On 5 November 2024, UNU will host “Emerging Threats and Security Challenges Facing the United Nations”, a conversation with Gilles Michaud, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security. This event will start at 18:30 in the 2F Reception Hall at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo.
Over the last decade, the environment in which the UN and its partners operate has become more complex, and the threats that UN staff face have increased in severity. It is likely that these trends will continue, and perhaps increase in the coming years. The trends require the United Nations, including the United Nations Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS), to anticipate and respond quickly to emergencies of varied nature and severity.
Gilles Michaud will join UNU Chief of Staff Michael Baldock for a discussion on the security threats and challenges faced by the United Nations. The discussion will explore the increasingly complex humanitarian and security environment in which the UN operates as well as discuss specific challenges and emerging threats such as climate change and disinformation. How does the United Nations operate in regions where its own personnel face serious security risks? What are the threats posed by new technologies? What is the outlook for the UN’s peacekeeping, peacebuilding and humanitarian efforts given these emerging challenges?
The UNU Conversation Series aims to foster audience participation; you are encouraged to engage with the speakers during the conversation and at the reception that will follow, where all event attendees are invited to enjoy hors d’oeuvres and drinks while exchanging ideas and making new contacts.
Please note that this event will be in English. Advance registration (by 4 November at 15:00) is required. Please click on the REGISTER button above to access the online registration page.
Please be prepared to present identification at check-in.
About the Speaker
Gilles Michaud of Canada took up the role of United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security on 1 July 2019. In this capacity Mr. Michaud leads and coordinates safety and security operations across the United Nations Security Management System to enable global United Nations programme delivery.
Previously, in a policing career that spanned over 33 years with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, USG Michaud developed a wealth of experience in transnational organized crime, counter-terrorism, national security, cybercrime and protective policing. He last served in the RCMP as Deputy Commissioner for Federal Policing where he led the development of organizational transformation and managed substantial human, physical and financial resources at the national and international level.
Beyond the United Nations, Mr Michaud has an extensive background in multilateral organizations as the lead on peacekeeping, international capacity-building, and liaison activities for the RCMP and having served on the Executive Committee of the International Criminal Police Organization — INTERPOL.
Mr. Michaud is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Program in National and International Security and McGill University’s Executive Development Program. He is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Executive Institute’s 39th Session, the FBI National Academy’s 213th Session, and the Leadership in Counter-Terrorism Program administered by the FBI National Academy.
Mr. Michaud has received numerous awards, including the Governor General’s Academic Medal, the Queen’s Jubilee and RCMP Long Service medals. In January 2014, he was appointed to Canada’s Officer of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.
