambo@mirco.gov.na

Ratification --- For instance, the Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the 1787 U.S. Constitution because they feared that the new national government would be too powerful and thus threaten individual liberties, given the absence of a bill of rights.

Source author: Mavis Tungulu mtungulu@gmail.com

@Sovanndanit: consensus in conferences --- Your reasoning is correct! We have explained in detail what is the main expectation from a world conference: to help the emergence of a political consensus about some issue. The most desirable outcome is not so difficult to define. What is difficult is to make 193 countries to agree with that outcome. But even when "the most desirable" is not reached, we have an important progress. It was the case with almost all UN summits and world conferences,

Source author: Petru Dumitriu PetruD@diplomacy.edu

why I think so .. --- "In many conference, consensus is the only way in which decisions can be made".

To me, this sounds like, when decision needed be reached but can't, consensus is then used. it doesn't take into account whether the decision reached by consensus produce the best possible outcome. But then again, It is difficult to define the most desirable outcome, as countries have their own interest in mind. I know it is a bit ironic because in the end we need to make a decision to move forward. Please correct me if I'm not understanding this phrase correctly though.

Source author: Sovanndanit Roath sovanndanitroath@gmail.com

Sanctions --- @ Petru noted with thanks.

Source author: Mavis Tungulu mtungulu@gmail.com

@Mavis: sanctions --- The sanctions are meant to weaken the governments guilty of violations of international law. There are not meant to affect innocent people, but the experience has shown that there are collateral victims. Your verdict is a bit tough. The impact on innocent people is always considered, although not always avoidable. But since the Iraq war the Security Council tries to apply smart sanctions, including sanctions that concern individuals.

Source author: Petru Dumitriu PetruD@diplomacy.edu

Sanctions --- sanctions are imposed without considering innocent people or the nation.

Source author: Mavis Tungulu mtungulu@gmail.com

@Sovanndanit: UN Technology Bank --- Thank you, Sovanndanit, for this excellent example of the efforts of the United Nations to diversify the ways available to help development, in particular in the least development countries. There is a hope that this bank will attract some of the huge resources of capital that do exist in the world.

Source author: Petru Dumitriu PetruD@diplomacy.edu

The United Nations Technology Bank for LDCs --- I would like to also another organization under UN, The United Nations Technology Bank, which I find very interesting. The global organization dedicated to enhancing the contribution of science, technology and innovation for sustainable development in the world’s 46 least developed countries.

The organization's work directly supports a wide range of SDGs: Economic self-reliance, Sustainable access to health technologies, Climate mitigation, Local skills development, Sustainable industrialization, Education and academic cooperation.

Source author: Sovanndanit Roath sovanndanitroath@gmail.com

Internal coordinators --- MFA also work as internal coordinators, namely, looking and asking for advice for national institutions.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Limited budget for human resources --- It is important to highlight that small countries and developing countries could have limited human resources working on many topics at the time, this could lead to burn out and not give enough attention in comparison with countries with more budget.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Other available resources --- Teamwork should also consider other MFA resources such as embassies, missions and consulates. It is important to have closer communication in order to look articulated.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Overstepping --- Seychelles has proven effectiveness of the Honorary consuls training them so well to know there places without overstepping the diplomatic realms.

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

Magnitude --- Agreed. because the with involvement in every single place then how big would an effective MFA have to be then? Perhaps create a system that makes coordination after they informed of external involvement easier would work.

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

Good Approach --- I think this is a good approach allowing overseers that will have unbiased opinions on the goodness or faults of the foreign affairs system.

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

Limited scope --- Indeed, there are plenty honorary consulates that usually are created by initiative of a national with the willingness to colaborate and pay the functioning of those offices. However the scope of those consulates is very narrow, and usually for most of consular services the nationals have to attend to a regular consulate.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Shared buildings --- In the cases mentioned, only the buildings are shared but not services. In those cases, each Embassy has its own services and structure. An interesting thing to see would be to try to integrate services among the Pacif Alliance country members (perhaps services related to common trade issues)

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Attachés --- One one of connect with other states agencies is to delegate MFA attachés in other Ministries as focal point for common issues. Those delegates could support the work of the other sectors with the knowlegde of the MFA and in the way around, the MFA could connect with the work made in national politics.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Public diplomacy --- Public diplomacy is a good tool to include the population in multilateral processes. An advantage of implementing public diplomacy strategies is that the agreements or results of this kind of diplomacy are accepted by the countries population.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Covid-19 vaccines --- This strategic dialogues have been recently used mainly to have access to vaccines o do vaccines agreements.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

National context for economic diplomacy --- It is important to understand the national economic context to create the country positional for economic diplomacy. Other non-official actors that could be included are: private sector, banks, commerce chambers and NGOs

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Embassy's have the on-site --- advantage when managing projects. A project can lose sight when the management sits in the office of the native country. Embassy employees can better manage projects from the host country, whereby they can better conduct follow-up meetings and even place pressure on projects that are not producing results.

Source author: Alexya Vida Pérez alexyavida@gmail.com

Diplomacy --- The Oxford dictionary defines diplomacy as “the profession, activity, or skill of managing international relations, typically by a country's representatives abroad”. There are three types of diplomacy, bilateral diplomacy, regional diplomacy and multilateral diplomacy.

Source author: Phalla Chem phalla.chem@gmail.com

Preparation --- Preparation is crucial also for countries to know what are they are able to implement and what are they not able to do so. It could be dangerous to undertake commitments that are not possible in the national context.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Obama`s guide --- This book was also fairly used by former president of the United States Barack Obama. The book says that the issue should be analysis apart from the people negotiating and do a common agreement that benefit all parts. Perhaps, this kind of negotiation is also a diplomatic and prudent way of negotiating.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Multilateral agreements and meeting --- When negotiating a multilateral agreement a BATNA is crucial beforehand, specially in Conferences of the Parties when the negotiations are on real time and delegates need to take quick decisions.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Ways of negotiating --- There are many ways of negotiations, perhaps many years ago negotiation was more though, but now a more conciliating and working for a final goal way has been more beneficial when negotiating.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Very Important --- hence the highlight on the third function of the VCDR 1961,

Negotiating with the Government of the receiving State......

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

The Public.... --- this is where skills for public relations come in. getting to break the results to the public in a way that is best understood by them

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

Preps --- A good start renders a good finish

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

Line Ministry --- this call fro experts in negotiations and of course a great understanding of the foreign policy by these ministries

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

The format of negotiations --- should follow protocol procedures. Determining who speaks first or whoever has the last word is significant to both countries. A proper format can set the stage for a mutually-respectful, productive meeting, increasing the chances for successful negotiations.

Source author: Alexya Vida Pérez alexyavida@gmail.com

Other reference --- Other book by Ury, called "Getting to No" consists in how to deal with hard negotiation processes and with tough negotiators of the counterpart.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Never understimate --- I'd add to never understimate the hardness of a process or the counterpart's skills.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Asset of diplomats --- Normally, diplomats work on their network to be able to conduct negotiations when asked. In that regard, an asset of a field diplomat is the capacity to start a negotiation process with confidence obtained in before-hand

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Mutual gained negotiation approach --- Negotiation takes many forms. In negotiation in a common pool resource such as water, there is often a win-lose situation. A powerful actor seems always win, and a less powerful party lose. For the last few decades, a peace-building approach and promote sustainable use of the resource, a better approach to negotiation is a mutual gain negotiation to overcome such a win-lose negotiation situation.

Source author: Phalla Chem phalla.chem@gmail.com

transparency in multilateral negotiations ---

there is a whole lot more transparency in multilateral negotiations because of the parties involved and off course because of the interest that is drawn by these actors as opposed to bilateral negations which are only between two nations and therefore the benefits thereof being mostly limited to the two nations and those that may draw mutual benefit.

Source author: Rebecca Peyavali Iyambo riyambo@mirco.gov.na

multilateral negotiation --- multilateral negotiation is characterized by intensive international discussions tat involve several actors and interests, complex agendas, and differentiated international settings as opposed to the nornam bilateral negotiations that are usually between two nations

Source author: Rebecca Peyavali Iyambo riyambo@mirco.gov.na

gives you --- .........an upper hand and creates a more receptive environment. with Public Diplomacy advancing now foreign languages especially the language of the natives at posts become a necessity

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

Lewis's.... --- concepts serve as more insightful because it gives a comparative detailed distinctions of the different personalities in the way they could react to persons of different cultures

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

Acceptance --- knowing that we cannot all be the same and celebrating our differences and uniqueness

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

In all the stages --- Cultural behaviour patterns should be taken into consideration in all the stages of the negotiation: preparations, conduction and follow up. In each of them, by undestanding the cultural values of the counterpart could lead to advantages in the process as a whole.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Relevant even for negotiation processes --- Acquiring knowledge about common cultural characteristics is very useful for several objectives, one of them is to prepare a negotiation process and to try to understand the counterpart positions.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Sometimes perceived as a rivalry --- Sometimes the vast cultural diversity lead to competence among nationalits individuals which belive there is such a thing as cultural superiority. The history has shown how far this can go. Therefore, promoting the breadth of cultural values, should be made the caution and intelligence.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Culture appropriation --- is an issue that has made a lot of headlines in mainstream media. Particularly, celebrities are being "called out" for incorporating other cultures into their fashion without giving credit or acknowledging the culture it was taken from. This drives the point that one should not adopt a new culture.

Source author: Alexya Vida Pérez alexyavida@gmail.com

accept and respect --- It is crucial also to respect other cultures as long as it does not jeopardize human rights

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

IPLCs --- This could be also applicable when negotiating with local communities and indigenous peoples when participating in multilateral spaces

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Inclusion on festivities --- For Mexico, including other countries in national festivities is also a way to create friendship with other countries. It is important to highlight that other traditions and cultures should be respected even though we do not agree or are familiar with those.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Mexico leading biodiversity knowledge --- Some developing countries may be experts in a certain field and are the leaders of scientific and technical cooperation. This is the case of Mexico that has an specific institution for knowledge of biodiversity and is recognized internationally.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Climate change and conservation cooperation --- Scientifica and technical cooperation is crucial for climate change and biodiversity agendas since it is difficult, specially for developing countries to study, for example, all ecosystems and species in their country. Specifically relating to biodiversity most of the biodiverse countries have limited resources for conservation, this is why scientifica and technical cooperation is beneficial.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Impetus for cooperation on critical technologies --- As an example, the United States and its allies have a history of joint research and protection of critical technologies, dating back to the British and Canadian support for Manhattan Project. Nowadays, the advancement of China and rapid technological race and ambitious industrial strategy have raised concerns in Washington and other allied capitals that Beijing will lead the deployment of emerging technologies, as in the artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

Source author: Adil Khalil adilfiel@yahoo.com

In complete agreement --- National security concerns have increase at the same rate than the technologies and new uses of digital platforms. Not only internet poses a major concern in all the imaginable ways, but new development of automatic weapons, nuclear capabilites, artificial intelligence, etc, has created new areas of concerns that States have to address.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Not overtaken, but modified by globalization --- With the current economic interdependence and the multipolar international system, the former "collective security" in terms of security and wars has turned into a collective willingness of preservatin of international trade and World economy. Thus, the economic interdependence has created solid bounds that could prevent traditional security concerns, as total wars.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Allowance needed --- Any action of one state on the territory of another should be realized on the basis of good faith and with the knowledge and allowance of the second State. This applies even more when it comes to militar actions that could imply security concerns. As mentioned in the HT, the case of Colombia and Ecuador in 2008 is a good example.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Review with some limits --- I consider that a review could be made to incorporate NSA into the international system, because they already exist and play a role. However I'd be doubtful to grand NSA legal rights and obligations of States

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Depends of the context and the mayor powers --- Mayor powers has existed since the creation of civilization and their behaviour have changed depending the historical context. In modern days, major powers tend to behave according to international laws and respecting the system. However, in case a major power pursues individualist goals putting aside the international framework, some problems with bilateral and multilateral diplomacy could rise.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Lima Group as a coalition --- Following the example of the Lima Group, this coalition was created with the political purpose to create international preassure against the Venezuela's government (percieved as illegitimate) and which has been alleged to cause human rights violations. Time showed that the coalition didn't accomplished its objetives but it was a solid coalition in several fronts.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Environmental work --- The economic cooperation focus may jeorpardize the environmental cooperation work since the priority is the economic view, and many times, this aspect is not aligned with environmental requirements.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Multidisciplinarity --- It is crucial to include other stakeholders in the multilateral process since some of them are the final users which will be benefited with bilateral agreements or will implement them.

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

MFA leadership --- For this case, the MFA can lead the country position and extend it with the consulates and embassies. This way every institution will be informed on the countries interests and needs

Source author: Frida Romiely Díaz Almeyda fdiaza@sre.gob.mx

Indeed --- well understood Ambassador

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

'CO-MANAGEMENT' --- A point so often missed out by MFA's, Co management. MFA's should always have it in mind that they cannot control bilateral relations alone from home offices hence the presence of embassies.

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

Rotation needed --- Not only within the diaspora, but the identification with host country could also be a problem for a diplomat. Thus, it's healthy for a foreign service to rotate their agents into different locations during their carrers.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Diplomacy analists --- The "theorists" of diplomacy, often scholars and researchers from universities, sometimes consider themselves with more knowledge than the actual diplomats on field. Those analists could create, direct or indirectly, an unconfortable atmosphere within the country due to their comments on the press about the work done by the MFA.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Comunications in MFA of Peru --- In the case of Peru, unless the information is considered reserved or secret, any "open" message send by the regular conduct can be reviewed by all the members of the destination office.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Priorities --- The biggest fault I Personally see in most developing states. Either the lack of priorities or a high disregard of them.

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

ED --- You can say that again Sandy. One though cannot stop to wonder whether developing countries indeed understand the concept of it all. and whether the states have their houses ready to embrace this type of diplomacy, in terms of the laws in place spearheading the growth to economy.

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

Inevitable --- a move that cannot be doe done without. If the neighbors are safe you are step closer to safety

Source author: Bertha Sabuni Mturi bertha.mturi@gmail.com

Yes, in general terms --- In general terms, counting with a international system that aims for global cooperation, the protectionism threath would tend to unite the nations. However, as Covid-19 has showed, the diplomatic converengence only came after nationalists provisions were taken. Therefore, the willingness of convergence only came after individual needs were satisfied. This realistic approach colides with a liberal scope of international relations.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Yes --- In my opinion, the coalitions of interest could be consistent with treaty-based structures, because the treaties normally are used as a codification or materialization of an initial willingness of two or more states. In that regard, it's possible that a coalition of interest could become a treaty-based after some time of costumary international practice.

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

Convergence as a goal --- Convergence as a goal of diplomacy is a very vague since, it would depend in specific contexts and the underlying interests. In some cases (most of them) convergence is a desirable goal for bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, but there could be cases that the lack of convergence satisfies the particular interests of a country

Source author: Juan Carlos Pomareda jpomareda@onuperu.org

NSA's can also act as a check --- and balance mechanism for foreign policy. Their goals might be oppose that of government and bring to light the issues that affect an underrepresented group.

Source author: Alexya Vida Pérez alexyavida@gmail.com