Russia to Ratify Climate Agreement & other topics - Daily Briefing (10 July 2019)

Briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
- Secretary-General's Travels
- Russia
- Security Council
- Peacekeeping
- Afghanistan
- Syria
- Economic and Social Council
- U.N. Environment Programme
SECRETARY-GENERAL’S TRAVELS
Earlier this morning, the Secretary-General opened the high-level conference on counterterrorism and preventing violent extremism, hosted at the United Nations compound in Nairobi. In his remarks, the Secretary-General said that terrorism is spreading and destabilizing entire regions in Africa, but he added that the people of Africa continue to show great courage and resilience in challenging those who seek to spread violence and hatred. “The determination of Africans to find solutions to the scourge of terrorism is clear,” he said.
The Secretary-General outlined to the delegates what he hoped the conference would achieve – notably, new and strengthened partnerships between Africa and the international community and between African states themselves to tackle the threat of violent extremism and terrorism. In order to address and prevent this scourge, he said, entire communities must be mobilized and local solutions must be developed. The Secretary-General said it was time for the international community to step up and provide the financial and technical resources to support African-owned and African-led counterterrorism efforts, while fully respecting human rights, the rule of law and gender considerations.
Prior to the meeting, the Secretary-General met with Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta. The two discussed regional issues, climate change and the strong partnership between Kenya and the United Nations.
He also had a bilateral meeting with Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, and they held a brief encounter with the media. The Secretary-General told journalists that he believes that we need African forces in peace enforcing and counterterrorism operations to be much more supported than in the past.
Prior to leaving, he also participated in a dialogue on the role of women in preventing violent extremism. The Secretary-General had the opportunity to listen to a number of women civil society representatives working across all five AU regions who shared their experiences and their perspectives on the opportunities and challenges of working on counterterrorism and preventing violent extremism. He underscored to the women around the table his belief that, to deal with terrorism and violent extremism, the solution goes through local communities.
The Secretary-General will be in Mozambique tomorrow.

RUSSIA
The Secretary-General posted a tweet just now in which he welcomed the Russian Government’s announcement ahead of the Climate Action Summit to submit plans to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change. The Secretary-General wrote, “We can win the race against the climate emergency, but we need all hands on deck.”

SECURITY COUNCIL
This afternoon, the Security Council is holding a debate about peacekeeping operations, with a special focus on strengthening triangular cooperation between the Council, the Secretariat and troop- and police-contributing countries.
Expected to brief are Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, and the Force Commander of the peacekeeping mission in Mali, Lieutenant General Dennis Gyllensporre.
Highlights: