The Foreign Service Journal, June 2022

18 JUNE 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL NSU team members (from left to right): Meghan Stewart, Tyler Jess Thompson and Aimee Breslow. NEGOTIATIONSSUPPORTUNIT State Launches Negotiations Unit O n March 17, the State Department publicly launched its newNegotia- tions Support Unit, a permanent teamof subject matter experts who will provide technical and advisory support to diplo- mats and policymakers working on peace processes and complex political negotia- tions around the world. Housed in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, the unit will act as an internal consultancy for the State Department on both the process and substance of negotiations and peace talks, from the strategic planning phase through implementation. It will also be available to other agencies, including USAID and the Department of Defense. CSO Assistant Secretary Anne Wit- kowsky said Foreign Service colleagues have told those in her bureau that while they know the people, region and politics in a conflict situation, they could benefit from internal experts to help think through negotiations. “The State Department has top-notch negotiators who have brokered peace agreements successfully,” Witkowsky said at the virtual launch event hosted by the Alliance for Peacebuilding. “But in our team’s outreach with senior diplomats, they noted that even the most experi- enced negotiators may engage in only a fewmajor negotiations throughout their careers. The NSU offers a permanent team whose sole purpose is to provide expert technical advice on peace processes and complex political negotiations.” Witkowsky added that over the last few months, the NSU has already contributed to U.S. engagement and negotiations around the world, including in Ethiopia, Yemen, Sudan, Georgia and Venezuela. Staffed by a teambrought on fromout- side the Foreign Service, the new unit was launched internally in December 2021, and State Department officials currently engaged in negotiations can solicit support as needed. Deputy Assistant Secretary Ariel Eckblad described the work of NSU staffers as falling into three categories. The first is behind the negotiating table, advising on process and substance, while also deter- mining the agenda, who should participate and how to deal with potential spoilers. The second is at the table, providing real-time support to people in nego- tiations, which could eventually lead to embedding NSU staff into the State Department’s special envoy teams. The last category deals with what hap- pens once the negotiations end—namely, how the unit can support implementa- tion of an agreement once it has been reached. n This edition of Talking Points was compiled by Julia Wohlers. O n the occasion of World Heritage Day, the State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center teamed up with Google to offer a virtual explora- tion of its heritage preservation projects around the world. Launching for the first time on Google Arts & Culture, the cen- ter is sharing immersive photography examples frommore than 1,100 projects in more than 130 countries. On the platform, you can tour the ruins of the 9th- century Kilwa Kisiwani palace in Tanzania, glimpse Late Preclassic Mayan murals in Guatemala, or learn about efforts to restore the ancient Nabataean flash flood protec- tion system in Petra, Jordan. The preservation of these sites and hundreds more has received funding support from the U.S. Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation. Since 2001, the AFCP has worked with governments and organizations to protect cultural heritage from both natural and man-made threats. The fund is available to historic buildings, archaeological sites, eth- nographic objects, paintings, manuscripts, indigenous languages and other forms of traditional cultural expression. According to Lee Satterfield, assistant secretary of State for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, additional sites and images will be continually added to the Google platform. Site of the Month: Cultural Heritage Center (bit.ly/GoogleAFCP) The appearance of a particular site or podcast is for information only and does not constitute an endorsement.