LISD hosted a lunch seminar on Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 12:00 p.m. in 023 Robertson Hall. The session, “The Status of Peace Processes: Kosovo, Cyprus, Georgia/Abkhazia and Haiti” was led by David Harland, Acting-Director of the Europe and Latin America Division at the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Harland focused on several critical questions during his seminar presentation: Where are the negotiations on Kosovo's future status heading? Is a resolution of the Georgia/Abkhazia conflict possible in the near future? Are there any prospects for re-starting negotiations to re-unite the divided island of Cyprus? Is the post-conflict reconstruction of Haiti heading in the right direction?

Harland is currently the Acting-Director for the Europe and Latin America Division in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. In that capacity, he is responsible for overseeing UN peace operations in Kosovo, Haiti, Cyprus and Georgia/Abkhazia.  He has served with the United Nations since 1993, including as the Director for Change Management in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Leste, and as Director of Civil Affairs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Harland holds a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a MA in East Asian Studies from Harvard University. He is fluent in Chinese and French.