Violent conflict, terrorism and human rights abuses continue in Syria as its besieged population suffers economic destitution, displacement, detention and abduction, the UN’s Special Envoy for the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Amman, 26 May 2021 - The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, concluded today, Wednesday, a three-day visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where he met senior Saudi and Yemeni officials to discuss the United Nations’ plan to achieve a nationwide ceasefire in Yemen, ease restrictions on the movement of people and commodities to and from the country, and commit the parties to the conflict to the resumption of a political process to end the...
The international legal framework and tools are all there to protect civilians caught up in conflict, and now it’s time for governments and armed groups to apply them, the UN relief chief told the Security Council on Tuesday.
New York, 26 May 2021
I send my warmest greetings to Buddhists all over the world on Vesak, when we honour the birth, enlightenment and passing of Lord Buddha. Today, we recognize the contributions Buddhism has made to human spirituality and culture for more than two and a half millennia.
All of us, Buddhists...
A summit involving leaders of Somalia’s political factions is underway in Mogadishu, a welcome relief after months of escalating tension, the senior UN official in the country told the Security Council on Tuesday, expressing hope that a consensus on electoral plans will be announced imminently.
UN Deputy Special Coordinator Najat Rochdi Briefs Security Council Informal Expert Group on the situation of Women, Peace and Security in Lebanon
25 May 2021
Today, Ms. Najat Rochdi, the Deputy UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, briefed a virtual meeting of the Security Council’s Informal Expert Group on...
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear colleagues,
Thank you very much for joining us for this side event.
We welcome the opportunity to have this conversation on the important contributions of special political missions (SPMs) to the protection of civilians and the broader protection agenda.
I am grateful to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for co-organizing this event with us. They are key partners in our work to protect civilians in regions we are deployed.
Colleagues, What we are discussing this week is at the heart of our Organization’s mission. I would even say that protection, in its different dimensions, is the essence of the UN. It is what people look to us for, it is what we commit to do.
In my job, I answer questions every day, including some very thorny ones, particularly from member states. But no questions are harder than those from survivors of violent conflict or people living under the shadow of war: What is the UN going to do to help us now? Why don’t you do more? How can you protect us?
Those questions are not unrealistic or naïve. Our answers, however, often betray our limitations. Closing the gap between the expectations of those we serve and our capacities is our biggest challenge. It is also a privilege.
That is why I am so glad that colleagues from several of our missions are joining us today to brief us from the field on how their work contributes to the protection of civilians.
Special political missions are deployed to some of the most complex environments around the world, from Afghanistan and Somalia to Syria and Yemen. Protection does not always figure explicity in their mandates, yet it is fundamental to their work.
The surest way to keep civilians from harm is to achieve political solutions to prevent or resolve conflict. The recent developments in Israel-Palestine are a painful example of the devastating consequences for civilians when such solutions remain elusive.
Carrying out preventive diplomacy, working to end hostilities, facilitate local or national ceasefires, or promote dialogue and political engagement are ways in which special political missions seek to increase peace overall - and in some contexts engage specifically to change the behaviour of parties who perpetrate violence against civilians.
It is through these core activities that special political missions make their primary contribution to protection, in support of national authorities.
In Libya, for example, peacemaking efforts based on intense political engagement with key stakeholders led to a nationwide ceasefire agreement in October 2020.
The implementation of this ceasefire has resulted in a dramatic reduction in civilian casualties. While UNSMIL recorded 489 civilian casualties from January to June 2020, the number of casualties dropped to 31 in the second half of the year.
Today, the ceasefire continues to hold, and has helped to create space for a political process and establishment of a Government of National Unity.
In Yemen, the Stockholm Agreement reached in December 2018 under the auspices of the United Nations and the subsequent deployment of a United Nations monitoring mission in Hudaydah averted a potentially catastrophic fight for the city and ports, and led to an overall reduction of violence across Hudaydah governorate.
A significant number of IDPs have now returned to the city, and previously deserted markets are crowded again with the increasing flow of vital commodities into the port.
In Colombia, consecutive special political missions have backed the implementation and verification of the peace agreement that dramatically reduced, though not yet fully eliminated, conflict-related violence.
The disarmament and demobilization of the FARC-EP under UN verification removed from the battlefield a nationwide insurgency and its armaments.
The impact of the peace process in Colombia was felt quickly. Kidnappings, which in the early 2000s were at more than 2,700 per year, are now relatively rare (under 100 in 2020). Internal displacement in 2020 was estimated a 70,000 persons, less than a tenth the level at the height of the conflict.
The presence of the current Verification Mission allows it to constantly press for full respect of the commitments the parties have undertaken. These include, for example, the obligation to provide livelihoods and security to protect some 13,000 ex-combatants who are now unarmed civilians.
Second, special political missions’ work in the area of human rights – and in particular helping ensure the full protection of the rights of civilian populations, including to life, safety and security – is another critical contribution to protection.
Our special political mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, reports on civilian casualties as a central part of its human rights work. In addition to helping identify areas of vulnerability for civilians, this reporting has provided a platform for the mission to engage in advocacy with conflict actors.
Just in the first three months of this year, UNAMA documented 1,783 civilian casualties (573 killed and 1,210 injured), highlighting the urgent need for measures to reduce violence and the ultimate, overarching need to reach a lasting peace agreement.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) implements our Human Rights Due Diligence Policy - a framework to ensure that security forces receiving the UN’s support -- including through the African Union Mission to Somalia-- are not involved in human rights violations.
A third contribution of special political missions is to support host governments in carrying out specialized mandates from the Security Council. These mandates may be related to the protection of specific groups, such as children, women, or those vulnerable to sexual violence in conflict.
Several special political missions, working together with the Office of the SRSG on Sexual Violence in Conflict, engage with conflict parties to secure commitments to prohibit sexual violence in their ranks.
For example, the UN has signed, over the years, Joint Communiques on the prevention of conflict-related sexual violence with armed actors in Iraq, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Syria.
And our missions in Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Somalia and Sudan have dedicated child protection advisers focused on implementing specific Security Council mandates together with the Office of the SRSG for Children and Armed Conflict.
Finally, in specific cases, SPMs have received mandates from the Security Council to support national authorities in their protection of civilians efforts.
The most recently established special political mission, the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) supports national and local authorities on protection of civilians, in particular internally displaced persons, in the conflict-affected areas.
As you will hear from the panel in more detail, UNITAMS and its UN country team partners work closely together to strengthen the protective environment. They support the transitional Government of Sudan in implementing the National Plan for Civilian Protection and in peacebuilding efforts.
Colleagues,
In closing, I want to reiterate the importance of keeping people at the centre of our work. People like the women I met in Afghanistan, forging a path towards an inclusive and equal society, against immense odds -- and physical threats.
Or the former combatants I spoke to in Colombia, trying to rejoin society as full citizens after decades of war. Or the the Somali youth who told me of their efforts to build peace and democracy in their country while often braving horrific violence.
Last year, I met with a young indigenous woman from Libya working on sexual and gender-based violence issues and the advancement of women’s political participation. The hopes, fears and frustrations that she described of Libyan women seeking to engage in political life were both moving and, regrettably, applicable to so many others contexts.
Her voice, and that of other activists and community leaders working to defend the rights of people who are affected by conflict and violence will continue to be at the centre of our work.
I am pleased that we are joined today by a very strong panel to share their experiences and good practices. I am sure that this will be a fruitful discussion.
Attacks on water and sanitation facilities in conflict zones around the world are putting the lives of millions of children around the world in danger, and are a much greater threat than violence itself, warns the UN Children’s agency, UNICEF, in a report released on Tuesday.
The UN Secretary-General said on Monday he was “deeply concerned” over the apparent forced landing of a commercial passenger jet over Belarus, and the subsequent detention of a prominent dissident and journalist by authorities there.
Although the World Food Programme (WFP) is ramping up support to people in Yemen’s worst hunger hotspots, in efforts to prevent famine, sustaining response through the rest of the year is uncertain, the UN agency warned on Monday.
UN blue helmets face an increasing number of attacks throughout the complex environments in which they work, the head of the Organization’s peacekeeping operations told the Security Council on Monday.
New York, 25 May 2021
This year’s Africa Day highlights arts, culture and heritage as levers for building the Africa we want. Africa’s rich and diverse cultural and natural heritage is important for sustainable development, poverty reduction, and building and maintaining peace. It can provide a strong foundation for inclusive economic progress as the continent strives to meet the challenges posed by...
The UN chief on Monday, commended an award-winning Kenyan peacekeeper for her gender-mainstreaming work while serving in the restive Darfur region of Sudan.
On 23 May, the Co-Chairs of the Economic Working Group (EWG) including the UNSMIL Coordinator Raisedon Zenenga, together with the Ambassador Mohamed Abubakr of Egypt, Special Envoy and Ambassador Richard Norland of the United States of America, and Ambassador Jose Sabadell of the European Union convened a meeting with the Government of National Unity to review the Economic Track and discuss collaboration on the way forward.
The Government of National Unity was...
Out now! Season 2 | Episode 4 | She Stands For Peace | Click here: https://unoau.unmissions.org/podcast-series-she-...
A young soldier from the United Kingdom says he must stay on his “A-game” on patrol with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, to keep himself, colleagues and Malians safe in one of the most dangerous UN postings anywhere in the world.
The UN Security Council on Saturday made it’s first statement on the conflict that erupted between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, calling for a “full adherence to the ceasefire” that brought 11 days of fighting to an end early on Friday morning.
This Week in DPPA is a brief roundup of political and peacebuilding events and developments at UNHQ and around the world.
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On the heels of recent positive developments, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Libya pointed to renewed hope for peace in the conflict-affected country, and stability across the wider region, in a briefing to the Security Council on Friday.
New York, 22 May 2021
A healthy planet is critical for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Yet biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented and alarming rate, and the pressures are intensifying.
We are depleting resources faster than nature can replenish them.
COVID-19 has further...
The humanitarian community has welcomed the ceasefire agreed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel but warned that the destruction in Gaza will take years, if not decades, to fix.
The UN chief has welcomed the ceasefire declared between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, following 11 days of rocket and air attacks, which have left more than 240 reportedly dead and thousands injured, the majority in the occupied Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
Moving from Sudan’s current fragile transition period towards stable civilian rule, requires a continued “spirt of unity, partnership and collaboration”, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Thursday.
New York, 21 May 2021
Culture is the flower of the human being – the fruit of our minds, the product of our traditions, the expression of our yearnings. Its diversity is wondrous, part of the rich tapestry of civilization.
Culture is also a powerhouse – an employer of millions, an engine of economic progress, a force for social cohesion.
...The co-chairs of the Berlin Process Political Working Group (Algeria, Germany, League of Arab States and UNSMIL) convened a meeting of the Working Group on 19 May to take stock of progress on Libya's political track. They reiterated that the holding of national elections on 24 December 2021 remains the overarching priority to complete Libya’s preparatory phase and democratic transition as agreed in the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) Roadmap...
The past ten days have witnessed a “dangerous and horrific” surge in deadly violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), particularly Gaza, and in Israel, the UN chief told the General Assembly on Thursday.
The UN health agency has added its weight to calls for regular humanitarian access to Gaza, where two dozen medical facilities have now come under attack through Israeli air strikes, along with healthcare personnel.
Women and young people must be part of Africa’s plans to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, which is feeding factors driving conflict on the continent, UN Secretary-General told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Millions of children trapped in protracted conflict in Syria continue to endure severe violence with little support for survivors, according to the UN Secretary-General’s third report on the situation, launched on Wednesday.
Tripoli, 19 May 2021 - The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSML) is pleased to announce that it will convene a two-day virtual meeting for the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) on 26 and 27 May to finalise the proposed constitutional basis for parliamentary and presidential elections to be held on 24 December 2021 (see attached documents below), as agreed by the LPDF Legal Committee during its meeting in Tunis from 7- 9 April 2021 and during subsequent...
At least 60 youngsters have been killed in Gaza and another 444 have been injured in less than 10 days of conflict with Israel, the head of UN Children’s Fund has said, in a call for an immediate ceasefire and aid access to “stave off disaster”. On Wednesday, the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) launched a flash appeal for $38 million, to deal with the spiralling humanitarian crisis.
Despite a deteriorating security situation and the reverberating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, regional troops deployed to combat terrorists in Africa’s Sahel region have scaled up the tempo of their operations in recent months, efforts that must be matched by a spirit of solidarity among their global partners, the senior UN peacekeeping official told the Security Council on Tuesday.
The international community must do “all it can” to de-escalate the violence in Gaza and Israel which has left hundreds dead and injured, said the UN’s political affairs chief on Tuesday, calling on all those involved in the fighting to allow for the “intensification of mediation efforts”, which can also help stem a growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Excellencies,
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the United Nations Forum on the Question of Palestine.
We convene at a time of grave concern over the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and in Israel. Clashes and violence in occupied East Jerusalem as well as the launching of rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, followed by Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, have dramatically deteriorated an already fragile situation. The fighting has claimed more than two hundred civilian lives, including children. The suffering, damage and destruction are immense.
The scenes of communal violence within Israel have been unprecedented. Continued escalation of the situation will have devastating consequences for Palestinians and Israelis, as well as for the region. Humanitarian needs are bound to rise considerably, particularly in Gaza where the situation was already desperate due to long years of closures, intra-Palestinian divisions, recurring hostilities and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Excellencies,
The United Nations has been actively involved in mediation efforts with all sides with a view to ending the violence immediately. I echo the Secretary-General’s call on the parties to allow for the intensification of mediation efforts, which are also crucial for delivering much needed humanitarian aid to the affected people in Gaza.
I commend those Member States who have intensified their diplomatic efforts to bring the parties back from the brink. The international community must do all it can to de-escalate the situation immediately, urge the parties to end the hostilities, and chart a path toward negotiation.
This recent escalation is a tragic reminder of the urgency of a viable political path towards ending this conflict once and for all. All relevant international actors, including the Middle East Quartet, should do their utmost to revitalise the peace process, which remains the only path towards a just and lasting solution.
In the absence of such a process, we are – regrettably – bound to witness more episodes of tensions and desperation. People on both sides deserve much more than that.
The ongoing hostilities are also taking place against the backdrop of rising tensions and violence in occupied East Jerusalem, where hundreds of Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighbourhoods are under threat of eviction from their homes.
These evictions are pending final court rulings. If implemented, they would constitute a violation of international law. I join the Secretary-General in urging Israel to halt demolitions and evictions, in line with its obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.
Excellencies,
Parliamentarians, through their legislative power and advocacy, can play a crucial role in reinforcing the global consensus on the two-State solution, a solution in accordance with international law, relevant United Nations resolutions and bilateral agreements, based on the 1967 lines with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.
I hope this Forum today will create a shared understanding of the urgency to act resolutely on the question of Palestine.
Let me reiterate the call by the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process to the members of the Middle Quartet, key Arab and international partners, as well as to the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to intensify and strengthen efforts to return to meaningful negotiations towards a viable two-state solution.
I can assure you that the United Nations will continue to do all that we can to support a peaceful resolution of the Question of Palestine.
I wish you a fruitful discussion. Thank you.
Accountability is an important step on the road to peace in Libya, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) told the Security Council on Monday.
