Nairobi, 26 March 2020 - The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, Huang Xia, is closely following the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region with concern at the alarming rate at which the Corona virus is spreading. The Special Envoy wishes to express his profound solidarity with the people and the Governments of the region, during these trying times for the Great Lakes and the world.
While encouraging the authorities and the...
This Week in DPPA is a brief roundup of political and peacebuilding events and developments at UNHQ and around the world.
COVID-19Call for global ceasefire Special Representative asks Iraqi politicians to unite in the fight against COVID-19 The Special Representative and representatives from WHO visited the Iraq Ministry of Health on 22 March, to show support for their efforts to combat COVID-19. Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert joined their call to Iraqis across the country to follow the instructions and advice from health, religious, civilian and security authorities to practice social distancing and strict hygiene in order to protect their families and communities from the spread of the virus. For up-to-date information on COVID-19 and its impact, please visit the following websites: WHO website Security CouncilCouncil worried about significant escalation of hostilities in Libya Please see the Security Council website for an updated program of work. |
AfghanistanSpecial Representative Yamamoto leaves Kabul
New Special Representative appointed
SomaliaUN congratulates Somalia on reaching ‘decision point’ for debt relief
New YorkLaunch of the Peacebuilding Fund’s strategy for 2020-2024 The Fund’s partners agreed that conflict prevention is more critical than ever, and pointed to added risks posed by COVID-19. “The Peacebuilding Fund is working within its mandate and strategy and through the UN system and partners to assess the impact of the pandemic on conflict and peacebuilding, and do what it is designed to do: provide timely, catalytic and risk-tolerant support to help prevent and mitigate conflict risks,” said Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Oscar Fernandez-Taranco.
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World leaders at the G-20 virtual summit held on Thursday committed to inject over $5 trillion into the global economy to counteract the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the political, security, social and economic crises roiling Iraq, the top UN official in the country hopes it will spur leaders to put aside their differences and unite for the common good.
The Secretary-General condemned Wednesday’s attack on a Sikh-Hindu temple in the heart of Kabul, Afghanistan, that left dozens of civilians killed and injured.
The Secretary-General condemned Wednesday’s attack on a Sikh-Hindu temple in the heart of Kabul, Afghanistan, that left dozens of civilians killed and injured.
LAUNCH OF GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE PLAN FOR COVID-19
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was joined – virtually – by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization; Ms. Henrietta Fore, UNICEF’s Executive Director, and Mr. Mark Lowcock, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. The press conference was moderated by Ms. Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global...
Echoing his 23 March appeal to warring parties across the globe for an immediate ceasefire, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on those fighting in Yemen to end hostilities and ramp up efforts to counter a potential outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dear partners,
We hope you and your families are in good health and slowly adjusting to the new reality of working remotely and limited movement. The United Nations has put measures in place to safeguard staff and prevent the spread of COVID-19, including telecommuting, but the Organization is still at work, determined to deliver on its mandate.
DPPA, at UN headquarters and in the field, has adapted its operations in order to continue providing support to member States and partners. As Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo tweeted following a video conference with the heads of our special political missions earlier this week, “In the face of COVID-19, and while taking adequate precautions, we remain focused on supporting countries in making and building peace and preventing violent conflict.”
We are closely watching the impact of COVID-19 and government responses within individual countries, especially those in which we have SPMs deployed. As DPPA, we must approach this crisis with a prevention lens, and we are paying close attention to the impact of Covid-19 on fragile political transitions, such as Sudan, countries already facing a rapid deterioration of security, such as Burkina Faso and Niger, and of course those countries where we have been deployed and work in support of conflict resolution and sustaining peace, such as Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and others.
The COVID-19 crisis will have a significant impact on DPPA’s operations, but the need for our political analysis and technical expertise on conflict prevention, mediation, peacebuilding and sustaining peace will remain unchanged, if not become even more critical. Request for our services will undoubtedly be high in the coming weeks and months, as we witness the full scale of COVID-19’s impact on the global economy and its social and political implications.
While the priorities and commitments outlined in DPPA’s Strategic Plan and in the Multi-Year Appeal (MYA) remain unchanged, a portion of our activities will need to be adjusted in the near future. The Donor Relations team is in close contact with colleagues at headquarters and in the field to assess the extent to which this crisis will impact the delivery of our MYA portfolio. A Quarterly Review of our MYA portfolio is about to be conducted and will track progress in the delivery of MYA projects and undertake the necessary adjustments. In addition, we will review how the principles of Enterprise Risk Management can help us to potentially mitigate the risks to our staff and to our delivery. COVID-19 will also create new opportunities for projects, and we are already exploring innovative ideas to continue delivering our activities under the MYA, albeit in different ways.
We will keep you regularly informed, and please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or concerns. In these difficult times, we hope to be able to count on your support.
Stay safe and best regards,
The Donor Relations Team
DPPA is pleased to present a report on the impact of Covid-19 on DPPA and on the MYA to showcase its role and activities since the pandemic. MYA funding helps support initiatives by SRSGs and Special Envoys in answering the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire. The MYA, with its Rapid Response window is designed to support new opportunities and crisis-related needs in record time. DPPA continues to deploy its tools - mediation, electoral assistance, inclusive political analysis - to provide political, technical and operational support to its partners. MYA funding helps support initiatives by SRSGs and Special Envoys in answering the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire. With competition for resources intensifying, the MYA is more important than ever for our work.
NEW YORK - United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Deborah Lyons of Canada as his new Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
Ms. Lyons succeeds Tadamichi Yamamoto of Japan, who has served in this critical role since 2016. The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Yamamoto’s important contribution and service to UNAMA since taking up his role as Deputy Special...
The top United Nations envoy in Syria called on Tuesday for an immediate country-wide truce, allowing citizens to save lives and tackle the common threat presented by the COVID-19 coronavirus.
In an appeal issued on Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged warring parties across the world to lay down their weapons in support of the bigger battle against COVID-19: the common enemy that is now threatening all of humankind.
The United Nations on Saturday welcomed the “positive responses” of Libya’s Tripoli-based government and the Libyan National Army (LNA) to calls for a pause to stop the fighting, in the hopes that this would allow humanitarian access throughout the crisis-torn country and head off the potential threat of COVID-19.
Transcript of UN Secretary-General's Virtual Press Encounter on COVID-19 Crisis
We are facing a global health crisis unlike any in the 75-year history of the United Nations — one that is spreading human suffering, infecting the global economy and upending people’s lives.
A global recession – perhaps of record dimensions – is a near certainty.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has...
The United Nations will soon launch a campaign highlighting the personal connections of individuals with religious sites as part of its efforts to protect places of worship around the world.
Nearly 94 tonnes of emergency aid has been airlifted into Chad to support thousands of people who have fled ongoing violence in Sudan’s West Darfur state, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported on Friday.
Authorities in South Sudan must address intercommunal violence if the nation is to achieve lasting peace, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Friday, in response to a recent escalation in fighting in the east and central parts of the country.
A senior United Nations official has welcomed the move by lawmakers in the Central African Republic (CAR) to criminalize child recruitment.
This Week in DPPA is a brief roundup of political and peacebuilding events and developments at UNHQ and around the world.
COVID-19We are open for business
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SomaliaConstitutional review consultations in Galmudug
AfghanistanNowruz celebrations in Afghanistan IraqSpecial Representative visits Kurdistan SyriaAnniversary of the conflict in Syria
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Women who had been displaced by fighting in South Sudan are sowing seeds of peace, with support from the UN mission in the country, UNMISS.
A United Nations peacekeeper from Burundi was killed on Sunday while attempting to stop an armed militant attack in the Central African Republic (CAR), according to a statement released by the UN Mission in the country, MINUSCA.
TIRANA / BRUSSELS / GENEVA. After carefully reviewing circumstances related to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Co-Chairs of the Geneva International Discussions (GID), UN Representative Cihan Sultanoglu, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus Rudolf Michalka, and EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar have today decided to postpone the 51st GID round, which was due to take place on 31 March -1 April 2020.
The Co-Chairs will take every effort to closely keep contact and engage with all participants using available tools to adequately address pertinent security and humanitarian related issues, among others, on the GID agenda.
The Co-Chairs will closely follow developments related to COVID-19 and consider next steps in organizing the 51st round in due course.
Syria marks a grim milestone this weekend as the tenth year of war begins, prompting the UN Special Envoy to take stock of the incomprehensible scale of suffering there, noting that with nearly a million newly displaced in Idlib, “the tragedy is deepening”.
Following the unveiling of a new unity cabinet in South Sudan on Thursday, the UN Secretary-General has commended the “spirit of compromise and collaboration” shown by President Salva Kiir and rival-turned-top deputy, Riek Machar, on what has been a rocky road towards forging lasting peace.
Although a fragile ceasefire agreed in northwest Syria is still holding, UN humanitarians on Friday warned of dire conditions for hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by conflict, now in its tenth year.
