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This Week in DPPA: 8 - 14 February 2020

8 - 14 February 2020

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

East Africa

DPPA Chief  attends  African  Union  Summit  and  visits  Sudan
Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo accompanied Secretary-General António Guterres to the 2020 African Union Summit in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.  Ms. DiCarlo also had bilateral meetings in Ethiopia, including with President Sahle-Work Zewde, the only female Head of State in Africa, on 10 February. The Under-Secretary-General applauded the ambitious reform agenda of the Ethiopian government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, which exemplifies gender parity. On 11 February, she met Minister of Peace Muferiat Kamil to discuss  peacebuilding  initiatives on intercommunal dialogue of youth and women, who are called to play critical role in consolidation of peace and democracy. Ms. DiCarlo pledged UN backing and encouraged partners to also support.  
 
Also on 11 February, the United Nations-African Union (AU) Joint Task Force on Peace and Security held its 18th consultative meeting at the African Union Headquarters. The Joint Task Force (JTF) reviewed the status of the partnership between the UN and the AU with an update on the implementation of the Joint Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security. The AU Commission and the UN Secretariat were represented respectively by Commissioners  Minata  Samaté-Cessouma  and Smaïl  Chergui; and the Under-Secretaries-General Rosemary DiCarlo, Jean-Pierre Lacroix (Peace Operations) and Hanna Tetteh, Special Representative to the African Union and Head of UNOAU. 
Read more on UNOAU’s website 

 

Ms. DiCarlo continued on to Khartoum, Sudan, for meetings to discuss the Sudanese transition to democracy. She met with Prime Minister  Abdalla  Hamdok  on 12 February, and with women and youth groups that were instrumental in triggering the Sudanese transition. “The economic and social challenges at hand are enormous. Sudan requires urgent international support,” Ms. DiCarlo said via Twitter after the visit.  
For more information, contact us 

 

Security Council

Guterres: ”This is a time for dialogue, for reconciliation, for reason”  
An open briefing on the Israel–Palestine conflict was held on 11 February, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a controversial peace plan for the region.  ”This is a time for dialogue, for reconciliation, for reason,” Secretary-General António Guterres said in his introductory remarks. “I urge Israeli and Palestinian leaders to demonstrate the necessary will required to advance the goal of a just and lasting peace, which the international community must support.” Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, briefed the Security Council on  the  latest developments. “Today it is not enough to reaffirm our positions,” Mr. Mladenov said. “Today is the time to hear proposals on how to move the process forward and to find our way back to a mutually agreed mediation framework that ensures meaningful negotiations can restart.”  
Read Nickolay Mladenov’s full remarks here 
Read more in UN News  


Children have “no role in conflict” 
Secretary-General António Guterres spoke at the high-level Security Council briefing on child protection in peace processes on 12 February. He called for greater protection of children caught in armed conflict, and unveiled Practical guidance for mediators to protect children in situations of armed conflict. Children have “no role in conflict,” the Secretary-General said. The Policy and Mediation Division of DPPA have contributed to the writing of the guidance.  
Read more in UN News  


 
Open debate on transitional justice  
The Security Council held an open debate on transitional justice on 13 February. One of the briefers  was  Father  Francisco de Roux, President of the Colombian Truth Commission. “Truth has become the gateway for transitional justice and the foundation for the collective construction of a shared future in countries that have been divided by war,” he said to the Council. Before his briefing, Father de Roux met with Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and Americas. Mr. Jenča said that Father de Roux’s work “deserves our full admiration and support”, and emphasized that the UN remains committed to the promotion of peace and reconciliation in Colombia.  
Read more in UN News 


 

 

 


 

“The people of Guinea-Bissau deserve a clear and positive closure” 
Rosine Sori-Coulibaly, Special Representative and Head of UNIOGBIS, briefed the Security Council on 14 February on the situation in Guinea-Bissau and the activities of UNIOGBIS in the country (S/2020/105). Guinea-Bissau held Presidential elections last year, but a new President has not been sworn in yet due to controversies about the result. “The people of Guinea-Bissau deserve a clear and positive closure of this process so that they can see the light of hope for the future of their children,” Ms. Souri-Coulibaly said.    
Watch her briefing here 
Read more in UN News  

 

New York

Meeting on youth, peace and security  
The Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) held an Ambassadorial-level meeting on youth, peace and security to explore ways of further contributing to the implementation of Security Council resolution 2250 (2015). Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN Envoy on Youth, briefed the meeting. Youth representatives from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan and Sierra Leone shared their experiences in peacebuilding, and representatives of the respective Missions in New York presented national strategies and plans in support of youth, peace and security. The European Union delegation was accompanied by a group of youth representatives who are actively advancing the youth, peace and security agenda in Europe.  
For more information, contact us 

 

Somalia

Somalia and the UN sign accord to strengthen efforts to preserve culture and improve education 
Somalia and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) signed an agreement aimed at strengthening efforts to preserve the country’s cultural heritage and improve its educational sector. “Culture and education are vital for the country’s future. After years of conflict, they are vital to the human dimension of recovery, of peacebuilding, of sustainability,” UNESCO Director-General Audreu Azouly said. James Swan, Special Representative and Head of UNSOM, witnessed the signing of the memorandum together with Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire.   
Read more on UNSOM’s website 

 

West Africa

Workshop on the resolution of farmer-herder conflicts in Abuja  
The United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in partnership with the Institute for Security Studies, organized a workshop on best practices towards the resolution and prevention of farmer-herder conflicts in West Africa and the Sahel, in Abuja, Nigeria, on 10 – 11 February. The workshop is part of ECOWAS and UNOWAS efforts to work jointly towards supporting peaceful coexistence between farming and herding communities in the region, where farmer-herder conflicts have become a major concern. With more than 60 per cent of the population dependent on agriculture or livestock breeding, a large share of the population is affected by this trend. UNOWAS has published a study on this phenomenon.   
For more information, contact us 

 

 

 

 

 

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