This Week in DPPA: 12 - 18 February 2022

Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo is at the Munich Security Conference with Secretary-General António Guterres. In addition to accompanying the SG in his discussions with the various leaders attending, she is scheduled to have a series of bilateral meetings with a range of officials, including the President of Montenegro and the Foreign Ministers of Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Jordan, Norway, Somalia and Ireland. USG DiCarlo is also set to speak to the secretaries general of the OSCE and La Francophonie.

Security Council

Briefing the Security Council on 17 February, USG DiCarlo warned that the current situation in and around Ukraine is extremely dangerous, noting with concern reports of fresh ceasefire violations across the contact line in the east of the country. She said the Secretary-General has remained fully engaged with key actors and stressed that the issue underpinning the current crisis can and must be solved through diplomacy. “Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders must be respected in accordance with relevant General Assembly resolutions”, she added, reminding the Members that the world is looking to the collective security mechanisms in Europe but also to the Council to help ensure that diplomacy prevails.

USG DiCarlo’s full remarks here

James Swan, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia, briefed the Security Council on 15 February. He reported that national elections in Somalia are now more than one year behind the constitutionally prescribed schedule, and called on the electoral management bodies, as well as Somalia’s political leaders, to accelerate and quickly conclude the elections for the House of the People. Special Representative Swan said that political tensions among some Somali leaders continue to flare up sporadically, but they have so far been contained and have not derailed the electoral process. The risk remains, he warned, that a miscalculation could cause tensions to spill over into conflict. While the security, political, and humanitarian conditions in Somalia remain fragile, he said that he is guardedly hopeful that the country will make further progress in these areas in the coming months.

Read more here

Full remarks to the Security Council here

On 15 February, Special Envoy Hans Grundberg briefed the Security Council on the latest developments in Yemen, including efforts towards de-escalation and his plan to make progress towards an inclusive political settlement. He said that recent attacks on the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia indicate how the conflict in Yemen risks spiraling out of control. He called for “serious efforts” to be made by Yemeni parties, the region and the international community to end the fighting. "Dialogue and compromise are required if Yemenis are not to be left suffering until the parties are tired of fighting. A political process under UN auspices, supported by this Council, is our best way forward," he added. Grundberg said that he is developing a Framework that will lay the foundations for a structured political process to the conflict in Yemen, while also exploring ways in parallel to de-escalate the violence. 

Read more here

Full remarks to the Security Council here

Helen La Lime, Special Representative and Head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), in her briefing to Council members on 18 February, said that negotiations among proponents of competing transition governance models have now reached the stage where success will be determined by their collective willingness to compromise. She noted with concern the ever-growing wave of gang violence, plunging major urban centers into lawlessness and grief. Impunity represents another intractable phenomenon which Haiti urgently needs to address, the Special Representative stressed, with no progress in establishing accountability in several high-level assassination cases. The earthquake which destroyed parts of the Southern Peninsula in August 2021 and killed 2,248 people has added a new layer of complexity to an already dire humanitarian situation. “For Haiti to emerge from the acute political and institutional crisis in which it is plunged, it is imperative that all Haitian leaders resolve to engage constructively with one another to steer the country towards a process that will allow elections to occur,” she concluded.

Read her full remarks here

Central Asia

Natalia Gherman, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), took part on 15 February in regional consultations within the framework of the Central Asia Women Leaders’ Caucus in preparation for the 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). She emphasized the intrinsic link between climate change, empowerment of women and implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. Gherman underscored the importance of cooperation on environmental and climate security in Central Asia, including on the development of the gender-responsive regional approaches addressing the disproportionate impact of climate change on women and girls. 

Read more here

Lebanon

On 15 February, Joanna Wronecka, Special Coordinator of the Secretary-General for Lebanon, co-chaired the second Elections Forum to take stock of the preparations for the parliamentary elections scheduled for 15 May. Underlining the respect of constitutional timelines, the Special Coordinator stressed the importance of holding the elections on time. She also emphasized the role of public awareness campaigns, intensifying voter education as well as more updates on out-of-country voting, calling on the Lebanese authorities to enable the Supervisory Commission in every possible way so it can perform its mandated role that is eminently important for the integrity of the electoral process.

Read more here

Syria

Geir Pedersen, Special Envoy for Syria, met on 16 February in Damascus with Syrian Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad. They discussed the implementation of Security Council resolution 2254 and the need for progress on the Constitutional Committee. Pedersen told reporters afterwards that he is more optimistic and hopeful after the discussion that it will be possible to convene the seventh round of the drafting body sometime in March. The Special Envoy added that he will have a few more rounds of discussions before deciding on the convening of the new round.

Read more here

Iraq

Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq for Political Affairs and Electoral Assistance, visited on 15 February the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC). She met with Judge Jalil Adnan Khalaf, Chairman of the IHEC Board of Commissioners to discuss the ongoing work and activities of the Electoral Commission.

Libya

Special Adviser Stephanie Williams and the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) continue to engage with all stakeholders, including the Presidency Council, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, Prime Minister-designate Fathi Bashagha, Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush, the leaders of the House of Representatives and the High State Council to discuss political developments, the need to preserve calm and stability, and the need to maintain the focus on national elections.

Find out more about her latest engagements in the region

Sudan

A month full of sessions with a diverse range of groups has concluded this week, marking the end of the first stage of consultations launched by the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) on 8 January. More than 35 groups joined the consultations in the last week, sharing perspectives and proposals to overcome the current political crisis. UNITAMS plans to produce a summary document that will highlight major areas of consensus among various Sudanese stakeholders on contentious matters pertaining to the transition.

Read more here  

Colombia

Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, and Juliette de Rivero, Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, visited Putumayo, in southern Colombia, from 16 to 17 February. They spoke with former combatants and indigenous authorities, among others, about the challenges and threats facing their communities. The Special Representative highlighted the importance of strengthening security guarantees for ex-combatants of the Former Territorial Area for Training and Reintegration (ETCR) La Pradera during his dialogue with people in the process of reincorporation. They also met with candidates for the special transitional electoral districts for peace and highlighted the need for guarantees for the safe and equitable participation of those who aspire to represent communities affected by the conflict. "The special transitional electoral districts for peace are an achievement of the Peace Agreement to strengthen the centrality of victims and promote their participation in democracy and peacebuilding in Colombia," affirmed Ruiz Massieu.

Decolonization

The Special Committee on Decolonization (C-24) opened its 2022 session on 18 February. Opening the meeting on behalf of the Secretary-General, Chef de Cabinet Courtenay Rattray said: “We must not forget the challenges facing the Non-Self-Governing Territories, particularly in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic”. Ambassador Keisha McGuire of Grenada, newly re-elected Chair of the C-24 stressed that the “Time has come to renew our commitment and pursue the goal of decolonization even more than ever. Collectively we shall achieve concrete results.”

Find out more about the UN’s work on decolonization

Watch the meeting here

Peacebuilding

Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) for Peacebuilding Support Elizabeth Spehar began introductory meetings this week, with the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), Permanent Representatives of Sweden, Germany, Brazil, Egypt, Canada, the EU delegation, and the Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of Chad, as well as with UN system interlocutors. The discussions focused on the central role of the PBC and the Peacebuilding Fund in “Our Common Agenda”, and how this has already inspired follow-up action by Member States on the PBC, as they are currently negotiating an action-oriented programme of work for 2022. The ASG stressed the importance of close consultation by the Commission to maximize the impact of its advisory, bridging and convening roles on nationally-owned priorities. The meetings also focused on the urgent need for adequate, predictable and sustained resources for peacebuilding, and ongoing discussions on ways of increasing contributions to the PBF. The ASG stressed the ability of the PBF to strengthen United Nations coherence, a topic that would be further discussed during the upcoming High-Level Meeting on Financing for Peacebuilding on 27 April.

On 17 February, ASG Elizabeth Spehar briefed the Group of Friends on the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) and peacebuilding architecture priorities. She was joined by Special Representative James Swan, who outlined the role of the PBF as part of the UN’s integrated support for Somalia. PBF Branch Chief Brian Williams highlighted key PBF achievements of 2021 and programmatic priorities for 2022. In 2021, PBF approved a record-high investment of US $195 million and received US $178 million in contributions, helping people in 31 countries. Member States particularly welcomed the Fund’s high delivery against gender-responsive peacebuilding targets, with 47% of all investments dedicated to this in 2021. Peacebuilding Commission Chair Rabab Fatima of Bangladesh encouraged the Group of Friends to support a meaningful outcome of April’s High-Level General Assembly event on peacebuilding financing. Many Member States stressed the need for increased burden-sharing and anticipated the Secretary-General’s forthcoming proposal for an assessed contribution to the Fund.

Watch the meeting here

Next Week