New York
More needed to increase women’s participation in political and electoral processes, DiCarlo tells General Assembly rights panel
Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo introduced the latest Secretary-General’s report “Strengthening the Role of the United Nations in Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Principle of Periodic and Genuine Elections and the Promotion of Democratization” at the General Assembly’s Third Committee on 14 October. During her opening remarks, she stressed that the increase of women’s political participation and representation is encouraging, but clearly more needs to be done. “Supporting the efforts of Member States in promoting women’s participation in political and electoral processes therefore remains one of the highest priorities of the Organization.”
Full remarks here.
Preparing roadmap for 2020 review of UN peacebuilding architecture
The Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) and the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation convened an informal retreat on 15 and 16 October to prepare a roadmap for next year’s review of the UN peacebuilding architecture. Twin resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly in 2016 had called for a comprehensive review in 2020. Members of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), including countries who have engaged with the PBC, senior UN officials and the co-facilitators of the 2010 and 2015 review processes, were invited to the retreat to identify critical themes and issues to shape the review of the peacebuilding architectures.
For more information, contact DPPA
Security Council
Griffiths: “Signs of hopes for the people of Yemen”
Martin Griffiths, Special Envoy for Yemen, briefed the Council on 17 October on the latest developments in that country. He said there were signs of hopes for the people of Yemen – among others, the seeming progress achieved in talks between the Government of Yemen and the Southern Transitional Council, the recent reduction of violence in the north and the freeing of detainees. "At the same time let’s be under no illusion about the challenges and the difficulties ahead," he cautioned.
Full remarks here.
Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, briefed the Council in closed session on the situation in northeast Syria on 15 October, while and Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo briefed on Libya on 16 October and on Resolution 1559 on Lebanon’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and political independence, on 18 October. Both those sessions also took place behind closed doors.
For more information, contact DPPA.
Syria
Special Envoy holds talks in Riyadh and Damascus
Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen held meetings with the opposition Syria Negotiation Commission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 12 and 13 October. On 16 October, he met with Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Muallem in Damascus to discuss the situation in northeastern Syria and the launching of the Constitutional Committee. “The discussions that I have had here in Damascus and with the opposition in Riyadh have been very good when it comes to launching the Constitutional Committee, and of course this is hopefully then can be a door-opener, as I said many times, to a broader political process,” Mr Pedersen told the press in Damascus.
Read more from the press stakeout here
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Colombia
Former FARC combatants and their families enjoy professional football match
A group of 40 former FARC combatants, 20 of their relatives and 20 residents of the community of Llano Grande, Dabeiba, for the first time, on 13 October, experienced a Colombian professional league match - Atlético Nacional vs Águilas Doradas de Rionegro - with some 24,000 other spectators at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium in Medellín city. "Before the signing of the agreement, we managed to listen to the matches on a small radio and I always imagined what a stadium would look like,” said Óscar López Tuberquia, former FARC combatant. This visit was made possible by a group of young people under the slogan “To the football court for the first time” with the support of the Reintegration and Normalization Agency, the Mayor's Office of Medellín, Proantioquia, UNDP, the Governor's Office of Antioquia, and the UN Verification Mission in Colombia.
Read the full story in Spanish.
Truth Commission, UN, and Caritas Colombiana promote social dialogue to strengthen peace process
More than 80 people participated on 15 October in a forum at the reintegration area of Tierra Grata, in the municipality of La Paz, Cesar, Colombia to reinforce the commitment of ex-combatants to remain in the reintegration process and to evaluate the progress on the commitments made after the signing of the Peace Agreement. During the debate between ex-combatants, victims of the conflict, representatives of the Truth Commission, Pastoral Social Caritas Colombiana, and the UN Verification Mission in Colombia the future of the peace process and the contributions that can be made from society were discussed. Carlos Ruiz-Massieu, head of the UN Verification Mission, participated in this “commitment to peace” dialogue. The event concluded with a symbolic act of reconciliation.
Haiti
New Special Political Mission starts work in Haiti
The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) started its operations on 16 October, following the closing of the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH). BINUH will work in an advisory capacity with Haitian authorities and the UN Country Team to further the consolidation of the stability, security, governance, rule of law, and human rights gains achieved since 2004.
For more information, visit BINUH’s website.
Niger
Peacebuilding Fund partners visit Niger
To see the context and impact of the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF)’s support up close, a group of PBF partners undertook visits to several regions in Niger on 15 October. Representatives of the European Union, Germany, the United Kingdom, Estonia, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden; two members of the PBF Advisory Group; the Director-General for international development cooperation of Sweden, and the Director of the Clingendael Conflict Research Unit made up the mission. They met with the Government, beneficiaries, civil society organizations, and the UN System to discuss the PBF's focus, results and current challenges, including major conflict drivers and limited access to resources due to climate change.
For more information, contact DPPA.
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