Russia, Iran Await Appointment of Walid Moalem’s Successor

In this Aug. 30, 2018, file photo, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moalem gestures as he speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. (AP)
In this Aug. 30, 2018, file photo, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moalem gestures as he speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. (AP)
TT
20

Russia, Iran Await Appointment of Walid Moalem’s Successor

In this Aug. 30, 2018, file photo, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moalem gestures as he speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. (AP)
In this Aug. 30, 2018, file photo, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moalem gestures as he speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. (AP)

Late Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moalem was laid to rest on Monday. The “soft face” of the regime and the man with the “velvet statements” was one of the regime’s staunchest supporters even as it suppressed a peaceful uprising that devolved into a bloody conflict that has been raging for nearly a decade.

Moalem died as the Assad regime marked 50 years since coming to power through the Corrective Movement. Sine then, Syria has only known three foreign ministers, with Moalem the only one to pass away without defecting from the regime or being removed from his post.

The longtime supporter of the regime passed away after a short fight with cancer. He already had a history of heart problems.

His death coincided with president Bashar Assad’s introduction of political, security and media changes that brought figures he is close with deeper into his inner circle. Among them is journalist Luna al-Shibl, who was appointed “special aide at the presidency.” She will still retain her position as director of press and political bureau.

With Moalem’s passing, attention will now be turned to his successor as Syria remains in the grips of a power struggle between Russia, Iran and other regional and international players. Western diplomats who recently visited Damascus believe that deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad leans close to Iran. Another candidate is Ayman Sousan, the assistant foreign minister, and Bashar al-Jaafari, Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations. Sousan is believed to be close to the Russians, while Jaafari leans more towards Iran.

Moreover, the new foreign minister will have to take on the role of holding talks with western countries and negotiations with Tel Aviv. Moalem was one of the most prominent Syrian negotiators who had held open and covert talks with Israel.

Beginnings
Moalem, who was commonly known in Syria as “Abou Tarik”, was born on July 17, 1941. He went to school in Damascus and Tartus, before enrolling at Cairo University and graduating with a degree in economics in 1963. His return to Damascus later that year coincided with the rise of the Baath party and its ensuing coup.

He joined the diplomatic corps and was appointed to various embassies. He served as ambassador to Romania between 1975 and 1980. Then Foreign Minister Abdul Halim Khaddam was not impressed with him and subsequently sent him off to work at the ministry’s archive department. Moalem used that time to write some books. He would write four throughout his lifetime.

Farouk al-Sharaa replaced Khaddam, who was appointed vice president in 1984. Moalem was then appointed as head of the private offices department, one of the most significant in the ministry.

With the launch of Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations in 1991, he was appointed ambassador to the United States, a post he retained until 1999. During this time, he held and attended a series of secret meetings with Israeli politicians and military figures, impressing the Americans, Europeans and Arab countries.

Then president Hafez Assad recalled him abruptly from Washington, possibly over his exaggeration of claims with the Israelis. For a short while Moalem would be marginalized in Damascus before being appointed aide and then deputy foreign minister. He would oversee efforts aimed at reaching “settlements” in Lebanon. He was among the last Syrian officials to speak to slain Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Hariri was assassinated in a major car bombing in Beirut on February 14, 2005. The murder is widely blamed on Syria, an allegation it has repeatedly denied. In February 2006, Moalem was appointed foreign minister, succeeding Sharaa, who was named vice president, replacing Khaddam who had defected from the regime.

‘Hawks’ and ‘pigeons’
Since becoming foreign minister, Moalem would become known for his “pragmatism” or as a “pigeon” among the “hawks” led by Sharaa. Sharaa in turn had inherited this role from the “brusque Khaddam”.

Moalem was an advocate of establishing relations with the West and Arab countries. He believed in having a “balanced” relationship with Iran. These stances led many opposition figures to believe that Moalem would defect from the regime with the eruption of the 2011 protests.

They were wrong. In fact, Moalem would emerge as one of the staunchest defenders of Damascus. He became the face of the regime, holding regular press conferences and talks with Moscow and Tehran, Damascus’ main allies. He managed to retain his position since then, even amid government reshuffles over the years.

Moalem frequently stressed that Assad would remain in his position “as long as the people wanted it.” He was among the first officials to describe the opponents of the regime as “terrorists” and was one of the fiercest critics of Kurdish fighters for receiving support from Washington.

Throughout his long rambling press conferences, he always described the war in Syria as a “foreign conspiracy.” He was known for his dismissive and mocking attitude of the West that had slapped sanctions on Syria and its officials. He spoke in a soft tone, exuding calm even during the toughest days of the conflict. During the conflict, his foreign trips became limited to Russia, Iran, Muscat and the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The opposition had met Moalem’s statements with criticism and ridicule, once mocking his claims that he wanted to “wipe Europe off the map.”

In August 2011, Washington imposed sanctions on the minister, whom it said was using the excuse of a foreign conspiracy on Syria in order to conceal the terrorist acts of the regime and spread lies. An American official at the time described him as the liaison between Damascus and Tehran. A year later, the Europeans would slap him with their own sanctions for the violent repression of protests in Damascus.

Moalem’s last public appearance was at the opening of an international refugee conference last Wednesday in Damascus, when he appeared to be in ill health. The following day, he did not attend the closing ceremony of the event, which was co-hosted with Russia.

In Tehran, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed his condolences, praising Moalem for his “important role” in defending Syria’s national interests and security, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Russian deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov hailed Moalem as a diplomat who “understood the importance of Syrian-Russian relations.”

“We have lost a very reliable partner and sincere friend,” said Bogdanov, who was formerly stationed in Damascus. He stressed that he had been in “almost constant contact” with Moalem in the 35 years he had known him.

Oman, the sole Gulf country to keep diplomatic ties with Syria, offered its condolences to Syria, as did Lebanese President Michel Aoun.



These are 5 Things the UN Does that You May Not Have Known

The United Nations logo is seen on a window in an empty hallway at United Nations headquarters during the 75th annual UN General Assembly high-level debate in New York, US, September 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar
The United Nations logo is seen on a window in an empty hallway at United Nations headquarters during the 75th annual UN General Assembly high-level debate in New York, US, September 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar
TT
20

These are 5 Things the UN Does that You May Not Have Known

The United Nations logo is seen on a window in an empty hallway at United Nations headquarters during the 75th annual UN General Assembly high-level debate in New York, US, September 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar
The United Nations logo is seen on a window in an empty hallway at United Nations headquarters during the 75th annual UN General Assembly high-level debate in New York, US, September 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar

The United Nations' vast system has tackled everything from delivering life-saving humanitarian aid to providing crucial peacekeeping operations in conflict zones since it was established in the wake of World War II.

As the international body closes in on 80 years, questions about its relevancy and efficiency have sharpened from supporters and critics alike. Recent US cuts to foreign assistance and the reevaluation of humanitarian contributions by other countries have forced a reckoning for the UN, said The Associated Press.

The organization has long sought to highlight its unique role as the meeting place of global leaders, with an ambitious mandate to prevent another world war.

Staffers, however, say the UN does more than respond to civilians’ needs in war zones and debate resolutions in the Security Council.

“The things that are not on the radar of anyone, that nobody sees every day, that’s what we do everywhere, in more than 150 countries,” said Diene Keita, executive director for programs at the UN's population agency.

Here are five things the UN does that you may not have known:

Providing training to women and girls who have faced gender-based violence.

UN agencies facilitate programs worldwide focused on women, tied to education, financial literacy, employment opportunities and more. Among the most sensitive services provided are those for victims of gender-based violence.

In Chad, the UN Population Fund operates several rehabilitation programs for women and girls recovering from that trauma. One of them, Halima Yakoy Adam, was taken at age 15 to a Boko Haram training camp in Nigeria, where she and several other girls were forced to become suicide bombers. Adam managed to escape with severe injuries, while the others died in blasts.

Through UN programs on the islands of Lake Chad, Adam received health and reproductive services as well as vocational training. She is now working as a paralegal in her community to assist other women and girls.

“We are not created to stay,” Keita said of UN agencies' long-term presence. “So this is embedded in what we do every single day. We have that humility in knowing that we make a difference, so that people do not need us the next day.”

Resettling refugees in Mexico

Images of refugees at US and European borders show the migration crisis around the world. Often overlooked are the refugees who are resettled in communities outside American and European cities, ones that resemble their home countries and cultural upbringings.

Since 2016, the UN's refugee agency has supported the integration of more than 50,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Mexico. They arrived in southern Mexico and were relocated to industrial cities after being screened and granted asylum by the government.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees provides transportation, orientation and access to health, education and other social services. More than 650 companies have agreed to train and employ these people, whose labor has generated a $15 million annual contribution to the Mexican economy, according to the UN.

According to UN estimates, 94% of these working-age refugees have secured formal employment within their first month in the country and nearly 90% of school-age children have enrolled in school. The UN program also provides what staffers describe as clear pathways to Mexican citizenship.

“Mexico has become a country where people forced to flee can find the stability they need to restart their lives with dignity,” Giovanni Lepri, the top UN refugee agency official in Mexico, said in March. “A strong asylum system and legal framework allows an effective integration of asylum-seekers and refugees.”

Eliminating exploding remnants of war

UN agencies are present throughout various phases of war, from delivering food, water and medical supplies in an active military zone to the iconic “Blue Helmets” — the military personnel deployed to help countries transition out of conflict.

Less attention is paid to efforts made after the dust has settled.

One of those initiatives, the United Nations Mine Action Service, was established in 1997 to facilitate projects aimed at mitigating the threat posed by unexploded munitions in countries years — and sometimes decades — after war.

The UN estimates that on average, one person is killed or injured by land mines and other explosive ordnance every hour.

In January, a 21-year-old man was harvesting olives in a Syrian orchard with two friends when they noticed a visible mine on the ground. Panicked, they tried to leave, but one of them stepped on a land mine and it exploded, amputating one of his legs above the knee.

A month later, in Cambodia, a rocket-propelled grenade believed to be more than 25 years old killed two toddlers when it blew up near their homes.

The UN program aims to work with communities in Syria, Afghanistan and Nigeria to safely locate and remove these remnants of war while providing education and threat assessments.

Since its inception, the UN says more than 55 million land mines have been destroyed and over 30 countries have become mine-free.

Teaching refugee girls self-defense in Kenya

In a refugee camp in northwest Kenya, dozens of girls 12 to 18 have gathered every Saturday at a women's empowerment center to learn self-defense through a Taekwondo class.

The program, launched by the UN's Population Fund last year, has focused on providing an outlet for girls who have either been victims of gender-based violence or are at risk of it after fleeing conflict zones in countries like South Sudan, Ethiopia and Congo.

The coaches are locals who understand the cultural and political dynamics their students face while living in a camp that is home to nearly 300,000 refugees.

The goal is to use sports activities to create safe spaces for women and girls to discuss various issues like period poverty, abuse and domestic conflict. The program, which the UN has replicated in Egypt and elsewhere, is funded by the Olympic Refuge Foundation.

Sex education by monks in Bhutan

Topics surrounding sex and reproductive issues were considered taboo for centuries in Buddhist communities. UN staffers have spent the past decade working with religious leaders in Bhutan and other countries in Asia to “desensitize” the topics they believe are crucial to a healthy society.

The campaign has led more than 1,500 nuns from 26 nunneries to hold discussions with community members around sexual and reproductive health and the prevention of gender-based violence.

Now, at least 50 monks are trained to provide counseling services on these topics to students across Bhutan's 20 districts.

The UN says these partnerships, which began in 2014, have contributed to a decrease in maternal mortality, an increase in contraception use, and better reproductive care for pregnant women.