In an era of rapid media evolution, radio still has the power to bring people together and provide communities with vital news and information, the UN Secretary-General has said.
After what has reportedly been weeks of diplomatic negotiation, the UN Security Council passed a resolution on Wednesday aimed at stemming rising violence across Libya, demanding the warring parties commit to “a lasting ceasefire” according to terms agreed by military representatives from both sides at recent talks in Geneva.
Over the past few years, ISIL and Al-Qaida terrorist fighters have posed an “unprecedented threat to international peace and security”, the UN counter-terrorism chief said on Wednesday in Vienna, at the close of a joint UN- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) regional conference on addressing challenges posed by terrorists who have gone to fight overseas.
The Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains an international public health concern, experts meeting in Geneva concluded on Wednesday.
Ongoing hostilities in Libya have left numerous cities severely “re-contaminated” with unexploded ordnance, threatening schools, universities and hospitals, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said on Wednesday.
On the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized the need to integrate child protection into peace processes during a high-level Security Council briefing on Wednesday.
Rising tensions and instability across the globe, particularly in the Middle East, underscore the need to resolve the decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, the UN Secretary-General told the Security Council on Tuesday.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General.
Your Excellency, Foreign Minister Goffin, President of the Security Council,
Your Excellency, President Mahmoud Abbas,
Members of the Security Council,
On 28 January, the United States presented its vision for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, which it proposed as a basis...
Attacks on health facilities in Yemen’s Marib province, East of the capital Sana’a, have left some 15,000 people – many of them displaced from other parts of the country – with severely limited options for medical care, the UN said on Monday.
Government ministers and other high-level representatives from more than 140 countries, on Monday adopted a new declaration to enhance global nuclear security and counter the threat of nuclear terrorism.
The challenges facing African nations are “complex, multi-faceted and far-reaching" but a “collective, comprehensive and coordinated” response by the global community will build on the momentum that already exists to help the continent thrive, the UN chief told the African Union Summit on Sunday.
The first round of UN-brokered talks between military representatives in Geneva aimed at forging a lasting ceasefire between Libyan Government and main opposition forces, has concluded without full agreement, despite reaching consensus in many areas.
GENEVA, 08 February 2020 - The first round of talks of the Libyan 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC), which had started on Monday 3 February 2020, concluded this afternoon at the Palais des Nations (Geneva) in the presence of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, Dr. Ghassan Salamé.
The Commission constitutes one of the three intra-Libyan tracks UNSMIL is organizing, along with the economic...
The UN chief on Saturday called on the international community to recognize the need for African counter-terrorism operations, backed by the UN Security Council, to tackle the growing threat of extremist violence across the continent, and “predictable funding, guaranteed by compulsory contributions”.
The sentencing of 28 militia members on Friday in the Central African Republic (CAR) for an array of violent crimes, including the murder of civilians as well as 10 UN peacekeepers, has been hailed as a major step forward in the fight against impunity there.
This Week in DPPA is a brief roundup of political and peacebuilding events and developments at UNHQ and around the world.
New YorkLaunch of DPPA’s Multi-Year Appeal and Strategic Plan 2020-2022
Gender Advisers workshop
Security CouncilClosed consultations on Myanmar
African Union2020 African Union Summit
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Libya Salamé: “Progress has been made”
SomaliaPublic consultations to review Somalia’s provisional constitution
West Africa Heads of UN Peace Missions meet in Dakar
Bolivia Personal Envoy: UN “will do everything possible” to support upcoming elections
ColombiaPresident of Colombia visits development projects in Caquetá
AfghanistanCommunity leaders strategize on human rights
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Contact DPPA at dppa@un.org
Despite the loss of its last stronghold in Syria and the death of its leader, ISIL “remains at the centre of the transnational terrorism threat”, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Friday.
Mr. President,
Thank you for the opportunity to brief on the alarming situation in north-west Syria, which has further escalated since last week’s briefings. Heavy strikes from both air and ground are causing massive waves of civilian displacement and major loss of civilian life. We are witnessing the humanitarian catastrophe that the Secretary-General has warned of, and which the Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock will brief you about, very shortly. This is causing totally unacceptable human suffering -- and endangering international peace and security. And yet it can -- and therefore must -- stop now.
On 12 January, Russia and Turkey announced that they agreed on a fresh ceasefire for the north-west. Yet heavy clashes and mutual shelling continued despite the ceasefire. Two days later, airstrikes by the Syrian government and their allies resumed. Syrian Government forces have since launched a ground offensive in southeastern areas of the Idlib de-escalation zone. They have made significant advances, most recently establishing control over the major town of Maarat al-Numan, whose population had fled from earlier attacks. Maarat al Numan lies on the strategic M5 highway and pro-Government forces have continued to push north, reaching the city of Saraqeb, the junction of the M4 and M5 highways and close to Idlib city.
In Idlib city, there are already reports of deep fear and of civilians fleeing or preparing to flee. Aerial bombardment in support of the government’s offensive reportedly continues. Hostilities have also intensified on other fronts, especially in western Aleppo, where Government forces have advanced.
During the same period, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham -- a terrorist organization designated by this Council -- and armed opposition groups, launched several attacks and counterattacks along these fronts, including western Aleppo and al-Bab in northern Aleppo. There were reports of intensified shelling on civilian areas of western Aleppo and of civilian casualties. There are reports of weaponized drones being launched on Syrian and Russian military installations southwest of Idlib. The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that Russian military personnel have been killed.
Turkish forces and Syrian government forces have directly clashed inside Syria. On 3 February, Syrian Government artillery reportedly hit a Turkish observation post near Saraqeb. Seven Turkish soldiers were killed and several more injured, according to the Turkish Ministry of Defense. We have since seen differing reports of dozens of Syrian government forces killed in Turkish strikes on Syrian Government positions.
Statements from Russian and Turkish leadership in recent days have shown deep differences between the sponsors of the Idlib de-escalation arrangements. Two days ago, the Secretary-General noted his “enormous concern” that the most recent developments constituted a “change in the nature of the conflict” and reiterated his strong appeal for a cessation of hostilities.
So far these calls have not been heeded. In the last two months, hundreds of civilians have been killed, more than half a million civilians have been displaced, and most are fleeing into ever-shrinking areas where they still hope to find relative safety. Further mass displacement seems inevitable if fighting continues.
We appear to have lost sight of the principle of proportionality. Let me be very clear and remind all parties that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including on healthcare and educational facilities, are unacceptable. All military operations -- including those against and by terrorist groups designated by the Security Council -- must respect the requirements of international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and civilian objects.
Mr. President,
Ordinary people in Idlib are conveying to me their grave fears for their lives and safety. They feel totally voiceless. Civil society actors inside Idlib, the best antidote and counterweight to radicalism, feel dismayed and abandoned. Syrian women have shared with me their fears of continued insecurity, including increased violence targeting women fleeing and living in displacement.
Idlib is the place that became a refuge for hundreds of thousands of civilians from other parts of Syria who fled violence. As a result, the population of the Idlib de-escalation area has now swollen to an estimated 3 million, the vast majority of whom are civilians.
Idlib is also the place that fighters and civilians who refused to “settle their status” earlier also sought refuge. And HTS and other Security Council-proscribed terrorist groups, including foreign fighters, are a major force in Idlib. Their presence and influence in the area is unacceptable and a major challenge – first and foremost to the civilian population of Idlib itself, and also in a wider sense for Syria and for regional and international security.
But we know from bitter experience that a continued all-out military approach will not solve this problem. And it will come at a completely unacceptable price. What we are now seeing creates the very real prospect of a bloody and protracted last stand on the Turkish border, with grave consequences for civilians -- and the risk of dispersal of foreign terrorist fighters and ongoing insurgency afterwards. We know that the continuation of the military approach will only entrench and further harden the deep international divisions over Syria and lead to more and more pressure – weakening prospects for a step-by-step dynamic to build trust and confidence. And the events of the last few days in which the armies of two UN member states – Syria and Turkey – have clashed inside Syria suggest the very real prospect of conflagration in the immediate region -- and far beyond too.
But we also know something else, Mr. President: we know that it is possible via agreement to stabilize parts of Syria and work on ways out. Idlib is a de-escalation area established by agreement in May 2017, and was the subject of a further Russian-Turkish stabilization memorandum in September 2018. These agreements do not have third party monitoring, and thus we are not in a position to comment on their terms or their observance.
But what we do know is that these agreements can enable prolonged periods of calm. So why can we not make this happen once again? This is the message that I have impressed in my meetings recently in Moscow and Damascus, and with high-level Turkish officials, and with the co-Chairs of the Humanitarian Task Force meeting today in Geneva. I will take this message to Tehran in the coming days, and I will continue to press on the most important actors their responsibility to take a different path.
I do not pretend to have a magical solution for Idlib. But I am convinced that with a serious attempt at international cooperation a solution can be found, building on earlier agreements, but also augmenting them.
Mr. President
I appeal for an end to the hostilities. And I appeal to all for a serious international effort to cooperate on Idlib. It is a humanitarian imperative. It is the way to have effective counter-terrorism. It is in the interest of regional and international peace and security. And it is an essential foundation for a sustainable path out of the Syrian conflict which is now approaching its tenth year.
This Council recognized this when you unanimously agreed on Security Council resolution 2254, which stipulated a nationwide ceasefire alongside a cooperative approach to combatting terrorism, and for full respect of Syria’s sovereignty and a credible and inclusive UN-facilitated political process. This remains the only path to end this conflict. The major players and the Members of this Council need to put their full weight behind this logic.
Thank you, Mr President.
“Africa’s challenges can only be solved by African leadership. […] I commend the African Union for making Silencing the Guns such a prominent part of its work for 2020.”
Secretary-General António Guterres, 9 February 2020
“There is need for a hybrid conflict management mechanism that will take into consideration traditional/indigenous methods of interventions in search for a balanced solution between the centres and the peripheries, in order to preserve national unity with due respect for diversities.”
AU High Representative for Silencing the Guns in Africa H.E. Ramtane Lamamra, 10 February 2020
“[The Security Council] encourages the United Nations and the African Union to strengthen their efforts to coordinate their engagement in a mutually-supportive manner [and] expresses its readiness to support the implementation of the African Union Master Roadmap of Practical Steps to Silence the Guns in Africa by year 2020.”
Security Council resolution 2457 (2019)
In 2013, the African Union (AU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government pledged “not to bequeath the burden of conflict to the next generation of Africans and undertake to end all wars by 2020.” Silencing the Guns in Africa is one of the flagship initiatives of the AU’s Agenda 2063 that aims to achieve an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena, an agenda which is strongly linked with the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The AU Summit, held on 9 and 10 February 2020, adopted “Silencing the Guns: creating conducive conditions for Africa’s development” as this year's AU theme.
As part of the UN-AU partnership, the UN provides wide-ranging support to the AU Initiative. Coordinated by the UN Task Force on Silencing the Guns in Africa, the UN's contributions include, among other things:
The UN has also supported policy dialogue activities to advance the objectives of the Initiative, including through the UN Peacebuilding Commission, the first Africa Regional High-Level Conference on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (July 2019), and ministerial-level events. The UN is also assisting in the establishment of the AU Humanitarian Agency.
Plans are underway to contribute to the 2020 edition of the September “Africa Amnesty Month” for the surrender and collection of illicit small arms and light weapons, strengthen physical security and stockpile management in the Sahel, expand national capacity-building projects on counter-terrorism and prevention of violent extremism, and support AU efforts to integrate the protection of children in its mediation efforts.
DCO, DESA, DGC, DPPA, DOS, DPO, Human Security Unit, OCHA, OHCHR, OSAA, OSASG-P, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNOCT, UNODA, UN Democracy Fund, UN Environment, UN Global Compact, UN OHRLLS, UN Women, OSRSG CAAC, OSRSG SVC, WHO and the OEY. Field entities: UNECA, UNOAU, UNOCA and UNOWAS.
On 10 July 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya, the DPPA-DPO Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Bintou Keita, the AU Commission and the Government of Kenya convened jointly a dialogue with over 50 youth representatives from across the continent to discuss the role of African youth in Silencing the Guns.
In the face of persistent and comple x violent conflict and a rising backlash against women’s rights, the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) is committed to keeping the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda at the core of its work.
Learning, transparency and accountability principles drive the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices in DPPA. The Department draws on both qualitative and quantitative
assessments to build a body of evidence for its work in conflict prevention and sustaining peace.
The Mediation Support Unit (MSU) in the Policy and Mediation Division of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) is the system-wide service provider on dialogue and mediation assistance providing comparative analysis, support in developing mediation strategies and direct operational and mediation assistance.
Providing electoral assistance to Member States is one of the key functions of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA).
Air and ground strikes in the region of Idlib, northwest Syria, are causing “massive waves of civilian displacement and major loss of civilian life”, causing unacceptable human suffering which must stop now, Geir Pedersen, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, told the Security Council on Thursday.
On day four of UN-led talks to transform an uncertain truce in Libya into a permanent ceasefire, veteran negotiator Ghassan Salamé on Thursday welcomed the “progress” that had been made so far, before urging an end to any “provocative” military action that might dash the chance of a successful outcome.
A military escalation in northern Syria which has trapped civilians in Idlib has “shocked and horrified” a senior UN humanitarian official.
Nairobi, 4 February 2020 - The Technical Support Committee of the Regional Oversight Mechanism of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes region held its 26th meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, on 3-4 February 2020.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is stepping up response in Africa’s Sahel region where escalating violence has forced a rising number of people to flee their homes.
Nearly 50 per cent of all violent deaths between 2010 and 2015, more than 200,000 each year, involved small arms and light weapons, the Security Council was told on Tuesday, during a briefing by UN disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu.
Although around 1.4 million refugees are estimated to be in urgent need of resettlement worldwide, only 63,696 were resettled through the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) last year - that's only 4.5 per cent - due to a continuing shortage of offers of sanctuary from governments across the world.
Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “key to sustainable peace in the Middle East”, the UN chief said on Tuesday, maintaining that the lack of any progress only “furthers radicalization across the region”.
The expert leading UN efforts to stamp out sexual violence committed during wartime has welcomed the release of 78 women and 50 children by an armed group in South Sudan.
Rising instability and unpredictable geopolitical tensions have led to a “wind of madness” across the world, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday during his main annual press conference for journalists at UN Headquarters in New York.
With Bolivia this week reaching a “decisive stage” in its electoral process, the United Nations “will do everything possible” to support the country in holding a vote that is credible, transparent and inclusive, envoy Jean Arnault has said.
