Independent Diplomat is a non-profit organisation founded in 2004 by former British diplomat Carne Ross

Carne Ross

Carne Ross is founder and director of Independent Diplomat, a diplomatic advisory group. Born in 1966, Ross has a fraternal twin, Oliver Ross, a successful paediatric anaesthetist in UK. Ross taught in Zimbabwe before attending the University of Exeter where he studied economics and politics. He...

 to give advice and assistance in diplomatic strategy and technique to governments and political groups - such as providing 'freelance' diplomat

Diplomat

A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

s to unrecognised governments (i.e. governments of seceded or proto-states that do not (yet) have international recognition, and usually have little experience in dealing with international bureaucracy). It works to enable broader participation in diplomatic forums such as the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

, European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, African Union

African Union

The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...

, etc. Independent Diplomat’s goal is to contribute to just and sustainable solutions to international problems by promoting inclusiveness and accountability in foreign policy. It is an independent organisation, without connection to any particular governments or institutions, which only helps those who support democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Independent Diplomat’s staff currently (2009) includes Carne Ross, Executive Director and founder; and Thomas J. Miller

Thomas J. Miller (diplomat)

Thomas J. Miller is an American diplomat and previous U.S. Ambassador who currently serves as Director of the Washington, DC office of Independent Diplomat....

, as head of its Washington office. Its Advisory Council includes Alyson Bailes

Alyson Bailes

Alyson Bailes is a former English diplomat who lives in Iceland.She was born in Manchester in the United Kingdom. She graduated from Somerville College, University of Oxford in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern History and a Master of Arts in 1971.She joined the London Foreign and...

, Edward Mortimer

Edward Mortimer

Edward Mortimer CMG was until January 2007 the Director of Communications in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General...

, Eva Nowotny

Eva Nowotny

Eva Nowotny is the Austrian ambassador to the United States. She was previously the Austrian ambassador to France and to the Court of St. James's . From 1983 to 1992, Nowotny served as foreign policy advisor to the Austrian chancellors Fred Sinowatz and Franz Vranitzky...

, and Sir Kieran Prendergast

Kieran Prendergast

Sir Kieran Prendergast is a British diplomat and a former Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs at the United Nations....

 . Former members include Ian Martin

Ian Martin

Ian Martin, from the United Kingdom, is a human rights activist who has been involved in a number of human rights organisations. He was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Nepal for the United Nations Mission in Nepal from 2007 to 2009....

 and Danilo Türk

Danilo Türk

- Early life :Türk was born in a lower middle class family in Maribor, Slovenia . His father died when he was a child. He attended the prestigious II. Gymnasium High school in Maribor. In 1971 he enrolled to the University of Ljubljana where he studied law...

. Its Board of Directors includes Parag Khanna

Parag Khanna

Dr. Parag Khanna is an Indian American author and international relations expert. He is a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, Research Fellow in the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. and Director of...

, Victor Navasky, and David Rieff

David Rieff

David Rieff is an American polemicist and pundit. His books have focused on issues of immigration, international conflict, and humanitarianism...

. It is funded (with approximately $1.8 million per year) by foundation and government donations, as well as fees from their clients (with poorer organisations charged nominal fees only).

ID’s projects have included: helping Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

 achieve recognition as a new state, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma

National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma

The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma is an administration claimed to be the government in exile of Burma. It has its headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, United States...

, Somaliland

Somaliland

Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...

, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Northern Cyprus or North Cyprus , officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern part of the island of Cyprus...

 and Western Sahara

Western Sahara

Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...

. They also assist the Republic of the Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

 in navigating international diplomatic processes on climate change and manage a project to reform the working methods of the United Nations Security Council

United Nations Security Council

The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...

. ID has also assisted various non-profit organizations, including: Human Rights First

Human Rights First

Human Rights First is a nonprofit, nonpartisan human rights organization based in New York City and Washington, D.C....

, the International Center for Transitional Justice

International Center for Transitional Justice

The International Center for Transitional Justice was founded in 2001 as a non-profit organization dedicated to pursuing accountability for mass atrocity and human rights abuse through transitional justice mechanisms.-Mission statement:...

 and the World Wide Fund for Nature

World Wide Fund for Nature

The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...

.