Mr. President,
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations in October 2014 to review the current state of UN peace operations. The Panel consisted of 16 members chaired by former President of Timor-Leste and Nobel Laureate Jose Ramos-Horta and vice-chaired by Ms. Ameerah Haq. The Panel worked primarily through consultations, thematic workshops, review of submissions and relevant literature, capital visits, and targeted interviews. Consultations with Member States, civil society and academia were held in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cairo, Egypt; Brussels, Belgium; and Salvador, Brazil. The Panel received more than 80 written submissions from more than 50 Member States, regional and other organizations, UN partner entities, civil society, academia and research outfits. The review included visits to Tokyo, Islamabad, New Delhi, Washington DC, Paris, London, Helsinki, Moscow, Beijing and Kigali as well as UN peace operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Senegal. The Panel coordinated closely with other parallel reviews such as the SCR 1325 Expert Study and the Advisory Group on the Review of Peace-building Architecture. A brief summary of the Panel’s observations and recommendations is provided below.
Four essential shifts are needed
Some key recommendations
On conflict prevention
On protection of civilians
On the use of force
On rapid deployment, capabilities and performance
On achievable mandates
On sustaining peace
On women, peace and security
On integrating human rights
On addressing abuse and enhancing accountability
More field-focused support
Funding of AU peace support operations
On UN mission leadership, capability and performance
Funding of special political missions
On need to align Headquarters structures for more focused field operations
Monsieur le Président,
English translation, followed by the original French version
The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region, Said Djinnit, and members of the facilitation team that joined and supported the dialogue between the Burundian parties, met today in Bujumbura with members of the diplomatic corps. During this meeting, the Special Envoy briefed the participants on the dialogue who he facilitated starting from 5 May 2015, at the request of the Burundian parties who had agreed, by themselves, on the agenda as well as the list of participants.
The Special Envoy recalled that during the dialogue, the parties maintained diverging views on the candidature of President Nkurunziza for a third term. He highlighted the progress made on the other four agenda items, namely: the appeasement measures and mutual commitments; the management of the electoral calendar; guarantees for the holding of free, transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections; and protection of Constitutional rights and freedoms. The conclusions of the dialogue are reflected in the attached 29 May press communiqué.
The Special Envoy commended the Burundian parties, in particular, for the set of recommendations adopted by consensus at the 28 May dialogue session, on the right to information and the reopening of private radio and television stations damaged during the 13-14 May events. He encourages the parties to implement these recommendations without delay.
The Special Envoy takes this opportunity to thank all the Burundian parties for their cooperation during the dialogue that he facilitated with impartiality and, on which he reported faithfully to the Emergency Summit of the East African Community which took place in Dar-es-Salaam on 31 May, and the relevant United Nations organs. The Special Envoy expresses his deep gratitude for the support extended to him in his role as facilitator by the East African Community, the International Conference for the Great Lakes region, the African Union and the United Nations including the Secretary-General, the Security Council and the Peace Building Commission. He also thanks the external partners of Burundi including the European Union, the United States, France, Belgium, and many others who came forth to help during the dialogue process.
Mr. Said Djinnit thanks all the Burundian parties for the facilitation role they entrusted to him on 5 May. He duly takes note of the positions expressed a few days ago, on his role as facilitator by some Burundian parties.
In his capacity as the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region, Mr. Djinnit remains committed, in collaboration with relevant regional organizations, to continue to work towards preserving and consolidating peace, democracy and stability in Burundi in accordance with the objectives of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region, signed in Addis Ababa on 24 February 2013.
The Special Envoy encourages the Burundian parties to continue their dialogue with a view to create conditions conducive to holding free, fair, inclusive and peaceful elections. He stresses the importance of preserving the legacy of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement as enshrined in the Constitution. He reiterates his appeal to all parties to exercise restraint and to refrain from any acts likely to increase tension and violence.
(Original version in French)
PRESS COMMUNIQUÉ
Stakeholders in the electoral process in Burundi were invited, on 5 May, by the Ministry of Interior with the support of the United Nations Electoral Observation Mission in Burundi (MENUB) to review the various commitments by the parties. This included the roadmap of 13 March 2013, the code of conduct of 9 June 2014 and the charter of non-violence of 9 March 2015. The opening ceremony was chaired by the First Vice-President of the Republic, in the presence of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the Great Lakes Region, and representatives of the international community.
During the plenary session, debates were centered around the issues related to the presidential term. A representative group of stakeholders was formed and formulated an agenda; it proposed the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to facilitate their discussions.
The adopted agenda included five items:
On this basis, the following delegations met in the afternoon of 5 May, in the premises of MENUB, around the UN Facilitator to initiate dialogue. Were present:
Before initiating the dialogue, the parties decided to adjust the agenda as follows:
Discussions continued on 5- 8 May, 20-23 May and 28 May 2015.
The High Level delegation of the African Union took part in the discussions in support of the facilitation team from 20 May. After its departure, the head of the African Union Office in Bujumbura took over.
On 21 May, the Secretary-General of the East African Community (EAC) joined the facilitation. Subsequently, he was represented by members of the delegation of the Group of Eminent Persons of the East African Community and the COMESA.
The Executive Secretary of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) joined the facilitation team on 22 May.
Calming measures and mutual commitment
The parties exchanged views on the following points:
The first six measures were agreed in principle. But the parties did not agree on the last two points, with regard to stopping demonstrations and the withdrawal of the candidacy of President Pierre Nkurunziza.
Compliance with the Constitution and the Arusha Agreement in the electoral process
The parties discussed at length on this issue, some (the government, the CNDD-FDD party and allied parties) supporting that the candidacy was in compliance with the Constitution and others (opposition political parties and civil society organizations) maintaining that the term was not compliant with the Constitution.
The Facilitation took note of the divergent views of the stakeholders and the dialogue noted that this issue needed to be brought to the attention of the Heads of State of the East African Community.
Management of the Electoral Calendar
The parties agreed on the principle of delaying the electoral calendar to create conditions conducive to the holding of elections within the constitutional limits of terms of office. They agreed to pursue discussions on this issue after the Dar-Es-Salaam summit.
Guarantees and measures for peaceful elections
The facilitation took the commitment of making proposals on each of these measures on the basis of the practice of regional organizations and the UN on all these issues.
Political rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution
Discussions on this issue focused on the following two points: the right to information and the right to demonstrate. The facilitation established two representative working groups including experts and professionals who were assigned the task of considering issues related to media and demonstrations.
During the session held on 28 May, stakeholders discussed the document proposed by the working group on the right to information and the reopening of private radio and television stations and adopted it after some adjustments.
At the same session, the parties discussed the document prepared by the working group on the right to demonstrate. The parties began to discuss the document and it was agreed to continue its consideration after the Dar-Es-Salaam summit scheduled for May 31, 2015.
Conclusion
Throughout the dialogue, the parties reiterated their commitment to preserve the Arusha Agreement as reflected in the Constitution as the foundation for peacebuilding and stability in Burundi.
In concluding yesterday’s session, I took the opportunity to thank all participants in the dialogue for their commitment to continue their discussions started on 5 May in spite of hardships and challenges faced. I congratulate them on the progress made in the framework of this dialogue. They agreed to resume their discussions after the Dar-Es-Salaam summit. I am convinced that the insights and guidance from the summit will contribute to strengthening the inter-Burundian dialogue and to giving it a new breath. On the eve of the summit, I would like to appeal to all parties to exercise restraint.
Said Djinnit
Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region
Facilitator of the Inter-Burundian Dialogue
Bujumbura, 29 May 2015
AU FRANCAIS
L'Envoyé spécial du Secrétaire général des Nations Unies pour la région des Grands Lacs, M. Said Djinnit, et les membres de l’équipe de facilitation qui l'ont rejoint et soutenu dans le dialogue entre les parties prenantes burundaises ont rencontré, ce jour, les membres du corps diplomatique à Bujumbura. Lors de cette rencontre, l’Envoyé spécial a fait le point sur le dialogue qu’il a facilité à compter du 5 mai 2015 à la demande des parties burundaises qui avaient arrêté, elles-mêmes, l'ordre du jour et la liste des participants.
L'Envoyé spécial a rappelé que tout au long du dialogue, les parties burundaises ont maintenu leurs positions divergentes sur la candidature du Président Nkurunziza à un troisième mandat. Elles ont cependant fait des avancées sur les quatre autres questions à l’ordre du jour à savoir: les mesures d'apaisement et les engagements mutuels; la gestion du calendrier électoral; les garanties pour la tenue d'élections libres, transparentes, inclusives et apaisées; et les libertés fondamentales garanties par la Constitution. Les conclusions du dialogue sont reflétées dans le communiqué de presse publié le 29 mai et qui est joint à la présente déclaration.
L'Envoyé spécial a salué, en particulier, les recommandations que les parties prenantes ont approuvées par consensus lors de leur dernière session, le 28 mai, portant sur le droit à l'information et la réouverture des radios et télévisions privées qui ont été endommagées durant les évènements des 13-14 mai. Il les encourage à les mettre en œuvre sans délai.
L'Envoyé spécial saisit cette occasion pour remercier toutes les parties prenantes burundaises pour la coopération dont elles ont fait montre au cours du dialogue qu'il a facilité en toute impartialité et dont il a rendu compte fidèlement au Sommet de la Communauté des pays de l’Afrique de l'est qui s’est tenu à Dar-es-Salaam le 31 mai, ainsi qu’aux instances des Nations Unies. L’Envoyé spécial exprime également sa gratitude au Sommet de la Communauté de l’Afrique de l’est, à la Conférence internationale sur la région des Grands Lacs, à l’Union Africaine et aux Nations Unies y compris le Secrétaire général, le Conseil de sécurité et la Commission de consolidation de la paix pour le soutien qu’ils lui ont apporté en tant que facilitateur. Il tient aussi à remercier les partenaires du Burundi, notamment l’Union Européenne, les Etats-Unis d’Amérique, la France, la Belgique ainsi que plusieurs autres pays qui l’ont soutenu au cours de ce processus.
Mr. Said Djinnit remercie l’ensemble des parties prenantes burundaises pour le mandat de facilitateur qu’elles lui ont confié le 5 mai 2015. Il prend acte de la position exprimée, il y a quelques jours, sur son rôle de facilitateur par des représentants de certaines parties.
En sa qualité d'Envoyé spécial du Secrétaire général des Nations Unies pour la région des Grands Lacs, il réaffirme son engagement à continuer à œuvrer, de concert avec les représentants des Organisations régionales, en vue de la préservation et de la consolidation de la paix, de la démocratie et la stabilité au Burundi conformément aux objectifs de l'Accord-cadre pour la Paix, la Sécurité et la Coopération en RDC et dans la région des Grands Lacs signé le 24 février 2013 à Addis Abéba.
L'Envoyé spécial encourage les parties prenantes burundaises à poursuivre leur dialogue en vue de la création des conditions propices à la tenue d'élections libres, inclusives et apaisées. Il souligne l'importance de la préservation des acquis de l'Accord de Paix et de Réconciliation d'Arusha tels que consacrés par la Constitution du Burundi. Il réitère son appel à toutes les parties burundaises à la retenue et à s'abstenir de tout acte susceptible d'accroître la tension et de générer des actes de violences.
Bujumbura 10 juin 2015
Déclaration à la presse
Les parties prenantes au processus électoral au Burundi ont été conviées le 5 mai par le ministère de l’Intérieur avec l’appui de la Mission d’observation électorale des Nations Unies au Burundi (MENUB) pour passer en revue les différents engagements pris par les parties. Il s’agissait notamment de la feuille de route du 13 mars 2013, du code de bonne de conduite du 9 juin 2014 et de la charte de non violence du 9 mars 2015. La cérémonie d’ouverture a été présidée par le Premier Vice Président de la République , en présence de l’Envoyé Spécial du Secrétaire général des Nations Unies pour la région des Grands Lacs, et des représentants de la communauté internationale.
Au cours de la plénière, les débats se sont cristallisés autour des questions liées au mandat présidentiel. Un groupe représentatif des parties prenantes s’est constitué et a arrêté un ordre du jour ; il a proposé à l’Envoyé Spécial du Secrétaire général des Nations Unies de faciliter leurs discussions.
L’ordre du jour retenu comportait cinq points:
a) Mesures d’apaisement et d’engagement mutuel,
b) Gestion du calendrier électoral,
c) Garanties et mesures pour des élections apaisées,
d) Respect de la Constitution et des Accords d’Arusha dans le processus électoral (question du terme présidentiel),
e) Droits et libertés politiques garantis par la Constitution.
Sur cette base, les délégations suivantes se sont retrouvées dans l’après-midi du 5 mai, dans les locaux de la MENUB, autour du facilitateur des Nations Unies pour entamer le dialogue. Etaient présents :
a) Le Ministre de l’Intérieur (représentant le gouvernement);
b) Quatre représentants du CNDD-FDD et des partis alliés ;
c) Quatre représentants de l’opposition ;
d) Trois représentants de la société civile ;
e) Trois représentants des confessions religieuses ;
f) Deux anciens Chefs d’Etat .
Avant d’engager le dialogue, les parties ont décidé de réaménager l’ordre du jour comme suit:
a) Mesures d’apaisement et d’engagement mutuel,
b) Respect de la Constitution et des Accords d’Arusha dans le processus électoral,
c) Gestion du calendrier électoral,
d) Garanties et mesures pour des élections apaisées,
e) Droits et libertés politiques garantis par la Constitution.
Les discussions se sont poursuivies du 5 au 8 mai, du 20 au 23 mai et le 28 mai 2015.
La délégation de Haut niveau de l’Union Africaine a pris part aux travaux en appui à la facilitation à partir du 20 mai. Après son départ, elle a été relayée par le responsable du bureau de l’Union africaine à Bujumbura.
Le 21 mai, le Secrétaire général de la Communauté des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Est (EAC), s’est joint à la facilitation. Par la suite, il s’est fait représenter par des membres de la délégation du groupe des éminentes personnalités de la Communauté des Etats d’Afrique de l’Est et de la COMESA;
Le Secrétaire exécutif de la Conférence internationale sur la région des Grands Lacs (ICGLR) a rejoint la facilitation le 22 mai.
Mesures d’apaisement et d’engagement mutuel
Les parties ont échangé sur les points suivants :
la restauration des capacités de diffusion des radios et télévisions privées, la garantie du respect du droit à l’information;
la libération de toutes les personnes arrêtées et détenues à l’occasion des manifestations;
l’annulation des mandats d’arrêt lancés contre les personnalités politiques et de la société civile;
l’annulation de la décision du procureur général de la République sur la création d’une commission d’enquête spéciale sur les manifestations;
le principe du glissement du calendrier électoral dans la limite des termes constitutionnels des mandats;
la reprise de l’enseignement public et le report de la date du concours national en consultation avec les professionnels;
l’arrêt des manifestations;
le retrait de la candidature du Président Pierre Nkurunziza.
Les six premières mesures ont fait l’objet d’un accord de principe. Mais les parties ne se sont pas mises d’accord sur les deux derniers points, s’agissant de l’arrêt des manifestations et du retrait de la candidature du Président Pierre Nkurunziza.
Respect de la Constitution et des Accords d’Arusha dans le processus électoral
Les parties ont discuté longuement sur cette question, les unes (le gouvernement et le parti CNDD-FDD et les partis alliés) soutenant que la candidature était conforme à la Constitution et les autres (partis politiques de l’opposition et organisations de la société civile) maintenant que ce mandat n’était pas conforme à la Constitution.
La facilitation a pris acte des points de vue divergents des parties prenantes et le dialogue a pris note de ce que cette question fait l’objet de l’attention des Chefs d’Etat de la Communauté de l’Afrique de l’Est.
Gestion du calendrier électoral
Les parties ont convenu du principe du glissement du calendrier électoral pour créer les conditions propices à l’organisation des élections dans la limite des termes constitutionnels des mandats. Elles ont convenu de poursuivre les discussions sur ce point après le sommet de Dar Es Salaam.
Garanties et mesures pour des élections apaisées
Les parties au dialogue ont échangé sur les questions suivantes:
La facilitation s’est engagée à faire des propositions sur chacune de ces mesures sur la base de la pratique des organisations régionales et de l’ONU sur toutes ces questions.
Droits et libertés politiques garantis par la Constitution
Les discussions sur ce point se sont focalisées sur les deux questions suivantes : le droit à l’information et le droit de manifester. La facilitation a mis en place deux groupes de travail représentatifs incluant des experts et des professionnels auxquels elle a confié le soin de réfléchir sur les questions liées aux médias et aux manifestations.
Durant la session du 28 mai, les parties prenantes ont examiné le document proposé par le groupe de travail sur le droit à l’information et la réouverture des radions et télévisions privées et l’ont adopté après quelques aménagements.
Lors de la même session, les parties ont examiné le document préparé par le groupe de travail sur le droit de manifester. Les parties ont commencé à échanger sur ce document et il a été convenu de poursuivre l’examen de ce document après le sommet de Dar Es Salaam prévu le 31 mai 2015.
Conclusion
Tout au long du dialogue, les parties ont réitéré leur engagement à préserver l’Accord d’Arusha tel que reflété dans la constitution comme socle de la consolidation de la paix et de la stabilité du Burundi.
En concluant la session d’hier, j’ai tenu à remercier tous les participants au dialogue pour leur engagement à poursuivre leurs échanges qu’ils ont entamé le 5 mai en dépit des épreuves et des difficultés traversées. Je les félicite pour les progrès enregistrés dans le cadre de ce dialogue. Elles ont convenu de reprendre leurs échanges après le sommet de Dar Es Salaam. Je suis convaincu que les éclairages et les orientations qu’apportera le sommet contribueront à renforcer le dialogue inter-burundais et à lui donner un nouveau souffle. A la veille de ce sommet, je tiens à lancer un appel à toutes les parties à la retenue.
Said Djinnit
Envoyé Spécial du Secrétaire général des Nations Unies pour la région des Grands Lacs
Facilitateur du dialogue inter-burundais
Bujumbura, 29 mai 2015
Mr. President, Distinguished members of the Council,
Ambassador Abdallah Al-Muallimi, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre,
Ambassador Raimonda Murmokaite, Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the United Nations and Chairwoman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the United Nations Security Council,
Ambassador Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, Assistant-Secretary General of the League of Arab States,
Ambassador Ahmed Fathalla, Ambassador of the League of Arab States to the United Nations,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank the League of Arab States for inviting me to this important and timely forum.
The United Nations shares your concern about the growth of violent extremist groups such as ISIL, Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram.
It is undeniable that they present a serious threat to international peace and security. What is also undeniable is their effective use of social media to spread propaganda and to recruit vulnerable young women and men from all regions of the world to join their ranks as foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs).
In last Friday’s meeting of the Security Council, the Secretary-General briefed that between mid- 2014 and March 2015 there has been an estimated 70 per cent increase in FTFs worldwide. The 1267 Al-Qaida Sanctions Monitoring Team estimates that more than 25,000 FTFs from over 100 Member States have traveled to Syria and Iraq, as well as Afghanistan, Yemen and Libya.
There is no question that we are dealing with an issue of global concern. We can no longer stand by and watch as this phenomenon spreads. With their message of hate, violent extremists directly assault the legitimacy of the United Nations Charter and the values of peace, justice and human dignity on which that document and international relations are based. They assault global, universal values, as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Arab Charter on Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
And there is a third aspect that is undeniable: the manipulative messages of violent extremists on Twitter, YouTube and other social media, are as attractive to young people in search of adventure as alternatives are not.
There are almost 50,000 Twitter accounts supporting ISIS, with an average of 1,000 followers each. They succeed by offering young people opportunities to engage with their peers while providing a space where people can bond over their grievances, their hopes and their deeply held desire for a world that is just and fair.
Governments are trying to keep up through disseminating more moderate counter-narratives. But young people are not looking for moderation - they are seeking visionary ideas that capture their imagination and offer tangible change.
We, in the international community, need to develop a clear vision and then communicate it. To do this, we need to rekindle the core values at the heart of our community of nations. We need a global, collective and authentic response that engages people to effectively counter and ultimately prevent these destructive, extremist messages that espouse and promote violence and destruction. And we need to show that our words and values also allow people to achieve their aspirations of dignity and prosperity.
For this reason, the Secretary-General has announced his intention to present a Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism to the 70th General Assembly later this year. It is time for the international community to focus on preventing violent extremism by addressing the structural context and drivers of violent extremism through proactive and constructive approaches. At its core this will include a global communications strategy involving social media stakeholders, governments and civil society.
We can only prevent violent extremism if we engage the support of our entire society – we are calling this an “all of society” approach. Our efforts need to go beyond government, and extend to religious, youth, women and other community leaders – they are the ones on the front-line, standing up to violent extremists. This includes leaders in such diverse fields as music, business, sports and other cultural pursuits that can spark the imagination of the world’s youth.
Of course, we also need the support of the world’s media. We need to further engage with them to enhance the credibility of our messages. We have to work closely with traditional and social media partners to get stories of courage out about returnees from violent extremist groups and victims of terrorism, who can turn their tragedy into a positive force to counter and prevent radicalization.
We also need to look at ourselves. How can we improve our leadership, how can we govern better? Self-restrained and enlightened governance will underscore a society’s ability to show resilience and strength. Such resilience will not only protect individual freedoms, but also break the momentum of violent extremists. The Secretary-General has said that it takes a bullet to kill a terrorist, but good governance will ultimately kill terrorism.
Full compliance with international law is central to our shared success. In dealing with traditional and social media, we need to respect and promote freedoms of speech and information. Short-term limits on press freedoms, deactivating social media sites or closing newspapers may appear to suppress the spread of hateful messages, but they can also end up making violent extremists and their forbidden messages all the more attractive to vulnerable groups. Such measures can also inadvertently silence activists and other community groups that hold the long-term solutions to preventing violent extremism.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Together we can and must reunite around our universal, shared values and commitments to offer the disenfranchised and disenchanted a real stake in shaping our global world. “We the peoples of the United Nations” need to stand together for peace not enmity, for justice not corruption, for dignity not despair.
Thank you.
Since the uprisings in Yemen broke out in early 2011, the United Nations has been engaged, through the good offices of the Secretary-General, in helping Yemenis to find a peaceful solution. The United Nations provided support for the negotiations between the Government and the opposition, which resulted in the signing of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism in Riyadh on 23 November 2011. The United Nations has since remained actively engaged with all Yemeni political groupings to facilitate and provide support for the effective implementation of the GCC Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism.
To ensure the full and effective implementation of Security Council resolutions 2014 (2011) and 2051 (2012), together with the GCC Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism, the Secretary-General established the Office of the Special Envoy to the Secretary-General on Yemen. Since the establishment of the Office of the Special Envoy in 2012, the United Nations has provided support for the Yemeni-led political transition process and has promoted inclusive participation, including of previously marginalized groups, such as women, youth, the Houthis and Southern Hirak. With the support and facilitation provided by the United Nations, Yemenis concluded a National Dialogue Conference in January 2014, which brought together 565 delegates from all the regions and political groupings of Yemen. The outcome document of the National Dialogue Conference established the foundations for a new federal and democratic Yemen, with support for good governance, the rule of law and human rights. A Constitution Drafting Commission was created to draft a new constitution based on the National Dialogue Conference outcomes.
Despite important progress in the political transition, conflicts between the Houthis, other armed groups and government forces led to an escalation of military violence in mid-2014. Notwithstanding agreements brokered by then United Nations Special Adviser, the Houthis and allied units of the armed forces seized control of Sana’a and other parts of the country in September 2014 and over the ensuing months.
The United Nations facilitated numerous rounds of negotiations to resolve the political impasse, but these efforts were ineffective to halt the escalation of military confrontations that continued in early 2015. At the request of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a coalition of countries led by Saudi Arabia intervened militarily on 26 March 2015 to secure the return of the Government. The ensuing conflict triggered a humanitarian emergency. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and other terrorist groups have actively exploited the chaos, extending their control over significant areas and conducting frequent attacks against government and civilian targets in many areas.
The United Nations has repeatedly reiterated that there is no military solution to the Yemeni crises and has called for a return to peaceful negotiations.
In its resolution 2216 (2015), the Security Council requested the Secretary-General to intensify his good offices role in order to enable the resumption of a peaceful, inclusive, orderly and Yemeni-led transition. Since then, the Special Envoy has facilitated successive rounds of consultations aimed at obtaining a negotiated settlement to end the conflict and resume the political transition process, including direct talks in Switzerland in June and December 2015, and in Kuwait from April to August 2016. Despite these efforts by the United Nations, fighting continues between various parties throughout the country, including along the Saudi Arabia-Yemen border. Concurrently, attacks claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Islamic State, as well as counter-insurgency operations against those groups, continue in southern Yemen where the overall security situation remains highly volatile.
After two and a half years of armed conflict, a stalled peace process and a severe economic decline that has accelerated the collapse of essential basic services and institutions, Yemen is in the grip of a protracted political, humanitarian and developmental crisis. Violence against civilians and their assets is causing unspeakable suffering. Health facilities have reported 8,673 conflict-related deaths and over 58,600 injuries. Yemen is facing the world’s largest food security crisis and an unprecedented cholera crisis. Some 22.2 million people, including 2 million internally displaced people, require humanitarian aid or protection assistance. Currently, 17.8 million people are food-insecure or malnourished, of whom 8.4 million acutely so—24 per cent more than in 2016. With only 45 per cent of health centres functional due to the conflict, and limited availability of medicine, the capacity of the health system to respond to disease and injuries is dangerously compromised, which led to one of the largest and fastest-spreading cholera outbreaks.
Sierra Leone has made strides in securing peace after a prolonged violent conflict which ended in 2002. With the support of the United Nations, as part of a sustained multilateral approach, Sierra Leone is on its way to consolidate the hard-won peace and transition towards regular development.
In light of the significant advances over the past decade, UNIPSIL, the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone, drew down on 31 March 2014, transferring its residual activities to the Government and the international community in Sierra Leone, including the UN presence there. There are 17 agencies, funds and programmes that help advancing the country’s national development agenda, or Agenda for Prosperity.
Sierra Leone is now one of six countries on the agenda of the Peacebuilding Commissions (PBC), an intergovernmental advisory body that supports peace efforts in countries emerging from conflict. The PBC is aided by the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), headed by Assistant Secretary-General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco.
The United Nations has worked with regional and international partners to encourage a peaceful return to constitutional order in Guinea following the military’s seizure of power in December 2008 and to contribute to the holding of peaceful democratic presidential and legislative elections in 2010 and 2013, respectively.
In early 2015, political tensions between the government and opposition parties resurfaced surrounding the presidential electoral process. Preventive diplomatic efforts were led on the ground by the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS, at that time UNOWA) and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mohammed Ibn Chambas. As a result of the SRSG’s intense diplomatic engagement, conducted in close coordination with regional and bilateral partners, an inter-Guinean dialogue process was launched in June 2015, with the participation of the UN and other partners as observers. The process resulted in the signing on 20 August of a political agreement that created the conditions for moving forward with the holding of the presidential elections on 11 October 2015. The elections were conducted peacefully and resulted in the re-election of the incumbent President, Alpha Condé.
The United Nations remains engaged in Guinea to ensure the full implementation of the political agreement of 20 August, which provides for, inter alia, the holding of local elections in 2016. The United Nations is also currently providing support in key areas, including security sector reform and socio-economic recovery programmes.
The United Nations and its Department of Political Affairs assisted in mediation to resolve Kenya's 2008 electoral crisis, and have since continued to work for reconciliation in the East African country.
Major progress was achieved with the elaboration and promulgation of a new Constitution, which was supported overwhelmingly by the Kenyan people in a referendum on 4 August 2010. The Department of Political Affairs had deployed an electoral expert, specializing in operations and voter registration, to assist the electoral commission with the implementation of a credible referendum.
The historic vote marked the end of Kenya’s long and turbulent search for a new Constitution, and brought renewed hope and momentum to efforts to prevent future crisis. However, much remains to be done – both in terms of operationalising the new Constitution and undertaking other essential reforms in the judiciary, police, in land affairs and other areas.
When elections triggered widespread violence in Kenya in early 2008, the Department of Political Affairs assisted the AU in its efforts to broker a political solution. Throughout the lengthy political negotiations, the Department of Political Affairs provided staff support and technical advice to the mediators from the AU’s Panel of Eminent African Personalities: former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former President of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa and former First Lady of Mozambique Graça Michel.
The Panel’s mediation efforts culminated on 28 February 2008 in a power-sharing agreement that ended the political crisis and led to the formation of a broad-based Coalition Government. The parties also agreed on measures to examine the violence and the electoral problems. They further decided to address the long-term issues that triggered and fuelled the crisis through land and judicial reforms, constitutional and electoral changes, and policies to overcome deep social resentments.
Increasing the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in peacemaking, conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts is a key priority for the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA). Women, Peace and Security (WPS) first made it on to the Security Council’s agenda in 2000, with the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325 on WPS. However, despite many global and regional commitments and initiatives, the number of women included in formal peacemaking processes remains low; and many peace agreements do not include gender provisions that sufficiently address women’s security and peacebuilding needs.
In line with the Secretary-General’s forward looking goals for the decade (S/2019/800, para 120) and his) directives on women, peace and security (S/2020/946, para 113), DPPA is supporting multi-track efforts that increase the involvement of women at all levels, integrate gender equality, and shape strategies based on the priorities of women’s rights constituencies. This includes working with Special Envoys and Special Representatives of the Secretary-General to design and support strategies for inclusive peace processes. From Colombia to Syria, the Department is also using new pathways for participation through digital inclusion strategies and virtual consultations and engagements.
In DPPA’s special political missions (SPMs) in the field, Gender Advisers or Gender Focal Points provide advice and support to the mission’s leadership - the Secretary-General’s Special Envoys and Special Representatives - on ways to promote women’s political participation, make peace processes and prevention efforts more inclusive, and include gender perspectives in the UN’s political work.
In contexts where the UN is supporting a peace process, DPPA and its SPMs work to promote women’s direct participation through advocacy and by providing advice on inclusive mediation strategies. We also organize consultations with civil society and women’s groups and provide advice on effective ways to include women and their views in the process. Furthermore, the Department promotes women’s political participation in elections, for example through advice on Temporary Special Measures, including electoral quotas, during electoral support. To assist mediation actors and Member States in their efforts to make peace processes more inclusive and gender-responsive, DPPA (then DPA) developed two Guidance documents for mediators and mediation experts; one on Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Ceasefire and Peace Agreements (2012); and one on Gender and Inclusive Mediation Strategies (2017).
In 2016, the Department established a stand-alone Gender, Peace and Security Unit (GPS), which oversees its implementation of the WPS agenda. GPS has the responsibility to develop policy, build the capacity of DPPA staff involved in peacemaking and support DPPA’s mission and headquarters staff in implementing Security Council resolutions on WPS and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence. DPPA’s WPS Policy was first issued in June 2019, to ensure that gender relevant issues and perspectives are integrated into all the Department’s activities. The Policy outlines five priorities for the implementation of the WPS agenda: a) Gender sensitive political and conflict analysis; b) Promoting inclusion and women’s meaningful participation in all peacemaking and peacebuilding efforts; c) Women’s participation in electoral and political processes; d) Preventing and addressing conflict-related sexual violence as a priority for peace; and e) Programmatic – ensuring gender mainstreaming in all projects through resource allocations, gender markers and tracking. Following a review, in 2023, GPS issued a revised DPPA WPS Policy (2023). The new Policy maintains the same priority areas, but with updates to reflect key developments and new areas of work, including digital technology and climate, peace and security. The Department continues to develop policy on the intersection of WPS and other relevant issues, such as Youth, Peace and Security, and to consider the gendered implications of evolving technologies and the risks of hate speech and mis- and disinformation.
The Department’s approach to implementing the WPS agenda is to ensure that gender is mainstreamed throughout DPPA’s work – beyond the specific focus on WPS and WPS initiatives – and that WPS work is not only the responsibility of gender advisers, but the responsibility of all leadership, managers and every staff member in DPPA and its field presences.
For more information and resources, visit UN Peacemaker: Gender, Women, Peace and Security.
Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on WPS was backed by a diverse and geographically-representative coalition of Member States, and pushed by a strong global constituency of women civil society organizations. This was the first Security Council resolution to link women to the peace and security agenda, looking at the impact of conflict on women and women’s contribution to conflict resolution and sustainable peace.
The resolution consists of four pillars: 1) The role of women in conflict prevention, 2) women’s participation in peacebuilding, 3) the protection of the rights of women and girls during and after conflict, and 4) women’s specific needs during repatriation, resettlement and for rehabilitation, reintegration and post-conflict reconstruction. A total of ten WPS resolutions have been adopted and can largely be divided into two groups. The first group, initiated by 1325 and followed by SCR 1889 (2009) , SCR 2122 (2013), SCR 2242 (2015)and SCR 2493 (2019), deals in short with the need for women’s active and effective participation in peacemaking and peacebuilding.
The second group focuses on preventing and addressing conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). The first dedicated resolution on CRSV, SCR 1820 was adopted in 2008. It acknowledges that sexual violence when used as a tactic of war can significantly exacerbate conflict and be a threat to international peace and security. Since 2008, four additional resolutions have been adopted on CRSV: SCR 1888 (2009), SCR 1960 (2010), SCR 2106 (2013), and SCR 2467 (2019).
There is no internationally agreed definition of the term ‘gender’, however, gender is understood to be a social and cultural construct that assigns different roles, behaviors, norms and traits to men and women in a society. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can evolve over time. In most societies, gender is hierarchical and produces political, social and economic inequalities. When gender intersects with other forms of discrimination such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, geographic location, sexual orientation and gender identity , the impacts can compound and lead to intersectional marginalization and discrimination. Because conflict affects people of different gender identities differently, an intersectional approach to peacemaking is needed to respond to different groups’ security and peacebuilding needs.
Men who predominantly occupy roles in both armed groups and public decision-making, have long been considered the only relevant actors in conflict and its resolution. However, women have always been involved in conflict in different roles, be it as peacemakers, combatants, dependents, politicians or activists, and are greatly – often disproportionally – affected by conflict. Women have a fundamental human right to participate in decision making processes that affect them, but women’s inclusion in peace processes is also a strategic imperative, as adding a broader range of perspectives can lead to more sustainable peace. For these reasons, and to answer to its responsibilities stemming from the human rights agenda, the United Nations is strongly committed to include women in its peace and security work.
DPPA Youth, Peace and Security Strategy (2024-2026)
DPPA Women Peace and Security Policy (2023)
Guidance on Gender and Inclusive Mediation Strategies (2017)
COVID-19 and Conflict: Advancing Women's Meaningful Participation in Ceasefires and Peace Processes (2020).
Women Peace and Security (WPS) & Youth Peace and Security (YPS) Complementarities of the two agendas (2021)
Anderlini, Sanam Naraghi: Women Building Peace. What They Do, Why It Matters. London 2007.
Research project on Women and the UN Charter by SOAS University London: https://www.soas.ac.uk/research/recognising-women-who-shaped-un-charter
Nderitu, Alice/O’Neill Jacqueline: Getting To the Point of Inclusion: Seven Myths Standing in the Way of women Waging Peace. Background Paper for the 2013 Oslo Forum, May 2013. Online: https://www.osloforum.org/sites/default/files/Oslo%20Forum%202013-BP-Getting%20to%20the%20Point%20of%20Inclusion.pdf
The International Peace Institute (IPI): The SDGs and Prevention for Sustaining Peace. Exploring the Transformative Potential of the Goal on Gender Equality. October 2016. Online: https://www.ipinst.org/2016/11/sdgs-goal-gender-equality
Paffenholz, Thania: ‘Results on Women and Gender’ Briefing Paper. Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding. Geneva: The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies 2015. Online: http://repository.graduateinstitute.ch/record/292671/files/briefingpaperwomen%20gender.pdf
United States Institute of Peace: Charting a New Course. Thought of Action Kit. Women Preventing Violent Extremism. Washington 2015. Online: https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/files/Women-Preventing-Violent-Extremism-Charting-New-Course.pdf
Bell, Christine: Women and peace processes, negotiations, and agreements: operational opportunities and challenges. NORF Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Center Policy Brief. March 2013. Online: http://www.peacewomen.org/assets/file/Resources/Government/christine_bell.pdf
For more resources, please visit UN Peacemaker: WPS Guidance Material.
UN Women: http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/peace-and-security
United Nations Development Program: http://www.undp.org/
The UN’s Special Representative’s Office on Sexual Violence in Conflict: http://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/
United Nations Department of Peace Operations (DPO): https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/empowering-women
The International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN): http://www.icanpeacework.org/
The NGO Working Group on Women Peace and Security: http://www.womenpeacesecurity.org/
The Crisis Management Initiative (CMI): http://cmi.fi/
The Peace and Research Institute Oslo (PRIO): https://www.prio.org/
The Department of Political Affairs contributes along with partner UN entities to the global fight against piracy off the coast of Somalia.
DPA is an active participant in the International Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS), the main international forum on countering piracy. The Department also manages a Trust Fund supporting a range of projects to strengthen the fight against piracy.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), a political mission managed by DPA, works to promote political stability and the rule of law inside Somalia, which are ultimately the key to stopping the lawlessness and criminality off its shores.
In his briefing to the Security Council in October 2014, DPA Under-Secretary-General Jeffrey Feltman cautioned that while reported piracy was at its lowest levels in recent years, "progress is fragile and reversible." He underscored the importance of Somali-led and Somali-owned State-building and inclusive governance to counter the scourge.
Ransom payments adding up to hundreds of millions of dollars have created a “pirate economy” in some areas of Somalia that jeopardizes efforts to develop alternative livelihoods. Economies throughout East Africa and beyond are experiencing the fallout. International trade routes are affected by the constant threat of maritime attacks.
Piracy and armed robbery at sea require a coordinated response under the overarching legal framework provided by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. There is broad consensus in the international community that effectively countering the Somalia piracy problems requires a comprehensive approach focusing on deterrence, security, the rule of law and development.
The CGPCS was established on 14 January 2009 in line with Security Council resolution 1851 (2008) as a means of facilitating coordination among members of the international community. Today, over 60 nations and international organizations participate in the CGPCS, which meets regularly and reports on its progress to the Security Council.
The Department of Political Affairs is an active participant of the Contact Group, providing briefings by senior officials, staff support and technical expertise to its working groups, and facilitating dialogue among its members.
In January 2010, the Contact Group established a Trust Fund to Support the Initiatives of States Countering Piracy off the Coast of Somalia. The objective of the Fund is to support prosecution of suspected pirates and detention-related activities, among other priorities. The Trust Fund can be replenished by both Member States and the private sector. DPA serves as the fund’s secretariat.
The Trust Fund to support initiatives countering piracy (PDF)
Thank you Madame President,
I am honoured to address the Council in my new capacity as the Secretary General’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East Process and Personal Envoy to the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and the Palestinian Authority.
From the outset, allow me to thank President Abbas and his Government for their warm welcome and genuine interest in working with the United Nations in advancing the just cause of peace. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Government of Israel for their warm reception and for engaging on a host of important issues related to the situation on the ground. Since taking up my assignment, I have engaged with the Palestinian and Israeli leaders; with political, civil society and business stakeholders in the West Bank and Gaza; and with key partners in Egypt and Jordan in order to begin developing a better understanding of the reality on the ground and the prospects of the future.
Madame President,
The Middle East faces a vicious tide of terror and extremism that presents a serious challenge to the region, and to international peace and security. However, the inability to respond, for over 60 years, both on the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a state and to Israel’s quest for security, has fuelled a situation that is becoming more dangerous by the day.
Generations of Palestinians and Israelis have come to realise that sustainable and just peace cannot be reached through conflict, but must be the result of negotiations. Thousands of people have died so that today we may hold this truth - that peace cannot be achieved through violence, but at the negotiating table, to be self-evident.
This hard-earned belief in peace and negotiations must not be allowed to wither away. If it does, it can further destabilise the Middle East for decades. To save it, to give hope back to people, we must act to advance the prospect of a two-state solution: Israel and Palestine - living side-by-side in peace and security.
How to do this is not an academic question, but one that must be addressed to the parties on the ground, to the international community, and to the United Nations as well.
I do not underestimate the difficult decisions that both parties will have to take. Nor should we underestimate the domestic challenges that Israeli or Palestinian leaders alike will have to overcome. The region is facing a complicated security threat. However, it is precisely because of the dangers that lurk in the Middle East of today that both sides must show historic leadership and personal commitment to peace and negotiations.
I take this opportunity to call on the new Government of Israel to take credible steps, including a freeze of settlement activity, in order to promote the resumption of meaningful negotiations. Continued security cooperation between Palestinian and Israeli authorities remains a cornerstone for a peaceful resolution.
Both parties must expend every effort to build upon existing agreements, including relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the Roadmap and the Arab Peace Initiative, in order to gain momentum towards a final status agreement.
The Secretary-General stands ready to work with all in order to encourage a return to negotiations, on the basis of an agreed framework.
Madame President,
On 14 May, the Israeli Knesset confirmed Prime Minister Netanyahu’s new coalition government. Its guidelines state that it will “strive for peace with the Palestinians and all our neighbours, while safeguarding the security, historical and national interests of Israel.”
The Secretary-General and I will be engaging with the new Government to explore realistic options for a return to meaningful negotiations towards a two-State solution within a reasonable timeframe. However, this goal is increasingly threatened by actions on the ground that exacerbate the divisions between the sides.
We are deeply concerned to see the advancement of settlement activities in East Jerusalem and the West Bank on three occasions in the past month. On 14 May, tenders were issued for 85 housing units in Givat Ze’ev, south of Ramallah. On 6 May, the District Planning and Building Committee approved permits for 400 new residential units in the settlement of Ramat Shlomo, and, on 27 April, 77 tenders were issued for residential units in two other East Jerusalem settlements.
These announcements come at a sensitive time in which the international community is looking to Israel to demonstrate its readiness to engage with the Palestinians on building peace. There should be no illusions about the impact of these unilateral actions. They not only undermine the collective hopes of those longing for a just resolution of the conflict, but they again call into question the viability of achieving peace based on the vision of two States. Settlement activity is illegal under international law and I urge the new Israeli Government to reverse these decisions and refrain from such action in the future.
Madame President,
In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, tensions continued as Israeli security forces conducted some 265 search-and-arrest operations, resulting in the arrest of 294 Palestinians. In separate incidents in late April, three Palestinian men, including a 17-year-old boy, were shot and killed after reportedly stabbing and injuring Israeli security officers at checkpoints in Hebron and Ma’ale Adumin. On 25 April, a Palestinian man was suspected of intentionally ramming his car into a group of Israeli policemen in East Jerusalem, resulting in four injured. On 11 May, an Israeli was injured in a reported stabbing attack near a West Bank checkpoint. And on 14 May, three Israeli youths were struck by a car driven by a Palestinian man close Gush Etzion.
Despite repeated objections, the Israeli government continues to demolish Palestinian homes and structures. During the reporting period, a total of 15 structures, which contained 33 residences, were demolished leading to the displacement of 25 people, including 14 children. On 4 May, the Israeli High Court of Justice rejected a request by Palestinians from the Area C village of Susiya to freeze demolitions in the village. And on 10 May an Israeli court ordered the demolition of eight buildings in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Semiramis. The United Nations, once again, urges Israel to cease such demolitions and displacements.
The United Nations also remains concerned about the recent moves to relocate Bedouin communities near Abu Nwar in the politically sensitive E1 area of the West Bank that may be linked to further settlement construction.
Madame President,
Turning to Gaza, I cannot but recall the shock of my first very brief tour of the destruction of the Shujaiya neighbourhood. No one, and let me repeat this Madame President, no one can remain untouched by the scale of devastation, the slow pace of reconstruction, and the vast needs to rebuild lives and livelihoods. Gaza is desperate and Gaza angry. Angry at the blockade, angry at the closure of Rafah, angry at Hamas, including for imposing an illegal 'solidarity tax', at the donors for not honouring their financial commitments for reconstruction, at everyone. There is a clear moral and humanitarian imperative not just for the United Nations and the international community, but primarily for the Israeli and the Palestinian authorities to prevent the implosion of Gaza. I particularly call on the factions on the ground to ensure that Gaza remains peaceful.
Despite the fact that the agreed cease-fire, brokered by Egypt, continues to hold, some security incidents have persisted during the reporting period. Three rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza on 23 April, with one exploding in an open area in Israel while the other two dropped short and exploded inside Gaza; on 3 May, militants fired another rocket which impacted inside Gaza near the security fence; Palestinian militants also test fired 19 rockets at the sea. Thankfully, no injuries or damage were reported in any of these incidents, all of them we condemn. In response to the rocket firing, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) conducted an air strike in Gaza damaging a Hamas military site but also no casualties were reported. IDF also reportedly shot and injured nine Palestinians in Gaza: three fishermen whose boats were fired upon by the Israeli navy and six Palestinians, shot while approaching the Gaza border fence. Three militants were also killed in separate incidents where smuggling tunnels collapsed.
Madame President,
Without genuine Palestinian reconciliation and unity, all efforts to improve the situation in Gaza will face major difficulties. On 19 April, a delegation of Palestinian ministers travelled to Gaza to begin a process to reintegrate public sector employees, tens of thousands of whom have not received salaries for over a year. Discussions, however, broke down the following day.
Despite this setback, I welcome the determination of Prime Minister Hamdallah and his efforts to find a solution to the problem of public sector employees in Gaza. His commitment that no one will be left behind is an important guarantee. I encourage all factions to support these efforts. The United Nations also stands ready to work with all stakeholders and support the Government in mobilising the necessary resources for this process.
A comprehensive reconciliation must include the Government of National Consensus resuming control over the crossings into Israel and Egypt. This is key to allowing more movement of goods and people and to the eventual reopening the crossings. The responsibility for addressing these issues lies first and foremost with the Palestinian authorities. But it also partly rests with the United Nations and the international community, which must empower the Government to take up its leadership role in Gaza, including through the fulfilment of donor pledges that were made at the Cairo conference of last year.
What is clear is that no approach which divides Gaza and the West Bank should be supported – Palestine is one and the United Nations will work determinedly to advance unity through its legitimate institutions.
The United Nations ultimate objective in Gaza is to see the lifting of all closures, within the framework of Security Council resolution 1860 (2009). In the absence of such a fundamental change, the temporary Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism is the only currently available option to facilitate the entry of material and to enable implementation of large-scale projects that can bring reconstruction, jobs and stability.
I can report that, as of 19 May, close to 85,000 of the 100,000 households in need of construction materials to repair their homes have received materials. In addition, 85 out of 167 projects submitted and funded by the international community and the private sector have been approved; eight of these projects are currently underway.
All of these are positive developments, but far from sufficient to address Gaza’s reconstruction needs. The United Nations is working closely with the Israeli Ministry of Defence’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, with the Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs, and donors to finalise arrangements to speed up reconstruction. I take the opportunity to thank all counterparts for their constructive engagement on these matters.
Madame President,
Turning briefly to Lebanon, Special Coordinator Kaag and members of the International Support Group for Lebanon met today in Beirut with Prime Minister Tamam Salam to discuss the current situation in the country. As of 25 May, the country will have been without a President for one year. This vacuum undermines Lebanon’s ability to address the challenges it faces and it jeopardises the functioning of State institutions. Members of Parliament should fulfil their constitutional obligation to elect a President without further delay.
With almost 1.2 million registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon forming the highest per capita concentration of refugees in the world, we again call on the international community to urgently fulfil existing pledges and increase and expedite support to Lebanon as a matter of priority. It is important that the Government and United Nations counterparts work together to promote effective management of the refugee presence in line with international humanitarian and human rights law.
The Lebanese-Syrian border remains impacted by incidents and infiltration attempts of armed extremist groups, particularly as a result of the fighting in the Qalamoun region. The Lebanese Armed Forces have committed considerable efforts to secure the border with support from the international community. On 20 April, Lebanon received its first shipment of military equipment from France financed by the $3 billion grant from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This and other contributions by Member States are both necessary and welcome.
UNIFIL’s area of operations has remained generally calm, despite the volatile situation in the Golan Heights. In their ongoing engagement with UNIFIL, both parties maintained their commitment to the cessation of hostilities and the stability of the Blue Line. Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace continued on an almost daily basis.
Madame President,
On the Golan, clashes occurred between the Syrian armed forces and armed members of the opposition, as well as heavy fighting between different armed groups in the area of separation. Between 24 April and 5 May, fire from the Bravo side, as a result of such fighting, impacted across the ceasefire line. On 24 April, an IDF Missile Launching Unit fired four missiles eastwards, one of which crossed the ceasefire line. A couple of days later, the IDF informed UNDOF that four persons carrying equipment had crossed the ceasefire line from the Bravo side and had been killed by the Israeli security forces as they approached the technical fence. These developments have the potential to heighten tensions and jeopardise the ceasefire between the two countries.
Madame President,
In conclusion, let me return briefly to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the coming period will be critical for the future of the peace process. The United Nations has repeatedly warned that maintaining the status quo is not tenable. It will inexorably lead to the continued erosion of living conditions for Palestinians and for Israelis alike, and will undermine the security and stability of all.
My introductory meetings clearly demonstrated that, despite the prolonged absence of a political horizon, despite the sometimes poisonous rhetoric of incitement and the destructive actions of those seeking to undermine a return to talks, there remains a steadfast desire and determination to achieve an enduring agreement.
Any resolution will need a comprehensive regional solution, conceivably with support from a reinvigorated Quartet that includes greater engagement with key Arab states. While the international community has a critical responsibility to support a peace process, a lasting solution can only be achieved by the parties themselves.
Madame President,
Thank you for the opportunity to address the Council. I look forward to working with you and to your guidance on the way forward.
Allow me to place on record my gratitude to my predecessor, Robert Serry, for his tireless efforts in this position. I want to also thank the excellent team at UNSCO and here in the UN Secretariat, without whom our work in the field would not be possible.
Thank you.
Today, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr. Mustafa Akıncı, and the Greek Cypriot leader, Mr. Nicos Anastasiades, undertook to work tirelessly to reach as soon as possible a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus question.
The two leaders agreed that this will be a leader-led process.
The leaders began elaborating their shared vision for a united federal Cyprus. This took place in a very positive and constructive atmosphere.
Furthermore, the leaders agreed on how they intend to spearhead the process over the coming months. Mr. Anastasiades and Mr. Akıncı have agreed to meet at least twice a month. Their next meeting will take place on Thursday, 28 May 2015. The negotiators will meet intensively between leaders’ meetings in support of this endeavour. They will have their first meeting later today.
As a sign of their mutual commitment, Mr. Akıncı and Mr. Anastasiades agreed to work together on a number of confidence-building measures that would mutually benefit the two communities. Mr. Anastasiades provided Mr. Akıncı with the coordinates of 28 minefields in the north of the island and Mr. Akıncı announced that from tomorrow there will no longer be a requirement to fill a form at the crossing points. They decided to set up a committee to promote cultural events that could bring the two communities closer together. Both leaders stressed the importance of the missing persons issue and agreed to work together on this humanitarian matter. They plan to meet socially in the coming period, demonstrating their unity in promoting a mutually acceptable resolution of the Cyprus issue. They will visit each other on 23 May 2015. Furthermore, they instructed the negotiators to work on further confidence-building measures for the two leaders to consider.
In the prevailing climate of optimism, and encouraged by the momentum that is building across the island, the two leaders underscored their shared will to reach a comprehensive settlement.
Download: Fact sheet on UN Political and Peacebuilding Missions (PDF)
Le Secrétaire général m’a dépêché au Burundi afin que je sois aux cotés de la MENUB et de l’équipe pays des Nations Unies pour les appuyer dans leurs efforts en faveur de la consolidation des acquis du Burundi en matière de paix, de stabilité et de développement ainsi que dans la création de conditions propices à la tenue d’élections inclusives, crédibles, apaisées et transparentes.
L’annonce de la désignation de Monsieur Pierre Nkurunziza comme candidat du CNDD-FDD a suscité des manifestations que les forces de sécurité se sont employées à contenir.
C’est dans ce contexte que le Secrétaire Général des Nations Unies a fait une déclaration le 28 avril dernier dans laquelle, il a condamné les violences consécutives à l’annonce de cette candidature et a appelé tous les Burundais à sauvegarder les acquis du pays.
Le Secrétaire Général a réitéré l’engagement de l’ONU à soutenir des élections pacifiques, crédibles et inclusives. Il a invité les autorités Burundaises à faire respecter les droits de l’homme de tous les Burundais y compris la liberté de réunion, d’association et d’expression.
Il a par ailleurs demandé aux services de sécurité de rester impartiaux et de faire preuve de retenue face aux manifestations publiques. Il a exhorté toutes les parties à rejeter la violence et de ne pas utiliser de langage incendiaire ou de haine qui ne pourrait qu’accroitre les tensions.
C’est avec la plus grande inquiétude que nous constatons une montée des violations des droits de l’homme et des actes de violence dont certains ont entrainé la mort, y compris de mineurs, ainsi que de très nombreux blessés et des personnes arrêtées au nombre desquels des femmes et des enfants. Tout doit être fait pour éviter toute escalade qui pourrait nuire à la paix et à la stabilité du pays.
Je voudrais lancer un appel à l’arrêt immédiat de tout acte de violence d’ou qu’il vienne.
Les femmes et les enfants doivent être particulièrement protégés en ces moments difficiles. En aucun cas, les enfants ne devraient se retrouver impliqués dans les manifestations
Par ailleurs, comme chacun le sait, les auteurs et instigateurs des actes de violence auront à en répondre personnellement devant les juridictions nationales ou internationales.
En conclusion, je voudrais réitérer l’engagement des Nations Unies à continuer d’accompagner tous les burundais dans leurs efforts de consolidation de la paix, de la stabilité et du développement qu’ils ont conquis après tant de souffrances, conjointement avec les pays de la région, la Communauté de l’Afrique de l’Est, la CILGR, et l’Union Africaine et les autres partenaires internationaux.
Comme l’a dit le Secrétaire Général dans sa récente déclaration, nous invitons dans le respect des positions des uns et des autres, les parties prenantes Burundaises à chercher des solutions aux problèmes actuels, à travers le dialogue et des moyens pacifiques.
Tout doit être fait pour éviter toute escalade qui risquerait de nuire à la paix, la stabilité et le développement du Burundi.
Je vous remercie
The development and maintenance of this roster is intended to fast track the selection and recruitment of the highest quality of international personnel in order to ensure effective and timely delivery of Electoral Assistance globally.
The Electoral Assistance Division manages the roster and ensures that all client entities have access to experienced electoral experts for advisory or support activities in a variety of specialized areas, such as:
While Roster membership does not provide any entitlement to work for the United Nations, it does have the advantage of belonging to a specialized pool of candidates whose academic credentials and work experience have been verified and are disseminated to hiring managers of any client entity when there is a job opening for that specific profile.
For staff positions, roster members have already passed an assessment and compliance review process, and can therefore be selected for open positions without further assessments by the hiring manager. However, some managers will conduct further assessments specific to the position being filled.
Note: While membership in the United Nations Single Roster System does not guarantee employment in the United Nations, it is a requirement for employment to a staff position within the UN.
There are two ways to apply for the United Nations Single Electoral Roster:
Each candidate has to submit an application using the UN online recruitment system, Inspira. The Inspira application is an extended online resume, specifically used by the United Nations, where you articulate your education, competencies, achievements and professional experience. The application is used to evaluate your eligibility and suitability for the job. It is your opportunity to tell your story in a way that demonstrates that you are the best candidate for the job.
When applying to the Generic Job Opening in Inspira, ensure that the information contained in your PHP is complete and correct as you cannot make any changes. Your PHP will be used to evaluate your eligibility and suitability. It is important to complete the information about your education, work experience and language skills (including mother tongue) accurately. This information will be used in the system automated pre-screening.
The cover letter, which you must complete when applying for a job at the United Nations, is the personal introduction that accompanies your application. Your aim in the cover letter is to describe how your experience, qualifications and competencies match the job for which you are applying. Think of your cover letter as an opportunity to distinguish yourself from other job seekers by highlighting what makes you the best match for the position.
For more details on the application process, visit the UN Careers Portal Homepage (https://careers.un.org), and click on Creating your job application, and the Application Process.
Candidates who meet the suitability requirements will be invited to participate in a written assessment exercise. Those candidates who pass the written assessment are then invited to a Competency-Based Interview. Successful candidates are then reviewed by the Field Central Review Body (FCRB) and if endorsed will be placed on the roster of pre-approved candidates and will be informed by accordingly.
Electoral Assistance Division | Department of Political and Pecaebuilding Affairs | United Nations Secretariat New York, NY, 10017 United States of America
Email: electoralroster@un.org
The Department for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs' (DPPA) Division for Palestinian Rights provides substantive support to the General Assembly’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, established in 1975. The Division serves as the Secretariat of the Committee and provides the following core functions:
DPA has been closely monitoring the quickly-evolving situation in Syria and the multifaceted conflict dynamics since protests erupted in March 2011. The UN-led talks in Geneva strive toward a credible political settlement in line with resolution 2254 (2015) and the Geneva Communiqué (2012).
In February 2012, the General Assembly passed a resolution 66/253 requesting the UN to join forces with the League of Arab States in support of a peaceful solution to the Syrian conflict through a political transition, this led to former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s appointment as the Joint Special Envoy. In April 2012, the Security Council adopted resolutions 2042 and 2043 endorsing Annan’s six-point plan and establishing the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) to monitor and support its implementation. However, the initial lull in hostilities that followed broad international consensus of the six-point plan was short-lived. In June 2012, Annan convened a meeting where key international and regional stakeholders adopted the Geneva Communiqué, a document which aimed to strengthen the implementation of the six-point plan and chart a political way forward. To this day, the Communique continues to provide the UN guidance on its mediation efforts toward a political transition. The Geneva Communique was endorsed by the General Assembly in resolution 66/253-B in August 2012 and by the Security Council in resolution 2118 in September 2013. Amidst increasing violence across the entire country, the Security Council was unable to renew the UNMSIS mandate beyond August 2012.
In August 2012, following the departure of Kofi Annan, the Secretaries-General of the UN and the Arab League appointed Lakhdar Brahimi as their new Joint Special Representative. Brahimi convened intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva in January and February 2014, which aimed to provide space for the Syrian sides to agree on a full implementation of the Geneva Communiqué. While the parties agreed on an agenda (transitional governing body; violence and terrorism; national institutions; reconciliation) they could not agree on the sequence for negotiating these issues. Brahimi suspended the negotiations and did not extend his assignment beyond May 2014.
The Secretary-General appointed the UN’s current Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, in July 2014. Intense diplomatic engagement in 2015 between Russia and the US, and other key international stakeholders resulted in the establishment of the International Syrian Support Group (ISSG) and the adoption of Security Council resolution 2254 (2015). Resolution 2254 (2015) reiterated the endorsement of the Geneva Communiqué and set the Special Envoy’s mandate. The resolution established a timeline for a political transition, including negotiations on the establishment of a credible, inclusive, non-sectarian governance and a process and timeline for drafting a new constitution. It also called for free and fair elections, including the diaspora, pursuant to the new constitution and held under UN supervision.
Since January 2016, Special Envoy de Mistura has conducted a series of intra-Syrian negotiations with talks in late 2017 into 2018 focusing on two key aspects of resolution 2254: the schedule and process for drafting a new constitution and precise requirements for UN-supervised elections.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Syria has witnessed unprecedented devastation and displacement, compounded by the re-emergence of the use of internationally proscribed chemical weapons.
Impunity has been a hallmark of the Syrian conflict and has challenged one of the UN’s core values—accountability. This gap was initially addressed when on 21 December 2016, the General Assembly adopted resolution 71-248 to establish the International, Impartial, and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) to assist in the investigation and prosecution of the most serious crimes under international law, in particular the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
OCHA http://www.unocha.org/syria
OHCHR http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/MENARegion/Pages/SYIndex.aspx
Commission of Inquiry of the Human Rights Council (COI) http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/IICISyria/Pages/IndependentInternationalCommission.aspx
UNHCR http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php
The UN support role in Iraq was established by Security Council resolution 1500 (2003), revised under resolution 1770 (2007) and has since been extended on an annual basis.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) is a special political mission headed by Ján Kubiš, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, supported by two deputies: Deputy SRSG Alice Walpole, who oversees political, electoral and constitutional issues and who leads on the issues of missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals and missing Kuwaiti property, including the national archives, and Deputy SRSG Lise Grande who leads the humanitarian and development efforts in her role as Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq.
The current mandate of UNAMI encompasses, at the request of the Government of Iraq, a number of key areas, including providing advice, support and assistance to the Government and the people of Iraq in advancing inclusive political dialogue and national reconciliation; providing assistance to the electoral process; facilitating regional dialogue between Iraq and its neighbours; promoting the protection of human rights and judicial and legal reform; promoting gender equality; and promoting coordination and enhancing delivery in the humanitarian and development areas. Furthermore, under Security Council resolution 2107 (2013) UNAMI is mandated to promote, support and facilitate efforts of the Government of Iraq regarding the repatriation or return of all Kuwaiti and third-country nationals, or their remains, and the return of Kuwaiti property, including the national archives.
The humanitarian crisis in Iraq is one of the largest and most complex in the world with eleven million Iraqis, displaced since the rise of ISIL, currently requiring some form of humanitarian assistance. Of the 5.4 million Iraqi civilians displaced since the rise of ISIL in 2014, 2.1 million have already returned, half of whom are in Anbar. Conditions in return areas vary; in some locations; insecurity, explosive hazards and damaged infrastructure jeopardize the safety of returning families. Despite operating in one of the most dangerous environments in the world, the UN and its 180 humanitarian partners are reaching nearly one million Iraqis every month with aid.
In addition to their humanitarian activities, the UN Country Team is working together to improve the lives of Iraqis across numerous sectors. Under the auspices of a United Nations Development Assistance Framework, agencies, funds and programmes are helping to rebuild agricultural systems, restructure the country’s public distribution system, support through technical advice on security sector reform and societal reconciliation, reform the social protection floor that helps millions of Iraqi families, restructure health management systems, modernize public administration, protect cultural heritage, promote quality education, and clear complex IEDs from conflict areas so that people can return to their homes.
In June 2015, the Government asked UNDP to establish a Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilization (FFIS) to help stabilise areas liberated from ISIL. Using fast-track modalities, FFIS has been and is currently working in 23 liberated towns in Anbar, Diyala, Ninewa, Salah al Din, and Kirkuk governorates, helping the Government to quickly repair key public infrastructure, jump-start the local economy, generate income for local households, and promote societal reconciliation.
UNAMI is supporting the government’s efforts to promote an inclusive dialogue on national and societal reconciliation and to help confidence-building measures to ensure the future of Iraq as a stable, federal, united and democratically inclusive state in which all of its citizens can fully and equally participate without discrimination and with equal rights and justice. UNAMI also promotes regional cooperation and dialogue between Iraq and neighbouring countries through its good offices mandate.
UNAMI played a key support role in the process by which Iraqis drafted and adopted a new constitution in 2005, and assisted the country in the holding of two national elections that same year as well as Iraq Governorate Council elections and parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in 2009, Iraq parliamentary elections in 2010, Iraq Governorate Council elections and parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in 2013 and Iraq parliamentary elections in 2014. Since the formation of the Independent High Electoral Commission in 2007, the United Nations has continued to provide technical support, policy advice and assistance to the institution.
UNAMI is working with other UN partners, and all relevant stakeholders (Government, Parliament, law enforcement and civil society) to promote the respect and protection of human rights in Iraq, including, inter alia, the rights of women and children and their protection from sexual and gender based violence, the rights of diverse ethnic and religious minorities, the rights of persons with disabilities, ensuring their access to basic services without discrimination, and promoting respect for the right of freedom of assembly and expression. UNAMI is also working in partnership with other United Nations, Government and civil society partners, to provide technical assistance, legal and expert advice on content and implementation of Iraq’s international human rights obligations, and on drafting legislation, regulations and policies that promote the respect and protection of human rights, and assist with building the capacity of state institutions, including relevant ministries, the Council of Representatives, the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights, and law enforcement and the administration of justice.
United Nations activities are focused on assisting the Afghan people and Government in laying the foundations for sustainable peace and development. Leading this effort on the ground is the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The UN Security Council established the political mission in March 2002, at the request of the Afghan Government, through Security Council Resolution 1401. The Council has since extended the Mission’s work until 17 March 2018, stressing the importance of a comprehensive and inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political process to support reconciliation and of advancing regional cooperation to promote security, stability and development in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has received assurances of continued international assistance for its security and development needs at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit in Warsaw and at the donors’ Conference on Afghanistan in Brussels in 2016. However, it remains a country undergoing conflict, which threatens the sustainability of its achievements. Peace negotiations between the Afghan Government and armed opposition groups are the only alternative for ending the conflict and the region and the broader international community have a stake and a role to play to help to create the conditions for peace.
UNAMA's core work involves Good Offices, Human Rights, Development Coherence and Regional Cooperation. This includes the strategic priorities to support political cohesion, efforts towards a sustainable peace and alignment of international assistance with Government’s priorities, as well as human rights reporting and advocacy and support to national human rights institutions. UNAMA has field offices across Afghanistan.
In February 2017, the Secretary-General appointed Dag Halvor Nylander as his Personal Representative on the Border Controversy between Guyana and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Mr. Nylander has been actively engaging with the Governments of Guyana and Venezuela with a view to exploring and proposing options for a solution to the border controversy between the two countries.
The United Nations cooperates with regional and international partners in efforts to defuse tensions, encourage improvements on the ground, and advance political negotiations toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East based on all relevant Security Council resolutions, as well as the Madrid principles and Quartet Road Map.
The Department of Political Affairs supports UN peacemaking efforts in various ways, including by advising and assisting the Secretary-General in his Middle East diplomacy and by overseeing UN political activities based in the region aimed at furthering peace efforts, preventing an escalation of the conflict, coordinating humanitarian aid and development assistance, and supporting Palestinian state-building efforts.
In addition to making his own diplomatic “good offices” available to the parties, the Secretary-General is a principal member of the Middle East Quartet (composed of the United States, the Russian Federation, the European Union, and the United Nations), a key mechanism established in 2003 to coordinate the international community's support to the peace process. The Secretary-General also works to ensure close cooperation in international peacemaking efforts with the League of Arab States and the broader international community.
DPA also assists the Secretary-General’s crisis management activities, which include his direct involvement in efforts to prevent the recurrence of violence. Senior officials of the Department of Political Affairs, particularly the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Process, provide regular briefings to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East and the state of the peace process.
Special Coordinator, Nickolay Mladenov, is the focal point on the ground for UN support to peace initiatives – including the work of the Middle East Quartet. The Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), based in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Gaza, is a field mission of the Department of Political Affairs that supports peace negotiations and the implementation of political agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. UNSCO is also responsible for coordinating the activities of more than twenty UN agencies, funds and programmes on humanitarian and development assistance to the Palestinians.
I just briefed the Security Council on the latest developments in Yemen. This was my last briefing in my capacity of the Special Adviser to the Secretary- General on Yemen.
I told the Security Council that the demands it made of Houthis and other parties in resolution 2216 (2015) remain unmet. I further told the Council that the month-long conflict is expanding and becoming a confrontation with competing local and regional agendas. I warned that Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is benefiting from current chaos and that it would continue to thrive unless a solution to the current crisis is found.
I reported to the Security Council on the deteriorating humanitarian situation, with thousands of people killed, many of whom are civilians; more than 150,000 people internally displaced; and critical public infrastructure and civilian facilities seriously damaged. I also warned that the spectre of food insecurity has widened to threaten more than 12 million Yemenis.
I further stressed to the Security Council the necessity for all parties to the conflict to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded access to all people in need. In this connection, I warned that implementation of the new targeted arms embargo contained in resolution 2216 (2015) could inadvertently restrict the flow of much needed commercial goods and humanitarian assistance to Yemen, including food, fuel and medical supplies amongst others. Reports had been received of such incidents recently.
I brought to the attention of the Security Council the dangerous situation in the South, especially in Aden, and warned that the ongoing war should not overshadow the just cause of Southerners.
I reminded the Security Council of my numerous reports on the systematic acts of obstruction over the last three years. I expressed my regret that the Council did not act on my warnings more swiftly and strongly. I told the Security Council that the collapse of the transition was not the fault of one side, but rather the result of accumulated mistakes and miscalculations made to varying degrees by all sides.
I told Security Council that the United Nations spared no efforts to convene talks to help solve the crisis. During the two months that preceded the launch of "Operation Decisive Storm," we had facilitated around 65 plenary and working groups meetings, and more than 150 bilateral meetings with all sides. The Yemeni parties continued to negotiate under UN auspices and substantial agreement had been reached on the core elements of a power-sharing agreement. The main sticking point was the issue of the presidency.
I explained to the Council that the Yemenis were very close to an agreement and that they could have concluded, just like they did time and time again, when they signed GCC Initiative and Implementation Mechanism in November 2011; successfully concluded the National Dialogue Conference in January 2014; and adopted the Peace and National Partnership Agreement in September 2014. These achievements seem far away now, but form a solid basis for reactivating the political transition so long as all parties are involved.
Finally, I stressed that getting the political process back on track and achieving lasting peace and stability in Yemen could only be reached through Yemeni-led peaceful negotiations where Yemenis could determine their future free from interference and coercion from outside forces.
Cyclone Nargis, which hit Myanmar in May 2008 was one of the largest disasters that affected Myanmar and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of its people, with millions severely impacted by its devastating effects. Despite the initial obstructions posed by the military Government, the Secretary-General was able to reach out to the country’s leadership and persuade them to welcome large-scale humanitarian assistance and in tripartite cooperation with ASEAN and the UN, to allow international humanitarian organizations to set up logistics operations to deliver supplies to the most affected areas. This disaster highlighted the need to strengthen our partnership with regional organizations and to work with Governments to create an adequate operating environment for continuing cooperation and effective humanitarian support to the peoples of Myanmar.
With the coming into effect of the 2008 constitution, and the opening by the country of its doors to democratic reforms, the role of the Secretary-General’s good offices began to evolve from its earlier one of critiquing the unrepresentative military regime into one of engagement, encouragement and support for reform, reconciliation and democratization. Even though the democratization process remains a work-in-progress, much credit is due to the people of Myanmar for their achievements thus far and to the administration of President Thein Sein, who ushered in the reform process with the election of a civilian government after the 2010 general election.
The landmark elections of November 2015 has transformed Myanmar's political landscape by bringing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy Party into power. As the new government, which assumed power in April 2016, embarks on a process of national reconstruction as well as a revived national political dialogue process with various ethnic armed groups and others to unify the country, it faces major challenges in confronting entrenched attitudes, especially in Rakhine, and meeting the heightened expectations of its people. It is widely recognized that the momentous political and socio-economic changes taking place in the country can be consolidated only if it is based on the foundations of inclusiveness, tolerance and respect of human rights for all, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or gender, where no one is marginalized, discriminated against or left behind. The Secretary-General will continue to make his good offices available to Myanmar as it moves strenuously ahead to make the peace process more inclusive, improve the lives of its peoples and secure greater empowerment to them.
Cooperation with regional organizations has long been a touchstone of the work of the United Nations, as recognized in Chapter VIII of the UN Charter and numerous resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council. In many ways, the United Nations and regional organizations have unique and complementary capacities that, when properly coordinated, can contribute decisively to the prevention and management of armed conflict.
In recent years, these relationships have strengthened and deepened across a wide spectrum of activities, including peacemaking and crisis mediation, peacekeeping, and humanitarian assistance. In support of this growing cooperation in the field, the Secretary-General, with support of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), has convened over the years a number of high-level meetings and retreats with the heads of regional organizations to ensure coordination and mutual understanding on operation imperatives as well as broader strategic issues facing the United Nations and its partners.
In its core work in conflict prevention, preventive diplomacy and mediation, DPPA is in regular contact with its counterparts in regional organizations to ensure information-sharing and cooperation on regional or country-specific issues of mutual concern. In a growing number of instances in which regional or sub-regional organizations take the leading role in peacemaking or crisis diplomacy in their neighbourhoods, the United Nations is frequently present as a partner, providing support and advice as required.
DPPA has also developed with partner organizations a series of regular “desk-to-desk” dialogues designed to improve understanding of how the different institutions work, improve channels of cooperation, and develop recommendations in that regard. "Desk-to-desk" dialogues and regular communication and consultation are on-going with organizations including the African Union (AU), the European Union (EU) and the Organization of American States (OAS). DPPA also holds a similar annual staff-level meeting with relevant officers of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
DPPA also assists in building regional capacity, either through projects exclusively focused on mediation, or as part of more comprehensive capacity building assistance programmes. Under that Programme, DPPA has been working with the African Union to address its needs in the area of political and security affairs, including conflict prevention and mediation support, electoral assistance, and support to AU policy organs. In order to improve knowledge and understanding in the field of conflict prevention and mediation, DPPA regularly offers joint training programmes for staff from regional organizations and the United Nations.
A key example of cooperation with regional organizations is the partnership with the African Union. In April 2017, the Secretary-General and Chairperson of the African Union Commission signed the Joint UN-AU Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security, the first agreement of its kind signed at the level of the Secretary-General. This builds on an increasingly close cooperation since the two Organizations signed the Ten-Year Capacity-Building Programme for the African Union in 2006. UN support is organized around numerous thematic areas, with the Department of Political Affairs leading the cooperation in the area of peace and security. The Department works with the African Union in the areas of conflict prevention, mediation, electoral assistance, and assistance to AU policy organs.
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▶ Office of the Under-Secretary-General
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Rosemary A. DiCarlo Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary A. DiCarlo of the United States assumed the post of Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs on 1 May 2018. She was appointed by Secretary-General António Guterres and succeeded Mr. Jeffrey Feltman. As Under-Secretary-General and head of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), Ms. DiCarlo advises the Secretary-General on peace and security issues globally, while overseeing "good offices" initiatives and field-based political missions carrying out peacemaking, preventive diplomacy and peace-building activities in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia and the Americas. She also oversees the United Nations electoral assistance provided to dozens of its member states each year. Ms. DiCarlo brings more than 35 years of experience in public service and academia. During her distinguished career with the United States Department of State, she served, among other functions, as Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. In that capacity, she represented the United States at the Security Council, General Assembly and other United Nations bodies. Prior assignments included Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, and Director for United Nations Affairs at the National Security Council in Washington, D.C. Her overseas tours took her to the United States Embassies in Moscow and Oslo. She also served as President of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy from August 2015 to May 2018 and was concurrently appointed a Senior Fellow and Lecturer at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Ms. DiCarlo graduated from Brown University with a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in comparative literature, as well as Slavic languages and literature. She speaks French and Russian. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Ms. DiCarlo is married.
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▶ Office of the Assistant Secretary-General for Africa
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Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee Assistant Secretary-General for Africa United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 21 May 2021 the appointment of Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee of Ghana as Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO). Ms. Pobee succeeds Bintou Keita of Guinea, who took up a new assignment as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). The Secretary-General is deeply grateful for her service and contributions as the first Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in DPPA-DPO. A career diplomat, Ms. Pobee brings more than 30 years of experience in international affairs and diplomacy with her Foreign Ministry. Currently Chief Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, she was previously Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ghana to the United Nations from 2015 until 2020. In that position, she performed various special assignments, including as the Chair of the African Group of Ambassadors in New York, Vice-President of the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Chair of the New York Group of Friends of the African - Women Leaders Network, Co-Facilitator of the High-level meeting on Financing for Development 2019, and Co-Chair of the Group of Friends on Gender Parity at the United Nations, among others. Ms. Pobee previously served as Deputy Head of Mission and Chargé d’affaires at the Ghana High Commission in Pretoria (2012 to 2015), Director of the Information and Public Affairs Bureau at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (2010 to 2012) and Head of Chancery at the Ghanaian Embassy in Washington, D.C. (2006 to 2010). She was Acting Director of the Bureaux for Human Resources and Administration (2006) and for Information, Culture and Linguistics (2004 to 2006). Posted to the Ghanaian Embassy in Tel Aviv in 2000, she served as Minister-Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission (2002 to 2004), and as Chargé d’affaires (2000 to 2002). Ms. Pobee also served as Acting Director of the Personnel and Training Bureau (1998 to 2000), having been posted to Ghana’s Permanent Mission to the Office of the United Nations in Geneva (1995 to 1998) and to the Embassy in Moscow, where she was First Secretary (1994 to 1995). A graduate of the University of Ghana, Ms. Pobee also holds a master’s degree in Development Studies with a specialization in Women and Development from the Institute of Social Studies in the Hague. She also has diplomas in Public Administration and Multilateral Diplomacy from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration and the Geneva Institute of International Studies.
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▶ Office of the Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas
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Miroslav Jenča Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas On 12 March 2015, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Miroslav Jenča of Slovakia as Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs. Mr. Jenča succeeds Jens Toyberg-Frandzen of Denmark who was appointed Assistant Secretary-General ad interim for Political Affairs in November 2014. The Secretary-General is grateful to Mr. Toyberg-Frandzen for his leadership and acumen in the position. As Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Mr. Jenča will be responsible, inter alia, for overseeing the divisions in the Department of Political Affairs dealing with the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East and West Asia, as well as the Decolonization Unit and the Division for Palestinian Rights. Mr. Jenča has served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, since 2008. He was previously Director of the Office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, as well as Ambassador and Head of Mission to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Centre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He served as Ambassador and Representative of Slovakia to the Political and Security Committee of the European Union and Ambassador of Slovakia to Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia, including positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia and diplomatic missions in Ireland and Mexico. Mr. Jenča holds a Doctor of Law degree from Comenius University in Bratislava. He studied foreign trade at the University of Economics in Bratislava, diplomacy and international relations at Moscow State Institute of International Relations, and diplomacy at Stanford University. Born in 1965, he is married and has two children.
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▶ Office of the Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific
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Mohamed Khaled Khiari Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 28 May 2019 the appointment of Khaled Mohamed Khiari of Tunisia, as Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations. Currently Director General of Americas, Asia and Oceania in the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Khiari brings over 35 years of experience in diplomacy and foreign affairs alternating between his Foreign Ministry headquarters and overseas postings. He served inter alia as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Tunisia to the United Nations in New York (2012-2018), Director of Human Rights within the Department of International Organizations and Conferences at the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2011-2012), Chargé de Mission in the Ministry of Youth and Sports (2009-2010), Deputy Director, Euromed, within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Europe Directorate (2007-2009), Deputy Head of Mission (2003–2006) and Secretary of Foreign Affairs with the Permanent Mission of Tunisia to the United Nations Office in Geneva (1987-1993) and the Ministry’s Department of Maghreb Countries (1984). Mr. Khiari participated in numerous multilateral and regional activities during his career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, notably as Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council Reform, President of the Executive Board of UN-WOMEN, Vice-President of the United Nations General Assembly, Non-Aligned Movement Coordinator of the Peacebuilding Commission in New York, President of the African Group of experts to the World Summit on Information Society in Geneva and Coordinator of the Arab group on European Parliament issues in Brussels. He is a graduate of the Higher Institute of Management of Tunis, where he earned a master’s degree in Management, specializing in marketing. Born in 1960, Mr. Khiari is married and has two children.
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▶ Office of the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support
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Elizabeth Mary Spehar Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 18 January 2022 the appointment of Elizabeth Spehar of Canada as Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA). Ms. Spehar succeeds Oscar Fernandez-Taranco of Argentina to whom the Secretary-General is deeply grateful for his dedication and contribution. With 35 years of experience in international and political affairs, Ms. Spehar has worked in United Nations headquarters and in the field, leading political, development, peacebuilding and conflict prevention initiatives. Most recently, since 2016, she was the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), also serving as Deputy to the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus. Previously, Ms. Spehar was Director of the Policy and Mediation Division in the former Department of Political Affairs (DPA), where she worked on policy and operational matters related to conflict prevention, mediation, peacebuilding and gender mainstreaming. Prior to this, she was the Director for the Americas and Europe Division and Director of the Europe Division in DPA, engaging extensively on key political issues facing the region. She also served briefly as Interim Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNFICYP in 2008. Before joining the United Nations, Ms. Spehar was a senior official with the Organization of American States for more than 12 years, working to promote democracy and develop the Organization’s dialogue and conflict resolution instruments. Ms. Spehar holds a Bachelor of Arts with honours from Queen’s University in Canada, a master’s degree in international affairs from Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, also in Canada, and a Diplôme d’Etudes Supérieures from the University of Pau in France. She speaks English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Croatian.
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▶ Office of the Director for Coordination and Shared Services ▶ Security Council Affairs Division ▶ Policy and Mediation Division ▶ Electoral Assistance Division ▶ Division for Palestinian Rights
For more information about the UN global leadership team, including senior officials in the field, visit: https://www.un.org/sg/en/global-leadership/home |
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The United Nations Security Council today faces increasingly complex challenges to international peace and security. The Security Council Affairs Division (SCAD) of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) provides substantive and secretariat support to the 15-member Security Council in carrying out its critical responsibilities in maintaining international peace and security through its three branches: the Security Council Secretariat Branch, the Security Council Subsidiary Organs Branch, and the Security Council Practices and Charter Research Branch. Each of the branches functions as the secretariat of the Council's thematic and ad-hoc working groups:
The Division also serves as the secretariat to the Military Staff Committee.
The Security Council Secretariat Branch directly supports the daily work of the Council, especially its rotating monthly presidency, to help plan and manage the schedule of formal and informal meetings and other activities. Among other functions in this area, the Branch is responsible for the preparation of key planning documents including the Monthly Forecast, the monthly Provisional Programme of Work, the Daily Programme and Agenda, and the Reporting/Mandate cycles. The Branch also contributes to the drafting of key official documents including the Security Council’s Annual Report to the General Assembly, the Volumes of Resolutions and Decisions and the list of matters of which the Council is seized. In addition, the Branch arranges the publication of official Security Council documents, including letters received and sent by the Council President and reports of the Secretary-General. The Branch ensures that draft decisions (e.g. resolutions and presidential statements) are ready for adoption in all official languages, and their subsequent publication and dissemination following adoption. The Branch also supports field missions by Council members to countries and regions of concern.
The Security Council Subsidiary Organs Branch provides logistical and administrative support as well as substantive advice and guidance to the subsidiary organs of the Security Council, including sanctions and other committees and thematic working groups. The Subsidiary Organs Branch assists Committee Chairpersons in developing a strategic programme of work, planning effective meetings, preparing documentation, drafting corresponding, committee guidelines and periodic reports, and liaising with Member states and regional and non-governmental organizations.
TThe Security Council Practices and Charter Research Branch is the advisory and research arm of the Security Council Affairs Division and provides guidance to Member States and the Secretariat on the substantive and procedural practice of the Security Council. In accordance with General Assembly resolution 686 (VII) of 5 December 1952, the Charter Research Branch is responsible for the preparation of the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council, a publication which provides an authoritative overview of the Council’s interpretation and application of the United Nations Charter and its Provisional Rules of Procedure since 1946. Using new technologies, the Branch also develops and maintains a series of visual and analytical online research tools on select aspects of the practice of the Council.
In addition to the five permanent members of the Council, the Security Council is composed of ten non-permanent members of the Council, five of which are elected every year by the General Assembly for two-year terms. The Security Council Affairs Division organizes the following workshops and information sessions to familiarize the incoming members with the work of the Council and to outline the Division’s role in assisting the Council and its subsidiary organs:
- SCAD annual induction workshop
- annual joint SCAD-Security Council Report workshop on sanctions
- sanctions regime/committee-specific information sessions
In addition, to enable permanent and outgoing non-permanent members to share their experience with incoming Council members, SCAD assists the Government of Finland in conducting an annual workshop on the practices, procedures, working methods and political dynamics of the Council and its subsidiary organs entitled “Hitting the Ground Running”. The Division is also responsible for maintaining a register of available training opportunities for incoming members.
The Military Staff Committee was established by Security Council resolution. 1 (1946) under article 47 of the UN Charter and consists of the Chiefs of Staff of the Permanent Members of the Security Council or their representatives. Its function is to advise and assist the Security Council on all questions relating to the Security Council's military requirements for the maintenance of international peace and security. Since 2010, the Committee has routinely invited military representatives of the elected members of the Security Council to participate in its informal sessions, and since January 2017, to its formal meetings. The Committee also regularly invites representatives from various departments and offices of the UN Secretariat and UN Missions to its meetings to hold briefings and discuss current issues. The Security Council Affairs Division’s Military Staff Committee Secretariat acts as the liaison between the Committee, the Security Council and all UN entities. It supports the Committee by providing them with the most relevant information on the activities of UN military components, and organizes the Committee’s meetings and field trips.
United Nations and Decolonization: Past to Present
This animation video, produced in accordance with the mandate for dissemination of information on decolonization, highlights the UN’s path of decolonization since 1945, especially its commitment in eradicating colonialism towards our common future.
When the United Nations was established in 1945, 750 million people - almost a third of the world's population - lived in Territories that were non-self-governing, dependent on colonial Powers. Since then, more than 80 former colonies have gained their independence. Among them, all 11 Trust Territories have achieved self-determination through independence or free association with an independent State. Former Non-Self-Governing Territories ceased to be on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories due to their change in status or as a result of their choice of independence, free association or integration with an independent State. Today, there are 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories remaining and fewer than 2 million people live in such Territories.
The Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) substantively supports the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence of Colonial Countries and Peoples (also known as the “Special Committee on Decolonization” or “C-24”), whose role is to monitor implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV)) and to make recommendations to the General Assembly on its application.
Among its functions, DPPA's Decolonization Unit:
Overview
History and Evolution
Types of Assistance
Requesting Assistance
UN Entities Providing Electoral Assistance
Electoral Resources
Elections are a vital part of democratic processes, including political transitions, implementation of peace agreements and consolidation of democracy. The United Nations plays a major role in providing international assistance to these important processes of change.
United Nations electoral assistance is provided only at the specific request of the Member State concerned or based on a mandate from the Security Council or General Assembly. Before assistance is agreed and provided, the United Nations assesses the needs of the Member State to ensure that the assistance is tailored to the specific needs of the country or situation. As the General Assembly has reaffirmed on many occasions, United Nations assistance should be carried out in an objective, impartial, neutral and independent manner, with due respect for sovereignty, while recognizing that the responsibility for organizing elections lies with Member States. More than 115 countries have requested and have received United Nations electoral assistance since 1991, the year in which the Secretary-General designated the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs as focal point for electoral assistance matters, with the endorsement of the General Assembly. The institutional arrangements for United Nations electoral assistance and the entities involved have grown and evolved since 1991.
Today, a range of United Nations entities have mandates that refer to electoral events and support or otherwise engage in electoral support activities. In this field of diverse actors, the General Assembly has repeatedly highlighted the importance of system-wide coherence and consistency and has reaffirmed the leadership role of the focal point in that respect. Accordingly, the focal point is responsible for setting electoral assistance policies, for deciding on the parameters for United Nations electoral assistance in a particular requesting country and for maintaining the single electoral roster of experts who can be rapidly deployed when required for any United Nations assistance activity.
The focal point is supported by the Electoral Assistance Division of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA). The Division recommends to the focal point the parameters for all United Nations electoral assistance, pursuant to the request of Member States, and following an electoral needs assessment. The Division also advises on the design of electoral mission components or assistance projects and maintains the institutional memory of the Organization and the single roster of experts. It is also responsible for policy development. On behalf of the focal point, the Division provides political and technical guidance to all United Nations entities involved in electoral assistance, including on electoral policies and good practices. When required, the Division provides support to the Secretary-General and his envoys, and to United Nations political and peacekeeping missions in the prevention and mediation of electoral crises. The Electoral Assistance Division also maintains electoral partnerships with, and provides capacity development support to, other regional and intergovernmental organizations involved in elections.
Download the latest report of the Secretary-General on 'Strengthening the role of the United Nations in enhancing periodic and genuine elections and the promotion of democratization" (A/78/260).
The history of the United Nations is interwoven with elections. During the era of trusteeship and decolonization, the United Nations supervised and observed numerous plebiscites, referenda and elections worldwide.
During the 1990s, the United Nations observed, supervised or conducted landmark elections and popular consultations in Timor-Leste, South Africa, Mozambique, El Salvador and Cambodia. More recently, the Organization has provided crucial technical and logistical assistance in milestone elections in many countries, including in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Sudan.
Demand for United Nations electoral assistance is growing, as is the duration and complexity of operations. Electoral observation, once a core activity in early United Nations support, is now rare, and technical assistance has grown exponentially. Assistance is closely regulated by the UN General Assembly, and its evolution is reflected in a series of resolutions since 1991 (please refer to the latest resolutions in this regard including A/RES/78/208 of 2023 and A/RES/76/176 of 2021).
Even as the United Nations electoral assistance evolves to adapt to the changing needs and circumstances of Member States, it continues to be based on the principle established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – that the will of the people, as expressed through periodic and genuine elections, shall be the basis of government authority.
United Nations electoral assistance is provided based on the principle that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. UN electoral support programs are tailored according to the specific needs of each requesting Member State. Although considerable international attention has been given to elections conducted in the context of United Nations peacekeeping missions or other post-conflict settings, most electoral assistance activities take the form of technical assistance in non-mission settings. The following are examples of some of the various types of electoral assistance provided by the United Nations. These are drawn from a number of UN electoral policy documents:
Technical Assistance: Technical assistance is by far the most frequent form of United Nations electoral assistance. It can be defined as the legal, operational and logistic assistance provided to develop or improve electoral laws, processes and institutions. It can cover all, or some, aspects of the electoral process. It can focus on one electoral event or can be long term covering a number of electoral events depending on the mandate or request and the needs assessment. While UN technical assistance focuses primarily on election administration and institutions it may also include assistance to a number of other stakeholders and institutions. Technical assistance may be provided on the basis of a request from a Member State, or following a mandate by the Security Council or General Assembly.
Support to creating a conducive environment: The mandate of UN peace operations often includes provisions related to creating a conducive environment for the implementation of various tasks usually listed in their mandate. In countries where they have such a mandate, they may use their good offices and political role to contribute to creating a conducive environment for the holding of elections. Through their military, police and civilian presences, the DPO missions may also help stabilize the security situation, which is essential for a conducive environment for elections. As per their mandates, OHCHR and UN Women may also decide to monitor the human rights or the situation regarding women’s participation in a country, before, during and/or after an election in order to foster an environment conducive to credible elections and ensure respect for relevant international standards. In specific circumstances such as countries in transition or at risk of violence, DPPA as the UN system lead for peacemaking and preventive diplomacy may also assist with mediation, conflict prevention and good offices.
Organization and conduct of an electoral process: If the United Nations is mandated to organize and conduct an election or referendum, the organization assumes the role normally fulfilled by national electoral authorities. In such cases the UN has full authority over the process. Due to the primacy of the principle of national ownership this type of assistance is very rarely mandated and is unlikely to be undertaken except in special post-conflict or decolonization situations characterized by insufficient national institutional capacity. This type of mandate is only possible via a Security Council or General Assembly resolution.
Certification/Verification: The term “certification” is widely understood in electoral practice as the legal process by which a national authority approves or ‘certifies’ the final results of its own national election. However, on rare occasions, the Security Council or General Assembly may ask the Secretary-General to play a “certification” role. In such cases the United Nations is requested to certify the credibility of all or specific aspects of an electoral process conducted by the national election authority. The United Nations is required to produce a final statement attesting to the election’s credibility. The modalities will vary according to context. UN electoral certification requires a mandate from the General Assembly or the Security Council.
Electoral Observation: Electoral observation consists of systematic collection of information on an electoral process by direct observation on the basis of established methodologies, often analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. The process of observation usually leads to an evaluative public statement on the overall conduct of the electoral process. UN election observation entails the deployment of a mission to observe each phase of an electoral process and report back to the Secretary-General, who will issue a public statement on the conduct of the election. UN electoral observation, which is very rare, requires a mandate from the General Assembly or the Security Council.
Supervision of elections: Supervision of elections requires the UN to endorse and approve each phase of an electoral process in order to attest to the overall credibility of the election. It can require direct involvement in establishing the mechanisms of the election, such as the date, the issuing of regulations, wording of the ballot, monitoring polling stations, counting the ballots, and assisting in the resolution of disputes. Where the UN is not satisfied with the electoral procedures or their implementation in a particular phase, the electoral management body conducting the process is required to act upon UN recommendations and make any necessary adjustments. The progress of the election is contingent upon the UN’s endorsement of each phase. Supervision of elections by the UN is also rare and requires a mandate from the General Assembly or the Security Council.
Panels of Political and/or Electoral Experts: UN panels entail the deployment of a small team to follow and report on an electoral process. A panel can be an electoral expert monitoring team, composed of experts in such areas as electoral processes or mediation, or a high-level panel composed of eminent persons of political, electoral or mediation profile. Relying on its own observations as well as those of other international and national stakeholders, the panel will provide an independent assessment of the overall political and technical conduct of elections. The assessment is generally provided to the Secretary-General or the UN Focal Point for Electoral Assistance. Unlike observation missions, panels are not necessarily present in the country throughout a process (limiting their visits to strategically important periods) and may not make their findings public. A mandate for such a panel may be provided by the Secretary-General or the UN Focal Point for Electoral Assistance.
Coordination of Electoral Observers: United Nations support to international observers is of two types: (i) Operational Support, and (ii) Coordination of International Observers. Coordination of international observers involves a wide range of activities that can include the provision of logistics and administrative support to the election observation effort and other additional activities such as briefing and facilitation of the deployment of observers, debriefing, etc. This type of support is usually provided to a number of observer groups. This type of support can be provided on the basis of a request from Member States.
While most assistance originates with a Member State request, United Nations electoral assistance may also be provided based on a mandate from the Security Council or the General Assembly, as is often the case when peacekeeping or special political missions are established with electoral components.
The guidelines for United Nations electoral assistance are described in the Secretary-General's report A/49/675, under Annex III. The principal guidelines and procedures are described below:
Requests for electoral assistance can be made by the head of government or the minister of foreign affairs of the UN Member State. In some circumstances, requests from other entities such as a ministry involved in the planning and implementation of the election or the electoral commission may also be considered as acceptable. Requests for electoral assistance made by groups within the legislature, political parties, civil society or other entities cannot be accepted. Requests for electoral assistance must be made by an organ of the Member State authorized to bind the state in agreements with the UN. National electoral management bodies do not normally have this authority, but their requests may be acceptable if we have Member State consent.
The requesting Member State is required to send a formal written request for electoral assistance. Requests have to be sent to the relevant United Nations Representative at the national or global level (the Secretary-General, her/his Special or Resident Representative, or the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs). All requests will be forwarded to the Focal Point for Electoral Assistance, who is the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs.
Because many aspects of electoral preparation (e.g., voter registration) take place months or even years before the election event, requests for electoral assistance should be submitted in sufficient time. Requests for assistance should be made early in advance to ensure there is adequate time to assess the request and potentially provide such assistance.
Once the request has been submitted, an assessment by the United Nations takes place. The assessment can take the form of a needs assessment mission (NAM) to the country or a desk review, both conducted by the Electoral Assistance Division. Based on the NAM report, the Focal Point for Electoral Assistance decides whether the UN should provide support and if support is to be provided, what type of support to provide.
Following approval by the Focal Point, design and implementation of the proposed assistance is carried out by the relevant United Nations entity or entities, in accordance with the NAM recommendations and with advice from the Electoral Assistance Division.
The Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs head of DPPA serves as the United Nations Focal Point for electoral assistance matters, and is supported in that function by DPPA’s Electoral Assistance Division. All requests for United Nations electoral assistance must be forwarded to the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, whose role is mainly two-fold: advising the Secretary-General on requests from Member States; and ensuring consistency in the delivery of United Nations electoral assistance. In addition to its broad coordination role in electoral assistance, DPPA oversees field-based special political missions that in many cases engage in electoral assistance activities as part of their conflict prevention or peace-building mandates.
In peacekeeping and many post-conflict environments, assistance is generally provided through electoral components of field missions under the aegis of the Department of Peace Operations. In those cases, the Electoral Assistance Division works closely with DPO in planning and managing electoral support aspects of peacekeeping operations.
UNDP is the major implementing body of the Organization for support to developing electoral institutions, legal frameworks and processes and support to elections outside the peacekeeping or post-conflict context.
It manages some 40 to 50 electoral projects per year. UNDP also engages with Member States on long-term capacity development, including the strengthening of electoral management bodies between elections. At the local level in non-mission settings, the UNDP Country Offices play a key role in the coordination of electoral assistance. In addition to its field-based activities, UNDP produces important analysis and knowledge products on election-related issues.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights provides training and advice on human rights monitoring in the context of elections, supports and organizes campaigns for violence-free elections, engages in advocacy for human rights-compliant electoral laws and institutions, monitors and reports on human rights violations during electoral processes.
The UNV programme provides critical substantive and operational support for United Nations electoral operations, complementing the staffing of such operations with experienced professionals, often in large numbers, and in short deployment time frames. The Electoral Assistance Division works closely with the UNV programme, in selecting personnel for volunteer posts in electoral field missions. Persons registered with UNV are eligible for a variety of volunteer positions in electoral field projects and operations.
UNOPS is a service provider to the United Nations system and its Member States. UNOPS has provided operational, logistical and other support to electoral assistance in a number of countries and often works in close cooperation with UNDP on electoral assistance activities. UNOPS’ flexibility and responsiveness are great assets for the UN system in implementing electoral assistance activities.
UNESCO is the United Nations specialized agency tasked with promoting and supporting freedom of expression, press freedom and freedom of information. Free, independent media, online as well as offline, are essential to the transition towards democracy. To this end, UNESCO aims to strengthen the capacity of the media to provide fair and balanced coverage of electoral activities. Through its field offices around the world, UNESCO works with local journalists and media workers, training and building capacity on elections reporting.
UN-Women is mandated to provide, through its normative support functions and operational activities, guidance and technical support to all Member States, at their request, on gender equality, the empowerment and rights of women and gender mainstreaming. It promotes gender equality and women’s participation in political processes. UN-Women is also mandated to lead, coordinate and promote the accountability of the United Nations system in its work on gender equality and the empowerment of women. It provides training and advice on promoting gender equality and women’s participation in electoral processes.
IOM which joined the United Nations system in 2016, is the leading intergovernmental organization in the field of migration and often implements out-of-country voting programmes for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.
The United Nations in collaboration with other governmental and non-governmental partners have developed several tools to provide elections practitioners with useful resources.
Reference Material
ACE Electoral Knowledge Network
The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network provides comprehensive information on elections, promotes networking among election-related professionals and offers capacity development services.
The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network was developed in 2006 by eight partner organizations which provide targeted technical assistance in elections management; namely: Elections Canada, the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), the National Electoral Institute of Mexico (INE), the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (I-IDEA), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division (EAD).
Since its creation in 1999, the BRIDGE Project has become the most comprehensive professional development course in election administration. Born from a partnership between the United Nations (EAD and UNDP) and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, the Australian Electoral Commission, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, the project has been developed by electoral administrators themselves and people with wide experience on elections in many different countries and contexts.
To date, BRIDGE courses have been conducted by skilled professionals in more than 100 countries for over 15,000 participants. Each training aims to improve the skills, knowledge, and confidence of election professionals and key stakeholders in the electoral process, including members of the media, political parties, electoral observers and the donor community.
BRIDGE workshops are included in many electoral assistance projects and missions to develop the capacity of electoral authorities and other stakeholders.
Mr. President,
Monsieur le Président,
The Secretary-General’s vision for centering the Organization’s work on peace and security around prevention and through a surge in diplomacy for peace reaffirms the United Nations founding mission.
Preventive diplomacy refers to diplomatic action taken to prevent disputes from escalating into conflicts and to limit the spread of conflicts when they occur. While it is conducted in different forms and fora, both public and private, the most common expression of preventive diplomacy is found in the work of envoys dispatched to crisis areas to encourage dialogue, compromise and the peaceful resolution of tensions. Preventive diplomacy can also encompass the involvement of the Security Council, the Secretary-General and other actors to discourage the use of violence at critical moments.
The Secretary-General provides his "good offices" to parties in conflict both personally and through the diplomatic envoys he dispatches to areas of tension around the world. The Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) is the principal support structure for those efforts, providing conflict analysis, planning and support to the work of peace envoys and overseeing more than a dozen field-based political missions that serve as key platforms for preventive diplomacy. Of these missions, regional offices covering Central Africa, West Africa and Central Asia have explicit mandates for preventive diplomacy and strengthening the capacity of states and regional actors to manage sources of tension peacefully. Preventive diplomacy is also carried out frequently within the context of peacekeeping missions.
The Security Council, as the UN organ with the primary responsibility for peace and security, also has a critical role to play in supporting preventive action. Recent years have seen increased Council engagement and flexibility in addressing emerging threats before they come on the Council’s formal agenda. Through its actions, the Council can send important signals that help discourage violence and open space for preventive action including by the Secretary-General.
The work of the United Nations in conflict prevention extends well beyond traditional preventive diplomacy to involve a broad constellation of United Nations entities operating across a wide range of relevant disciplines — poverty-eradication and development, human rights and the rule of law, elections and the building of democratic institutions, the control of small arms, to name just a few.
Since its inception, the United Nations has played a crucial role in helping to mediate inter- and intra-State conflicts at all stages: before they escalate into armed conflict, after the outbreak of violence, and during implementation of peace agreements. The Secretary-General and his representatives carry out good offices and mediation efforts at the request of parties to disputes, on the Secretary General’s initiative, or in response to a request from the Security Council or the General Assembly. The Department of Political Affairs (DPA) was established in 1992 to assist in this work and in 2019, DPA joined forces with the Peacebuilding Support Unit (PBSO) to form the new DPPA.
Successful conflict mediation requires an adequate support system to provide envoys with the proper staff assistance and advice, and to ensure that talks have the needed logistical and financial resources. The United Nations, led by DPPA, has moved over the past several years to sharpen its ability to provide such support to its own mediation efforts as well as to those of partner organizations.
DPPA's Mediation Support Unit (MSU), established in 2006, works closely with the Department's regional divisions to plan and support mediation efforts in the field. Among its functions, MSU provides advisory, financial and logistical support to peace processes; works to strengthen the mediation capacity of regional and sub-regional organizations; and serves as a repository of mediation knowledge, policy and guidance, lessons learned and best practices.
The Department manages the United Nations Standby Team of Mediation Experts – an "on call" group of experts established in 2008 that can be deployed to assist mediators in the field. Team members have provided support in dozens of negotiations, and hold expertise on issues including power-sharing, natural resources and conflict, constitution-making, cease-fires and other security arrangements, and gender issues as they relate to conflict. In addition, all Standby Team experts are expected to mainstream gender considerations in all of their deployments. Standby team members have the flexibility to deploy on short notice to assist UN or non-UN mediators globally, or to provide analysis and advice remotely. Starting in 2020, the practice of remote or virtual deployments of the Standby Team was substantially expanded so as to meet the evolving needs of mediation actors. With support from donors, the Department has also established a rapid response fund to start up mediation processes at short notice. Advance planning and ready resources are a key to effective early mediation when crises are brewing.
DPPA provides backing to the High-Level Advisory Board (HLAB) on Mediation, established by Secretary-General António Guterres in September 2017. The 18 members of the HLAB -- current and former global leaders, senior officials and renowned experts -- back specific mediation efforts around the world with their unparalleled range of experience, skills, knowledge and contacts.
DPPA also developed and maintains the online mediation support tool UN Peacemaker. Intended for peacemaking professionals, it includes an extensive database of close to 800 peace agreements, guidance material and information on the UN’s mediation support services.
UN peacemaking flourished in the decade following the end of the Cold War, as many longstanding armed conflicts were brought to an end through political negotiated settlements.
The organization continues to play a preeminent role in peacemaking, working increasingly in partnership with regional organizations in order to bring ongoing conflicts to an end, and to prevent new crises from emerging or escalating.
DPPA anchors the UN's peacemaking efforts, monitoring global political developments and advising the Secretary-General on the prevention and management of crises, including through the use of his diplomatic "good offices" to help parties in conflict settle disputes peacefully. The Department provides support to numerous envoys of the Secretary-General engaged in peace talks or crisis diplomacy, while overseeing field-based United Nations special political missions with mandates to help countries and regions resolve conflicts and tensions peacefully.
Today I completed a two-day visit to Nigeria, accompanied by the Secretary-General’s High-Level Representative to Nigeria, Mohamed Ibn Chambas. My meetings with key national political, electoral, and security officials, included the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressive Party (APC), Major General (Rtd.) Muhammadu Buhari; the Chair of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Alhaji Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu; the Permanent Secretary of the Presidency, Ambassador Hassan Tukur; the Chair of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr. Attahiru Jega; the Chief of Defense Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Sabundu Badeh; the Inspector General of the Police (IGP), Mr. Suleiman Abba; the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ayodele Oke; and the Director-General of State Security Service, Mr. Ita Ekpeyong. The Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Professor Bem Angwe, representatives of the National Peace Committee, members of the diplomatic community and civil society organizations also shared their views with me.
I conveyed the Secretary-General’s solidarity and support to the people of Nigeria in the lead-up to the general elections scheduled to begin on 28 March. I look forward to conveying to the Secretary-General the assurances we received during my trip regarding the importance of holding the elections in accordance with the new electoral calendar issued by the INEC. I encouraged the political, electoral and security actors to continue working together to create an environment conducive for the holding of violence-free and credible elections, and ensure that all eligible Nigerians can freely exercise their constitutional right to vote, including those displaced by violence in the North East. I urged the political actors, particularly the candidates, to resolve any electoral disputes through existing legal and constitutional means. Especially commendable is the commitment by President Jonathan and General Buhari to implementing the Abuja Accord and encouraged them to work with the National Peace Committee (NPC), political parties and civil society to ensure its implementation at State and Federal levels. Especially given the important role Nigeria plays in the region and globally, the international community is closely watching the elections in Nigeria and that any persons responsible for violence will be held accountable.
In the view of the UN, INEC has made noteworthy progress in the preparations for the elections, including the distribution of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and the testing of card readers, despite the tight schedule and logistical challenges. We believe that that these efforts should help to build confidence in the electoral system among the Nigerian voters and pave the way for the holding of credible and inclusive elections.
On discussing the situation in the north-east of Nigeria resulting from continuing indiscriminate and brutal attacks by Boko Haram against civilian populations, I reiterated the Secretary-General’s message that no cause or grievance can justify such crimes. The Secretary-General has expressed support for Nigeria and other countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and Benin as they fight the insurgency and welcomed the positive steps taken by them, with the support of the African Union, towards operationalizing the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to counter the threat posed by Boko Haram in the sub-region, in line with international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law.
I recalled the Secretary-General’s message that, while security measures are essential, an exclusive reliance on a military approach would not suffice to counter the Boko Haram insurgency. Countering Boko Haram effectively and permanently should be based on a multi-dimensional approach that addresses human rights concerns and promotes good governance and economic and social development.
On behalf of the Secretary-General, I also expressed sincere appreciation to the people and government of Nigeria for the country’s leadership role in the United Nations itself. This is demonstrated by Nigeria’s current membership on the Security Council and by the many talented sons and daughters of Nigeria who are in key positions throughout the Organization. In addition, generations of Nigerians have served in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, contributing in a tangible and direct way to global peace and security.
Mr. President, members of the Council,
Staff members from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) thanked United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his support in rebuilding the organization’s headquarters, an icon of modern Latin American architecture, after an earthquake that affected central and southern Chile in February 2010. Ban Ki-moon visited Santiago on an official mission from February 26 to March 1.
During his third official visit to Chile, Mr. Ban participated in a high-level event organized by UN Women and Chile’s government, and his agenda included a town-hall meeting at ECLAC’s headquarters, which was attended by officials from the fifteen United Nations agencies, programs and funds that have offices in Chile.
ECLAC’s Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena unveiled an engraved plaque dedicated to the Secretary-General, in which all staff members thank his support after the 2010 earthquake in Chile.
Mr. President, distinguished members of the Council,
