Staffan de Mistura

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

• 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 disputed region, according to an Oct. 14 letter obtained by PassBlue. As the file holder …

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

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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 United States ambassador goes honest on racism; an ex-Ecuadorean head of state aims to be …

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

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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 rather than at the White House, the United Nations or Washington’s rudderless Department of State. …

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

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WORLDVIEWS

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

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 the country’s decades-long history of patriarchy is not easy. Many Syrian men — and some …

Gender Violence, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

Women Are Invisible at the Syria Peace Talks

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, Kazakhstan, 55 delegates met to try to reach an agreement on the war in Syria. …

UN Special Envoys, Women, WORLDVIEWS

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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 building since mid-2013. And in the Geneva III peace negotiations — structured so far as …

Women

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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 wake up with the hope of resuming their lives among their families and loved ones …

Security Council, Terrorism, Women

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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 place at the negotiations table. Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy for Syria, who …

Gender Violence, Human Rights, Middle East

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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 afterward by diplomats delve into the details. That means the nitty-gritty work is left to …

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

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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. 1. The goal is to begin negotiating an end to the prolonged war there, which has …

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

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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 working groups and their Syrian interlocutors will discuss safety and protection; political and legal topics; …

Middle East, Refugees

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Syrian Peace Activists Assert Their Political Role With New UN Envoy

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, activists and initiatives that seeks to influence decision-makers regarding policies and resolutions to transform the …

WORLDVIEWS

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GOINGS-ON

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

PassBlue

• 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 and the main opposition group in the country. Despite formal negotiations that were convened by …