The UN Secretary-General on Monday said that he recognized the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people and the legitimate security concerns of Israel, but underlined his rejection of terrorist acts and upheld the need to protect civilians.
The UN Secretary-General on Monday said that he recognized the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people and the legitimate security concerns of Israel, but underlined his rejection of terrorist acts and upheld the need to protect civilians.
Senior UN officials on Monday strongly condemned recent Russian attacks on Ukrainian towns and civilian infrastructure, emphasizing the need for accountability for those harming civilians during hostilities.
Senior UN officials on Monday strongly condemned recent Russian attacks on Ukrainian towns and civilian infrastructure, emphasizing the need for accountability for those harming civilians during hostilities.
The escalating conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, the UN reported on Monday.
The UN Secretary-General on Monday said that he recognized the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people and the legitimate security concerns of Israel, but underlined his rejection of terrorist acts and upheld the need to protect civilians.
Top UN officials engaged key actors amid the spiraling Israeli-Palestinian conflict while UN peacekeepers detected rocket and artillery fire exchanged across the Israel-Lebanon border ahead of Sunday’s Security Council emergency closed-door meeting on the unfolding crisis.
Millions of Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022, and now the authorities in Ukraine with the support of the United Nations are planning ahead for their eventual return.
UN officials were “in close contact with all concerned to urge maximum restraint” following “horrific scenes of violence” that left dozens dead and hundreds wounded in Israeli cities near the Gaza Strip amid rocket attacks by armed Palestinian militants early Saturday morning, with the UN Security Council announcing it would hold a Sunday afternoon private meeting to discuss the matter.
“I vehemently condemn this morning’s multi-front assault against Israeli towns and cities near the Gaza Strip, and barrage of rockets reaching across central Israel by Hamas militants.
These events have resulted in horrific scenes of violence and many Israeli fatalities and injuries, with many believed to be kidnapped inside the Strip. These are...
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“I condemn today’s attack by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property in the town of Huwwara in occupied West Bank.
I'm outraged by the continued incitement, provocations, and lack of accountability for these violent crimes.
One Palestinian was shot dead during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli settlers and...
UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL ROSEMARY DICARLO’S REMARKS
AT THE COMMEMORATIVE EVENT ON
“DIPLOMACY FOR PEACE: 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF SPECIAL POLITICAL MISSIONS”
New York, 5 October 2023
Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,
I am pleased to welcome you today to commemorate the 75th anniversary of special political missions.
UN civilian missions with political functions have been at the heart of the Organization's work since its early days. They have steadfastly served the cause of peace.
The first special political mission was established on 14 May 1948, when the General Assembly mandated a UN Mediator in Palestine. A week later, Swedish diplomat Folke Bernadotte was appointed to the role.
Over the following two decades, the UN set up numerous special political missions. Several played a pivotal role in decolonisation and the birth of proud and independent states in Africa and Asia.
From the late 1960s until the late 1980s, however, special political missions were deployed less frequently. Lack of trust between the two dominant geopolitical blocs hampered decision-making in the Security Council and the General Assembly. One of the few missions created in this period was that of the Special Representative to the Middle East.
Following the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s and the 1990s, the demand for special political missions increased again.
New operations were deployed to support peace and reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan, Guatemala, Haiti, Nepal, Nicaragua and Somalia, among others.
Today, there are over 40 special political missions (SPMs) around the globe.
SPMs:
Special political missions have varied mandates tailored to each context. Since 1948, they have taken on new roles and tasks, adjusting to an ever-evolving peace and security environment.
In recent years, special political missions have had to understand and adapt to new risks, including the effects of the climate crisis and advancing technology.
In a shifting peace and security context, they also work to identify new entry points, opportunities and partnerships for peacemaking and peacebuilding.
Our three panellists today – my colleagues Hanna, Carlos and Hans – will tell us what this means for the missions they lead.
Colleagues,
Over 75 years we have learned much – from our successes but also from our missteps.
We are also painfully aware that we are undergoing a most difficult period in global relations. Our experience and a sober assessment of the moment we are living helped inform the Secretary-General’s policy brief on A New Agenda for Peace, which makes the case for boosting diplomatic engagement.
Special political missions will play an essential role in making this vision a reality.
Diplomacy and the work of good offices require risk-taking, persistence and creativity. They require mechanisms to keep channels open, quietly defuse tensions, build trust, and bring opponents together. They require talking to those with whom one disagrees.
As we commemorate 75 years of special political missions, I pay tribute to the memory of Folke Bernadotte, who was assassinated in the pursuit of peace in September 1948.
I also join the Chef de Cabinet in honouring the thousands of dedicated UN personnel who serve, or have served, in our missions, often in dangerous environments and away from their loved ones.
Let me conclude by thanking Finland and Mexico, the co-facilitators of the General Assembly resolution on special political missions, for their steadfast engagement to bring visibility to the critical role these missions play.
And thank you, Member States for your support. Without it, our work would not be possible.
Thank you.
The top UN humanitarian official in Ukraine has condemned a Russian strike on Thursday that ripped apart the small rural village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region, killing dozens of civilians.
UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Thursday appealed for restraint following a deadly drone attack on a military graduation ceremony in Homs, and amid rising violence in the war-ravaged country.
As heavy fighting continues in Sudan, the UN’s top aid official in the country warned on Thursday that the conflict has created “the world’s fastest-growing displacement crisis” which threatens to outstrip the Organization’s best efforts to help those most in need.
This year marks the beginning of the implementation of the new Strategic Plan of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA). The Multi-Year Appeal (MYA) is critical to these efforts, allowing us to do more, more quickly and with more impact. In the first half of 2023, MYA funding supported the breadth of DPPA’s activities at Headquarters and in the field – demonstrating its effectiveness and flexibility. Thanks to the generous support of our donors, DPPA was able to make a difference by meeting mid-year targets in its current 2023-2026 Strategic Plan. The MYA calls for $170 million over the next four years, including 41 million in 2023.
The top UN political official in Afghanistan remains hopeful that Taliban leaders will reverse their stance on women’s rights, urging the international community not to give up on the country.
A senior UN human rights official on Wednesday called on authorities in Liberia to take all necessary measures to ensure that the upcoming elections can take place in a fully inclusive manner.
Civilians continue to pay a horrendous price in the war in Ukraine, with nearly 10,000 dead and tens of thousands injured since conflict began in February 2022, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country said in a report published on Wednesday.
The spread of violence from Port-au-Prince to Artibonite, Haiti’s main rice-growing region, is exacerbating an already critical humanitarian emergency, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday.
The UN Regional Office for Central Africa is hiring a Consultant for political economy analysis on either A) illicit financial flow and/or B) other illicit activities at sea...
For the past 75 years, special political missions have been instrumental in advancing preventive diplomacy, conflict resolution and sustaining peace. The activities and achievements of special political missions demonstrate the vital contribution they make, even as they face a more volatile operating environment.
UN engagement with Haiti will continue ahead of the deployment of an international support mission backing beleaguered police who are fighting rampant gang violence, the UN chief’s Spokesperson told journalists on Tuesday.
A hunger emergency is looming for scores of South Sudanese families fleeing the war in Sudan, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
The humanitarian response to the Karabakh crisis continued apace on Tuesday as UN agencies and partners warned of urgent health needs among the more than 100,000 refugees who have entered Armenia.
The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, visited Qatar and met the Minister of State for International Cooperation, Lolwah Al Khater, and other Qatari officials to discuss the importance of further consolidating regional and international support to UN mediation efforts in Yemen. They discussed the progress to support the parties to agree on measures to improve living conditions in Yemen, commit and implement a nationwide ceasefire, and resume an...
Criminal gangs have displaced thousands of Haitians, wreaking havoc across the Caribbean nation, and prompting calls for urgent help from President Ariel Henry.
In what is being hailed as an historic first, the UN Security Council on Monday authorized the deployment of an international security force to help Haiti’s national police quell surging gang violence and restore security across the strife-torn Caribbean nation.
Commemorating Monday’s International Day of Non-Violence, Secretary-General António Guterres urged all nations to “unite around our common humanity” to achieve a more peaceful future.
Facing down a tidal wave of disinformation ahead of Kenya’s presidential elections in 2022, the Government and the UN collaborated on a national anti-hate speech plan and an innovative consortium of influencers to calm the waters before voters cast their ballots.
Read here the latest UNSOM Quarterly Newsletter.
