This Week in DPPAis a brief roundup of political and peacebuilding events and developments at UNHQ and around the world.
Security Council
Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo briefed the Security Council on 14 July on the situation in Yemen. The meeting, held behind closed doors, also heard from the head of the United Nations Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA) Lieutenant General Abhijit Guha and Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Ramesh Rajasingham. The Under-Secretary-General told Council members of the continuing efforts to move forward with the four-point plan devised by former Special Envoy Martin Griffiths. The plan’s four points involve a nationwide ceasefire, the reopening of Sana’a airport, the easing of restrictions on the flow of fuel and other commodities through Hudaydah port, and the resumption of face-to-face political negotiations between the Yemeni parties.
Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, updated the Security Council on 13 July on the latest developments on the peace process between the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP). Reporting on recent steps in the area of transitional justice, namely the official acceptance of responsibility for kidnappings by seven former high-level FARC-EP combatants in April, he noted that these events would have been “unthinkable in Colombia” without the peace agreement, marking an important milestone. He also shared his concerns about violence and stigmatization against former FARC-EP combatants and members of the Comunes political party which was formed following the group’s demobilization. “The persistence of violence and insecurity highlights the urgent need for enhanced prevention and protection measures... to bring perpetrators to justice”, he said.
Full briefing to the Security Council here
Ján Kubi_, the Special Envoy and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), shared with the Security Council on 15 July his concerns about the wider ramification of the stalemate in the political/electoral track as the result of the standoff between key Libyan State institutions. He noted that the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum “was unable, unwilling to reach an agreement on a final proposal for a constitutional basis for the elections” and that the situation in Libya was getting more difficult, confrontational, and tense. “If the impasse over the constitutional basis and the ongoing standoff between State institutions are not quickly resolved and if the key leaders of the country will not show a political will to reach a solution, a compromise, and to implement it, all that could reverse the positive momentum seen just a few months ago”, said Kubi_. He also updated the Council members on the ongoing preparations for the deployment of an UNSMIL ceasefire monitoring component in support of the Libyan-led, Libyan-owned ceasefire monitoring mechanism.
Full briefing to the Security Council here
The members of the Security Council voted unanimously on 14 July to adopt a resolution renewing the mandate of the United Nations Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA) by 12 months through 15 July 2022.
The Security Council Affairs Division of the Department has launched its second edition of the "United Nations Security Council in Review" this week, a monthly newsletter offering an overview of the activity of the Security Council for the previous month. It is an addition to the existing research tools and information products available here.
Read the latest June newsletter here
Iraq
The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) conducted a polling and counting simulation exercise on 12 July 2021 for the forthcoming early general elections. A total of 1,079 polling stations, one in each voting regional centre (VRC), were involved, with 8,000 IHEC staff simulating voters voting across the country. The UNAMI Office of Electoral Assistance (OEA) assisted IHEC in developing the manual counting tabulation software that was tested in this simulation. UNAMI OEA advised IHEC to take COVID-19 preventive measures into consideration and counselled them on media guidance in the development of a promotional video with contributions from the Governorate Election Offices.
Irena Vojá_ková-Sollorano, Deputy Special Representative and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq (DSRSG/RC/HC) travelled on 11 July to Salah al Din Governorate where she met with the area-based coordinator (ABC) working group that provides the nexus between humanitarian and development work to discuss the efforts to support internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees and host communities. Stressing the importance of the area-based coordination mechanism to turn humanitarian needs into development goals in the Governorate, she noted that “it is essential to focus on social cohesion when making returns and reintegration of IDPs sustainable, but also when ensuring local integration.”
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