Tunis, 11 July 2018 - A group of internally displaced persons (IDPs), activists, civil society organizations members and some representatives of those displaced from Benghazi attended a two-day consultative meeting in Tunis to discuss the future dialogue process. UNSMIL and UNDP facilitated the consultations as part of the project “Towards National Reconciliation in Libya,” which acts in support of local dialogue processes and mediation efforts throughout Libya. The meeting was...
Welcome everyone and thank you very much for coming here.
As I’m sure you will all agree, over the last few months the situation in Gaza deteriorated rapidly. This was the combination of three factors:
First is the humanitarian factor. People’s life has become more difficult as people have limited money, the economy has collapsed, electricity and water are scarce.
We cannot stand idle when we see 2 million Palestinians in Gaza living in such terrible...
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today (Thursday) announced the appointment of Major General Stefano Del Col of Italy as Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Major General Del Col succeeds Major General Michael Beary of Ireland, who will complete his assignment on 7 August 2018. The Secretary-General is grateful to Major General Beary for...
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a strategic partner of the United Nations on issues relating to political affairs and peace and security. The SCO has been an observer in the UN General Assembly since 2005 and starting from 2009, the General Assembly has included an item on “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization” on its agenda every other year resulting in a relevant resolution.
In April 2010, the UN and SCO Secretariats signed the Joint Declaration on Cooperation, which includes information exchange and capacity building. In addition, SCO has also established partnerships with the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Trade Organization (WTO), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT).
The UN and the SCO pursued their cooperation, particularly in the area of peace and security, including counter-terrorism and prevention of violent extremism, and sustainable development. The Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), as well as UNRCCA (United Nations Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia) maintain regular contacts with the SCO Secretariat and its Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure in Tashkent.
The United Nations Secretary-General and other UN high-level representatives regularly attend the SCO Summits.
Since 2017, DPPA has deployed a Liaison Officer to the SCO in Beijing.
I am concerned by the consequences of Israel’s decision to temporarily suspend imports and exports with the exception of basic humanitarian supplies through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
Humanitarian assistance is no substitute for commerce and trade. I urge the authorities to reverse this decision.
Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza should also do their part by maintaining...
Bogotá, 5 July 2018 - The United Nations Organization in Colombia vehemently rejects and condemns the killings of human rights defenders and community and social leaders.
The upsurge in violence imperils the conditions for a true stable and lasting peace. The inhabitants of the regions most affected by the armed conflict are those who today are vulnerable to multiple violations of their collective and individual...
The Secretary-General is gravely concerned by the resumption of the military offensive in southwest Syria and its continued devastating impact on civilians. An estimated 750,000 lives are in danger and up to 325,000 people have been displaced. The Secretary-General fully supports today’s statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. As the custodian of the 1951 Refugee Convention, he is the authoritative voice of the United Nations on refugees...
On 5 July, Security Council members will hold consultations on Yemen, receiving briefings from UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths via video-teleconference and from OCHA Director of Operations John Ging.
Collaboration between the United Nations Department for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (UN DPPA) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has been instrumental in fostering peace and stability across Europe and Eurasia for over three decades. This partnership is even more important as the OSCE region is facing challenges with both protracted and new conflicts.
The UN-OSCE partnership is founded on Chapter VIII of the UN Charter and revolves around one overarching goal: to resolve political differences peacefully. The 1993 Framework for Co-operation and Co-ordination laid a foundation for the two organizations to harness their respective strengths and mandates to tackle pressing global challenges. The Framework has been reinforced by a host of agreements, including a joint statement of the UN Secretary-General and the Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE in 2019 to complement the 1993 Framework, which has cemented high-level political collaboration and ensured co-operation on the ground. In the framework of the New Agenda for Peace, the two organizations are identifying complimentary ways for their work on peace and security. To deepen the cooperation between the two Organizations, in 2016, the Department of Political Affairs established a Liaison Office in Vienna. In addition to supporting senior-level and working-level engagements between both organizations on a broad range of issues, the Liaison Office channels expertise from various departments of the UN Secretariat to the OSCE, including by ensuring effective information sharing on relevant peace and security issues as well as relevant policy documents. The Liaison Office also supports inter-agency forums that are regularly organized to facilitate and support high-level and working-level engagements between both organizations.
DPPA's Policy and Mediation Division and the OSCE Secretariat’s Conflict Prevention Centre and its Operations Service signed a joint workplan for mediation support in 2014, outlining several practical areas of cooperation between the two organizations, including staff exchanges, access to mediation expertise and capacity building.
