21: Diplomat Jivan Gjorgjinski on the role of small states, creativity and a 'climate of legality' in multilateralism.

In Episode 21, our podcast guest brings you ideas from the perspective of a diplomat. The UN Geneva Library & Archives Director, Francesco Pisano, sits down with Jivan Gjorgjinski, a diplomat who served for 3 years in Geneva as Head (chargé d'affaires) of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of North Macedonia to the UN in Geneva from June 2016 to July 2019.   

In this discussion, he shares what it was like working in multilateral diplomacy in Geneva, and what this means in action, giving particular highlights from two key experiences: chairing the 2018 Meeting of States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and the 2019 CCW GG on LAWS, or the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Group of Governmental Experts on lethal autonomous weapons systems.  

He explains more about these legal instruments and why they are key examples of multilateralism in action. He also looks at some critical questions: the role of small-state diplomats in the UN, the role of and opportunity for small states in multilateralism, and how diversity, creativity, and finding common ground come into play in multilateralism. 

You’ll even hear a bit about why we should be more like a sci-fi series you might know well!  

To follow Jivan Gjorgjinski on Twitter, head here: https://twitter.com/jivan_gj 

You can also find out more about the Biological Weapons Convention: https://bit.ly/2VPkiRf and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons: https://bit.ly/2VPkiRf at the UN Geneva website. 

We also have Library Research Guides on Biological Weapons & Chemical Weapons, check them out here as part of the Disarmament series: https://libraryresources.unog.ch/?b=s. 

Content:

Speakers: Jivan Gjorgjinski & Francesco Pisano.

Host: Natalie Alexander.

Editor and Sound Editor: Natalie Alexander.

Image: Jivan Gjorgjinski.

Recorded & produced at the UN Geneva Library & Archives.