The UN chief announced on Thursday that he has set up an independent Senior Advisory Panel on strengthening the mechanism whereby humanitarian workers and sites are better protected from attack in Syria, according to a statement released by his spokesperson.
The top UN official in the Central African Republic (CAR) appealed to the Security Council on Thursday for more peacekeepers and equipment amid escalating violence surrounding elections last month.
After a decade of conflict, economic collapse compounded by COVID-19, corruption and mismanagement, the UN Syrian envoy told the Security Council on Wednesday that “a slow tsunami” is now “crashing across Syria”.
Two United Nations peacekeepers were killed after their convoy was ambushed by members of the UPC and anti-Balaka armed groups in southern Central African Republic (CAR), the UN Mission in the country said on Monday, bringing the overall toll of 'blue helmet' deaths to nine so far this month.
Cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States has been critical to addressing the ongoing war in Syria, the search for a two-State solution for Israelis and Palestinians, and other challenges, the UN’s political affairs chief told a virtual meeting of the Security Council on Monday.
The UN Secretary-General has praised the breakthrough made by a key committee of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum at the weekend, over an interim political leadership deal, ahead of nationwide elections at the end of the year.
A group of independent UN rights experts released a statement on Monday condemning the violent storming of the United States Capitol building in Washington DC on 6 January, which they described as a shocking and incendiary attempt to overturn the results of a free and fair election.
Thank you, Mr. President, for convening this discussion on “Cooperation between the Security Council and the League of Arab States.” It is an honor to be with you today. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, a valued partner of the United Nations.
Mr. President,
The Secretary-General has made cooperation with regional organizations to prevent conflict and sustain peace a priority. We know that no organization or country alone can address the complex challenges our world faces today. The United Nations needs the cooperation of these groups and their members.
Challenges that we face today, including the COVID-19 pandemic, remind us of the wisdom of the drafters of the UN Charter, who 75 years ago enshrined the potential role of regional arrangements in the maintenance of peace and security. Their vision has clearly taken hold.
Cooperation between the UN and regional organizations has grown and evolved exponentially since 1945. Today it encompasses such areas as preventive diplomacy, mediation, countering terrorism, prevention of violent extremism, peacekeeping, peacebuilding, human rights, climate change and, most recently, our collective response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a stress test for the global community. It has exacerbated strains on the multilateral system just as the need for solidarity and cooperation has never been more critical.
On 23 November of last year, the Secretary-General held a high-level interactive dialogue with heads of 23 regional and subregional organizations - including Secretary-General Aboul Gheit. Participants agreed on the multi-dimensional impact of the pandemic, including on peace and security, and pledged to work together, especially in fragile settings, to address these concerns.
Mr. President,
In the early days of the pandemic, Secretary-General Aboul Gheit and Secretary-General Guterres called for a global ceasefire to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and open space for diplomacy. Since then, both the League and the UN have worked to implement this call. Security Council resolution 2532 in support of this call reinforced the global commitment to change the calculations of conflict parties in order to end wars and crises in the region and beyond.
The Arab region has experienced much tumult over the past decade. Conflicts in Libya, Syria and Yemen; a stalled Middle East Peace Process, and fissures among members of the League have exacerbated regional instability and hampered economic and social development.
The close cooperation between the United Nations, including our Special Envoys and Representatives, and the League has been crucial in augmenting our efforts to address various situations in the Arab world.
On Libya, the League has actively supported the efforts of the United Nations to broker the 23 October ceasefire and a return to the political process. An active member of the International Follow-up Committee to the Berlin Conference on Libya, the League co-chairs its political working group (together with Algeria and Germany). The League has also been an active member of the Quartet on Libya, along with the UN, the African Union and the European Union.
In relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the UN and the League work to uphold the broad regional and international consensus on the two-State solution, promote intra-Palestinian reconciliation and focus on preventive diplomacy to avoid escalation of tensions. We welcome the increased engagement of the League and its members, including through an expanded Middle East Quartet and the so-called Amman format.
The two-State solution that realizes the legitimate national aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis, in line with UN resolutions is the only way to lead to sustainable peace between the two peoples.
The financial situation of UNRWA remains a serious concern. Sufficient funding is essential for UNRWA to continue delivering its vital services to millions of Palestine refugees in the region and playing its critical stabilizing role.
Our two organizations are also active in the Friends of Sudan format, which supports Sudan’s transition to democratic governance. We are grateful for the League’s generous pledge of support at the Sudan Partnership Conference, hosted by Germany last June.
Since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria, successive UN envoys have worked closely with the League in the search for a political solution. We are grateful for the League’s support to Special Envoy Pedersen’s efforts to facilitate the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee and to broaden the political process to all aspects of Security Council Resolution 2254.
On Yemen, the support of key Member States of the UN and the League is crucial to not only achieve progress on the political track but also to support the world’s largest aid operation and urgently address the growing risk of famine before it is too late.
Despite our efforts, heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf region persist. The Secretary-General continues to call for restraint by all sides and stresses the need to avoid acts of or rhetoric that may escalate tensions. We urge all concerned, in the region and beyond, to opt for dialogue to address their respective security concerns. The United Nations stands ready to support such measures.
We welcome the recent al-Ula declaration recognizing the importance of unity among the Gulf Cooperation Council states and hope it will strengthen regional security, stability and prosperity.
The UN and the League recognize the urgent need to include more women at all levels and aspects of peace processes. We have made important strides in this area. For example, 30 percent of participants in the Syrian Constitutional Committee are women, as are 22 percent of participants in the Libya Political Dialogue. I commend the Arab Women Mediation Network, established under the auspices of the League in collaboration with UN Women, which will enable the region to increase women’s participation in resolving conflicts and sustaining peace. We encourage expansion of this important initiative.
Mr. President,
The United Nations and the Arab League have increased cooperation in recent years, conducting staff exchanges, workshops on mediation and peacebuilding, and capacity-building exercises on inclusive peacemaking, among other activities.
The United Nations Liaison Office to the League of Arab States, established in 2019, has strengthened our communication and cooperation. The Office has also facilitated regular contacts between UN Special Envoys and the League. We look forward to building on these contacts as we address regional crises.
In December 2021, we will hold the fifteenth general cooperation meeting between the United Nations and the League to advance a biennial framework that encompasses activities in peace and security, development, human rights and humanitarian concerns.
Mr. President,
Allow me to conclude by stressing the critical role of the Security Council in amplifying our collective efforts in the region. The impact of a united and actively engaged Security Council is incomparable. We look to the Council, as a principal steward of Chapter VIII of the Charter, to continue to support the UN’s collaborative work with the League of Arab States to promote peace and prosperity in the Arab region.
Thank you.
In the current report, the evolving nature of armed conflict and violence is highlighted and seven major trends related to global peace and security today are examined. Areas of progress and areas in which solutions are still wanting are noted in the report, along with opportunities and persistent challenges faced by the international community.
The United Nations Secretary-General has voiced deep concern over escalating violence in West Darfur and called on the Sudanese authorities to “expend all efforts” to end the fighting and protect civilians.
The UN Secretary-General has welcomed Friday’s announcement from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of the first full parliamentary and presidential elections in 15 years, scheduled to begin in May.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned another fatal attack carried out against a peacekeeping convoy that left a ‘blue helmet’ from Egypt dead, and another seriously injured on Friday.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged authorities in Cameroon to take steps to prosecute perpetrators behind two recent deadly attacks in the Anglophone provinces of the country, his Spokesperson said on Friday.
This Week in DPPA is a brief roundup of political and peacebuilding events and developments at UNHQ and around the world.
Security CouncilIbn Chambas: “Dialogue is one important arena for the building of national consensus” Griffiths: “The path to peace in Yemen was never easy” Yemen Envoy Martin Griffiths on 14 January briefed the Council on peace efforts in the country. “The path to peace in Yemen was never easy. And I believe that it is now a great deal more difficult than it was a month ago. There is a way out. We must remember that, even after all the tragedies that Yemenis across the country have suffered, peace is possible where there is the will to make it happen,” Mr. Griffiths said. Read his full remarks here More in UN News
AfghanistanNangarhar university students take peacebuilding discussions to communities
IraqUN stresses the need for urgent action to alleviate Sinjaris’ hardship
New Deputy Special Representative
TajikistanTraining on countering the financing of terrorism
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LibyaMeeting of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum
SomaliaUN delegation visits South West State to discuss support and cooperation in 2021
West AfricaHigh-level meeting between the Mano River Union and the UN to enhance partnership
Security Council There will be a briefing on cooperation between the UN and the Arab League on 18 January; on 20 January, Syria Envoy Geir Pedersen will update the Council on the situation in the country; Special Representative Carlos Ruiz Massieu will brief on Colombia on 21 January. Niger
The Work of PeaceVirtual exhibit
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Contact DPPA at dppa@un.org
“Worsening” election violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) has forced 120,000 people from their homes, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.
“Worsening” election violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) has forced 120,000 people from their homes, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday, as the UN Secretary-General also condemned another attack by combatants on a UN convoy, which left a peacekeeper from Burundi dead, and two others wounded.
Nairobi, 14 January 2021 – As the United Nations marked its 75th anniversary last year (2020), a new United Nations Strategy...
Senior UN officials have expressed concern over the potential impact of the decision by the United States to designate Yemen’s Ansar Allah, more commonly known as the Houthi movement, a terrorist group, the Security Council heard on Thursday.
Senior UN officials have expressed concern over the potential impact of the decision by the United States to designate Yemen’s Ansar Allah, more commonly known as the Houthi movement, a terrorist group, the Security Council heard on Thursday.
Four United Nations peacekeepers in Mali were killed and five others wounded in an attack by unidentified armed elements on Wednesday, the UN mission in the country has said.
The UN Secretary-General has called for action to ensure accountability for “heinous attacks” in the Central African Republic (CAR) on Wednesday that left a Rwandan peacekeeper dead and another wounded.
The UN chief on Wednesday issued a call for an “inclusive, transparent and peaceful” election process across Uganda, a day ahead of the polls opening.
The current political transition period in Mali offers an opportunity to “break out of the vicious circle of political crises followed by coups d'état”, the UN envoy in the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.
UN Urges People to Abide by Preventive Measures to Contain COVID-19 Spread
Amidst Unprecedented Health Emergency
13 January 2021 – As Lebanon registers new records in the daily surge of COVID-19 infections and after the Lebanese government has declared a health emergency, UN Lebanon and partners call on individuals and all sectors to strictly...
Despite important strikes against terrorism over the past two decades, including in bringing perpetrators to justice and disrupting additional attacks, countries cannot afford to let down their guard, the UN’s counter-terrorism chief told a virtual meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday.
The United States government’s decision to designate Ansar Allah, more commonly known as the Houthi rebel group in Yemen, as terrorists, is likely to have “serious humanitarian and political repercussions”, the UN spokesperson said on Monday.
While elections are one-time events, “democracy is a constant process of deliberation and consultation” where dialogue provides an “important arena for the building of national consensus”, the top UN official in West Africa told the Security Council on Monday.
Ghanaian peacekeepers at the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) have been commended for their lifesaving support to a man who was severely wounded during recent violent inter-communal clashes in the north of the country.
