The Foreign Service Journal, December 2010

46 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 Finally, consider the environment and climate change. Like the previ- ous examples, they are challenging is- sues, none of which is easily or effectively addressed by unilateral or bilateral action alone. The United States must play an active role in mul- tilateral efforts such as the Copen- hagen process and the upcoming Cancun conference on global climate change. We are also determined to syner- gize existing efforts, which is why the administration brought together the Major Econom- ies process with the U.N. process, combining the conver- sations with major emitters with the larger conversation with the world at large. When you examine the scope and scale of the chal- lenges the world faces, there is only one possible conclu- sion: multilateral engagement must, and will, be central to addressing these problems and advancing our foreign policy goals. Q: Given that centrality, does the United States have the tools and resources it needs to engage as fully as you envision? A. I would say that we’re on the right path. With the complexity and rapid growth of the multilateral architec- ture, we clearly need to prioritize our engagement; it would be entirely too easy to lose focus or squander op- portunities. We are determined that this not happen, and have spent the necessary time contemplating, defining and refining our goals. Addressing those goals in a coherent, effective manner will require a robust and nimble U.S. toolbox. IO is an im- portant part of that toolbox, but it cannot do the job alone. In a world of growing transnational challenges, the De- partment of State, as well as the Foreign Service and the Civil Service, will have to adapt, evolve and respond. In some important ways, that process is already well under way. I made it my early priority to ensure that our small but talented staff could communicate effectively on issues and events that often cut across a variety of U.S. pri- orities. So, for example, those officers working on issues that we can define broadly as “human security” — health, development, food and agriculture, etc. — are now more closely linked. We’ve also added new staff at all levels to guide and implement our ex- panded engagement. You may not know, for example, that we now have an ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council (Eileen Donahoe), and a new deputy assistant secretary (Suzanne Nossel) overseeing our sys- tem-wide effort to amplify the pro- motion and protection of human rights. This evolution will inevitably have significant and lasting implica- tions for the State Department. Q: Tell us more about that. What does this era of en- gagement mean for the Foreign Service? A. Well, first, I think it’s important to recognize that multilateral diplomacy requires a particular skill set — a skill set not entirely distinct from that employed in our bi- lateral missions around the world, but distinct enough to warrant new training opportunities, recognition by pro- motion panels and other rewards. IO has a great team of really talented people, and we enjoy the benefits of the department’s greatest renew- able resource: the Foreign Service officer. A growing proportion of those officers arrive in IO with multilateral experience, from assignments spent working with inter- national organizations, negotiating in consensus-based processes and communicating in the language of the United Nations. It remains our responsibility, however, to ensure that all IO officers and, hopefully one day, all State Department employees, receive the necessary training and assignment possibilities to create and sustain a cadre of seasoned mul- tilateral diplomats. Q: Would such skills be applicable outside the IO family? A. Absolutely, and more so every day. Consider just the department itself, where a growing number of bu- reaus, functional and regional, work on multilateral issues in multilateral fora. Those fora include such organizations as the African Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Organization of American States, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to name just a few. Q: And presumably the growth in informal organi- F O C U S “Multilateral engagement must, and will, be central to addressing problems and advancing our foreign policy goals.” — IO A/S Esther Brimmer