Under-Secretary-General Rosemary A. DiCarlo's
Remarks at DPPA's Annual Donor Meeting
New York, 24 April 2024
Excellencies,
Colleagues,
Friends,
Welcome to the Annual Donor meeting of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. Thank you for being here and for your support of DPPA’s work.
Fittingly, today is International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace – a day that really highlights our work, and the challenges we face.
When we met just over a year ago, the world was still reeling from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Two weeks after that meeting, armed conflict exploded in the Sudan, sending the country spiraling.
Today, we are more than six months into a devastating Israeli military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas terror attacks of 7 October. And we are seeing the growing regional ramifications of this conflict across the Middle East.
These wars are destroying lives and compromising the future of millions of people – and they are far from the only ones. Violent conflict has proliferated markedly in the last decade, accelerated by an erosion of – if not an outright assault on - international norms and growing geopolitical competition and division.
I’ll be blunt: This is the most dangerous period in global relations since the end of the Cold War, perhaps even since the end of the Second World War.
The UN’s prevention work and our efforts to foster trust, cooperation and solidarity through diplomacy has never been more important. Similarly, the role of DPPA in accomplishing these tasks is critical.
This is work that we plainly cannot do without your support. Work that, though often painstaking, arduous and discreet, makes a difference, even if it rarely makes the headlines.
Let me also be blunt on another aspect. These are difficult times politically – but also financially. DPPA has been deeply affected by the liquidity situation and the resultant measures and constraints affecting regular budget resources and activities.
We know this is a difficult time for many of you. Some of our partners have cut back. Others have told us that they will not be able to maintain their support at the same level as in previous years.
We understand the constraints you face. But I can also assure you that the return on your investment is worth it. We are not a costly operation. Conflict prevention saves lives – and it is cost-effective.
Nothing saves as much on humanitarian aid, refugee assistance, the costly consequences of conflict as resolving or averting it in the first place.
Friends,
Today, I want to share with you some of the progress we made in 2023. We will also endeavour to respond to your questions and concerns.
And I hope that we will leave here today with an even stronger shared commitment to do all we can to advance peace and security globally – and to leverage the cost-effectiveness of conflict resolution and conflict prevention.
As you know, we are currently in the thick of preparations for the Summit of the Future in September. In 2023, the Secretary-General tasked DPPA as the lead penholder for his policy brief on “A New Agenda for Peace.” The New Agenda outlines his vision for how Member States can advance shared interests and strengthen multilateral action for peace.
In the brief the Secretary-General stresses his commitment to enhance his Good Offices to prevent and mediate conflicts as well as the importance of addressing drivers of conflict. Conflict prevention is a central theme.
DPPA widely consulted Member States and other stakeholders for our analysis and recommendations with the support of the Multi-Year Appeal.
Such consultations and engagement, and translating them into analysis and policy recommendations, are a foundation of our work. They are also vital for the Secretary-General’s Special Representatives and Special Envoys, who rely on the MYA for many of their diplomatic efforts.
In a few minutes, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Hanna Tetteh, will share with you how the MYA supports her ongoing efforts in the Horn of Africa.
Indeed, the MYA supports a broad range of activities including political and peace processes:
- In relation to Gaza and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, MYA funding has enabled DPPA to meet critical monitoring and analysis demands. This has helped ensure timely and effective support to the wider UN system.
- The situation in in Ukraine continues to require timely and actionable political analysis to inform the UN response. Our liaison office in Kyiv, funded 100% from extrabudgetary resources under the MYA, provides updates and inputs, including for over 100 Security Council briefings over the past year.
- On Sudan, following the closure of UNITAMS, DPPA is supporting the new Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General, Ramtane Lamamra, in a challenging assignment. MYA funding is critical to equip him with staff support and other capacities.
- In Haiti, amid escalating gang violence, MYA-funded support has enabled DPPA and BINUH to engage politically and bring together civil society stakeholders. This remains critical in the present volatile conditions in the country.
- In Colombia, the UN contributed to significant advances in peace talks in 2023 between the Government and the National Liberation Army (ELN). The MYA enabled us to complement the resources of the Verification Mission regarding the inclusion of women in implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement.
- In Afghanistan, MYA funding enabled DPPA to support UNAMA in advocating for women’s rights, facilitating dialogue with authorities, and maintaining workforce diversity.
- And in Mozambique, the MYA supported our efforts on the disarmament and successful reintegration of combatants. The closure of the final RENAMO base in June last year successfully completed the reintegration of all 5,221 former combatants into communities throughout the country. With this success, the good offices of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Mozambique concluded in October 2023.
- Our Rapid Response mechanism continued to enable us to quickly act on emerging needs by deploying resources within 72 hours. This agility was crucial in providing timely interventions in Chad and in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, where we supported prevention and peacebuilding efforts at critical moments. We did so working closely with the RCs and UN Country Teams in both countries.
- We also provided timely and risk-responsive support to our partners in the field. Funded by the MYA, our Standby Team of Senior Mediation Advisers engaged in 131 mediation support assignments in approximately 26 different contexts in 2023. The African continent saw the largest share of these engagements.
These examples underscore the increasing demand for our services and expertise. Each crisis presents unique challenges. Your contributions make possible the tailored responses such challenges require.
Colleagues,
In 2023, we again balanced crisis response with non-crisis prevention efforts. This is always a challenge, but one that is more pronounced the more crises there are – and when we have to make do with limited resources.
DPPA led 53 electoral missions to Member States, demonstrating our commitment to supporting democratic processes globally.
We dedicated $8.2 million, or 19 per cent of the MYA budget, to Women, Peace, and Security initiatives. This surpasses our target [18 per cent] and demonstrates a firm commitment to inclusive political and peacemaking efforts.
Through our MYA-funded Innovation Cell, we used AI technology to promote participation in peace and political initiatives, notably enhancing the inclusion of youth.
In Bolivia and Guinea, for example, we engaged youth in meaningful consultations in the context of political transitions. Our virtual reality films about Lebanon and Chad provided viewers with insights into local challenges.
We also provided essential real-time support to combat disinformation and hate speech across various field presences.
For example, we helped UNAMI with social media monitoring ahead of municipal elections in December and enhanced analytical support for UNOCA, UNOWAS, UNSCOL and the Verification Mission in Colombia.
Our work on climate, peace, and security relies also entirely on voluntary contributions through the MYA. In 2023, we enhanced our capacity to address climate-related security risks in the field.
We successfully deployed climate, peace, and security advisors to our special political missions across West Africa and the Sahel [UNOWAS], Central Africa [UNOCA], the Horn of Africa [OSE-Horn of Africa], Somalia [UNSOM], and Iraq [UNAMI].
Additional deployments are planned for this year [e.g. UNAMA]. By doing so, we are advancing from general policy work to concrete, operational engagement on the ground – where it matters.
As always, over the past year, we also continued to emphasize and deepen our partnerships with regional and sub-regional organizations.
For many years, we have maintained liaison presences that have enabled collaboration and partnership with such organizations, across the globe. However, some of these critical collaborations are now at risk of being downsized or closed due to funding constraints.
But while the world is confronting more and more crises, in 2023, we achieved only 76 per cent of our annual funding target of $41 million. We gratefully received a total amount of $31.1 million from 31 donors. The resultant 24 per cent funding gap, equivalent to $9.9 million, highlights the critical need for sustained and enhanced support.
For this cycle of our Multi-Year Appeal from 2023 to 2026, we are seeking to raise a total of $170 million. Our immediate goal for 2024 is $42 million. This funding enables us to do things, concretely and operationally. It also enables us to maintain our work on key thematic areas of engagement, be it the women, peace and security agenda; climate, peace and security; our mediation support; and innovation.
Excellencies, colleagues,
Allow me to conclude very simply by expressing my sincere gratitude and that of our colleagues in the field and here at HQ for your indispensable support.
We know you face many appeals for contributions, and that the current funding environment is difficult. That you have consistently shown up to bolster our efforts, over and above what you already contribute to the UN budget, is deeply appreciated. And we hope, very much, that you can continue to do so.
I would now like to give the floor to Special Envoy Hanna Tetteh.
Hanna is joining us from Addis Ababa and will be speaking about the impact of extra-budgetary contributions on her work.
Thank you.