On 23 March 2020, Secretary-General António Guterres issued an appeal for an immediate global ceasefire to help create conditions for the delivery of lifesaving aid, reinforce diplomatic action and bring hope to places that are among the most vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 23 June 2020, the Secretary-General's call had received support from 179 Member States and one non-member observer State, as well as a range of regional organizations and international and local civil society actors.

The DPA Mediation Start-up Guidelines seek to provide guidance to managers, desk officers and field staff of the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA) on the start-up and establishment of mediation initiatives led, co-led or supported by the United Nations. Their purpose is to consolidate DPA’s institutional knowledge on strategy development, planning, support and coordination aspects of mediation initiatives.

PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Impunity

Report of the independent expert to update the Set of principles to combat impunity, Diane Orentlicher*

Addendum

Updated Set of principles for the protection and promotion of human rights through action to combat impunity

* The report was submitted after the deadline in order to take into account replies of all respondents as well as the results of the expert workshop held in November 2004.

This report has been prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution 72/243, in which the Assembly called upon the Secretary-General to submit to it, at its seventy-fourth session, a report on the state of global peace and security in line with the central mandates contained in the Charter of the United Nations. The report highlights the evolving nature of armed conflict and violence and examines the seven major trends related to global peace and security today.

The present report was prepared pursuant to Security Council resolution 2171 (2014). The report considers the evolution of contemporary conflict and the prevention landscape in recent years; provides an overview of ongoing efforts to strengthen UN prevention tools and initiatives, highlighting the cooperation with regional and subregional organizations; and also considers key challenges and opportunities for conflict prevention.

The report examines the opportunities and the challenges the United Nations and its partners currently face in conducting preventive diplomacy in a changing political and security landscape. Focusing specifically on diplomatic action taken to prevent or mitigate the spread of armed conflict, the report describes the relevance of preventive diplomacy across the conflict spectrum and as part of broader, nationally owned strategies to promote peace. 

The present report examines the challenges faced by the United Nations and its partners in providing professional mediation assistance to parties in conflict. It describes the need for experienced and knowledgeable mediators and support teams, with women adequately represented, and sufficient resources to provide assistance at an early stage to help parties design and pursue processes that will address the root causes of their conflicts, overcome obstacles that block progress, and achieve agreements that lead to sustainable peace.