Ukraine
UN political chief visits Ukraine
Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo is wrapping up a two-day visit to Ukraine, where she’s been reiterating the UN’s support for ongoing peace and reform efforts. With government officials in Kyiv, she highlighted the need to sustain the momentum toward peace created by the recent meeting in Paris of the Normandy Four leaders and reaffirmed UN backing for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within internationally-recognized borders. She also met with young Ukrainian civil society leaders, with whom she discussed the important role of youth, women and internally displaced people in creating an enabling environment for peace through local dialogue initiatives and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
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Security Council
UN Secretary-General urges DPRK and US to resume talks
Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari briefed the Security Council on 11 December on non-proliferation and troubling developments in recent months related to the nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programmes of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). He said that UN Secretary-General António Guterres was urging the DPRK and the United States to resume talks. “It will require perseverance, political courage and painstaking diplomacy. […] Diplomacy can continue to reduce tensions that could otherwise set events on an unpredictable trajectory,” he added.
Read his full remarks here
Egypt
Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development in Africa
The Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development in Africa, organized by the government of Egypt and the Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding, took place from 10-11 December, with senior representation from across the UN system, African Member States and partners. The outcomes of the Forum will contribute to the 2020 Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed moderated the opening discussion with several African Heads of State (Egypt, Chad, Comoros, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal), the African Union, African Development Bank and the World Bank. Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, took part in panels on “sustaining peace in practice” and financing. Discussions also covered the “Silencing the Guns” initiative and conflict prevention in Africa.
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Somalia
Delegations of AU, EU, IGAD and UN hold consultations with stakeholders in Baidoa and Jowhar
As 2019 draws to a close, senior officials from some of Somalia’s international partners visited Baidoa in the South West State (SWS) on 10 December for the start of a series of consultations with a range of stakeholders. While in Baidoa, the delegation met with SWS’ President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed ‘Laftagareen,’ local elders and representatives from civil society to help better understand the opportunities and challenges to implementation of the various national process set for 2020. Read more on UNSOM’s website
The delegation continued to Jowhar, the capital of Hirshabelle state, on 11 December. Noting the country’s goals for 2020 are achievable with the strong collaboration among all stakeholders, the delegation encouraged “all Somali leaders, institutions and communities to engage in dialogue to agree a way forward, and to cooperate to realize the priorities for the year ahead.” Read more on UNSOM’s website
Afghanistan
Balkh leaders call for stronger measures to protect children in armed conflict
At a UN-backed event in Mazar, the capital of Balkh province, on 8 December, participants underscored the pressing need for stronger measures to protect children from harm in Afghanistan’s armed conflict. During the day-long event, community leaders, human rights advocates, civil society representatives and provincial authorities discussed the reality of children being killed, maimed, abused or recruited in the ongoing conflict. They called for additional mechanisms to protect children from harm, not only in the northern province, but also across Afghanistan. Read more on UNAMA’s website
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Central Asia
Turkmenistan creates national strategy on prevention of violent extremism and countering terrorism
Special Representative for Central Asia and Head of UNRCCA Natalia Gherman, on 10 December in Ashgabat, took part in a roundtable with senior officials of the Turkmen government, dedicated to the adoption of the National Strategy on Prevention of Violent Extremism and Countering Terrorism for 2020-2024 and its implementation. The strategy was developed with the support of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) and the UN Counter-Terrorism Office (UNOCT) and reflects migration, border control, the Internet, terrorist financing, socio-economic and political aspects, as well as human rights and the rule of law. More on this on UNRCCA’s website
Lebanon
International Support Group (ISG) for Lebanon meets in Paris
In Paris on 11 December, Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis co-chaired with France a special meeting of the International Support Group (ISG) for Lebanon and other international partners to discuss ways of supporting Lebanon through its current political, economic and financial crisis. The meeting identified “a road map of expected reforms that will trigger support from the international community,” Mr. Kubis said after the meeting. In its final statement, the ISG called for “the urgent formation of an effective and credible government capable to meet the aspirations expressed by all the Lebanese that will have the capacity and credibility to deliver the necessary substantive policy package of economic reforms.”
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Northeast Asia
Expert consultations on Women, Peace and Security in Beijing
DPPA, in close cooperation with UN Women and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), organized a regional expert discussion on Northeast Asian countries’ contributions to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. The event in Beijing on 10 December gathered more than 30 participants from China, Japan, Mongolia and the Republic of Korea to review the progress of the WPS implementation in the region in light of next year’s Beijing+25 process and the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. The meeting provided the space to exchange opinions on current status of WPS implementation in the region and to discuss ways forward for better progress in promoting the WPS agenda. At the event, SIPRI launched its background paper on emerging role of ROK and Japan in WPS. The participants also discussed the recently updated WPS Index 2019/2020 and the data relevant to Northeast Asia.
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Colombia
Women share their experiences in “building memory”
The UN Mission in Colombia and the country's Truth Commission hosted an encounter of women in the Reintegration Area of Brisas in the Chocó Department on 7 and 8 December. More than 40 participants, including social leaders, EPL ex-combatants and former FARC-EP combatants from Urabá and Atrato, shared, for the first time, their life experiences in the post-conflict period. The women talked about security mechanisms, violence, and prevention.
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National social dialogue and forum to defend social leaders in Cartagena city
Carlos Ruiz-Massieu, Special Representative and Head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, participated in the fourth Summit of Social Dialogue on 9 December, a meeting led by Attorney General Fernando Carrillo and attended by President of Colombia Ivan Duque. At the summit, representatives of different social, political, business and institutional sectors to build a State Pact to promotes dialogue as mechanisms for dealing with conflicts. Moreover, the SRSG attended the forum "Defend the Defenders" held in the framework of the 71st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In his statement, Ruiz-Massieu said that "the protection, guarantees, and legitimacy of those who defend human rights and of social leaders is a priority for the UN, because their work is fundamental to peacebuilding, to the implementation of the Peace Agreement, and to consolidate democracy.” Both events took place in Cartagena city.
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