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UN Women Executive Director, Sima Bahous expressed concern about “the potential effects of multiple recent decisions to shrink or close both peacekeeping and special political missions,

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Category: English Media

Published: Thursday, 08 August 2024 10:50

Written by Eager

UN Women Executive Director, Sima Bahous expressed concern about “the potential effects of multiple recent decisions to shrink or close both peacekeeping and special political missions,” adding that “these decisions are made even as the number and intensity of conflicts and insecurity grow.”

Bahous briefed the Council today (07 Aug) on sustaining Women Peace and Security (WPS) commitments in the context of accelerated drawdown of UN peace operations.

The chief of UN Women said, “We recommend that the Security Council ensure that UN transitions safeguard gender equality gains and women’s meaningful participation in all possible ways. This includes doing so routinely through decisions and statements, in interactions with host governments and with any regional or subregional organizations undertaking peacekeeping support.”

Second, Bahous continued, “for the Council to continue to invite women from civil society to routinely brief and to provide analysis of their context from a gender perspective. And for the Informal Expert Group to conduct field visits to countries after the departure of a UN mission to monitor and report on the situation of women and girls so that this analysis can be included in decision making.”

She also said, “We recommend that the Security Council turn its attention more fully to financing. The role of the Peacebuilding Fund is essential for this as is stronger collaboration with international financial institutions.”

“In addition, all drawdowns should include plans to sufficiently allocate resources to women, peace and security work, to sustain gains made,” Bahous concluded.

For her part, Martha Pobee Assistant Secretary-General for Africa told the Council that “rushing through a transition process against a background of tense political climate, compounded by persisting security threats and protection concerns, can jeopardize hard won peace gains, including progress on gender equality.”

She continued, “Indeed, national stakeholders could be unprepared to shoulder additional responsibilities, while needed support from international partners may not be readily available.”

Pobee added, “Unless transitions are well-structured, adequately-resourced, and gender-responsive, women and girls will be at risk of setbacks. These could include losing access to essential services, being excluded from new decision-making processes, and becoming vulnerable to waves of fresh violence and insecurity, including conflict related sexual violence.”

Giving examples, the Assistant Secretary-General said, “The drawdown of MINUSMA however, has negatively impacted peace building programs focusing on women and girls and on sustaining the gains made in the political sphere. The recent departures of peace operations from key hot spots in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have led to security vacuums, leaving women and girls exposed to attacks by armed actors.”

“These drawdowns have also diminished the capacity of the United Nations to support stakeholders in addressing conflict related sexual violence altogether in specific areas, including investigation, reporting and assistance to survivors,” she concluded.

Kholood Khair, Founding Director of Confluence Advisory, an organization based in Sudan, said, “Widespread and systematic conflict related sexual violence is no longer limited to Darfur but reported across the country, including in Khartoum and Al Jazeera, it is clear that the RSF and the SAF have subjected women and girls from ages nine to 60 to sexual violence, a war crime, and neither party has taken meaningful steps to prevent its forces from committing rape, attacking health workers, nor investigating such crimes, the deliberate use of conflict related sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, sexual slavery and forced marriage, chiefly by the RSF, compounded by atrocities such as looting, torture, forced disappearance, forced labor aims to terrorize population into submission.”

Khair also said, “While the international community's efforts to secure a ceasefire are critical, the need of the hour is to prevent genocide and to save lives, a complimentary diplomatic track must be established, separate to ceasefire talks that is focused on addressing violence against civilians with targeted measures for the protection of women and girls, including from conflict related sexual violence.”

Francess Piagie Alghali, Sierra Leone’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs spoke in her national capacity, while her country is holding the presidency of this month’s Council.

She said, “With less UN presence in conflict settings, there is less security for women and girls and less attention on the violations of the rights of women and girls, and a drastic drop In the investment for programs to enhance gender equality.”

Earlier today, the Minister of Foreign Affairs together with Security Council Signatories of the Statement of Shared Commitments for the principles of Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), spoke to reporters.

The countries are Ecuador, France, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

She said, ‘We express our grave concern about the risks and negative impacts that the abrupt drawdown, reconfiguration or termination of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and special political missions have on women and girls rights.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Alghali continued, “We are especially concerned about situation where a United Nations mission must leave without even the minimum conditions for a planned transition in place. This has the potential of not only jeopardizing hard won peace gains, but also important progress made in gender equality.”

She reiterated, “Address the disproportionate impact on the rights of women and girls, we underscore the need for comprehensive gender responsive conflict analysis and technical gender expertise to guide gender responsive transition processes and other contingency.”

“This is essential for defining gender responsive benchmarks that ensure missions are not forced to exist without fulfilling minimum conditions that will ensure the sustainability of WPS commitments,” Deputy Foreign Minister Alghali added.

She concluded, “We must ensure, in this regard, that the United Nations country teams are endowed with the appropriate expertise in the wake of a mission’s departure to preserve continuity in terms of reporting and addressing human rights violation and abuses, notably, sexual agenda-based violence.”

Pursue peace and justice through Common Security, not nuclear weapons, say faith-based leaders and organizations to the 2024 NPT Prep Com

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Category: English Media

Published: Wednesday, 07 August 2024 20:46

Written by Eager

Nuclear armed and allied governments that are parties to the NPT should replace their reliance on nuclear deterrence with common security, according to Pursuing Peace, Security and Nuclear Disarmament through our Common Humanity, a joint Inter-faith and Values Appeal to the 2024 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Prep Com. The Appeal, which was presented on July 23 to the governments meeting at the UN in Geneva, was endorsed by more than 80 faith-based organizations and an additional 190 faith and values based leaders and individuals.

States Parties to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) met at the United Nations in Geneva from July 22-August 2 to discuss nuclear-risk-reduction, non-proliferation and disarmament. The conference took place in a time when the world is embroiled in devastating armed conflicts, an erosion of multilateralism and the rule of law, increased risks and specific threats to use nuclear weapons, and a renewed nuclear arms race.

“Nuclear deterrence violates key principles and values underlying all the major religions and faiths, including justice, fairness, reciprocity, guardianship/stewardship, protection of creation (the world), common humanity, social responsibility, human dignity and respect,” says Bruce Knotts (Unitarian, USA), Co-convenor of the World Federalist Movement working group on faith and values based perspectives which has coordinated the appeal. “These principles and values are similar to the basic tenets of international law, and if utilized better, could help governments to collectively navigate toward a peaceful and sustainable future.”

The Appeal makes five concrete recommendations arising from these principles to the governments meeting at the NPT conference in Geneva, including to:

1. Prevent nuclear war and protect creation (the world) by affirming that the threat or use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible and illegal, and to implement this by adopting no-first-use policies and taking all nuclear weapons off high-readiness to use (high alert);
2. Embrace reciprocity and the ‘Golden Rule’ (treat others the way you would want them to treat you) by replacing nuclear deterrence with a common security framework, i.e. one that does not threaten or diminish the security of others but ensures security for all.
3. Affirm our common humanity through enhanced use of global governance mechanisms such as the International Court of Justice and the United Nations to resolve international conflicts, build national security and achieve nuclear disarmament.
4. Acknowledge our social responsibility by ending investments in nuclear weapons (over $100 billion per year) and re-purposing these investments to address basic human needs.
5. Implementing our responsibilities as guardians of the earth for future generations by committing to achieve the global elimination of nuclear weapons no later than the 75^th anniversary of the NPT.

“We are heartened that the appeal has been endorsed by faith and values based individuals and organizations from all continents (except Antarctica) and from a wide variety of traditions including Bahá’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Islam, Jain, Jewish, Pagan, Quaker, Sikh, Unitarian, Zoroastrian and more,” says Ayleen Roy (Hindu, Austria) a representative of the WFM working group who presented the appeal to a plenary session of the NPT conference on July 23.

Ayleen Roy, Member of the Transnational Working Group on Values, faith-based perspectives and global governance, presenting the appeal to the States Parties of the NPT at the United Nations in Geneva

“We hope that the governments will appreciate the positive and forward-looking recommendations we are presenting, and will take action on them.”

END

Quotes by some of the other endorsers:

“Nuclear weapons are one of two existential threats facing humanity; the other is climate change.  People of faith and goodwill must unite in the face of this devastating and growing threat to all people and our world.”
Dr. Stephen M. Colecchi (Christian, USA)
Retired Director, International Office of Justice and Peace, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

“Treaty action must be complemented by the higher values of our faith traditions to treat all the members of our human family with justice, forgiveness and love on this fragile planet.”
Arthur Lyon Dahl (Bahá’í, Switzerland).
International Environment Forum

“As a life-long Peace activist, I affirm the NPT for the sake of my grand nieces and nephews and for the future of all our CHILDREN”
Sister Mary Beth Moore (Catholic, USA)
Member of Pax Christi Long Island

“The criminal nature of nuclear weapons is clearly established under the law, both the law of nations and the US Law of Land Warfare among others.”
Kary Love (Humanist, USA)
Attorney at Law who has represented nuclear disarmament activists in US court actions.

“As a grandmother it is obscene to me that $90 billion is spent annually on the development of nuclear weapons, the sole purpose of which is destruction, when that sum could be used to alleviate so many of the problems currently faced by humanity and the planet we live on. The state of the world we arehanding on to future generations is something I am deeply ashamed of.”
Nancy Gregory (Quaker, New Zealand)

“In our troubled times, life-affirming principles such as expressed in this Appeal deserve wide support. They relate, in important ways, to freeing the world from the dangers of weapons of mass destruction, to improved global governance, and respecting the rights of future generations.”
Francis Hutchison (Ecumenical/ Humanist, Australia)Member, Human Survival Project & International Network of Museums for Peace

“I give voice to the outraged protest of Christian conscience, and I proclaim … that all men whatever their race or religion, have the right to be respected by individuals and by states.”
Bénédicte Kusendila, (Catholic, Belgium) citing Pierre-Marie Théas in 1942, POW and co-founder of Pax Christi.
Peace Spirituality, Pax Christi Vlaanderen

“It is impossible to imagine Jesus of Nazareth sponsoring or using Nuclear Weapons.”
Jonathan Hartfield (Anglican, New Zealand)
Convenor, Anglican Pacifist Fellowship New Zealand

“Even Animals do not deserve to be killed by nuclear weapons how much more human beings. No to Nuclear weapons.”
Hashim Yussif (Muslim, Ghana)
Progressive Democrats Association of Ghana

“I am glad my Church, and faiths worldwide, are starting to question whether war can ever be just. There can never be a just use for nuclear weapons. They should not exist.”
Mary Johnson (Catholic, USA)

“To see the level of international and inter-faith support endorsing the Interfaith Appeal to the NPT gives further confidence in humanity’s ability to achieve our aim of a world without nuclear weapons.”
Bill Kidd MSP (Humanist, Scotland)
Co-President of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament

“Pursuing peace and justice through Common Security, not nuclear weapons, is fully aligned with my values as a humanist”
John Vlasto (Humanist, UK)
Chair of the World Federalist Movement

“We have the privilege to consciously take bold and inspired actions that can touch the hearts of so many people in our global community. Take this courageous step, now!”
David Wick (Interfaith, USA).
President, Pathways To Peace

“It cannot be overemphasized that Article VI’s “good faith” must apply not only to “disarmament” but also “non-use/threat”.
Aaron Tovish (Good Faith, Philippines)
Member, NoFirstUse Global Steering Committee

“With 5 major wars and 33 other conflicts killing 300,000 people a year, and 1.5% of world population displaced we need to wake up as a species and demand peace and cooperation.”
Michael Leggett (Christian, UK)
Member of Churches Together in Redhill and District. Member, Reigate and Redhill Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (Surrey)

“As we reach what the French philosopher Sartre called the self-suicide with the nuclear era,it is more than timely for Humanity to be consciously more prone to rush to the ban of nukes!”
Dr Larrafi (Muslim, Morocco)
Senior Lecturer at University Ibn Tofail

“The era of senseless religious wars is over. Intrinsically, all religions promote peaceful coexistence. We, the practitioners of world religions, are the problem – not the religions. We have invented all sorts of weapons to destroy humanity, including nuclear weapons, which don’t have a place in religious principles or today’s world.”
Alimi Salifou (Muslim, Nigeria)
Partnership for Future Generations in Africa / iRelief Waqf Foundation

“We urge the leaders of the eight billion humans of the world to honour our relationship with all the diverse life on this blue speck in space, that they strive for peace in wakeful community across our global home.”
Jon Grundy (Druid, UK)
Trustee of The Druid Network

“Expanded scientific evidence-based perception of the nature of reality endorses the worldviews of ancient and indigenous knowledge holders in the recognition of our interbeing. It empowers us to envision an ecological civilization, where the structure and values of our governance and economic systems are in service to all Life that model loving care and respect, resulting in the realization of a Culture of Peace.”
Dr. Elena Mustakova (Bahá’i, Bulgaria)
Chair, Unitive Global Governance Collaborative of Thought Leaders

“We, the human race, pride ourselves on being an advanced species. Yet, no other species on this planet undertakes an action to harm our living home. Collectively we have been failing each other, our future generations and other creatures we share this planet with for our narrow selfish or individual interests. We live interconnected lives. Truth and justice that lives through us all should help us become courageous to step beyond those narrow interests, even when we are not personally affected to remind us we are all the same; many parts of a whole. May we become wiser, so that we may all have a future.”
Radhiga Dey (Mystic, Australia) World Citizens Association Australia

“We live in a historic moment of escalating military confrontation and investment in nuclear weapons modernisation – which last year reached $91.4 billion. This contributes to the threatening rhetoric for world peace, while at the same time we are witnessing the fracturing of dialogue and multilateral action. Peace is about generating options for good living”.
Montse Serrano (Catholic, Spain)
Comisión General Justicia y Paz (General Commission for Justice and Peace).

 “No more war, never again war!”
Dolores Hall, DMin (retired), citing Pope Paul’s comments to the UN

“We live in an age of anger and war. Military activity has significant impacts on the environment adding to the climate crisis narrative. Not only can nuclear weapons be destructive to the socio-environment, planet and human rights but military activities produce extensive amounts of greenhouse gases and carbon emissions contributing to climate change. These all affect youth, their future, their livelihoods and basic human rights. History has taught humanity tough lessons on war and nuclear weapons will leave a trail of destruction that could not only destroy the very fabric of peace but the heart of humanity and the earth. We all are interconnected, and our decisions and actions have an impact on the whole. Let us make decisions and actions that is with ethical leadership that benefits the welfare of humanity, the earth and its creatures.”
Merylene Chitharai (Hindu, South Africa)
Member, Religions for Peace International, Global Interfaith Youth Network, African Interfaith Youth Network and African Council of Religious Leaders.

“We advocate for peace, security, and nuclear disarmament in the spirit of our shared humanity. This interfaith and values-driven appeal to the 2024 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Prep Com embodies our collective determination to create a world where compassion prevails over conflict and unity conquers division. Together, we can light the way to a future free from the threat of nuclear weapons, a future where the bonds of our common humanity strengthen the foundation of global peace.”
Terhemba Akende Ubula (Christian, Nigeria)
House of Hilkiah Foundation

“Nuclear weapons are an existential threat to humanity, and we need to get rid of them before they get rid of us. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) aims at 1) preventing new nations from acquiring nuclear weapons, and 2) setting the nuclear armed nations on the path of nuclear disarmament. The NPT has been reasonably successful at the first task, but has completely failed at the second. The Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) may provide a more hopeful path: it entered into force on 22 January 2021 and there are currently 93 signatories and 70 states parties.”
Dat Duthinh (Quaker, USA)
Member of Frederick Friends Meeting, Frederick MD

“We are commanded to beat swords into Plowshares. Let us all works towards establishing the Peaceable Kingdom.”
Pierre Fidelia (Catholic, USA)
Pax Christi Metro New York, Inc

UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, Gwyn Lewis, said, “the situation is very uncertain until a transitional government is formed and announced”

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Category: English Media

Published: Wednesday, 07 August 2024 21:12

Written by Eager

United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, Gwyn Lewis, said, “the situation is very uncertain until a transitional government is formed and announced,” adding that “discussions are ongoing across the broad spectrum of political parties, including the students themselves.”

In an interview today (06 Aug), the Resident Coordinator spoke about the recent developments in Bangladesh via video link from Dhaka.

She said that the UN has been doing what it can as a system, echoing the Secretary-General’s call for "calm and restraint" and the High Commissioner for refugees’ call for “independent, impartial and transparent investigation to help Bangladesh understand what has happened over the past weeks, but also to hold perpetrators to account and to rebuild trust within the society.”

Lewis also said, “Our good offices as conveners have been used by all sides. We've reached out to the government last week when we had concerns about the situation on the ground calling for restraint, calling as well for the violence to stop and the killings to stop.”

She added, “There's also been a very high number of arrests, and we've really done a lot of advocacies around that. And now we're really thinking through, we're in a changing situation, potentially a new government in a very short space of time. And the UN has a huge range of technical and different types of operations support that we will provide and continue to provide to the people in Bangladesh.”

Asked about the human rights situation in the country, the Resident Coordinator said, “There's been a lot of concern around repression, lack of freedom of assembly, lack of freedom of expression. So there's many issues around human rights. And so this is why I think the call from the High Commissioner for Human Rights to put in place an investigation and really delve into what happened, why it happened, and to hold people to account is very important because the human rights situation is and has been problematic.”

Lewis continued, “hopefully we can turn a page with this new transition government and begin on a new footing. One built on trust and holding people to account and moving forward so the future can be brighter and the human rights issues can be addressed more systematically.”

As the country is still recovering from the destruction from recent cyclone and floods, the Resident Coordinator said, “I think we really need to think about how we support the most food insecure people, but also how, we adapt our current programing to make sure that they are best fit for purpose, because Bangladesh is a country on track to graduate from these developing countries and is still a country that is on track to do well in terms of the 2030 Agenda. So we really need to maintain that momentum and make sure that the support we're providing to the government is fit for purpose.”

Lewis also said, “if and when this transition government is shaped and the voices of the young people in the country are heard, I think we can really shape and move forward to continue the trajectory of positive development, improve that trajectory to make sure it's more inclusive, to make sure that there's no communities that are left behind.”

She concluded, “I think the UN really has a critical role in terms of issues like transitional justice to support institutional reform, to support security sector reform. And so there's lots of technical areas as the development side that I think we can contribute to and hopefully and continue to build, and work with the people of Bangladesh for a brighter future for everyone.”

UN urges peace and respect for Olympic Truce as Paris Summer Games begin

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Category: English Media

Published: Friday, 26 July 2024 15:52

Written by Eager

© IOC/Greg Martin UN Secretary-General António Guterres (left) and Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Paris ahead of the opening of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

As the Summer Olympics and Paralympics get underway in Paris on Friday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for global respect of the Olympic Truce – a custom of halting all hostilities from before to after the Games.

In November(2023), the UN General Assembly adopted a vote to observe the truce in Paris.

“In a moment like this, it's important to say that the first recorded in history real peace initiative was the Olympic Truce,” Mr. Guterres said during a press encounter in the French capital alongside International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach.

“And so, in a moment in which the Olympic Games are going to start, it's time to remind the world of the importance of the Olympic Truce and to make the world understand that we must silence the guns,” he added.

The UN chief noted many points of existing conflict across the globe including in Gaza, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and more. He said the Olympic Games symbolise “cooperation and loyal competition, instead of division and conflict”. Therefore, he encouraged countries to foster unity the way athletes are during these games. 

Mr. Guterres is set to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. 

© IOC/Greg Martin The 2024 Refugee Olympic Team Paris is presented by Chef de Mission Masomah Ali Zada at the Palais des Congrès, Grand Amphithéâtre.

Refugee Olympic Team

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees encouraged everyone across the globe to promote “peaceful co-existence and mutual respect” as the refugee teams competing in the games are doing.

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“Sport is a symbol of hope and of peace, which are sadly in short supply in our world today,” The High Commissioner, Filippo Grandi, said.

“The refugee team is a beacon for people everywhere. These athletes show what can be achieved when talent is recognised and developed, and when people have opportunities to train and compete alongside the best. They are nothing short of an inspiration,” he added. 

This year’s squad consists of 37 athletes – the largest since the 2016 Rio Games when refugee teams first debuted. 

Olympic Laurel 

On Tuesday, the IOC announced that Mr. Grandi would be the third recipient of the Olympic Laurel, an award created to “honour outstanding individuals for their achievements in education, culture, development and peace through sport.” 

He will receive this award during the Olympic opening ceremony.    

Gender equality history  

UN Women is recognising the 2024 Olympic Games as the first time in history where an equal number of male and female athletes are competing. 

“This 50:50 representation of athletes makes the Summer Games the first to reach gender equality,” UN women said.  

The agency said the Paris Games are set to ensure a more balanced coverage of the sports events, creating a “spotlight” for all athletes.

However, UN Women recognises that many gender gaps remain in sporting events and says that progress does not stop with balanced gender competitors at the Olympic Games.