Diplomacy

The inner workings of the United Nations is the subject of Boris Bertram and Rasmus Dinesen's eye-opening documentary Diplomacy. The presidency of the U.N. Security Council is a rotating position, which was occupied for one month in 2006 by Denmark, during which time the Danish government tried to pass a resolution to deploy a peacekeeping force in the Darfur region of Sudan, which was—and continues to be—an area where black African citizens are routinely looted, raped, murdered, and driven from their land by militias controlled by Sudanese Arabs. Despite their determination, the Danes found it all but impossible to move two permanent members of the Council—China and Russia—from their non-intervention position (both countries have significant business dealings with the Sudanese government). Complicating matters further was the Sudanese argument that intervention would be a pretext for Western colonization. Given remarkable access to closed door meetings, daily phone calls, and the Security Council chamber itself, the filmmakers here reveal the tangled agendas that make the business of world diplomacy maddeningly difficult. How the Danish team kept their cool through 30 days of efforts on behalf of vulnerable people half a world away is nothing short of amazing. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)