King Saud University students visit the UN premises in Riyadh

Some 77 female students of the King Saud University (Law and Political Science school) on Wednesday 28 Novembre visited the UN building in Riyadh and met the United Nations Country Team (UNCT).

The students wanted to draw linkage between theoretical and practical knowledge in discussing the UN role in terms of conflict resolution and negotiations, peace building, security and protection of refugees.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Saudi Arabia, Ms Nathalie Fustier, welcomed the students and mentioned in her speech the formulation of the international system and signing the charter in 1945. She recalled that this year, we commemorate the 70th anniversary for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights under the slogan ''Stand Up for Human Rights".

Mr Farid Hamdan, the Coordinator of OHCHR’s Technical Cooperation Project in Saudi Arabia, delivered a presentation on the United Nations system, its organs and main programmes with a special focus on the role of the United Nations in promoting peace and conflict resolution.

The students asked several questions, including but not limited to the UN operations in peace building, peacekeeping, and the Secretary-General counter terrorism strategy, demonstrating their high level of awareness of the United Nations system. They also asked about the role of Special Envoys of the Secretary-General (SESG) in terms of preventive diplomacy. Mr Hamdan explained by clarifying the role of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen who works on gathering all conflicting parties for a dialog aiming to resolve conflicts through peaceful measures.

Mr Amr Elgendy, a UNHCR Protection Officer, explained the UN Refugee agency's system and processes on protection of refugees. He described who is considered a refugee, the difference between a refugee and a migrant, the definition of international protection and people of concern for UNHCR. Mr Elgendy mentioned the components of international protection and the nature of the principle of non-refoulement, including non-rejection at the border, the cornerstone of international refugee law, which is contained in the 1951 Refugee convention. Moreover, he stated that there are currently 68 million refugees worldwide, the vast majority of them coming from Afghanistan, Syria, and Somalia.