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This Week in DPPA: 28 May - 3 June 2022

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

Security Council

Xia: “The Great Lakes region does not need another crisis”  

Briefing the Security Council on 31 May on the situation concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General Huang Xia urged Security Council members to do everything to avoid a new escalation in the eastern part of the country and to avoid yet another crisis with immeasurable humanitarian, security and political consequences for the Great Lakes region. Also delivering remarks, Martha Pobee, the Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, said it is imperative that this Council lends its full weight to ongoing regional efforts to defuse the situation and bring an end to the M23 insurgency. 

Read more here

Council members renew UNITAMS mandate 

On 3 June, the Security Council adopted resolution 2636 (2022) renewing the mandate of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) for another year.  

Yemen

Renewal of truce in Yemen is “significant shift in the trajectory of the war” 

Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, announced on 2 June that the parties to the conflict have agreed to the UN’s proposal to renew the current truce in Yemen for two additional months. The Special Envoy commended the parties for taking these steps.  He said the truce represents a significant shift in the trajectory of the war and has been achieved through responsible and courageous decision-making by the parties. He added that he will continue to engage with the parties to implement and consolidate all elements of the truce in full and move towards a sustainable political settlement to the conflict. The Secretary-General also welcomed the truce extension. 

Read more here

Lebanon

Special Coordinator calls for prioritizing Lebanese people’s needs 

As part of her meetings with Lebanese officials following parliamentary elections in Lebanon, Special Coordinator Joanna Wronecka met on 1 June with Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib to discuss the country’s institutional priorities and cooperation between Lebanon and the United Nations in the coming period. Underlining the importance of prioritizing the Lebanese people’s needs, the Special Coordinator called for expediting urgent reforms, including in the context of the staff level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The discussions also covered the next Security Council meeting on UN Security Council resolution 1701 and Lebanon in July 2022. 

 

UNSCOL celebrates Innovation Day

On 2 June, the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) organized an innovation day event to explore new ways to work on peace and security in Lebanon. Supported by DPPA’s Innovation Cell, UNSCOL and UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) colleagues discussed modern practices for social media analysis, data visualization, and strategic foresight. They also took part in ideation and design thinking techniques to generate new ideas, including for a virtual reality (VR) experience on Lebanon. 

Syria

Syrian-led, Syrian-owned, UN facilitated constitutional talks in Geneva 

The Eighth Session of the Small Body of the Constitutional Committee convened this week in Geneva, Switzerland, chaired by Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria Geir O. Pedersen. On 29 May, the Special Envoy met jointly with the co-chair nominated by the government and the co-chair nominated by the opposition Syrian Negotiations Commission (SNC). They then met with the Civil Society delegation.

West Africa and the Sahel

Special Representative visits Burkina Faso 

In Burkina Faso, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, started a two-day visit to the country on 1 June.  He met with the President of the Transition, Paul-Henry Sandaogo Damiba, Prime Minister Albert Ouédraogo, and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of Social Cohesion and National Reconciliation.  

Read more here

 

Sahel should be seen as region of ‘opportunity’ despite ‘multiple crises’: UN News interview 

In an interview with UN News on the situation in the Sahel region, Special Representative Annadif said the region is facing multiple crises, for which the people of the Sahel are not responsible. “We are seeing more illegal migration, more terrorist influence and the destabilization of states,” he said. It’s important that the State, and public institutions play their role by ensuring the delivery of basic services and putting in place development infrastructures.  “There is no way out without development,” he stressed, adding that that requires a minimum of financial support. 

Read the full interview

Afghanistan

UNAMA meets Afghan women leaders 

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Deborah Lyons, and Alison Davidian, Representative of UN Women in the country, met on 29 May with women leaders to discuss issues and challenges faced by Afghan women and girls. They stressed that women’s full contribution to society, including in civil service, is indispensable to Afghanistan’s future. 

Central Asia 

UNRCCA Preventive Diplomacy Academy completes training seminars 

The UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA)’s Preventive Diplomacy Academy (PDA) conducted two training seminars in May. Forty-two youth representatives from Central Asian countries and Afghanistan took part in the sessions, discussing the vision of the UN’s system-wide Youth Strategy with the representatives of the Office of the UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth. They also learned about leadership and management skills.

Read more here

Colombia

European parliamentarians and union leaders visit Colombia 

On 28–30 May, the Verification Mission in Colombia accompanied a delegation of British, Irish and Spanish parliamentarians and union leaders on their visit to Colombia to learn about the progress of the implementation of the Peace Agreement. In Bogotá, they met with Special Representative of the Secretary-General Carlos Ruiz Massieu and discussed the support of the international community to consolidate a sustainable and lasting peace in the country. They then traveled to the department of Putumayo, where they met social leaders, human rights defenders, former combatants and the community to learn about the security situation in this territory. The parliamentarians and union leaders ended their visit to the department of Caquetá, with a meeting with former FARC combatants about the progress and challenges in the implementation of the peace agreement and visited the premises of HUMANICEMOS to learn about their community work in humanitarian demining activities. 

Peacebuilding

Peacebuilding Commission meeting on the impact of climate change on peacebuilding in the Pacific Islands 

On 31 May, the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) held an Ambassadorial-level meeting on the impact of climate change on peacebuilding in the Pacific Islands. The Commission heard briefings from the Permanent Representative of Fiji as the Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, UNDP’s Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific, the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, the Climate Envoy for the Marshall Islands, and a representative of the Pacific Community. Member States witnessed, for the first time, the effect of climate change in the region through a cinematic 360° virtual reality experience - “Sea of Islands” - developed by DPPA’s Innovation Cell and DPPA-DPO’s Asia-Pacific Division. Pacific Islands representatives, including from Nauru (co-chair of the Group of Friends on Climate and Security), Kiribati, Palau and Papua New Guinea, shared the realities of serious adverse effects caused by climate change and called on the international community to take urgent actions. They asked for the Commission's support in their efforts to unlock climate finance, particularly from multilateral climate funds. The Commission echoed the concern raised by the region that climate change poses serious security challenges in countries and communities in the Pacific Islands and called for global support for the region. Many members called for the Commission to continue considering the impact of climate change on peacebuilding, utilizing its advisory, bridging and convening roles. Several delegations stressed the need for an inclusive approach and engagement with women and youth in addressing the challenges caused by climate change. They commended DPPA for its work on climate security in the Pacific, including through the Peacebuilding Fund’s project and the development of the virtual reality experience.  

Full recording here

Next Week

Next week starts with a briefing on Ukraine on Monday, 6 June. On Wednesday, 8 June, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Pobee will update the Security Council on the work of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) and the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army. On Thursday, 9 June, the General Assembly will elect five new members of the Security Council, who will serve during the period 2023-2024.  

From 4 -10 June, the Liberia Configuration Chair and the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support will undertake a joint visit to Liberia and to the African Development Bank in Abidjan. On 8 June, the Peacebuilding Commission will hold an ambassadorial-level meeting on South Sudan. 

 

 

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