Warring parties in Libya on Friday agreed an historic ceasefire, which was hailed by the head of the UN Support Mission in the country (UNSMIL), who led the mediation, as a courageous act that can help secure a “a better, safer, and more peaceful future for all the Libyan people”.
A recap of Thursday’s top stories: Guterres in Turkey underscores successes of mediation; 45 million lack food across Southern Africa; rights experts push to release Palestinian hunger striker; new UN health report targets causes of urban deaths; Climate change conference finds a new home; Iraq protests put country at ‘a crossroads’
Mediation is “one of our most important tools to reduce and end conflict”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told the sixth Istanbul Mediation Conference, in Turkey's largest city on Thursday.
Conflict prevention and mediation are two of “the most important tools at our disposal to reduce human suffering” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Wednesday.
With eight days on the job, Shireen Dodson, the new UN Ombudsman, did not set out to become a career mediator, but began to master the basics as a young child, when she diplomatically negotiated between her divorced parents.
In an interview with UN News, she explained how she would delicately negotiate separate times to sit down at her mother’s, and — later in the day — her stepmother’s table, on the key US family holiday of Thanksgiving.
As war and the mediation of peace have become increasingly complex, innovative thinking is needed to save and improve the lives of millions, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Wednesday.
With the number of people killed in armed conflict rising tenfold since 2005, preventive action is “more necessary than ever,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.
A new high-level board to advise the UN chief on mediation efforts around the world is aiming to turn the focus away from talk of “hybrid wars” to “hybrid peace-building.”
That’s according to the former President of Finland, Tarja Halonen, who is one of the 18 leading international members of the panel, which was set up by Secretary-General António Guterres in September.
“Huge positive developments in Somalia” as elections continue
