Their tireless efforts span from monitoring ceasefire agreements to protecting civilians, rebuilding key infrastructure and facilitating elections to help countries and communities transition from war to peace. Peacekeepers can be soldiers, police officers, engineers, doctors, veterinarians, human rights officers, justice and corrections officers, radio producers, environmental scientists and surveillance experts. When we think about keeping…
Addressing ambassadors at the Council’s open debate on the role of women and youth, UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo highlighted the significant challenges and impacts faced by women. “Women bear the brunt of the global rollback of human rights,” she stated. She referenced her recent visit to Afghanistan, where women are systematically denied basic rights, including…
“Now is the time to unleash Africa’s peace power,” he said, opening a debate on its critical role in addressing global security and development challenges, convened by Mozambique, the Council president for May. Calling Africa “an important voice for the global good”, he cited examples of how the continent has shown “unity and solidarity in…
Martin Griffiths, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, stressed the critical need for sustained peace efforts during a briefing to Security Council ambassadors. “The conflict in Yemen has been the key driver of humanitarian needs. It has deeply undercut the country’s economy, decimated half of its health facilities, displaced millions of people, and allowed hunger and disease…
This year the vital role of midwives during the ongoing climate crisis is in the spotlight. Every two minutes, a woman or girl dies due to pregnancy-related complications, a figure that climate change threatens to exacerbate said UNFPA, underscoring the crucial role that midwives play in mitigating these risks. “When crisis strikes, midwives are often…
Presenting her annual report, Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, noted that weapons continue to flow into the hands of perpetrators while most victims remain emptyhanded when it comes to reparations and redress. “The essential, existential task we face is to silence the guns and amplify the voices of women…
The huge central African nation has seen years of violence in the restive but resources-rich east, which have uprooted millions of people – some 2.7 million in North Kivu alone and more than seven million nationally. “What breaks my heart is to see a population exhausted by violence, exhausted by conflict, exhausted by the horrors…
“The potential and opportunity for renewal that young people represent means…that they must be part of the broader discussions shaping our societies,” UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo told ambassadors in the Security Council. With youth constituting 55 per cent of the population in the southern and eastern Mediterranean, their voices cannot be ignored, she said. Reflecting…
“However difficult and demanding of patience, Colombia’s decision to prioritise dialogue as a principal means to resolve conflict sets the country apart as a model that is more relevant than ever in today’s world,” said Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia. Emerging from decades…
“Here’s a little Black boy from Louisville, Kentucky, sitting in the United Nations talking to presidents of the world, why? Because I’m a good boxer,” he said at a press conference at UN Headquarters in 1979. “I needed boxing to get here. So, my purpose is to use boxing to get to people.” Devoting most…
