Within the framework of its Diplomacy Capacity Building Programme (Diplomacy-CaB), SESRIC, in partnership with the Diplomacy Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye and the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF), organized a Training Course on “Humanitarian Diplomacy for the OIC Junior Diplomats” on 24-27 October 2022 through an online video conferencing platform. The training course was attended by 97 young diplomats from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of 30 OIC Member Countries.

The main aim of the training course was to provide knowledge of how humanitarian diplomacy carried out in an international setting and to understand the interplay between humanitarian diplomacy and foreign policy in the 21st century. The training included interactive lectures and case study analysis on skills and techniques utilized in the practice of humanitarian diplomacy.

The training commenced with the opening statement of H.E. Mr. Nebil DABUR, Director General of SESRIC, who emphasized the importance of this year’s theme on “Humanitarian Diplomacy” as an issue of high interest to the OIC diplomatic community as well as the OIC junior diplomats. He stated that humanitarian diplomacy is a powerful foreign policy tool that governments can use to further their national interests, address the needs of vulnerable civilians in need of assistance, form new partnerships or reinforce existing ones, undertake nuanced interactions with non-political actors and civil societies, mobilize public support and resources and garner regional and international support.

The message of H.E. Mr. Hissein Brahim TAHA, Secretary General of the OIC, was delivered by H.E. Amb. Tariq Ali BAKHEET, the Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian, Social and Cultural Affairs of the OIC. The message lauded the efforts of SESRIC, the Diplomacy Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, and ICYF in organizing the 6^th edition of this training programme which has been instrumental in coaching young diplomats in various areas bearing on diplomatic practice since 2017. It was also highlighted in the message that this training event reflects SESRIC’s unwavering attachment to continuously putting new tools and expertise at the disposal of governments, decision-makers, diplomats and senior officials to help in the development and conduct of public policies in OIC countries.

In his welcoming remarks, H.E. Mr. Taha AYHAN, President of ICYF, stressed that nowadays, most of the world is involved in conflict or severely affected by humanitarian disasters; hence, humanitarian diplomacy is a fertile area of solutions where organizations engaged in the field of humanitarian work can work together with diplomats, politicians, and civil societies for the sake of weak and vulnerable communities, by means of negotiation, advocacy, and effective communication. He concluded his remarks by thanking the team of organizers, and especially SESRIC, for their efforts in conducting this training course.

The Diplomacy Capacity Building Programme (Diplomacy-CaB) was initiated by SESRIC in 2017 with the aim of enhancing junior diplomats’ diplomatic skills, helping them acquire the necessary knowledge about the OIC and assisting their understanding of the major regional and international issues. For more information on SESRIC’s Diplomacy Capacity Building Programme (Diplomacy-CaB), please visit: https://www.sesric.org/cbp-dip.php

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