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This Week in DPPA: 16 - 22 May 2020

 

16 - 22 May 2020

This Week in DPPA is a brief roundup of political and peacebuilding events and developments at UNHQ and around the world.

COVID-19

DiCarlo: Risks related to COVID-19 especially high in conflict settings 
The impact of COVID-19 on conflict dynamics and mediation was on the agenda when Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo addressed the Antalya Diplomatic Forum on 19 May. “Though the COVID-19 pandemic is foremost a health crisis, it also has wide-ranging humanitarian, economic, and human rights dimensions. And it risks hitting conflict settings especially hard,” Ms. DiCarlo said. The pandemic has not stopped peacemaking, though it has profoundly affected it, Ms. DiCarlo noted, before adding that, even with limitations, remote dialogue can create opportunities and make peace processes more inclusive, enhancing participation of women, young people and others.   
Read her full remarks here
Watch the event here

"We must build back better"
The Under-Secretary-General also headlined an event organized by the Atlantic Council around the question: “Will COVID-19 Exacerbate or Defuse Conflicts in the Middle East?” Ms. DiCarlo said the pandemic has thrown up some opportunities for cooperation in the region, but in some cases had only made matters worse. “I think we will overcome COVID-19, I believe so, though obviously not unscathed. It will take a lot of vigilance and hard work, at the UN, between individual states or groups of countries, in civil society, among many of you. But we have a chance to go beyond recovery. We can safeguard the progress achieved over the last 75 years that helped societies prevent, resolve and rebuild from violent conflict. But we can do more. We must build back better,” the Under-Secretary-General concluded.  
Read her full remarks here  
Watch the event here

 

Somalia: COVID-19 – impact and response 
In a photo essay published this week, the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) summed up the impact and response of COVID-19 in the country. Somalia joined the long list of countries dealing with COVID-19 on 16 March, when federal Health Minister Fawziya Abikar announced the first confirmed case. A series of urgent measures have been taken to counter the ‘crippling effects of the coronavirus’ and halt the virus’ spread. The photo essay provides a snapshot of some of the pandemic’s impact and the steps taken by the Somali people and government to combat it.  
Read more here

 

Afghanistan: Accurate information empowers communities in the fight against COVID-19 
Access to accurate information helps reduce anxiety and serves to empower Afghanistan’s communities in the fight against COVID-19, said participants in a recent series of UNAMA-backed radio programmes broadcast across the country. In the pre-recorded interactive shows, which have so far aired in six provinces, health experts and radio hosts answered questions posed by local residents and discussed the importance of media conveying facts to communities that cannot otherwise access reliable information about the health crisis. 
Read more here

Middle East - Medical supplies delivered to Palestine in an attempt to curb the pandemic  
In a press statement on 19 May, UNSCO and Special Coordinator Nickolay Mladenov expressed gratitude to the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the delivery of sixteen tons of urgent medical supplies to the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). The supplies will support the efforts to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aid includes personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical equipment. Most notably, it includes ten ventilators that are acutely needed. This aid is in line with the United Nations COVID-19 Response Plan for the oPt. The plan supports the efforts led by the Government of Palestine to contain the pandemic and mitigate its impact. 
Read more here 

 

Africa Dialogue Series: A call for continued political dialogue
DPPA-DPO Assistant Secretary-General Bintou Keita participated in the 2020 Africa Dialogue Series (ADS), held from 20 to 22 May under the theme ‘COVID-19 and Silencing the Guns in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities.’ The meeting, held virtually, was organized by the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) in cooperation with the AU Commission, DPPA, DPO, the Department of Global Communications (DGC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and UN Women. The ADS is an annual event that brings together policy makers, academics and civil society to discuss current and emerging African issues. ASG Keita outlined the support provided by the UN Task Force on Silencing the Guns. She stressed the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on youth and women, and the importance of reaching consensus on decisions related to electoral timetables. She called for continued dialogue in political and peace processes across the continent.
For more Information, contact us 


For up-to-date information on COVID-19 and its impact, please visit:   
WHO website  
UN coronavirus website 

 

Security Council

Pedersen: "We must at all costs avoid reversion to the all-out fighting and abuses and violations” 
Special Envoy Geir O. Pedersen updated the Security Council on the situation in Syria on 18 May. He informed the Council that while the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to envelop in the country, fear abounds that “it still could do so.” Despite progress in Russian-Turkish cooperation, Mr. Pedersen expressed concern over a number of violent incidents.  “Violence continues and there is a constant risk of escalation which could unravel existing arrangement,” the Special Envoy said. “We must at all costs avoid reversion to the all-out fighting and abuses and violations we have seen before.”  
Read his full remarks here 
Read more in UN News  


 

 

 

 

Williams: "We must enable responsible Libyans to write their own future." 
Acting Special Representative Stephanie T. Williams on 19 May updated the Council on the work of UNSMIL and the political situation in Libya. “From what we are witnessing in terms of the massive influx of weaponry, equipment and mercenaries to the two sides, the only conclusion that we can draw is that this war will intensify, broaden and deepen - with devastating consequences for the Libyan people”, Ms. Williams said. "As the foreign intervention increases, the Libyans themselves are getting lost in the mix, their voices crowded out. We must not let Libya slip away. We must enable responsible Libyans to write their own future"  
Read her full remarks here 
Read the latest report on the work of UNSMIL here 
Read more in UN News  

 

Mladenov: Urgent actions need to preserve the prospect of a two-State solution  
Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator and Head of UNSCO, updated on the situation in the Middle East on 20 May. He told the Council that all sides must do their part in the coming weeks and months to preserve the prospect of a two-State solution, in line with internationally agreed parameters, international law and UN resolutions. “The fate of the Palestinian and Israeli people must not be determined by destructive unilateral action that cements division and may put peace beyond reach in our lifetime,” the Special Coordinator said.   
Read his full remarks here 
Read more in UN News 
 

DiCarlo: “Venezuela is mired in a deepening protracted crisis that only Venezuelans can resolve” 
Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo updated the Council on the situation in Venezuela on 20 May. “Venezuela is mired in a deepening protracted crisis that only Venezuelans can resolve,” Ms. DiCarlo said. “Attempts at reaching a negotiated solution have been unsuccessful in spite of significant international facilitation efforts. The path of negotiation seems to be stalled.” 5.1 million Venezuelans have gone abroad due to the economic meltdown and dire humanitarian crisis in the country. The power struggle between President Nicolás Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó drags on.  
Read her full remarks here 
Read more in UN News


 

Swan: “The consequences [of COVID-19] for Somalia are acute” 
James Swan, Special Representative and Head of UNSOM, on 21 May briefed on the situation in Somalia. “The consequences for Somalia are acute. Even before COVID, more than 5 million Somalis required humanitarian assistance. The 2.6 million internally displaced persons are particularly at risk. Nearly one million Somalis are now affected by flooding, and the country also faces its worst desert locust infestation in some 25 years,” Mr. Swan told the Council.  “The UN family is working to reinforce the Government’s response,” he assured. He also spoke about the upcoming direct elections this year, the first in Somalia since 1969. “The coming weeks will be decisive in determining how Somalia will proceed to these elections,” The Special Representative said.  
Read his full remarks here 
Read more in UN News 

 

Women, Peace and Security

2020 Virtual Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development 
DPPA together with the Stockholm International Peace and Research Institute (SIPRI) and the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa, co-organized a session on “Geopolitics and the WPS agenda: Northeast Asia and the Middle East” as part of the 2020 Virtual Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development on 19 May. This session was a follow-up to the DPPA Northeast Asian WPS experts meeting held in Beijing in December 2019 (co-organized with SIPRI and UN Women). The session allowed representatives from the women’s movement in Northeast Asia to address joint perspectives and challenges with their peers from Syria and Yemen. The main takeaways from the session included: (a) returning to the original pillars of the Security Council Resolution 1325 on protection, prevention and participation; (b) the need for a fundamental shift from military and security-centered to human security-focused peacemaking in the post COVID-19 world; (c) addressing underlying issue of gender equality to effectively implement the WPS agenda; and (d) strengthening the national and regional networks of women’s groups and movements. 
For more Information, contact us 


Colombia

Community-based approach to the reintegration process advances in Quibdó 
The United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, with the support of the United Nations Development Program, continues to join efforts in the implementation of quick impact projects for people in the reintegration process. On 18 May, a group of 29 women in Quibdó, Chocó, received delivery of significant equipment to start a restaurant. The group of former combatants hopes to help other women in the community with employment opportunities, working together in the promotion of women's rights and peacebuilding in this region of the country. 
For more Information, contact us 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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