Switzerland

JE: Thank you very much, we just completed a Humanitarian Task Force meeting. It was a meeting where we had some rare moments of feeling that we achieved, through humanitarian diplomacy, what we have so many times before failed to. 
 

As indicated in his briefing to the Security Council on 26 October 2018, Special Envoy de Mistura has been continuing intensive consultations on the early establishment of a constitutional committee.
 

Special Envoy de Mistura visited Damascus today and met Mr. Walid Al-Moualem, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic.
 
They had a frank and intense exchange of views in a cordial atmosphere.
 

JE: I have done this work of leading the Humanitarian Task Force for nearly three years, there has been too many setbacks, we have failed more often than we have achieved what we wanted, but there have been also some positive developments and we have two now that I would like to mention:
 

I am pleased to greet the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a close partner of the United Nations.
 
I welcome your focus on promoting peace and development in an age of rapid technological change.
 
Advances in technology have brought wondrous gains and can turbocharge our work for the Sustainable Development Goals.
 
Yet we know there are also dangers, coming from the misuse of new technologies.
 
It is our responsibility to nurture a digital future that is safe and beneficial for all.
 

I am pleased to greet the Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
 
With 7 million people dying annually due to tobacco, this treaty is central to improving global health. It is also essential for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3, which calls on us to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all.
 
Significant achievements have been made in implementing the Convention. The new Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products has also advanced tobacco control globally. 

Special Envoy:   Thank you very much and thank you all for coming. I can imagine it’s been quite a frustrating week for you. And I am sorry that was the case. And I am sorry it has taken so long to get here. Anyway, I will do as you say: give a few opening remarks and take some questions. So, for me the important aspect of these last three days is: we have started consultations. The process of beginning the road back to peace has started. Not quite in the way that we would have wanted, but it has begun.

The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen met with the Government of Yemen delegation, headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Khaled al Yamani this morning.
 
They discussed the expectations of these consultations and relevant issues to the peace process, in particular Confidence Building Measures.
 
The Special Envoy thanked the Yemeni Government for their positive engagement with his efforts to relaunch the peace process. He acknowledged the efforts made by the Government of Yemen and the Coalition to facilitate the convening of these consultations.

Special Envoy: Thank you very much for coming, I am sorry I am slightly late, it’s been a busy day.  I’ll make first a short statement and then, as Alessandra said, I am happy to answer some questions. 
 

JE: I think it was very clear today at the humanitarian task force that we are entering a new chapter in this very long, very bloody, very cruel, very bitter war in Syria.  Hopefully we are seeing the beginning of the end to the big war. There are signs that we may now have access to people we were fighting to get access to for a very long time, and that some of the cruel practices of the war may be coming to an end.