This Week in DPPA is a brief roundup of political and peacebuilding events and developments at UNHQ and around the world.
Security CouncilSpecial Representative calls for protection of political space in Somalia
Matar: Relative calm in Syria continues to hold
Afghanistan2020 Afghanistan Conference
SyriaSpecial Envoy visits Saudi Arabia
YemenGriffiths: The job of a mediator is to infuse hopeSpecial Envoy Martin Griffiths was this week’s guest in the podcast Awake at Night, hosted by Melissa Flemming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications. Mr. Griffiths said a mediator has to bring hope to seemingly hopeless situations, and speaks candidly about his struggles with depression, the mental toll humanitarian work can have, and the importance of empathy when mediating between sides in a conflict. "I'm not from Yemen. It's our conflict because it has such dramatic consequences, not only for the people of Yemen more broadly. But the job of a mediator, I think, is to infuse hope into people, to say there can be a solution to this, to come up with ideas as to how they might resolve their inevitable differences." Read more and listen here |
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ColombiaUN Mission: Colombia should be proud of what it has achieved and of being an example of peacebuilding in the world LibyaSecond round of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum 16 Days of Activism16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign to challenge violence against women and girls. The campaign runs every year from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day. "Today is International Day to End Violence against Women. and the world is turning orange as a symbol of our commitment to this goal. In times of conflict and in peace, we must combat gender-based violence," Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo tweeted on 25 November.
Multi-Year AppealNew quarterly report
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Melissa Fleming 00:01
From the United Nations, I'm Melissa Fleming and this is Awake at Night. My guest this week is Martin Griffiths, the Secretary General's Special Envoy for Yemen, a country that has been devastated by civil war, and which is experiencing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises with famine, very little medical care, and now the coronavirus pandemic,...
Melissa Fleming 00:01
From the United Nations. I'm Melissa Fleming and this is Awake at Night. My guest this week is Martin Griffiths, the Secretary General's Special Envoy for Yemen, a country that has been devastated by civil war, and which is experiencing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises with famine, very little medical care. And now the coronavirus pandemic, Martin, this is not an easy job you have...
A young mother has been talking about how she was shunned by her community in Uganda when she returned home after being abducted and forced to fight for rebels as a child soldier.
The Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General (ASRSG) and Head of the United Mission Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Stephanie Williams convened today the second virtual meeting of the second round of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF). Participants continued discussions and provided suggestions on selection modalities for the unified executive authority to implement the preparatory period leading to national elections to be held on December...
Noon Briefing of 24 November 2020
And turning to Yemen, and the issue of the FSO Safer oil tanker, which we have been talking about for some time now. And I can tell you that we have now received an official letter from the de facto Ansar Allah authorities on Saturday indicating their approval for the UN proposal for the planned expert mission to the tanker. This, as you know, has followed several weeks of constructive technical exchanges on the activities that will be...
More than three million people across Syria require assistance through what is likely to be an “incredibly hard” winter, the acting deputy UN Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council on Wednesday, highlighting that those displaced remain “particularly vulnerable”.
Israel’s military operations and prolonged closure of Gaza, has caused economic damage of $16.7 billion between 2007 and 2018, driving the poverty rate up almost fourfold compared to what it might have otherwise been, the UN trade and development agency UNCTAD said in a report published on Wednesday.
Lethal cluster munitions are still being used in old and new conflicts around the world, from Syria to Libya, to Nagorno-Karabakh, a UN-backed civil society report said on Wednesday.
Madam President,
It is an honor for me to address this Council today. The Special Envoy is continuing a set of engagements – he is today in Riyadh – in support of the UN-facilitated political process.
I am pleased to be able to inform the Council that plans are being finalised for the fourth session of the Constitutional Committee Small Body to convene from 30 November to 4 December in Geneva.
This was made possible by the engagement and agreement of the two Syrian Co-Chairs that, in line with the mandate, the Terms of Reference and the Core Rules of Procedure, the Constitutional Committee Small Body will continue in session 4 to discuss the agenda of session 3 on national foundations and principles, and in session 5 will discuss constitutional principles (basic principles of the constitution). The Co-Chairs further agreed on the dates for session 4, COVID-19 situation permitting, and to hold session 5 in January 2021.
The COVID-19 challenges in Geneva are considerable right now, and the Special Envoy is very aware of that. We are very grateful to the Swiss authorities for all they have done and are doing to enable this meeting to move ahead in these extraordinary times. We will be ensuring that the strictest health and safety protocols are followed, and appreciate that the Co-Chairs and Constitutional Committee members have fully committed to the measures that will be in place. We continue monitoring the evolution of the epidemiological situation in Geneva ahead of the meeting.
We all know that the Committee has not yet made the kind of progress we had hoped. But the commitment of the Syrian parties to the package of two meetings and with agreed agendas presents an important opportunity for Committee members to engage in good faith in a businesslike manner to move forward the political process. If these sessions can proceed in a substantive manner and in a spirit of compromise, we believe it would help to build trust and confidence and make some progress. We also look forward to engaging with the Syrian Women’s Advisory Board to benefit from their insights and support for all aspects of the constitutional process.
Madam President,
A constitutional track on its own cannot resolve the crisis, and the Syrian-led committee’s work needs to be accompanied by mutual and reinforcing steps by Syrian and international players on the range of issues contained in resolution 2254.
It is important to note that, while falling short of the nationwide ceasefire called for by resolution 2254, the fragile and relative calm that the Special Envoy has spoken of in recent months continues broadly to hold. That calm however continues to be ever more challenged, raising concerns. This month saw renewed elevated escalation in northwest Syria, with fresh airstrikes, mutual shelling and ground clashes between the Syrian Government and HTS and armed opposition groups, but we also continue to see Russian-Turkish cooperation in the effort to preserve calm and address terrorism. We also saw a spike in violence in the northeast, around the perimeter of “Operation Peace Spring” areas; new levels of turbulence in southwest Syria; Israeli airstrikes; and ongoing ISIL activity in the desert – a reminder of the magnitude of the terrorist challenge still confronting Syria.
On this the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, let me stress to the Council that Syrian women in recent consultations with us have emphasized that peace and security means ending all forms of violence. Syrian women continue to suffer from sexual and gender-based violence, which has been widely documented. Measures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have increased the prevalence of domestic violence, child-marriage and sexual harassment. Syrian women have at the same time been at the forefront of initiatives to respond to the crisis.
Meanwhile, Syrian women, men and children are suffering profound economic hardship. The Syrian currency is beginning to experience another depreciation, causing a further rise in prices and diminishing purchasing power. In recent months, bread and energy shortages have affected Syrian livelihoods to an unprecedented degree. And as winter looms, families continue to face difficulties in providing home heating and farmers suffer from fuel shortages. COVID-19 remains a major challenge and has exacerbated vulnerabilities in all parts of the country. In this context, it is also paramount that any sanctions avoid aggravating the plight of Syrian civilians.
A particular focus of my engagement remains the plight of detainees, abductees and missing persons. Unfortunately, we have not seen the kind of progress we need on the release of the detained and abducted, and information on the missing. We will continue in every occasion to press for this as a humanitarian imperative and as a vital step towards building confidence. Most urgent is the release at scale of women, children, the sick and elderly, and humanitarian access to places of detention.
The plight of millions of Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons continues to deteriorate. The United Nations supports Syrian refugees whatever their choices and seeks to engage all parties in the effort to enable safe, dignified, well-informed and voluntary returns. Higher numbers are likely only be achieved once the factors that refugees say prevent them from returning are addressed – including personal security, access to livelihoods, basic services and education as well as restitution, rehabilitation and post-conflict reconstruction of housing, land and property. Action on these fronts would help create an enabling environment for such returns, something that is anchored in the tenets of resolution 2254.
Madam President,
Resolution 2254 contains all the elements that are still commonly understood as required for a political solution: respecting the sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity of Syria; a Syrian-led and owned political process, that includes a constitutional process culminating in free, fair and inclusive elections supervised by the United Nations, and that has the meaningful participation of women; a nationwide ceasefire; countering proscribed terrorist groups in compliance with international law; the protection of civilians; unfettered humanitarian access; the release of detainees and abductees and information on the missing; implementing confidence-building measures; conditions for the safe and voluntary returns of refugees and internally displaced persons; and post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation.
However, five years after the resolution, and with the Syrian people inside and outside Syria continuing to suffer deeply, the Special Envoy is taking stock of what has and has not been achieved in the implementation of this mandate. He is consulting widely as he does so, and in the process seeking to identify new or additional ways to move the process forward. He began this stocktaking when he met the now-late Syrian Foreign Minister Moallem, and in contacts with the opposition Syrian Negotiations Commission. He has met senior Turkish officials in Ankara, Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry, and League of Arab States Secretary-General Aboul Gheit in Cairo, and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov as well as other senior officials in Moscow. He met Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif and other senior officials recently in Tehran and is today in Riyadh, where he is meeting Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. During this period, the Special Envoy also engaged by telephone with Jordanian Foreign Minister Safadi and with other senior Arab, American and European officials. He appreciates the counsel and insight of all and seeks their strengthened support for the political process. He will be continuing this engagement in the period ahead with the Syrian parties and international partners. In that process, he will also continue to consult the Women’s Advisory Board and seek the views and insights of a wide range of Syrian civil society interlocutors through ongoing consultations of the Civil Society Support Room.
As that wider exploration continues and deepens, we focus in the meantime on facilitating the Constitutional Committee meeting in Geneva next week. We trust that all members of the Committee will approach the two forthcoming sessions in a spirit of compromise and with a determination to engage seriously. They will have our full support in that regard.
Thank you, Madam President.
Two separate bomb attacks in northern Syria on Tuesday, which reportedly left at least seven civilians dead and many more wounded, have been condemned by the UN.
Two senior UN officials welcomed on Tuesday the war crimes conviction and life sentencing of an armed combatant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
As authorities in Iraq continue to operate “in the eye of multiple storms”, international support remains essential for resolving ongoing political, security, economic and social crises, as well as the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Security Council heard on Tuesday.
International donors pledged financial and political support for Afghanistan’s peace process at the 2020 Afghanistan Conference in Geneva on Tuesday, anticipating a sustainable ceasefire that will help the country rebuild and heal after decades of conflict.
The UN's top human rights official has called on the parties to the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region to give “clear and unambiguous orders” to their forces not to target civilians, and protect them from assault.
In response to questions on a reported missile attack today, the Spokesman had the following to say:
The Secretary-General expresses concern over the reported missile attack on Aramco oil facilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for which the Houthis have claimed responsibility.
The Secretary-General recalls that attacks targeting civilian targets and infrastructure violate international humanitarian law...
The UN on Monday said it was “extremely concerned” over the safety of civilians across Ethiopia’s Tigray region, as fighting between Government troops and those loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) reportedly continued, with the Ethiopian Prime Minister having called on opposition forces to surrender the capital Mekelle, by Wednesday.
COVID-19 continues to pose considerable challenges to conflict prevention, mediation and peacebuilding while it exacerbates the conditions that can lead to violence. But we are also witnessing resilience, innovation and inclusive political action in response to the pandemic. DPPA is closely monitoring the implications of the pandemic in mission settings and countries with fragile political transitions. This report provides an update of DPPA’s key milestones and achievements during the third quarter of 2020.
Two top UN officials called for an end to the long-running conflict in Afghanistan on Monday, telling a major conference in Geneva that normality could only return to the country if there was a sustained ceasefire.
The “broad political consensus” reached in September that ended a two-year stalemate in Somalia must be “preserved and indeed deepened”, the country’s UN envoy told the Security Council on Monday.
KABUL, 22 November - The Afghanistan 2020 Conference will be webcast live on http://webtv.un.org...
The UN Secretary-General has condemned rocket attacks in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, on Saturday which killed at least eight civilians and wounded many more.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the African Union’s (AU) appointment of three high-level envoys to help resolve the conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, calling it an "initiative for peace.”
In the West African country of Sierra Leone, the UN is supporting a government programme, training women and men to take on leadership roles in areas such as peacebuilding, with the aim of promoting peace and non-violence.
This Week in DPPA is a brief roundup of political and peacebuilding events and developments at UNHQ and around the world.
Security CouncilMladenov: The international community must act swiftly to provide the necessary resources for UNRWA
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IraqSpecial Representative meets with President and Prime MinisterJeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Special Representative and Head of UNAMI, was received in Baghdad by the President of the Republic of Iraq, Dr. Barham Salih, on 14 November. They discussed the political and security situation in the country, notably preparations for the upcoming early elections and the fight against remaining ISIL cells. On 15 November, Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert met with Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, with whom she discussed the current political and humanitarian situation in the country, with special emphasis on the preparations for the upcoming early elections. Colombia Tree-planting in Quibdó Former FARC-EP combatants and community representatives participated in a tree-planting activity on 18 November sponsored by the UN Verification Mission in Colombia and the UN Development Programme. One hundred trees donated by the Autonomous Regional Corporation for the Sustainable Development of Chocó (CODECHOCO) were planted in Quibdó, Chocó, western Colombia, to protect water sources on plots of land destined for a collective fish reintegration project. More trees will be planted in the coming months. The Agency for Reintegration and Normalization (ARN) and the National Learning Service (SENA) also participated in the event.
New report on challenges and opportunities to local mediation DPPA’s Mediation Support Unit launched on 17 November a new report on UN support to local mediation and approaches. The report summarizes early insights emerging from this line of work and discusses opportunities and challenges presented by the UN’s engagement at the local level, as well as its strategic relevance to the Organization’s peacemaking efforts. Read more here
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Contact DPPA at dppa@un.org
Yemen is in “imminent danger of the worst famine the world has seen for decades”, the UN chief warned in a statement released on Friday, calling for urgent action on the part of the international community to “stave off catastrophe”.
