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Tag: Antonio Guterres un

  • UN chief Guterres says he will not refuse the potential for meeting Afghanistan’s Taliban

    By Press Trust of India: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres acknowledged on Tuesday he’ll “obviously not refuse” the potential for meeting the Afghan de-facto authority, the Taliban, “when it is the right moment to do so”.

    Guterres arrived in Doha Monday to host a two-day meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan to attain elements of commonality on key factors, resembling human rights, notably girls’s and girls’ rights, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking.

    The meeting is supposed to achieve a typical understanding all through the worldwide group on tips about tips on how to interact with the Taliban on these factors.

    “When it is the right moment to do so, I will obviously not refuse that possibility. Today, is not the right moment to do so,” Guterres acknowledged in Doha at a press conference.

    ALSO READ | Security Council condemns Taliban’s ban on Afghan girls working for UN

    He was responding to a question on whether or not or not there are any circumstances beneath which he would meet the Taliban.

    India is among the many many countries and organisations who participated inside the Doha meeting.

    “The meeting was about developing a common international approach, not about recognition of the de facto Taliban authorities,” Guterres acknowledged.

    The totally different contributors inside the meeting are from China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, T¼rkiye, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, European Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

    Guterres added that it is powerful to overestimate the gravity of the state of affairs in Afghanistan, describing it as a very powerful humanitarian catastrophe on the earth proper now.

    He well-known that 97 per cent of Afghans dwell in poverty, two-thirds of the inhabitants – 28 million – will need humanitarian assist this yr to survive and 6 million Afghan youngsters, girls, and males are one step away from famine-like circumstances.

    He moreover voiced concerns that “funding is evaporating” and said the UN Humanitarian Response Plan, seeking USD 4.6 billion, has received a mere USD 294 million – 6.4 per cent of the total funding required.

    ALSO READ | Israel kills Syrian soldier, puts Aleppo airport out of service, claims state media

    Guterres added that the current ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations and national and international NGOs is “unacceptable and puts lives in jeopardy.”

    He asserted that the UN will never be silent in the face of unprecedented, systemic attacks on women and girls’ rights.

    “We will on a regular basis talk out when tens of thousands and thousands of girls and girls are being silenced and erased from sight. This is a grave violation of elementary human rights,” he acknowledged.

    He added that it violates Afghanistan’s obligations beneath worldwide regulation, particularly, human rights regulation, and infringes on the principle of non-discrimination, which is a core tenet underpinning the United Nations Charter.

    “And it deliberately undermines the development of a country that desperately needs the contributions of all, in order to achieve sustainable peace and contribute to regional stability.”

    The Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021 and have restricted Afghan girls and girls from collaborating in most areas of public and daily life.

    Afghan girls have been barred from working with the UN in a country the place nearly 29 million people depend on humanitarian assist.

    Last week, the UN Security Council unanimously condemned a selection by the Taliban to ban Afghan girls from working for the United Nations in Afghanistan, calling on the de facto authorities to “swiftly reverse” insurance coverage insurance policies and practices that restrict girls and girls from exercising their human rights.

    The determination moreover known as for the whole, equal, vital and guarded participation of girls and girls in Afghanistan.

    It moreover calls upon the Taliban to “swiftly reverse the insurance coverage insurance policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment by girls and girls of their human rights and elementary freedoms along with related to their entry to education, employment, freedom of movement, and ladies’s full, equal and vital participation in public life.

    ALSO READ | Taliban ban girls from consuming locations and inexperienced areas in Afghanistan’s Herat

  • UN chief Guterres says he will not refuse the potential for meeting Afghanistan’s Taliban

    By Press Trust of India: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres acknowledged on Tuesday he’ll “obviously not refuse” the potential for meeting the Afghan de-facto authority, the Taliban, “when it is the right moment to do so”.

    Guterres arrived in Doha Monday to host a two-day meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan to attain components of commonality on key factors, resembling human rights, significantly girls’s and girls’ rights, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking.

    The meeting is supposed to realize a normal understanding all through the worldwide group on tips about the best way to interact with the Taliban on these factors.

    “When it is the right moment to do so, I will obviously not refuse that possibility. Today, is not the right moment to do so,” Guterres acknowledged in Doha at a press conference.

    ALSO READ | Security Council condemns Taliban’s ban on Afghan girls working for UN

    He was responding to a question on whether or not or not there are any circumstances beneath which he would meet the Taliban.

    India is among the many many countries and organisations who participated inside the Doha meeting.

    “The meeting was about developing a common international approach, not about recognition of the de facto Taliban authorities,” Guterres acknowledged.

    The completely different contributors inside the meeting are from China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, T¼rkiye, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, European Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

    Guterres added that it is robust to overestimate the gravity of the state of affairs in Afghanistan, describing it as a very powerful humanitarian catastrophe on the earth proper now.

    He well-known that 97 per cent of Afghans dwell in poverty, two-thirds of the inhabitants – 28 million – will need humanitarian assist this yr to survive and 6 million Afghan children, girls, and males are one step away from famine-like circumstances.

    He moreover voiced issues that “funding is evaporating” and said the UN Humanitarian Response Plan, seeking USD 4.6 billion, has received a mere USD 294 million – 6.4 per cent of the total funding required.

    ALSO READ | Israel kills Syrian soldier, puts Aleppo airport out of service, claims state media

    Guterres added that the current ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations and national and international NGOs is “unacceptable and puts lives in jeopardy.”

    He asserted that the UN will never be silent in the face of unprecedented, systemic attacks on women and girls’ rights.

    “We will on a regular basis talk out when tens of thousands and thousands of girls and girls are being silenced and erased from sight. This is a grave violation of elementary human rights,” he acknowledged.

    He added that it violates Afghanistan’s obligations beneath worldwide regulation, particularly, human rights regulation, and infringes on the principle of non-discrimination, which is a core tenet underpinning the United Nations Charter.

    “And it deliberately undermines the development of a country that desperately needs the contributions of all, in order to achieve sustainable peace and contribute to regional stability.”

    The Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021 and have restricted Afghan girls and girls from collaborating in most areas of public and day by day life.

    Afghan girls have been barred from working with the UN in a country the place nearly 29 million people depend on humanitarian assist.

    Last week, the UN Security Council unanimously condemned a selection by the Taliban to ban Afghan girls from working for the United Nations in Afghanistan, calling on the de facto authorities to “swiftly reverse” insurance coverage insurance policies and practices that restrict girls and girls from exercising their human rights.

    The determination moreover known as for the whole, equal, vital and guarded participation of girls and girls in Afghanistan.

    It moreover calls upon the Taliban to “swiftly reverse the insurance coverage insurance policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment by girls and girls of their human rights and elementary freedoms along with related to their entry to education, employment, freedom of movement, and ladies’s full, equal and vital participation in public life.

    ALSO READ | Taliban ban girls from consuming locations and inexperienced areas in Afghanistan’s Herat

  • UN ponders speedy armed power to assist finish Haiti’s disaster

    U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres submitted a letter to the Security Council on Sunday proposing the rapid activation of a speedy motion power following a plea for assist from Haiti as gangs and protesters paralyze the nation.

    The letter, which was seen by The Associated Press however has not been made public, mentioned the speedy motion power could be deployed by one or a number of member states to assist Haiti’s National Police. That power would “remove the threat posed by armed gangs and provide immediate protection to critical infrastructure and services,” in addition to safe the “free movement of water, fuel, food and medical supplies from main ports and airports to communities and health care facilities.” The letter additionally states the secretary-general might deploy “additional U.N. capacities to support a ceasefire or humanitarian arrangements.”

    However, the letter notes that “a return to a more robust United Nations engagement in the form of peacekeeping remains a last resort if no decisive action is urgently taken by the international community in line with the outlined options and national law enforcement capacity proves unable to reverse the deteriorating security situation.”

    A Canadian official who was not licensed to talk publicly on the matter informed the AP on situation of anonymity that “we are watching the situation in Haiti closely and will be working with our international partners to assess Haiti’s broader request for international support.”

    The letter means that the speedy motion power be phased out as Haitian police regain management of infrastructure, and that two choices may comply with: member states set up a global police job power to assist and advise native officers or create a particular power to assist sort out gangs “including through joint strike, isolation and containment operations across the country.”

    The letter notes that if member states don’t “step forward with bilateral support and financing,” the U.N. operation could also be an alternate.

    “However, as indicated, a return to U.N. peacekeeping was not the preferred option of the authorities,” it states.

    The letter additionally says the Security Council may resolve to strengthen the police element of the present United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti referred to as BINUH, and to name on member states to offer extra tools and coaching to native police, that are understaffed and lack assets. Only a couple of third of some 13,000 are operational in a rustic of greater than 11 million individuals.

    The secretary-general mentioned the difficulty is a matter of urgency, noting Haiti “is facing an outbreak of cholera amid a dramatic deterioration in security that has paralyzed the country.”On Friday, Haiti’s authorities printed an official doc signed by Prime Minister Ariel Henry and 18 top-ranking officers requesting from worldwide companions “the immediate deployment of a specialized armed force, in sufficient quantity,” to cease the “criminal actions” of armed gangs throughout the nation.

    The request comes practically a month after one in every of Haiti’s strongest gangs surrounded a key gas terminal within the capital of Port-au-Prince, stopping the distribution of some 10 million gallons of diesel and gasoline and greater than 800,000 gallons of kerosene saved on website.

    Tens of 1000’s of demonstrators even have blocked streets in Port-au-Prince and different main cities in latest weeks, stopping the circulate of visitors together with water vans and ambulances, as a part of an ongoing protest towards a spike within the costs of gasoline, diesel and kerosene. Gas stations and colleges are closed, whereas banks and grocery shops are working on a restricted schedule.

    Protesters are demanding the resignation of Henry, who introduced in early September that his administration may now not afford to subsidize gas. The deepening paralysis has induced provides of gas, water and different fundamental items to dwindle amid a cholera outbreak that has killed a number of individuals and sickened dozens of others, with well being officers warning that the state of affairs may worsen amid an absence of potable water and cramped dwelling situations. More than 150 suspected instances have been reported, with the U.N. warning that the outbreak is spreading past Port-au-Prince.

    The outbreak comes as UNICEF warns that three-fourths of main hospitals throughout Haiti are unable to offer crucial service “due to the fuel crisis, insecurity and looting.”

    The U.S. Embassy has granted quickly depart to personnel and urged U.S. residents to instantly depart Haiti. Haitian officers haven’t specified what sort of armed forces they’re in search of, with many native leaders rejecting the concept of U.N. peacekeepers, noting that they’ve been accused of sexual assault and of sparking a cholera epidemic that killed practically 10,000 individuals throughout their a 13-year mission in Haiti that ended 5 years in the past.

    A Brazilian normal and former U.N. peace mission chief who declined to be recognized as a result of he’s nonetheless concerned with the U.N. informed The Associated Press this weekend that any peacekeeping mission could be established following a call by the Security Council if it believes there’s a threat to worldwide safety.

    The U.N. would ship a group for analysis, after which the Security Council would resolve if cash is accessible and which international locations could be accessible for volunteering. He famous {that a} navy mission may value between 600 to 800 million {dollars} and would rely with 7,000 navy parts, plus police and civil parts.

    “It is an ongoing crisis, which makes it difficult for short term solutions,” he mentioned. “There needs to be international help, no doubt about that.”

  • Antonio Guterres to hunt second five-year time period as UN Secretary-General

    Image Source : AP UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the media throughout a joint press convention with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas after a gathering in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020.
    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has mentioned that he will probably be looking for a second five-year time period as chief of the world organisation. President of the General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, had enquired final Friday about Guterres’ intentions relating to a second mandate. “The Secretary-General conveyed to him today that he is available to serve a second term as Secretary-General of the United Nations if that would be the will of the member states,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric mentioned on the every day press briefing on Monday.
    Dujarric mentioned the Secretary-General additionally addressed a letter of comparable content material to the President of the Security Council.
    In accordance with Article 97 of the UN Charter, the appointment of the Secretary-General is made by the General Assembly, on the advice of the Security Council, which in impact signifies that any of the 5 everlasting members can veto the nominee. Each Secretary-General has the choice of a second time period if they will garner sufficient help from member states.
    The time period of the subsequent Secretary-General will start on January 1, 2022.
    Guterres assumed workplace on January 1, 2017, after a reformed choice course of that included a public casual dialogue session within the General Assembly, involving civil society representatives, the place every of the 13 candidates offered imaginative and prescient statements and took questions.
    Dujarric mentioned the UN chief had knowledgeable the Security Council, and the heads of regional teams of his choice, and that it was too early to gauge any response from member states at this stage or speculate about some other potential candidates.
    “The Secretary-General will be in the hands of member states on the process, and the Secretary-General will, of course, fully meet any expectations expressed by the General Assembly on submission of a vision statement, opening himself to question sessions, but he is a candidate. Those who organise the process, the member states will have to talk to you about the next steps,” he mentioned.
    When requested if Guterres’ announcement to hunt a second time period trusted the US election, Dujarric mentioned the Secretary-General wished to be as clear as potential.
    “I don’t think any particular election cycle in any particular country impacted his decision,” he added.

    Dujarric mentioned Guterres spoke to the President of the General Assembly first after which knowledgeable the 5 everlasting members of the Council in addition to heads of varied regional teams, political teams over the weekend “to make sure everybody had the same information”.
    Brenden Varma, the spokesperson for President of the General Assembly, confirmed that the presidents of the Assembly and the Security Council can be discussing the Secretary-General choice course of, at a daily assembly on Tuesday.
    The subsequent transfer to formally kickstart the method will probably be a joint letter from the 2 presidents despatched to member states.
    In response to questions, Varma famous that underneath the brand new “inclusive and transparent” choice course of begun in 2016, “this is the first time that we have actually seen an incumbent” put themselves ahead for re-election, and extra particulars can be forthcoming later within the week.
    Human Rights Watch (HRW) mentioned whoever assumes the function of the UN chief, after Guterres’ first time period ends on December 31 this 12 months, ought to absolutely decide to enhancing the world physique’s efficiency on upholding human rights and that it is essential that the choice course of is aggressive and clear.
    The human rights organisation mentioned Guterres “should not be handed a new term on a silver platter. The process should include multiple candidates who all publicly present concrete plans to improve the UN, including how to reinforce its human rights pillar at a time when some governments are actively working to undermine it”.
    HRW mentioned in an announcement that Guterres’ efficiency on human rights over the previous 4 years has been blended, largely characterised by an unwillingness to publicly criticise rights-abusing governments by identify and a desire for closed-door diplomacy.
    It mentioned HRW and different organisations have referred to as on Guterres to publicly urge the Chinese authorities to launch over one million Turkic Muslims arbitrarily detained in so-called training camps and appoint an envoy to observe rights abuses in China, which he has not carried out.
    “The selection of the secretary-general is largely in the hands of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, as the council nominates a leading candidate for members of the General Assembly to confirm. UN member states should be clear that they will only consider candidates who make credible commitments to resist the efforts of governments seeking to sweep human rights under the carpet,” HRW mentioned. 
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