Unless access is urgently granted to humanitarian organizations, thousands in the Central Sahel will be “pushed into further destitution”, the UN emergency food relief agency warned on Monday.

Unless access is urgently granted to humanitarian organizations, thousands in the Central Sahel will be “pushed into further destitution”, the UN emergency food relief agency warned on Monday.
New York, 20 October 2020
I wish everyone around the world a data-rich World Statistics Day!
Statistics are fundamental for evidence-based policymaking. Current, reliable, timely and trusted data help us to understand the changing world in which we live and to drive the transformations that are needed, leaving no one behind. The coronavirus pandemic has further elevated the importance of data...
The UN Secretary-General on Sunday condemned “all attacks on populated areas” in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh zone of conflict, as Armenia and Azerbaijan reportedly accused each other of violating the latest humanitarian ceasefire agreement.
On the eve of the presidential elections in Guinea, the UN Secretary-General has called on all national stakeholders to ensure that the polls are conducted in an inclusive and peaceful manner.
A surge in armed violence, coupled with the economic and social fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, are contributing to worsening conditions for children in the Central Sahel, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Friday.
New York, 17 October 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is a double crisis for the world’s poorest people.
First, they have the highest risk of exposure to the virus, and least access to quality healthcare.
Second, recent estimates show the pandemic could push up to 115 million people into poverty...
This Week in DPPA is a brief roundup of political and peacebuilding events and developments at UNHQ and around the world.
Security CouncilHuang Xia: Encouraging progress in the Great Lakes region despite persisting challenges
Ruiz Massieu: Finding ways to curb violence is imperative to deliver on the promise of the Peace Agreement
Griffiths: Release of prisoners an “airlift of hope”
KyrgyzstanMeeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs
IraqVisit to family of late Yezidi spiritual leader
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LibyaConsultative meeting with Libyan Mayors as part of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum process
SomaliaSpecial Representative visits Baidoa Federal Government of Somalia and the UN sign new cooperation framework The Federal Government of Somalia and the UN on 15 October signed a new cooperation agreement which sets out how the country and the world body will work together over the next five years to achieve peace, stability and prosperity for all Somalis. “Since signing of the UN Strategic Framework in December 2017, Somalia has made remarkable progress in its journey towards consolidating peace and sustainable and inclusive development, with steadfast UN support,” Special Representative James Swan, said at the signing ceremony. Read more here Women, Peace and SecurityPanel discussion on inclusive mediation
PeacebuildingInterview with the Deputy Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) meeting on Sahel and UNISS
The Work of PeaceVirtual exhibit
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Contact DPPA at dppa@un.org
Authorities in Mali are being urged to act swiftly to apprehend those responsible for two separate attacks on Thursday against peacekeepers serving with the UN Mission in the country, MINUSMA.
The UN’s top human rights official has called on all actors in Bolivia to remain calm and refrain from any action that could undermine the peaceful conduct of the general elections, taking place on Sunday.
Top UN officials have called on all stakeholders in Bolivia to maintain calm and commit to peaceful conduct of the general elections, taking place on Sunday.
New York, 16 october 2020
The award of this year’s Nobel Prize for Peace to the United Nations World Food Programme recognizes the right of all people to food, and our common quest to achieve zero hunger.
In a world of plenty, it is a grave affront that hundreds of millions go to bed hungry each night.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further intensified food insecurity to a...
Immense relief and comfort are forthcoming for families awaiting their loved ones as Yemen’s warring parties have begun releasing prisoners and detainees on Thursday, in what the UN envoy there called, “an airlift of hope”.
Thank you, Itonde
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
Let me begin by extending my thanks to you all for joining us for this discussion.
And I want to thank the Crisis Management Initiative, the Peace Research Institute Oslo, and the Governments of Finland and Norway for their support in presenting today’s dialogue, and for our long-standing partnership in delivering the UN’s High-Level Seminar on Gender and Inclusive Mediation Strategies.
Now, we’ve made a lot of progress since Security Council resolution 1325 was adopted 20 years ago, but we all know there is much more to be done. We need innovative and practical initiatives to achieve lasting change around the world.
To this end, the UN High-Level Seminar series has become a critical tool in our efforts to secure women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in peace processes.
Since 2013, more than 250 senior envoys, mediators, negotiators, experts and civil society representatives have participated from all regions of the world, sharing experiences and challenges in advancing inclusion, and discussing practical ways to expand women’s participation.
The reasons for our specific and continuing focus on strengthening women’s participation could not be clearer.
First, making up half of humanity, women have a right to be at the table and have their voices heard.
And second, statistics show that peace agreements have a greater chance of longevity if women are at the table and their concerns are taken into account.
We have had some successes.
In Sudan, women were instrumental in the protests that led to the country’s transition to democratic governance. They must have a key role in Sudan’s future, and have this far been instrumental in ensuring gender responsive provisions in Sudan’s Constitutional Declaration.
In Colombia, activism by women’s groups during the 2012 peace talks saw women’s participation grow from one woman amongst 20 negotiators at the start of the process to women representing nearly one-third of delegates later on. Women’s participation led to the establishment of a landmark Gender Sub-Commission and to a final peace agreement regarded as an international standard for gender inclusion.
Yet, despite awareness of the importance of women’s inclusion in peacemaking, many of the challenges that women peacemakers have faced still persist.
Power politics, entrenched patriarchal attitudes and unequal social structures continue to impede women’s participation in peace processes as has shrinking civic and political space and inadequate financial support to women’s groups.
The current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the persistent disconnect between women’s central role in frontline community work, brokering humanitarian access and serving as health workers, from national decision making on the response to the virus.
Bridging this gap and supporting women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in peacemaking requires all of us to double our efforts.
The United Nations is committed to this objective. We must lead by example. The Secretary-General has appointed women to serve in 52 per cent of senior leadership posts in Special Political Missions, which my Department oversees.
We have strengthened our cooperation with regional women mediator networks.
And as COVID-19 has shifted much of our work online, we have supported women in navigating the transition of peacemaking efforts to digital platforms. We are also seeking to make the best use of digital capabilities to expand our outreach to women in remote and conflict-affected areas and to support the millions of young people, women and men, using the Internet to promote peace initiatives.
We also recognize that young women, who often begin and lead peace movements, face additional barriers to their political participation. This is why we have scaled up the Peacebuilding Fund’s Gender and Youth Promotion Initiative from $2.7 million in 2016 to $20.4 million in 2019.
These funds are being used for digital platforms in Libya to amplify women’s voices, and to build young women’s leadership and advocacy skills in the Caucasus and the Balkans. I welcome the presence today on the panel of such inspiring young women such as Emmily Koiti and Hajer Sharif.
In Syria, Iraq and Yemen the Special Envoys have used indirect inclusion mechanisms to overcome women’s exclusion and ensure their voices are heard. In Syria, the Women’s Advisory Board has been a springboard for women’s inclusion, with several members of the Board now serving as delegates to Syria’s Constitutional Committee.
And, of course, we need long-term strategic partnerships to both devise short-term fixes and drive long-term change. And it is in this context that our long-standing cooperation with CMI, PRIO and the Governments of Finland and Norway in delivering the UN High-Level Seminar is so important.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
Realizing a world of sustainable peace requires that we all step up our efforts to harness the full potential of women in peacemaking – that we learn lessons from successful and inclusive peacemaking of yesterday and prepare for the new and emerging challenges of tomorrow.
Today’s dialogue is an important contribution to these efforts, and I look forward to an interesting discussion.
Thank you.
Enormous challenges remain on the road to lasting peace in Colombia, where despite ongoing attacks and stigmatization, the vast majority of former FARC-EP fighters who laid down their weapons under a 2016 peace agreement with the Government, remain engaged in the reintegration process, the head of the UN mission in the South American country says.
New York, 15 October 2020
Corruption is criminal, immoral and the ultimate betrayal of public trust.
It is even more damaging in times of crisis – as the world is experiencing now with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The response to the virus is creating new opportunities to exploit weak oversight and inadequate transparency, diverting funds away from people in their hour of...
The UN Secretary-General has welcomed the launch of ground-breaking discussions on Wednesday, over the disputed maritime border between Lebanon and Israel in the eastern Mediterranean, following a framework agreement between the two nations at the beginning of the month.
UN agencies in Myanmar have expressed ‘sadness’ and ‘shock’ over the killing of two boys, allegedly used as human shields by security forces in the country’s northern Rakhine province, earlier this month.
Mogadishu – On the third anniversary of the 14 October 2017 suicide bombing in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, the United Nations today paid tribute to the victims and survivors of the horrific attack and reaffirmed the world body’s solidarity with all Somalis.
“Together with Somalis, the United Nations family is focused on the future and on continuing to build on progress towards...
Even as they confront the COVID-19 pandemic, countries in Africa’s Great Lakes Region continue to improve political, security and economic cooperation in line with a 2013 Framework agreement, UN Special Envoy Huang Xia told the Security Council on Tuesday.
New York, 13 October 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought renewed attention to the importance of strengthening disaster risk reduction.
Many countries are facing multiple crises simultaneously.
We will see more of this.
Extreme weather events have risen dramatically over the past two decades.
...The UN’s work in promoting dialogue between Arabic and Kurdish groups in Iraq is just one example of how human rights personnel are playing a critical role at the Organization’s peace operations around the world.
New York, 12 October 2020
The systems that bring food to our tables have a profound impact on our economies, our health and the environment.
Food systems are one of the main reasons we are failing to stay within our planet’s ecological boundaries.
But they can also be the key to tackling the climate crisis, addressing soaring...