USG DiCarlo highlights Afghan women's concerns at Doha III meeting

From 30 June to 1 July, Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo chaired the third meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan in Doha, Qatar. In a press conference following the meeting, she expressed deep concern over the situation of women and girls in the country. “Running through all the discussions was the deep international concern – from special envoys and from me – about the ongoing and serious restrictions on women and girls,” she said. USG DiCarlo further stressed that the concerns and views of Afghan women and civil society remain “front and center” in the discussions. “While women and civil society were not sitting across the table from the de facto authorities the last two days, they made their voices heard. Civil society has a rightful role to play in shaping Afghanistan’s future,” she said. On 2 July, following the meeting with members of Afghan civil society, she reiterated that human rights, especially the rights of Afghan women and girls, and inclusion of all members of the society will continue to be an integral part of all discussions.

The meetings in Doha discussed how to advance international engagement on Afghanistan in a more coherent, coordinated and structured manner, based on the independent assessment on engagement with Afghanistan submitted to the Security Council in November 2023.

SRSG Salvador welcomes progress in Haiti amid alarming violence

On 3 July, Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) María Isabel Salvador highlighted the country's progress towards "restoring democratic institutions." She welcomed the appointment of the new government and the commitment to hold "credible, inclusive and participatory elections" by February 2026. At the same time, she said alarming levels of violence continue to affect the country. "Documented incidents include mass shootings and targeted killings, collective rapes, kidnappings, the burning and looting of homes and businesses, and the intentional destruction of facilities operated by social service providers, including hospitals and schools." The SRSG pointed to the worsening humanitarian situation, with almost 600 thousand internally displaced people and stressed the need for increased funding.

ASG Elizabeth Spehar participates in the Fourth Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development in Cairo

On 2-3 July, Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) for Peacebuilding Support Elizabeth Spehar participated in the Fourth Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development in Cairo, Egypt, organized by the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding in Africa. Among the sessions organized was an informal consultation designed to feed into the 2025 UN Peacebuilding Architecture Review entitled “Re-envisioning Peacebuilding at the Summit of the Future and Beyond.” Moderated by Ambassador Mohamed Edrees, Member of the Seventh Advisory Group of the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund, the session included as speakers two high-level representatives of countries strongly engaged with the UN Peacebuilding Architecture, notably H.E. Ramadan Mohamed Abdallah Goc, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Republic of South Sudan and H.E. Kenyeh Barlay, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Republic of Sierra Leone and Chair g7+, as well as Ambassador Fatima Mohammed, AU Permanent Observer to the UN, Marie-Antoinette Rose Quatre, CEO of the African Peer Review Mechanism Continental Secretariat, and ASG Spehar.

ECOSOC and Peacebuilding Commission hold joint meeting on Forced Displacement

On 1 July, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) convened a meeting to address the development and peace dimensions of forced displacement, featuring the voices of two internally displaced women. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, the UN Special Adviser on Solution to Internal Displacement, Robert Piper, and the Deputy Head of the Peacebuilding Support Office (DPPA), Awa Dabo, also addressed the meeting. Given the staggering number of forcibly displaced people around the world, the two intergovernmental bodies recognized the imperative to go beyond humanitarian assistance by investing in long-term solutions that address comprehensively the root causes of conflicts. To that end, they agreed that an integrated approach that includes development, peacebuilding, human rights, climate action, and disaster risk reduction was the only way to find durable solutions but also prevent future displacement.

Victims and former Secretariat FARC-EP join efforts to implement Peace Agreement

On 3 July, in southern Tolima, the UN Verification Mission in Colombia facilitated REVIPAZ's first meeting in a conflict-affected territory. REVIPAZ is a foundation integrated by former members of the FARC-EP Secretariat—including Rodrigo Londoño, president of the political party Comunes—and accredited victims in the macro case 001 of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace. REVIPAZ members discussed future joint activities to deepen the implementation of the Peace Agreement and enhance reconciliation.

Peace through the camera lens in Tumaco

From 25 June to 1 July, more than 35 children, adolescents, young people and former combatants participated in practical and theoretical workshops on photography, film, audiovisual production, gender and the Colombian peace agreement. The initiative was part of Seeds for Peace, a communications project implemented in the rural area of Tumaco, in the department of Nariño, southern Colombia, to teach a group of young people and adults from the former Territorial Area for Training and Reintegration (TATR) La Variante and nearby communities how to contribute to peace, reconciliation and memory through photography. These training sessions, supported by the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, offered opportunities for community meetings, dialogue, and the creation of networks of local people committed to peace with the help of great workshop leaders from the Miradas Collective.

Data-driven perspectives on peace and security

The UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia's (UNRCCA) Preventive Diplomacy Academy welcomed the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) to learn about the latest developments in the peace and security realm. The IEP is a research-focused independent think tank developing global and national indices, calculating the economic cost of violence, analyzing country-level risk and fragility and Positive Peace. Katya Jalliffier, Deputy Director for Europe and the Middle East and North Africa from the IEP Brussels office presented the Institute and its work, most notably the Global Peace Index (GPI). She explained the methodology behind the renowned annual publication and dived into the presentation of the 2024 edition. She also presented the Positive Peace Index, a statistically derived measure of the factors that create flourishing societies, as an antidote to the GPI. In the second part of the session, the participants had the opportunity to engage in a Q&A session and discuss the session’s conclusions, applying the findings to Central Asia.

Joint Coordination Forum convened in Iraq

On 27 and 30 June, the Joint Coordination Forum, launched to streamline governorate-level coordination, convened separately in the Iraqi cities of Diyala, Mosul and Ramadi. Representatives from the Government of Iraq, local governments, UN Agencies, and NGOs discussed several topics, including government plans, budgets, existing gaps, drinking water shortages and the status of water purification plants. They also discussed the return of displaced persons, living conditions of returnees, service provision, area rehabilitation, and needs and challenges in return areas.

Next Week

On 11 July, SRSG Carlos Ruiz Massieu (UN Verification Mission in Colombia) will brief the Security Council on the situation in Colombia. On 12 July, SRSG Leonardo Santos Simão (United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel) will brief the Security Council on West Africa and the Sahel.

Please note that the next issue of This Week in DPPA will be published on 6 September 2024.