Edited News , Press Conferences | UNITED NATIONS
The process of drafting a new constitution for Syria has been “a big disappointment” UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen said on Friday. Following the conclusion of discussions in Geneva, a consensus on how to move forward was not achieved, he added.
The drafting process between Government and opposition Co-Chairs of the Syrian Constitutional Committee (Small Drafting Body) and civil society began last Monday and was led by Mr. Pedersen. The aim was to produce a text that would help support a peaceful future for the country, after more than a decade of war. The development followed close to nine months of negotiations by the Special Envoy to reach a consensus on constitutional reform. In January, he said that insufficient progress had been made at the fifth meeting of the 45-member Small Drafting Body and that there was a realization that “we could not continue the way we have been going”. Under discussion were four agenda baskets set out in 2017 by then UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan. These describe the general terms of governance and political transition, constitution, elections and counterterrorism.
It is nearly two years since the first meeting of the full Syrian Constitutional Committee, a 150-member body which comprises 50 representatives of the Syrian Government, 50 from the opposition and 50 from civil society, represented by the so-called “Middle Third”. Fifteen members of each bloc represent the Small Drafting Body. For the first time ever, committee co-chairs Ahmad Kuzbari, the Syrian government representative, and Hadi al-Bahra, from the opposition side, met together with Mr. Pedersen on Sunday morning.
“It’s fair to say it was ups and downs over the four days,” Mr. Pedersen said. “We had three days which went well and one more difficult day. In the end, we had good discussions on the different principles”. Now they will have to concentrate on bringing the principles forward and agree on what they disagree over. But he warned that a proper understanding needed to be developed to move forward. On a positive note, the negotiator said that trust had been established this week which could be built on. But he emphasized that political will was needed to find a way to deal with the process, so differences were minimised and areas of commonalities were identified. Mr. Pederson added that he “could see possibilities, but as long as the parties have not concluded this, I’m not the one to conclude this on their behalf”.
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Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO
Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians
Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.
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Press Conferences | OCHA , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNOG , WHO , IPU
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UNICEF, the World Health Organisation, and the International Parliamentary Union.
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Edited News
Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.
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Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC
Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital
UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.
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Press Conferences | UNHCR , UNICEF , UNIS , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
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Press Conferences | HRC , OHCHR
Report of the Independent Expert on Human Rights situation in the Central African Republic.
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Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.
The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.
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Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire
UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.
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Press Conferences | UNECE , WHO , OCHA , UNHCR , UNICEF
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (the UN Refugee Agency), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children Fund, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the World Health Organization.
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Edited News | WHO
The ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to overwhelm the war-torn enclave’s medical professionals, with four more hospitals forced to shut down this month alone, the UN World Health Organization said on Friday.
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Press Conferences | WHO , FAO
Michele Zaccheo, Chief of the Radio, TV and Webcast Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Health Organization.