The Security Council on Friday unanimously approved the complete withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces in Mali, although it will take six months for the final “blue helmets” to depart.
The Security Council on Friday unanimously approved the complete withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces in Mali, although it will take six months for the final “blue helmets” to depart.
Myanmar’s military is killing civilians, destroying food and homes, and keeping the most vulnerable from receiving lifesaving aid, according to a new report from the UN human rights office (OHCHR).
With over 18,000 near-Earth objects (NEOs) lurking beyond the stratosphere, 2,000 of which are classified as potentially hazardous, the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is using Friday’s International Asteroid Day to raise awareness across the planet.
Read here the latest UNSOM Quarterly Newsletter.
AUC Chairperson issues communiqué on the situation in Senegal
2 June | The AUC Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat,...
The 2022 edition of DPPA’s Evaluative Exercises report contains summaries and key findings from a range of lessons learned and other evaluative exercises conducted over the past year. The majority of these studies were funded by DPPA’s Multi-Year Appeal, highlighting the importance of the fund in supporting departmental learning and accountability exercises.
Syrians are facing an “ever worsening humanitarian crisis” amid the ongoing 12-year-long conflict, top UN officials told the Security Council on Thursday, as the General Assembly adopted a resolution to create a first-of-its-kind institution to address the issue of more than 100,000 people still missing in the country.
Immediate action needs to be taken by the international community to address conditions in Haiti, otherwise “it’s hard to imagine a decent future” for the Caribbean nation, said the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday.
The protection of civilians should remain the top priority amid the continued full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and strict control over weapons supplies is needed to prevent diversion, the UN disarmament chief told the Security Council on Thursday.
The Secretary-General condemned on Wednesday Israel’s recent advancement of plans for over 5,500 housing units in settlements in the occupied West Bank. He also denounced the retroactive regularization of three outposts adjacent to the settlement of Eli.
Violations of international law regarding children and armed conflict continued to have a “devastating impact”, the UN’s top official on the issue said on Tuesday, with a 112 per cent rise in the number of attacks on schools and hospitals.
Unless decisive steps are swiftly taken to rein in Israeli-Palestinian violence, there is a “significant risk” that the situation could deteriorate, the top UN Middle East official told the Security Council on Tuesday.
Humanitarian needs have soared among people displaced by fighting in Sudan, with the number of those fleeing expected to surpass projections while aid access remains extremely uncertain, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.
For “countless civilians” caught in current conflicts around the world, taking responsibility for protecting them to prevent atrocities is more critical than ever, a senior UN official told the General Assembly on Monday.
UN rights experts marked the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on Monday, by reiterating their call for an “absolute prohibition” on the use of torture during armed conflict, calling also for a push to end the international trade in instruments of torture.
A senior UN official warned the Security Council on Monday that the security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has continued to deteriorate over the past three months, despite a lull in fighting between M23 rebels and the national army (FARDC).
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Saturday said it was gravely concerned at reports of “wanton killings” by “Arab” militia in Sudan’s West Darfur backed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), primarily targeting men from the Masalit community.
The Ukrainian city of Kharkiv had just survived another missile attack in the spring of 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion, when historian, architect, and documentary filmmaker Maxim Rosenfeld stood in the penthouse of a ruined office building, presenting his concept for a new urban landscape after a UN-supported team of international and local architects adopted his vision.
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UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL ROSEMARY A. DICARLO’S
REMARKS TO THE SECURITY COUNCIL ON
MAINTENANCE OF PEACE AND SECURITY OF UKRAINE
New York, 23 June 2023
Madam President,
As we are all only too aware, the killing, destruction and suffering continue unabated in Ukraine. Sixteen months since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, the prospects for peace remain desperately dim.
Indeed, since the last time I briefed the Council on Ukraine, the war has escalated and become more fluid and unpredictable.
The impact of the intensifying violence on civilians remains our gravest concern. Russian missile barrages and drone attacks across Ukraine nearly tripled in May.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has recorded 24,862 civilian casualties to date.
The breakdown is as follows: 9,083 civilians killed, including 530 children, and 15,779 injured, including 1,086 children.
Since my last briefing, then, 2,131 civilians have been confirmed killed. The actual figures are likely considerably higher.
Since February 2022, OHCHR has also verified a total of 1036 attacks impacting educational and medical facilities. 649 attacks occurred on territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine, 301 on territory occupied by the Russian Federation and 86 on territory that was contested at the time of the attack.
The World Health Organization has verified over a thousand cases of attacks on health care with 101 deaths and 139 injuries. Of these, 898 incidents have affected health facilities, and 273 impacted health supplies. Most attacks involved the use of heavy weapons.
Also, UNESCO has verified damage to 260 sites since February 2022, including 112 religious sites, 22 museums, 94 buildings of historic significance, 19 monuments, 12 libraries and one archive.
Madam President,
The most significant destruction on civilian infrastructure to date took place on 6 June when the Kakhovka Dam was damaged.
While the exact circumstances remain unclear, this is a catastrophe that will have massive adverse consequences.
Some 80 communities along the Dnipro River were reportedly flooded, with tens of thousands of people directly affected. Dozens of people have lost their lives.
The Kakhovka Reservoir – one of Europe’s largest and a source of drinking water for at least 700,000 people – has lost 70 per cent of its capacity, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Concerns continue to mount that the floodwaters could shift landmines into previously cleared areas, further endangering lives.
Damaged sewer systems and the lack of clean water heighten the risk of waterborne diseases.
Inundated farmland is a further blow to the already beleaguered agriculture and food production sector. The UN is already engaged in assessing the extent of the environmental and ecological needs stemming from this human-made catastrophe.
As reported by the IAEA, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is planning to resume pumping water that remains accessible despite a major loss of water in the Kakhovka Reservoir. However, the safety and security situation at the plant is extremely fragile.
Any threat to the plant and other sensitive infrastructure is dangerous and unacceptable.
Madam President,
As part of our immediate response to the incident, the UN and humanitarian partners have rushed to deliver supplies and evacuation support for hundreds of thousands people in the affected area.
The UN Country Team has been fully mobilized in this vital effort, in close cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities and local partners. We are deeply disturbed by reports that evacuating civilians and emergency personnel have been shelled.
There are still people we are unable to reach, especially in low lying communities under Russian control. The Russian Federation has so far declined our request to go to these areas.
The UN will continue to seek the necessary access. We urge the Russian authorities to act in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law and ensure safe and unfettered access to all areas in need. Aid cannot be denied to people who need it.
We are also concerned about the reported damage to the Tolyatti-Odesa pipeline, the world's largest ammonia conduit, in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. The circumstances of the incident remain unclear.
Let me say it again: Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international law. All such attacks must stop immediately, whether they be on Ukrainian or Russian territory.
Madam President,
The United Nations continues to monitor and report on human rights violations and to support efforts toward accountability.
To date, OHCHR has documented 158 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, with the majority committed by members of Russian armed forces and penitentiary system personnel.
We remain deeply concerned about the cases of forcible transfers of protected persons, including children, to territories of Ukraine under Russian control and consequent deportations to Russia.
This critical issue impacting the most vulnerable needs to be addressed urgently, prioritizing the reunification of families.
Separately, we welcome the continued efforts by the parties to enable the return of prisoners of war and urge the sides to fulfill their obligations regarding the treatment of prisoners of war and other detainees.
Accountability for all violations of international humanitarian and human rights law remains of paramount importance.
Madam President,
Since its signing in July last year, the Black Sea Initiative has enabled the safe transportation of over 32 million metric tons of foodstuffs, helping to drive down global food prices. More than half of what has been exported has gone to developing countries.
We are, however, disappointed by the slowing pace of the implementation of the Initiative.
Food exports through the maritime humanitarian corridor have dropped from a peak of 4.2 million metric tonnes in October to 1.3 million metric tonnes in May, the lowest volume since the Initiative began.
We urge all obstacles to be removed to ensure the continuation of this agreement.
The United Nations is also fully committed to supporting the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on Russian food and fertilizer exports.
Before war began, we consistently warned about the impact a major conflict in Ukraine and what it could have on the region and beyond. Recent developments are not reassuring in this regard.
The announced deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, for example, and the accompanying rhetoric have raised regional tensions further. We urge all involved to act responsibly and in accordance with international obligations.
We reiterate that any threat to use nuclear weapons is unacceptable.
As the conflict has intensified, there have also been increased diplomatic efforts and initiatives by Member States seeking de-escalation and calling for a peaceful settlement.
The UN stands ready to support all meaningful efforts to bring a just and sustainable peace to Ukraine. In this we are guided by the UN Charter, international law and relevant General Assembly resolutions, as the Secretary-General emphasized during his visit to Ukraine in March and as I reiterated last week in Moscow.
Madam President,
This war has created a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe, traumatized a generation of children and accelerated the global food and energy crises.
It has weakened the international collective security system we have all pledged to uphold. We cannot discount further dangerous knock-on effects.
An end to the war founded on international law and the Charter is the surest way to ensure that the tremendous suffering of the last sixteen months will cease.
Thank you, Madam President.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the war “has weakened the international collective security system we have all pledged to uphold”, the top UN political affairs official told the Security Council on Friday, briefing ambassdors on the current situation on the ground.
The Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) convened for an ambassadorial-level meeting in New York on Friday to tackle the issue of organized crime in the Sahel. Poverty, institutional fragility and massive insecurity have created favourable conditions for the proliferation of organized crime across the vast African region.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL MARTHA AMA A. POBEE’S
REMARKS TO THE SECURITY COUNCIL ON
PEACE AND SECURITY IN AFRICA
New York, 21 June 2023
Madam President,
Distinguished Members of the Council,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I thank you for this opportunity to brief the Security Council on maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.
Since my last briefing to the Council on this subject in November 2022, instances of piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea have continued to steadily decline. This decrease, which began in April 2021, is due to the significant efforts of national authorities, who bear the primary responsibility for countering piracy and armed robbery at sea in the region, and the support of regional and international partners. Regular naval patrols by Gulf of Guinea coastal states and the systematic deployment of naval assets by international partners have, together, continued to serve as an effective deterrent against the actions of criminal groups.
Another key factor that has contributed to this positive trend is the ongoing operationalization of the interregional maritime security mechanism, the Yaoundé Architecture, which was established following the signing of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct in 2013. We welcome the steady progress made by the Gulf of Guinea states and sub-regional organizations, notably ECCAS, ECOWAS and the Gulf of Guinea Commission, with the active support of international partners, towards operationalizing key pillars of the architecture over the past ten years. Specifically, four out of the five Multinational Maritime Coordination Centers have been successfully activated. These comprise all three planned Multinational Maritime Coordination Centers in the ECOWAS maritime space, covering Zones E, F and G, and one out of the two projected Multinational Maritime Coordination Centers, in Zone D, of the ECCAS maritime space.
The operationalization of the Yaoundé architecture, though not fully completed, has also significantly increased maritime security cooperation in the Gulf of Guinea. More specifically, it has resulted in enhanced information sharing between all concerned parties, as well as a simplified process for disseminating actionable maritime security-related information with relevant stakeholders, including with the naval assets of international partners deployed to the region. Additionally, it has facilitated the efficient use of limited naval assets, through the formation of joint naval task groups. This effective pooling of the resources of Gulf of Guinea states has allowed for the bridging of national and regional capacity gaps, while ensuring interoperability of maritime assets.
Madam President,
As we reflect on the laudable achievements and progress made over the past ten years, we urge increased support to address the several challenges and gaps holding back the full operationalization of the Yaoundé Architecture. These comprise insufficient staffing across various layers of the interregional maritime security architecture, including at the Interregional Coordination Centre, a lack of appropriate equipment and logistical support across the structures, and a lack of predictable and sustainable financing.
Rapidly addressing the challenges that hamper the full operationalization of the Yaoundé architecture is critical to maintaining current gains as piracy incidents continue to threaten the safety of maritime traffic in the region. Recent figures already suggest that incidents are steadily shifting from the waters of ECOWAS towards the ECCAS maritime domain.
Madam President,
In light of these developments and in keeping with resolution 2634 (2022), I encourage ECCAS, ECOWAS, the Gulf of Guinea Commission and the Interregional Coordination Centre - in their central role as custodians of the Yaounde Code of Conduct - to bolster efforts towards the review of the status of its operationalization. The review will be essential for galvanizing further support and inputs needed to accelerate the process. In this regard, we take note that the upcoming Fourth Annual Meeting of Senior Officials of the Interregional Coordination Centre, with the participation of the Gulf of Guinea Commission, ECOWAS and ECCAS, to be held in Abuja, would include a discussion on the tenth anniversary of the “Yaoundé process and way forward”.
Madam President,
The United Nations system is committed to providing the necessary political and technical assistance to the Gulf of Guinea states in their efforts to fully operationalize the Yaoundé maritime security architecture.
UNODC continues to assist in the implementation of the provisions of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct, including through the harmonization of coordination and response mechanisms to maritime insecurity. Technical and logistic support is provided for the conduct of joint patrols in the ECOWAS Zones E, F and G in an effort to address challenges associated with the lack of adequate material and other logistical difficulties, which is currently hindering the establishment of the envisioned naval task groups and the conduct of joint patrols.
In line with their respective mandates to enhance regional and sub-regional partnerships to address cross-border and cross-cutting threats to peace and security, UNOWAS and UNOCA have also, at the request of the Interregional Coordination Centre, developed an interregional project, aimed at supporting the Centre to conduct the review of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct to assess the status of operationalization of the Yaoundé Architecture. UNOCA, UNOWAS and UNODC continue to engage and coordinate their efforts with the G7++ Group of Friends of the Gulf of Guinea, as well as with ECOWAS, ECCAS and the Gulf of Guinea Commission, and are committed to further supporting regional initiatives to commemorate the tenth Anniversary of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct.
Madam President,
In closing, I wish to note that any reflection and review of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct must include a focus on three key issues. First, is the legal framework. The criminalization of acts of piracy and the establishment of universal jurisdiction over such acts under national law, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982, remains necessary to address the threat posed by piracy. It is, therefore, vital that all signatory parties continue their efforts to update their legal frameworks, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and any other complementary international and regional legal frameworks.
Second, is the importance of addressing the root causes of piracy as outlined in the Secretary-General’s report of November 2022. To effectively eliminate the threat posed by piracy and armed robbery at sea, national stakeholders, regional and sub-regional organizations and international partners must also actively seek to address the underlying social, economic and environmental challenges that underpin the recruitment of individuals into maritime criminal networks. Without traction on this front, overall progress in curbing this menace will be limited. In this regard, it would be important for the review process, when launched, to include a focus on prevention. Linked to this, it would be necessary to consider ways of (i) enhancing more participatory community-based engagements in the architecture; and (ii) generating sex-disaggregated data on the impact of maritime crime on women, girls, men, and boys to better inform policy options and actions.
Third, it cannot be overemphasized that enhanced coordination between the signatory parties, the Interregional Coordination Centre, the Gulf of Guinea Commission, ECOWAS and ECCAS remains vital. We look to their joint leadership in defining a strategic outlook and roadmap for the next decade to complete the operationalization of the Yaoundé Architecture. We call on willing partners to provide the requisite support to these regional efforts.
I thank you for your kind attention.
Despite gains made in tackling terrorism and advancing the electoral process in Somalia, top UN officials warned the Security Council on Thursday that extra effort and funding are needed to address multiple threats, from climate shocks to spates of violence amid a looming food crisis.
Ukraine’s severely damaged agricultural sector will receive a boost from two UN agencies they announced on Thursday, partnering with a Swiss mine action foundation to help make land safe and productive again amidst the ongoing Russian invasion.
UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL ROSEMARY A. DICARLO’S
KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF
THE ACADEMIC COUNCIL ON THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
Washington D.C., 21 June 2023
Thank you, Lise, for that introduction.
I would like to thank the Academic Council on the United Nations System for the invitation to address this year’s Annual Meeting. Thank you also to the United States Institute of Peace for hosting us. I am happy to be here to speak with many colleagues and friends. It’s good to be back in Washington as well.
At this time of uncertainty and unpredictability in global affairs, I welcome the very timely focus of this meeting on “Making, Keeping, and Sustaining Peace”.
I have just come back from a trip to Moscow, a place where I spent several years of my career as a U.S. foreign service officer.
I vividly recall the sense of expectation I felt as a diplomat in the Russian capital as the Cold War was ending. We were witnessing, no less, the advent of a new era of international cooperation.
Today we are once again at an inflection point. The post-Cold War period is clearly over, but the contours of what is to follow it are still unclear. A few things are certain, though: global divisions are deepening, and geopolitical tensions are the highest they have been in decades.
International cooperation is becoming harder and harder to achieve. Instead, there is increasing competition among major powers and growing mistrust between the so-called Global North and the Global South.
Civil wars are increasingly enmeshed in global dynamics. Close to half of all conflicts in 2021 were internationalized, which makes them harder to resolve.
The climate emergency is intensifying competition for resources and exacerbating tensions. Inequalities - within and between states – are growing.
Governments in some areas are rolling back human rights, many targeting women and minorities especially. More and more people are fleeing strife and deprivation.
The repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic are still being felt. And we are increasingly confronted with the potential misuse of new technologies.
And, of course, a year and a half ago, interstate war made a catastrophic return, further fueling global turmoil. Indeed, no other issue epitomizes the critical test the world community faces today as fully as the war in Ukraine. Russia’s invasion and purported annexation of Ukrainian land defy the UN Charter and the very tenets of the collective security system.
In short, just when we need urgent, united action to face multiple interlocking crises, the world is growing ever more dangerously divided.
But what I have laid out is hardly news to you. Advancing multilateral action for peace today is the hardest it’s been in at least 30 years. The issue is what we do about it.
At the United Nations, we are condemned, or privileged, to attempt to answer a fundamental question: what would it take to ensure that in this emerging new era, fragmented and fractious as it is, Member States can find avenues for cooperation towards shared interests and to maintain peace?
This is what the Secretary-General’s upcoming New Agenda for Peace will seek to do.
The New Agenda for Peace is part of a broader plan, known as Our Common Agenda, to reinvigorate the UN’s work generally. The department I head is leading the drafting of this peace agenda in cooperation with our colleagues in the Department of Peace Operations, Office of Disarmament Affairs and Office of Counter-terrorism.
This Agenda for Peace is still in preparation, but our goal is to present a unifying vision and outline a series of actions that States could take to rebuild momentum for collective action for peace.
Today, I would like to share with you some of the discussions we have had with Member States and civil society during our consultations of the last six months.
I am going to focus on four priority areas: (i) safeguarding the principles and norms underpinning the international peace and security architecture, (ii) conflict prevention, (iii) the challenges posed by new technologies to peace and security, and (iv) mechanisms to prevent conflict and sustain peace.
First area – We must rebuild consensus on the meaning of - and adherence to - the normative frameworks that anchored the international system – and prevented a new global conflagration - for nearly 80 years.
Many UN member States are failing to effectively address the global and interlocking threats before them, manage their rivalries and respect the normative frameworks that both govern their relations with each other and set international parameters for the well-being of their societies.
They are neglecting principles that form the basis for friendly relations and cooperation among nations and within societies: trust, solidarity, and universality. As a result, collective security is fraying.
In a world of sovereign States, international cooperation is predicated upon trust. Cooperation cannot work without the expectation that States will respect the commitments which they have undertaken. The UN Charter provides a set of norms against which the trustworthiness of each State should be assessed.
The original Agenda for Peace in 1992 warned of the need for consistent, rather than selective, application of the principles of the Charter, and I quote “for if the perception should be of the latter, trust will wane and with it the moral authority which is the greatest and most unique quality of that instrument”.
Trust is the cornerstone of the collective security system. In its absence, States fall back to their basic instinct to ensure their own security, which when reciprocated, creates more insecurity for all.
To help reinforce trust, confidence building mechanisms have been of great value. These can range from crisis management hotlines to the monitoring of ceasefires or bilateral arms control agreements with verification provisions. Regional organizations and frameworks can play a crucial role in this regard.
If we are to rise to the challenge, it is in these principles, taken together and carried forward by all States, and within countries, that action for peace must be grounded.
It is self-evident, but we need more dialogue and diplomacy, based on a shared understanding and commitment to foundational principles, such as those enshrined in the UN Charter.
I have been in this business for some time. I am realistic about what talk can achieve. But remember that during moments of the highest geopolitical tensions, from Suez to the Cuban missile crisis, diplomacy has saved the world from war or helped find ways to end it.
Diplomacy requires risk-taking, persistence and creativity. Diplomatic engagement is important among countries that think alike. But it is crucial between those that disagree.
Second area – Prevention must become a political - and funding – priority.
It is easy to make the intellectual case for conflict prevention. It saves lives, but it also saves money, especially in post-conflict reconstruction, resettlement and humanitarian costs.
According to a 2018 UN-World Bank study, net savings from investment in prevention range from $5 billion to $70 billion per year. And yet, prevention remains chronically under-prioritized. For example, it is estimated that only 4 per cent of total official development assistance goes towards conflict prevention.
Another obstacle to effective prevention is the perception in some countries that it is selective, or a cloak for interference in their internal affairs. So, while we have the evidence that prevention makes financial sense, we need to do more work to build the trust needed to make prevention the norm and promote stability.
That starts with framing prevention as a universal imperative, not just a matter for societies seen as fragile. Growing risks, while differentiated, exist in developed, middle income and developing States alike.
Prevention starts at the national level. It means countries protecting human rights, including non-discrimination on any basis, promoting inclusive economic and social development, ensuring the full participation of women in governance and all other areas.
We need to support – and invest more seriously in – national prevention capacities and infrastructures for peace. The UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund is providing assistance to many such efforts. The international financial institutions could also align funding mechanisms to help address the economic causes of instability at the national level.
Third area – We must guard against the possible perils of new and emerging technologies.
Technological advancement and progress are often perceived synonymous. But better technology has historically also meant more lethal warfare. Today’s rapidly advancing and converging technologies have the potential to revolutionize conflict dynamics in the very near future.
The malicious uses of digital technologies, by State and non-state actors, have increased in scope, scale, severity and sophistication. Developments in artificial intelligence and quantum technologies, including those related to weapons systems, are exposing the insufficiency of existing governance frameworks.
In the information space, the use, including in some cases by governments, of powerful software tools that can spread and distort content instantly and massively has already caused disruption and even bloodshed.
The ease of access to these technologies for non-State actors, particularly terrorist groups, poses a significant threat.
Meanwhile, some social media platforms, operating largely without human rights-compliant regulations against online harm, have developed irresponsible business models that prioritize profit at the expense of the well-being and safety of their users and societies.
The urgency of the potential threats requires the deployment of national and international governance frameworks to minimize harm and address the cross-cutting risks posed by converging technologies. Such structures must be consistent with States’ obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.
Fourth area – Special political missions are a vehicle for advancing multilateral action for peace.
Boosting diplomacy and multilateral action for peace requires investing in mechanisms that can help keep channels open, quietly defuse tensions, build trust and confidence, and bring opponents together.
This is what United Nations special political missions have specialized in since 1948. That’s when the UN dispatched its first mediator, Count Folke Bernadotte, to help broker a compromise on Palestine.
As we mark the 75th anniversary of special political missions, which are civilian operations, it is useful to recall their role in conflict prevention as well as in conflict resolution.
Our missions engage in peacemaking in Syria, Yemen and Sudan, for example. They support complex political transitions in Libya and Iraq.
In Colombia our mission has helped to implement the peace agreement that brought an end to the longest civil war in the Americas.
Our regional missions serve as forward platforms for preventive diplomacy and regional partnerships in West Africa and the Sahel, Central Africa, the Horn of Africa and Central Asia.
Over 30 years since the end of the Cold War, the world order is again perceptibly shifting. Unlike the changes of the early 1990s, however, the current transformation is not a source of unalloyed optimism. Quite the contrary. And perhaps that is not all to the bad. Accumulated experience and experiments, successful and failed, allow us to be clear-eyed about the magnitude of the problems we face, but also about the solutions they demand.
We know that there are only poor, even disastrous, alternatives to truly principled, multilateral action. Cooperation, even with those with radically different visions of the world, is how we bridge the divides while safeguarding, and whenever possible advancing, the gains achieved in human freedom and well-being since the end of the Second World War. This is not naivety: It was at the height of the Cold War that some of the most important multilateral mechanisms were created, including nuclear non-proliferation regimes.
The United Nations will continue to advocate for avenues to advance common goals and shared interests, especially among rivals. Cooperation is not fated to succeed. But neither are we destined for ever growing strife. We will continue to work for a renewed global commitment to multilateral action for peace, including formally at the Summit of the Future which is set to take place in September 2024. I hope all of you will be with us in this journey, and I do want to stress that Washington’s leadership will be vital in that regard.
Thank you.
The MYA has been an effective mechanism to mobilize support. In 2022, DPPA received $36.4 million, a record high of contributions. This is a testament of the trust that our partners have placed on DPPA.
Zeinabou Maata, a Muslim from Mauritania, is one of 50 women serving on the frontlines of preventing the spread of violent extremism in her country, with UN support.
