Staffan de Mistura

US Senators Want Human-Rights Work Added to UN’s Western Sahara Mission

Maurizio Guerrero
• October 21, 2021

As abuses against Sahrawi activists and journalists mount in Western Sahara, 10 United States Republican and Democratic senators are urging the Biden administration to include a human-rights element in the work of the United Nations referendum mission in the…

Categories: Africa, Human Rights, Secretary-General, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

THIS WEEK @UN

The US Envoy on Racism; ‘Apartheid’ in the Mideast; UK’s Cuts to UN Agencies

Ivana Ramirez
• April 30, 2021

Veronique Vandegans, the United Nations chief of the French Interpretation Section, working at home in Brooklyn, N.Y., with company. The photo is part of a story for the UN Department of Global Communications on remote interpretation. MANUEL ELIAS/UN PHOTO The…

Categories: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Latin America, Secretary-General, This Week @UN, UN Agencies, UN Special Envoys, US-UN Relations

NIKKI HALEY WATCH

Speaking Loudly Even While Wielding the Big Stick

Irwin Arieff
• April 15, 2018

Whatever else came out of the latest American-led strikes on Syrian chemical weapon sites, it put on display rare signs of diplomatic skill on the part of the Trump administration, even if those signs first surfaced at the Pentagon…

Categories: Disarmament, Middle East, Nikki Haley Watch, Peace and Security, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

OPINIONS

Syrian Women on the Opposition Side Play a Direct Role at Peace Talks

Opinion by Marah Bukai
• March 23, 2017

GENEVA — As the latest round of the United Nations-led Syrian peace negotiations gets underway here, Syrian women activists are demanding — and playing — a central role. Achieving the goal of a democratic, inclusive Syria, in light of…

Categories: Gender Violence, OPINIONS

OPINIONS

Women Are Invisible at the Syria Peace Talks

Opinion by Rafif Jouejati
• February 23, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Jan. 22, millions of women around the world took to the streets to march for equal rights, equal representation and equal access in all avenues of public and private life. On Jan. 23 in Astana,…

Categories: OPINIONS, UN Special Envoys, Women

How Syrian Women Landed at the UN Peace Talks and What It All Means

Maria Luisa Gambale
• May 10, 2016

GENEVA — Like approaching a mirage, in early 2016 Syrian women have made significant steps closer to the central negotiating tables of the extremely fragile intra-Syrian peace talks. It’s a process that Syrian women and the United Nations have been…

Categories: Women

Syrian Women’s Group Welcomes Its Country’s Long-Awaited Truce

Dulcie Leimbach
• February 27, 2016

As the first temporary truce in years has begun in Syria, the Syrian Women’s Advisory Board, a new entity organized by the United Nations, expressed hope that the long-awaited pause in the civil war would mean that “Syrians will…

Categories: Security Council, Terrorism, Women

Syrian Women Are Ready to Participate in UN-Led Geneva Peace Talks

Dulcie Leimbach
• January 20, 2016

While new Syrian peace talks organized by the United Nations remain tentatively scheduled to begin on Jan. 25 in Switzerland, a substantial group of Syrian women is preparing to convene in Geneva starting that day to demand an equal…

Categories: Gender Violence, Human Rights, Middle East

As Syrian Peace Talks Take Shape, How Will Women Take Part?

Dulcie Leimbach
• December 26, 2015

When the United Nations Security Council recently approved timelines to begin peace talks and institute a national cease-fire in Syria, the language in the resolution gave no hint of the magnitude of such undertakings, nor did the congratulatory speeches…

Categories: Gender Violence, Middle East, Peace and Security, Security Council, Women

At Vienna Talks on Syria’s Future, the UN Finds Several Roles to Play

Dulcie Leimbach
• November 15, 2015

The United Nations has wedged its way into playing a monitoring role in a possible cease-fire in Syria and a convening role in gathering the Syrian government and opposition parties to try to meet for formal talks by Jan….

Categories: Middle East, Peace and Security, Refugees, Security Council, Terrorism

A UN Envoy Tries Something New in Syria

Barbara Crossette
• September 27, 2015

Four working groups formed to dissect and discuss the Syrian crisis in concrete terms are being set up by the United Nations in a plan conceived by Staffan de Mistura, the UN envoy in Syria since July 2014. The…

Categories: Middle East, Refugees

Syrian Peace Activists Assert Their Political Role With New UN Envoy

Opinion by Ghada Mukdad
• October 13, 2014

Staffan de Mistura, the new United Nations special envoy to Syria, made his first visit to Damascus in his post in September. He met with, among others, members of the Syrian Civil Coalition, a lobby of civil society organizations,…

Categories: OPINIONS

GOINGS-ON

Another Veteran UN Diplomat, Staffan de Mistura, Is Named Syrian Envoy

Dulcie Leimbach
• July 10, 2014

Staffan de Mistura is the new United Nations special envoy for Syria, replacing Lakhdar Brahimi, a veteran Algerian diplomat who resigned in May after nearly two years of rising frustration trying to broker a peace deal between the Syrian government…