When Staffan de Mistura departs his post as the United Nation’s envoy to the Syrian crisis in November, he will leave behind a conflict that appears closer to resolution but one in which the world governing body has been sidelined and exposed as powerless in the face of one of most brutal wars in modern history.
The septuagenarian Italian-Swedish diplomat was appointed to the post in July 2014, a moment of great fragmentation in an uprising that had morphed into a protracted civil war and drawn in regional powers and militias arrayed on either side.
A political solution had eluded skilled diplomats, two of whom – the former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and the veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi – left in frustration at the intractability of the fighting and the failure to herd combatants on both sides who were not interested in compromise and thought they could win militarily.
Militias with extremist sympathies had grown in strength on the side of the opposition, and Al Qaeda’s wing in Syria, Jabhat Al Nusra, was in the ascendancy. So was ISIS, which had surged into the Iraqi city of Mosul and proclaimed a caliphate across Syria and Iraq.
Mr de Mistura set to work attempting to revive the Geneva peace process, which had yielded little in the form of concrete gains or delivered an actual end to the fighting, despite initial agreements endorsed by the UN for a political transition.
He expanded it into a multi-track effort that included women and civil society members who were enlisted, among other reasons, to discuss issues like the elements of a new Syrian constitution, but were ultimately sidelined as great power politics took center stage.
Though Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s regime seemed close to collapse early in Mr de Mistura’s tenure, it now looks on the verge of military victory. Moscow intervened in late 2015 in support of the Syrian leader, protecting his regime from defeat and backing a series of brutal military offensives that have reclaimed much of the country.
Now, only the northwestern province of Idlib and other parts of the north are controlled by the opposition, some mere proxies of neighboring Turkey, and parts of the east are under the tutelage of Kurdish militias backed by the US who want to reconcile with the regime.
But when Mr de Mistura leaves, his reign’s most significant legacy will be the sidelining of the UN as an arbiter with the leverage and power to end the conflict, and the failure of its institutions to halt the worst excesses of the war.
The UN envoy’s final task before his departure next month is to secure an agreement on the composition of a constitutional committee, a body meant to draft a charter for post-war Syria that composes appointees from the regime, the opposition and the UN. Plans to convene the committee have been stalled since a highly-publicised conference in Sochi in February, and still faces obstruction by a resurgent Assad regime convinced that it does not need to compromise while on the verge of military victory.
The UN-led Geneva process has also been effectively sidelined by rival coalitions involving countries with interests in Syria. The Astana process, led by Russia, Turkey and Iran, has emerged as the premier forum for peace talks, one that is touted by the tripartite powers leading it as merely complementary to the UN process, but in reality being more influential. But even that process has failed to secure permanent ceasefire deals.
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When Russian and Syrian government forces threatened to launch a devastating military campaign in Idlib last month, shuttle diplomacy involving the three powers and instigated by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, secured a temporary deal, not efforts by the UN.
Moreover, the last two years of Mr de Mistura’s posting have highlighted the UN’s impotence to force combatants to adhere to even the most basic norms of war, and the erosion of international institutions that have failed to hold the Assad regime and its allies to international agreements.
The Syrian government, backed by Moscow and Tehran, launched brutal campaigns to reclaim eastern Aleppo and the eastern Ghouta suburbs near Damascus, in offensives that saw the wholesale destruction of hospitals, the targeting of rescue workers and the use of chemical weapons, all leading to extremely high civilian casualties.
Security Council resolutions demanding a halt to the fighting and the delivery of humanitarian aid did little to quell the violence, which continued in a pattern of sieges and relentless violence followed by forced displacement of remaining fighters and civilians. Assad’s chemical arsenal, which was thought to have been dismantled, was put to use again in devastating attacks on the towns of Khan Sheikhoun and Douma, with little consequence.
All the while, the UN has been criticised for caving to the demands of the Assad regime, being forced to ask for the permission of the government to deliver aid to besieged areas and accused of collaborating with groups linked to the government in humanitarian projects in the country.
For now, Mr de Mistura will continue pursuing a deal on the constitutional committee until he departs a post that was once dubbed, and remains, “mission impossible”. The diplomat was never likely to succeed, with so many vested interests in a conflict that destroyed faith in the international community and its values.
But as he leaves, the UN has been rendered irrelevant in the most devastating conflict of the century.
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Premier Futsal 2017 Finals
Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side
Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado
Company%20Profile
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
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DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
Understand What Black Is
The Last Poets
(Studio Rockers)
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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