YouSaid · the spoken record

Deputy Secretary-General

lines on the record: 595
first: 1998-06-29
most recent: 2020-11-03
sittings or episodes: 58
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I count on everyone’s commitment to this appeal. We must put all our energies into fighting our common enemy — the virus. I also count on everyone’s renewed political and financial investments in prevention and solutions to stave off security and conflict risks at a time when the world needs peace and calm more than ever before.”
2020-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1090 (2020) · source
“The 2016 twin resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council — resolution 2282 (2016) and General Assembly resolution 70/262, on the review of the peacebuilding architecture — and the Secretary-General’s reforms have strengthened the Organization’s focus on prevention. Given the critical role of the Council in preventing and resolving conflict, I welcome the increased attention that it is devoting to addressing contemporary drivers of conflict and instability. The Secretary-General welcomed resolution 2532 (2020), adopted by the Security Council in July, in support of his appeal for an immediate global ceasefire. I conclude by recalling the Secretary-General’s appeal for a new push by the international community, led by the Security Council, to make a global ceasefire a reality by the end of this year.”
2020-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1090 (2020) · source
“The recovery from the pandemic must prioritize resilient, inclusive and accountable institutions that foster the rule of law, good governance, gender equality, environmental sustainability and human rights. Partnerships, including with international financial institutions, will be more important than ever. The recovery must also put in place solutions to prevent and protect communities from climate-related causes of conflict. Member States and development banks should invest in early-warning systems and resilience measures, particularly in States affected by conflict. Countries at greatest risk should be able to use new technologies and remote sensing to help them with forecasting and prevention. We can address these multifaceted challenges only through an integrated and coherent whole-of-United Nations approach.”
2020-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1090 (2020) · source
“As we recover, we cannot go back to the failed frameworks and systems that created the fragilities and inequalities that are being amplified by the pandemic. We must build forward better. I share the vision of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which underpins this debate, which is that, “[a] better post-COVID-19 world remains within our reach” (S/2020/1064, annex, para.2).S/2020/1090 The pandemic has highlighted the necessity of investing in inclusive, equitable governance and institutions, as well as tackling root causes, in order to address the drivers not only of conflict but of crises and shocks of all kinds. It has reinforced the need for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — our ultimate prevention tool.”
2020-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1090 (2020) · source
“In some parts of the world, it is draining away hope and risks creating a generation of disaffected young people, vulnerable to exploitation by extremists of all kinds. The drivers of conflict are not static — they change and evolve. Building and sustaining peace requires addressing the root causes as they develop and interact with one another, including the emerging threats posed by the pandemic. Conflict, climate change and stalled progress on development reinforce one another but, too often, our efforts to address them are fragmented. The challenges that we face are manifold, but so are the opportunities. The pandemic has already shown that rapid change is possible, as millions of people adopt new ways of working, learning and socializing.”
2020-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1090 (2020) · source
“And we know that there is a straight line linking violence against women and girls, civic oppression and conflict. The climate emergency is a major driver of inequality, insecurity and conflict. I have personally witnessed the links between climate and security challenges in the Sahel, the Lake Chad region, the Middle East and elsewhere. Those links include the large-scale displacement of people, competition over resources and extreme weather events like droughts and floods, which destroy homes, livelihoods and communities. In some cases, the climate crisis threatens the very existence of nations. The climate crisis is also eroding the resilience of communities and limiting the opportunities available to young people.”
2020-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1090 (2020) · source
“The crisis is reversing development and peacebuilding gains, aggravating conflicts and undermining efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It is also having a devastating impact on human rights and gender inequalities. COVID-19 is exposing vulnerable people to new threats in pre-existing humanitarian crises. Parties to conflict are taking advantage of the pandemic to create or aggravate insecurity and impede medical care and other life-saving assistance and services. Women are disproportionately employed in the sectors most affected by lockdowns and are more likely than men to lack savings, social security and health coverage. Lockdowns have also led to an alarming spike in gender-based and domestic violence. How can we talk about peace and security when millions of women are at greatest risk in their own homes?”
2020-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1090 (2020) · source
“I thank President Gonsalves and the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for convening this open debate. I congratulate his country on being the smallest nation ever to assume the presidency of the Security Council. His Government also holds the chairmanship of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), showcasing the important role that small countries can play in the multilateral system. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has driven home that, in today’s world, there is no such thing as a distant crisis. The pandemic continues to exacerbate the risks and drivers of conflict — from cross-border insecurity and climate-related threats to social unrest and democratic deficits, grievances and inequalities are deepening, eroding trust in authorities and institutions of all kinds and increasing vulnerabilities.”
2020-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1090 (2020) · source
“The decade of action for the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals is approaching. I think that this is something that requires that we undertake much more analysis and planning, taking into account the current context. Prevention and transitions are lenses that we look through in Africa in particular regarding girls' education. On the one hand, it is prevention but, on the other hand, there are very many girls and women who have been kept out of the space of being empowered, particularly through education. As we look towards the strategy for the Horn of Africa and for the plan in the Sudan, it is an important area of planning, including to see the investment that is going to be made in the line item that we put for girls' education. I am not sure if there were any more questions that were asked, but we are following this up.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“Regarding girls' education, which is a tremendously important part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063, without which we will not silence the guns, we must have educated young people, particularly women and girls, whether as part of the basic right to education at the beginning, second- chance education or a renewal of skills, which we found among a number of adolescent girls who would like to join the marketplace and to be a better empowered to take such decisions not just for themselves but also since they impact the community. That reinforces what we saw in the cases of the Sudan and Eritrea, namely, that really looking at their plans and how inclusive the curriculum was of girls entering education was important. We continue to reinforce that.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“I think that was something that the Prime Minister was very enthusiastic and supportive of, but I believe that the rest of the community around the table should take it up quite quickly. In other places, again concerning peacekeepers, some of the issues were from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which has more than 1,000 peacekeepers. The feedback we received in that regard, as we manage and support that Mission, was that we also need to be aware of some of the needs.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“It does not take very much, but it is not there right now. In addition, peacekeeping has many trained mediators who are women, but we do not have the resources to deploy them, or the kinds of checks and balances that we need to determine the complement of women engaged in those negotiations right from the outset, when the seeds are being sown. We all have a role to play in that by asking those questions and trying to push the envelope further in order to see women at the table from the very beginning. That was particularly applicable in the Sudan, where peace negotiations have started, and the response to us was that they had only just started, they were not there yet and would include women eventually. But women need to be there from the very start.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“But what is important is how to get better feedback, such as this, that does not have to wait for a visit. I think that is what concerned us most. We should not have to wait for a visit to be aware of such challenges. The capacity-building that we are providing is insufficient, and we need more of it for women peacekeepers. They need support in the cases where they have not had specific training 4 for example, the centres that our Ethiopian peacekeepers referred to, saying that they need more of that, and that we need to identify and map the whole range of relevant skill gaps. In our missions too, it would be helpful to have support for positions that are focused on better understanding those gender-specific aspects. We therefore want to encourage Member States, as they consider the resources envelope, to put more into that.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“It was an important month for women and peace and security, and beyond that the Security Council's visit was critical to reinforcing our presence in the Horn of Africa, and now under your leadership for November, Madam President, we are starting off with a resumption of the open debate on women and peace and security. We have had a number of initiatives proposed in the United Nations since we have been discussing the visit with our colleagues and asking what more we can do. First, with regard to very specific issues that were raised during the visit, our peacekeeping departments are already looking at what we can do with regard to the uniform list and the kits being issued, for instance. That is already something that we can take cognizance of.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“The Deputy Secretary-General: I would like to once again express my deep appreciation to the Security Council for giving us this opportunity to share what I think was not just a visit to the region but one that left us with a lot of homework to do when we came back, particularly considering that the Council is underscoring the urgency with which we need to see actions at scale to support the Horn of Africa. I would also like to add my voice to the congratulations on the leadership of our colleague from South Africa during his presidency in October.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“I humbly urge the Council to heed the winds of change, so that we may continue to strive towards peace in all hearts and in all nations.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“Even where they are enrolled in their national security services, they are often not provided with the opportunities needed to be deployed - from map- reading to specific driving and computer skills. When they are deployed, they often contend with harassment or are asked to serve tea and coffee rather than patrol communities. The kits we provide do not fit the needs of women. In contexts such as that of Somalia, where head-covering is needed, that is left to the individual women to secure. And while this may be the first time that these words have been said in the Security Council, sanitary pads are a basic necessity for women and yet do not form part of their deployment kits. As the Security Council returns to the open debate on women and peace and security this afternoon, I hope that these issues will be among those discussed.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“With the solidarity and support of the international community, those countries can overcome their challenges and become an anchor for growth and stability within the broader region and the African continent. Finally, I would like to pay tribute to our peacekeepers and specifically mention our women in peacekeeping. In each of the countries that we visited, the critical importance of women serving in security forces, the police, the military and in peacekeeping was starkly clear. Those women, against all odds, strengthen our protection efforts, increase the credibility of our endeavours, engage in local-level mediation and make communities feel much more at ease. And yet we continue to deploy less than four per cent female peacekeepers. Much more can and should be done. Women shared their practical challenges with us.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“That includes everything from the United Nations Office to the African Union personnel, who are leading our partnership with the African Union on peace and security, to the innovative efforts ofthe United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on trafficking in the region, the UN-Women's work towards mobilizing and supporting women's demands, the United Nations Development Programme's role in sustainable development, the Economic Commission for Africa's efforts at strengthening economies, and all those who serve in our country team under the leadership of our Resident Coordinators, alongside the critical work of our peacekeeping and political missions.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“We must seize this opportunity to invest and support peace and promote women's participation and leadership, education, peace dividends, free and fair elections and the short-term, high-impact projects that reach those who are farthest behind. Having met with our United Nations staff in each country, I can attest to their courage, sacrifice, commitment, motivation, and willingness to walk this road together in support of the collective goals of national counterparts.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“We need a Marshall Plan for areas of our country and the support of the international community to deliver this." Responding to the opportunity in the Sudan will require putting aside our usual ways of working. Investment in development must accompany the transition if it is to take root and flourish. Continuous efforts in a wide range of critical areas, such as delisting and debt relief, will be urgently needed to give the Sudan a fresh start, as will creative solutions for domestic resources and external investments, including tax reforms and the recovery of stolen assets. While they are moving at different speeds, each country in the region is heading in the right direction.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“These are tall orders and, while they need to be delivered urgently, expectations must also be managed. I urge the Council, and the international community more broadly, to assist in identifying concrete actions that can be delivered in the short term over the next three months, while maintaining momentum and addressing the medium- and long-term opportunities necessary for lasting peace. At the same time, the Government is committed to addressing root causes. I cannot put it better than the Sudanese Minister who told me: "It is not peace documents that are missing in [the] Sudan. We have shelves of beautifully worded peace agreements since independence. We need to address the root causes - exclusion, human rights, marginalization and underdevelopment.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“We have just taken part in a whole-of-system Visioning exercise with the Sudanese Government that will enable us to respond to the changing context and support the Sudan's priorities over the next three years of the transition. The exercise establishes a vision for our partnership with the Sudanese people, our support to those leading the transition - the Forces for Freedom and Change, the Sovereign Council and the transitional Government - and the national development plan that they have jointly developed. Our responses will sequence immediate and longer-term activities, in alignment with the priorities set by the Government. Those priorities include the peace process, economic and social development, economic reforms, the reintegration of internally displaced persons and comprehensive transitional justice and reconciliation.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“Thanks to the efforts of these amazing women and thousands more like them, the Sudan is seeing a new dawn. We must be ready to support the people and the Government through a successful transition that lays the foundations for truly inclusive elections and sustained peace. I welcome the recent unanimous extension by the Council of UNAMID's mandate for one more year and its decision to include in that mandate support for the peace process and peacebuilding activities. During my visit to El Fasher and in meetings with women from local communities, they made it clear that a premature drawdown could leave a security vacuum, thereby exposing them to greater violence and putting at risk progress towards economic stability.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“That is also the reason that it was important that it was a joint mission with the African Union. In working together, we can achieve so much more. As one Government official said to us, the joint mission has changed the nature of the relationship with both the United Nations and the AU, in terms of the quality and content of the dialogue. What is needed now is to maintain and deepen that dialogue and partnership, and to use them to encourage regional solutions and unity. Finally, I wish to turn to the Sudan. Last week, the Council heard from an amazing young woman, Alaa Salah, whose image became synonymous with the protests in Khartoum (see S/PV.8649). I met Alaa, along with three other women civil society activists - Huda Shafig, Safaa Adam and Samah Mohamed - in New York, after talking to their compatriots in Khartoum and El Fasher.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“That is particularly true when it comes to the issue of refugees and internally displaced persons, of which there are tens of thousands, many of whom are vulnerable to trafficking, as well as in finding regional solutions to protection challenges, including sexual violence, in areas where conflict is still going on. It was clear from our travels that the whole region is cut from the same fabric. Each country is its own shade, but they are interwoven. What happens in one country will impact the others, and therefore regional approach and genuine collaboration are paramount. In that regard, I am encouraged by the signs of the revitalization of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. This platform will be essential to providing the necessary pathways we can all support.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“The region I saw has some of the fastest-growing economies on the continent, with rich natural resources, extraordinary capacity, particularly among their youth, and genuine reforms. Those are the elements that we need to support and the narrative that we need to share. The road ahead for the Horn of Africa will not be easy. The foundations have been laid for a transition from peace to sustainable development. But building on these fragile foundations will require unity and cooperation across the region and common ground internationally to accompany those transitions.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“In Djibouti, we met with local women who have built community centres to care for children with disabilities and to support refugee and migrant women, in a context where many young women are fleeing conflict or migrating in search of a better life, only to become victims of human trafficking and horrendous abuse. The country has recently passed legislation that increases maternity leave and provides for greater protection from violence, gender parity in the civil service and the private sector and a quota for women in Parliament. In the Sudan, I met some of the women who were the engine of the revolution and are now demanding equality and social inclusion across all strata of society. All ofthat reinforces the need for us to question our own narrative and mindsets.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“In Eritrea, one of the few countries in the world where women fought in significant numbers on the front lines of the independence movement, gender equality and women's leadership are seen as an unquestioned reality. We met with young women entrepreneurs and saw the investments in critical infrastructure - from multipurpose dams to solar power to roads that will reintegrate the country with the region. Relations between Eritrea and its neighbours are nascent, but they are making strides. There is a unique opportunity at this moment for the international community to support greater integration and sustainable peace.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“We heard from women in civil society who are on the front lines of preventing the spread of violent extremism. We also met with the head of the National Independent Electoral Commission, who has a challenging task ahead of her. Our efforts in Somalia must prioritize financial support to free, fair and inclusive elections next year, as well as to the national development priorities of the Government, including debt relief. There are islands of stability in the country that can be built upon, but that will require more central Government cooperation with federal member states, as well as a road map for transitionaljustice and social reintegration.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“The President is leading efforts towards social cohesion. Women serve as the Ministers of Peace, Labour and Infrastructure and are at the helm of the National Electoral Commission and the Supreme Court. The Government programme includes far-reaching legal reforms for greater gender equality. All of this was cited by the Nobel Committee when it awarded Prime Minister Ahmed the Nobel Peace Prize last month. I also met with the Mothers for Peace initiative, which is working across communities to repair the social fabric of the country, and with women who have served as United Nations peacekeepers. I note that Ethiopia is our largest troop-contributing country. In Somalia, we met the Prime Minister and dynamic female ministers who are introducing reforms to address the challenges of women's low representation in political life.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“The international community, together with these countries, can find lasting solutions to the complex challenges of the region. Each country is moving at its own pace through a process of reform and transformation. And in all countries, women are playing a critical leadership role in social cohesion, economic revival and peace. The leaders of these countries are making concrete efforts to place gender equality and greater representation of women at the heart of reforms in order to reap the benefits of the links between inclusion, stability and peace, and to give substance to prevention efforts during these complex transitions. Ethiopia now has its first woman President, and half its Government ministers are women. Together they hold some of the most significant decision-making portfolios in the country.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“Those missions are an opportunity to strengthen implementation of our shared United Nations-AU frameworks on peace and security, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Agenda 2063 of the African Union and the Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020 initiative. I would like to commend the leadership of Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat as well as that of Ms. Bineta Diop, AU Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, who led the AU delegation. In each country, we met Heads of State, ministers, senior women Government officials, civil society members, the international community and our United Nations country teams and peacekeeping missions. I left all five countries with a sense ofhope and optimism. The chance for peace in this region is very real.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“The Deputy Secretary-General: I thank you, Madam President, for the invitation to brief the Security Council on my recent joint mission with the African Union (AU) to Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia. This is the fourth visit I have undertaken focused on women, peace and security and development, and the thirdjoint solidarity mission with the African Union. I am pleased that Ambassador Fatima Kyari Mohammed is here to brief alongside me. At the request of the Prime Minister, I also travelled with senior United Nations officials to the Sudan, to focus on support for the transition, the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and women's leadership.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“I urge the Council to do all in its power to support Afghans in realizing their hopes and aspirations for a lasting peace, stability and prosperity.”
2019-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8587 (2019) · source
“Afghan women play a central role in creating peaceful, inclusive communities with opportunities for women, girls, men, boys, people with disabilities and victims and survivors of the conflict. They need and deserve the support of the entire United Nations system and the international community to invest in building on the gains, while sustaining the peace. The voices of women, especially the victims, must be heard at the table in the peace process and beyond. I am pleased to say that we are considering a significant investment in preventing and ending violence against women in Afghanistan through our joint Spotlight Initiative with the European Union. During our visit, my colleagues and I saw enormous grounds for hope. We left with great optimism for a better future for Afghanistan and its impressive people.”
2019-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8587 (2019) · source
“SDG 16, on peace, justice and strong institutions, will also be essential to holding free, fair and credible elections, to building trust in State institutions and to facilitating reconciliation and the reintegration of former combatants after the signing of any peace agreement. In the short term, 6.3 million people need urgent humanitarian aid across Afghanistan. Halfway through the year, the humanitarian response plan is only 27 per cent funded. We must increase the level of urgency to provide immediate support and protection to displaced people and those in greatest need. Afghanistan is at an important crossroads. We welcome the Government's commitment to peace and to upholding the democratic rights of all Afghans, who have suffered beyond imagination over recent decades.”
2019-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8587 (2019) · source
“Twenty-four United Nations agencies are working in strategic partnership with the Government on issues from food security and clean water to the rule of law, often risking their lives. The reform of the United Nations development system is enabling our country team to work in a more integrated way than ever before, responding to the President's call to be more effective, efficient and responsive to country-led priorities. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, on gender equality, will be essential to ensuring that women have access to education, health care and decent work and that women are represented in all areas of society and in all political and economic decision-making processes, including in Government and especially the peace negotiations.”
2019-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8587 (2019) · source
“We saw that in Bamiyan, where a provincial hospital dispenses free world-class care to people of Bamiyan and the neighbouring areas. That is possible thanks to the innovative partnership between the Government and the Aga Khan Foundation. Afghanistan has done more to invest in women's leadership than many countries with greater means. Women, especially young women, are rising to reclaim their rightful place in all areas of society, and many are quite simply inspiring. One entrepreneur, who has created hundreds ofjobs for women in a factory and a market, told me: "When we empower a woman, we empower a generation." The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development holds great promise for the lives of Afghans across the country.”
2019-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8587 (2019) · source
“Inclusion and consensus are also essential to creating the greatest possible peace dividend, benefiting all parts of the economy and all sections of society. We must continue to support Afghans in rebuilding trust across communities and in addressing stigma and discrimination based on gender, ethnicity or regional differences. Afghanistan has made great progress for women since the fall of the Taliban. More than 3 million children are back in school, with 9 out of 11 million Afghan children now enrolled. Investments in reducing maternal mortality are saving thousands of lives. Improved infrastructure and power supplies are connecting more remote areas to national economic opportunities, including exports to neighbouring countries.”
2019-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8587 (2019) · source
“Afghan women, like women everywhere, must play a part in decisions that will affect their future. In Bamiyan, we saw the incredible mine-clearance work that women are doing with the support of the United Nations, risking their lives alongside men to bring safety to their communities. Inclusivity is not only the right thing to do for women and girls. It is the only way to make durable peace. As one woman told us: "It is an illusion if you think that you are going to give away people's rights and then have any real peace." It will take time for peace to be sustainable and it must be inclusive of the Whole country, of women and of victims. Building a culture of peace means addressing the violations and divisions of the past. The country needs closure.”
2019-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8587 (2019) · source
“In 2018, the country suffered the highest number of civilian casualties since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan began recording figures in 2009. In the first five months of this year, more than 100,000 people were displaced by conflict, and we know displacement increases the risk of gender-based violence in all areas. In areas where the Taliban have reclaimed control, there are reports of honour killings, stoning and other attacks on women's rights. Peace, security and economic stability are urgently needed. During our visit, we heard a strong call from Afghan women for peace - but for peace that safeguards their hard-won rights and does not backtrack on what has been achieved. All the women we spoke to want an inclusive peace centred on women, and, I would say here, on the victims and the survivors over the years.”
2019-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8587 (2019) · source
“Women are in senior roles in the Ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Interior Affairs. Some 27 per cent of the civil service is female, and there are women serving as mayors and provincial governors. Critical elections are scheduled for September, and the heads of the Independent Election Commission and Electoral Complaints Commission are both women. It is vital for the legitimacy of the political system that all stakeholders, including the Government, political leaders, candidates and parties, contribute to an enabling environment for a credible electoral process. I know that in due course Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo will talk in more detail on this issue. As we witnessed again yesterday, conflict continues in Afghanistan.”
2019-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8587 (2019) · source
“During our visit, we were privileged to hold talks with His Excellency President Ashraf Ghani, His Excellency the Chief Executive, the First Lady and other senior leaders and religious scholars. We made a field visit to the province of Bamiyan and talked to many extraordinary women leaders and decision-makers, many of them young, working in civil society organizations, in the security sector, as entrepreneurs or as health-care workers. Afghan women have paid a high price during the conflict that has affected their country for most of the past four decades. Under the Taliban Government, women and girls were denied access to education, health services and protection from extreme Violence and could not participate in political or public life. Over the past 18 years, there has been significant progress.”
2019-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8587 (2019) · source
“This was the third visit of its kind, following visits to Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2017, and to Chad, the Niger and South Sudan last year. We wanted to assess and build on progress since the Secretary- General visited Afghanistan two years ago and to explore the United Nations support for the women and peace and security agenda. I sincerely thank the Government and the people of Afghanistan for their hospitality and the robust and constructive interactions. I thank the members of the international community who took time to meet us and share their hopes while we were in Kabul. I thank the United Nations system in Afghanistan for upholding our values at great risk.”
2019-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8587 (2019) · source
“The Deputy Secretary-General: I thank the President of the Security Council for convening today's meeting on women, peace and security in Afghanistan, and the Council for its continued engagement around this issue. Let me start by expressing my deep condolences to the Government and the people of Afghanistan for the horrific attacks that took place yesterday. Indiscriminate attacks that kill women and children are an affront to our humanity and a crime under international humanitarian law. The United Nations stands with Afghans as they work for lasting peace and security. I returned this week from a visit to Afghanistan, which I undertook with the Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and the Executive Directors of UN-Women and the United Nations Population Fund.”
2019-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8587 (2019) · source
“They call for dramatic actions. As the Secretary-General has said, climate change is moving much faster than we are. We count on the Security Council to do its part to help humankind keep pace.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“We need to support programmes that place women and youth at the heart of our efforts. We know that the impact of climate change is felt disproportionately by women. I am happy to have Ms. Hindou Ibrahim here to give us a much clearer view of what that means on a daily basis. Desertification means women must travel farther to fetch water and food, forcing them to miss out on education and economic opportunities in the long term. Youth without jobs will take the alternative route, into terrorism. The United Nations Development Programme, for instance, is already addressing many of those challenges. This progress needs urgent investments in scale. The reality today is a very different one. The challenge and danger of climate change are today very clear and present dangers that virtually every country has accepted and realized.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“By supporting climate-smart agriculture and resilient pastoralism at the regional level, the United Nations will continue to contribute to strengthening the resilience and capacities to adapt to the impact of climate change of rural women and their communities. The United Nations is also supporting ongoing successful efforts by the member States of the Lake Chad Basin Commission to implement their stabilization strategy and programme, which also includes the development programme for recharging Lake Chad. At the international level, the United Nations can help to connect efforts and ensure that climate-related frameworks are linked up and complement one another. We will support efforts to set the global resilience agenda to achieve sustainable development. What is our ask?”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“We are strengthening our capacity to understand the impact of climate change on security, to integrate our findings into assessment and planning processes and to better coordinate efforts between system entities. For example, the Secretary General's forthcoming report on the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel will report on recent developments involving the climate-security nexus in the region. The recalibrated United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel is similarly climate-oriented, focusing on building resilience and improving management of natural resources.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source