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This Week in DPPA: 4 - 10 June 2022

This Week in DPPA is a brief roundup of political and peacebuilding events and developments at UNHQ and around the world. 

Security Council

Security conditions worsen in the Central African region 

Briefing the UN Security Council on 8 June, Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) for Africa Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee noted that while several countries of the Central African region - namely the Republic of the Congo, Angola, São Tomé and Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon - are on track to hold elections in 2022 and 2023, others continue to face political and security challenges that risk impacting neighboring countries. She reiterated the UN’s support to the region and urged steps to maintain dialogue with a view to avoiding any further escalation of tensions. The UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) will continue to serve as a key mechanism for preventive diplomacy, conflict prevention and conflict resolution, she said. 

Read full remarks here 

Five non-permanent members for 2023-2024 elected 

On 9 June, the General Assembly elected Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland as non-permanent members of the Security Council for the 2023-2024 term. The five newly elected countries will join Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates around the Council’s signature horseshoe table, replacing India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway as of 1 January 2023. China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States are permanent members of the Council. 

Read more in UN News 

Haiti

BINUH workshop discusses country’s governance challenges 

The UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) organized a two-day workshop on 8 - 9 June on governance, where Haitian experts and actors discussed the functioning of democratic institutions in Haiti. Opening the meeting, Special Representative of the Secretary-General Helen La Lime stressed that only through a constructive dialogue will it be possible to identify lasting solutions to the problems of governance and create the necessary conditions for the holding of elections.

Colombia

Women builders of peace from the territories

On 4 June in Villavicencio, central Colombia, the UN Verification Mission in Colombia accompanied the second assembly of the Foundation “Sin Olvidos”, which includes women in the process of reintegration. The Foundation was established in August 2020 to support former women combatants and victims of the conflict who lost their husbands. During the assembly, new board of directors and the committees for accompaniment and guidance for victims, gender and disability, and development and sustainability were elected. 

Lebanon

Special Coordinator visits Bourj Hammoud 

On 10 June, Special Coordinator of the Secretary-General for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka visited neighborhoods in the area of Bourj Hammoud, east of Beirut, that received assistance for rehabilitation from the UN Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat) following the 2020 Beirut Port explosion. The project, backed by Poland and Japan, was implemented in an area where Lebanese host communities and Syrian refugees live together. “These kinds of projects clearly make a difference and can bring hope”, she said. “The UN and international community remain committed to supporting Lebanon and its people.”  

Iraq

UN delegation visits Al-Hol camp in northeast Syria 

As part of a high-level UN delegation visiting Al-Hol refugee camp in northeastern Syria on 5 June, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert witnessed first-hand the dire conditions in the camp. “Keeping people in restricted and poor conditions ultimately creates greater protection and security risks than taking them back in a controlled manner,” warned the Special Representative. She stressed that the best and only durable solution is to manage repatriation swiftly and decisively, finding dignified solutions anchored in the principles of both accountability and reintegration.  

Read more here  

Watch the visit here  

Special Representative discusses elections in the Kurdistan region 

Special Representative Hennis-Plasschaert participated in the meeting of political parties in the Kurdistan region on 9 June, organized by the President of the Kurdistan Region. Discussions centered around elections, including voting day, constituencies, voter registration, and the Kurdistan Region Election Commission. The UN will participate in the committee and continue consultations.  

Yemen

Military coordination committee convenes second meeting under UN-auspices 

The Office of the Special Envoy for Yemen convened on 6 June the second meeting of the parties’ military coordination committee in Amman, Jordan. The meeting discussed technical issues related to the parties’ commitment to implementing the truce. Military representatives from the Government of Yemen, Ansar Allah and the Coalition Joint Forces Command participated in the meeting The military coordination committee also agreed to meet on a monthly basis to ensure regular discussions continue at a strategic level. 

Read more here  

 

Afghanistan

Special Representative discusses humanitarian and economic situation 

Deborah Lyons, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), met this week with senior Taliban officials to discuss efforts to revitalize the country’s banking and business sectors, international concerns on Afghan girls’ education, and counter-terrorism commitments. The Special Representative, who will complete her assignment in Afghanistan on 15 June, also held on 8 June a farewell meeting with members of diplomatic corps and regional organizations.  

Central Asia

Special Representative discusses peace and security cooperation with Tajikistan 

Natalia Gherman, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), met on 4 June with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, to discuss and exchange views on a number of peace and security developments in the region. The meeting took place in advance of the 2nd International High-Level Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development 2018-2028”, which took place from 6 to 9 June. Special Representative Gherman expressed appreciation for the active support of Tajikistan of the activities within the recently adopted UNRCCA “Strategy in support of water, energy and environmental cooperation among the states of Central Asia for 2022-2025."

Read more here 

West Africa and the Sahel

Special Representative takes part in the ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit  

On 6 June, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Office in West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) Mahamat Saleh Annadif participated in the 6th Extraordinary Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held in Accra, Ghana. Among other things, he expressed regret over the duration of the transition and a lack of a clear timetable in Burkina Faso and voiced concerns about the transition period in Guinea. He reiterated the availability of UNOWAS and the entire UN system to work closely with ECOWAS for the region.  

Great Lakes region

Special Envoy concludes his mission to Rwanda and DRC 

On 4 June, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region Huang Xia concluded his mission to Kigali, Rwanda and Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo. During his regional tour, the Special Envoy encouraged leaders to continue engaging in dialogue on key issues of concern, including the threat posed by armed groups. In Kigali, he met with Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Vincent Biruta, among other officials, exchanging views on recent political and security developments in the region. In Goma, he met with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Bintu Keita. 

Sudan

UNITAMS facilitates the preparation of intra-Sudanese talks 

The Trilateral Mechanism on Sudan, consisting of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), the African Union Commission (AUC), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Secretariat (IGAD), held a technical meeting on 8 June to discuss the preparatory details for the holding of intra-Sudanese talks aimed to facilitate a solution to the political crisis. The meeting was attended by a range of political parties and movements, the Sudan Revolutionary Front, and representatives of the military. The discussion touched upon rules of procedures, the format of talks on substantive issues, and for the establishment of a national body that includes respected Sudanese figures to supervise the political talks and work closely with the Trilateral Mechanism.   

Innovation

UN Behavioural Science Week 

DPPA’s the Innovation Cell, together with the UN Office of Counter Terrorism’s International Hub on Behavioural Insights hosted on 7 June an online session on "Why Behavioural Science Matters for Peace and Security". Sophia Moskalenko, Research Fellow at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, and Josh Martin, Executive Director of Beyond Conflict, shared the latest research on Behavioural Science in the peace context, including issues such as biases, the measuring of the efficacy of political messages, affective empathy and public preferences, irrational politics and other themes relevant to multilateral diplomacy and the UN’s peace efforts.

Peacebuilding

PBC visits to Liberia 

The Chair of the Liberia Configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), Ambassador Anna Karin Eneström (Sweden), joined by the ASG for Peacebuilding Support, Elizabeth Spehar, concluded a week-long visit to Liberia. They met with President George Manneh Weah, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah Sr. and other Government officials, among others. The visit focused on the PBC and the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF)’s support for Liberia’s peacebuilding priorities, including social cohesion and national reconciliation efforts, the promotion of women’s empowerment and gender equality, and the preparation for elections in 2023.

Peacebuilding Fund’s newsletter is out 

The Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) launched the Peacebuilding Fund’s quarterly newsletter this week. The newsletter aims to highlight the impact the Fund has had on the ground thanks to its donor partners. In this first edition, the newsletter features public hearings held by the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission in The Gambia. It also highlights the work of young peacebuilders in Somalia and of women who were victims of the armed conflict in Colombia transforming livelihoods through the Fund. 

 

Read more here  

Next Week

On Tuesday, 14 June, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General Hans Grundberg will brief the Security Council on Yemen. On Wednesday, 15 June, the Council will hold an open debate on the role of regional organizations in implementing women, peace and security in the face of political turmoil and seizures of power by force. On Thursday, 16 June, the Council will hear a briefing on Haiti by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of BINUH, Helen La Lime.  

The Peacebuilding Fund’s Annual Strategic Dialogue with top 12 donors will take place from 14 to 16 June in the Hague, hosted by the Netherlands.  

 

 

 

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