The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the MENA region especially hard, exacerbating the political and institutional weaknesses of fragile States and disproportionately affecting the lives of those already vulnerable due to protracted conflicts and deepening humanitarian crises.
The United Nations (UN) recognizes the need for a comprehensive response to these unprecedented circumstances, combining a scaling up of its humanitarian assistance activities with bold diplomatic initiatives.
This narrative is especially relevant in the broader Mediterranean.
Despite this complex backdrop of turbulence, fragmentation, change and opportunity, the UN remains the International Community’s best hope to mitigate the “normalization of instability” in the MENA region and promote a positive agenda for the Mediterranean.
WELCOME REMARKS
Mariangela Zappia, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations
Rosemary Di Carlo, Under Secretary General for Political Affairs, UN
FIRESIDE CHAT
Building back better (together): reviving multilateralism after COVID-19
Enrico Letta, Dean, Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po, and former Prime Minister of Italy
Moderated by
Giampiero Massolo, President, ISPI and Robert Malley, President and CEO, ICG
VIRTUAL PANEL
Healing the Mediterranean: Rethinking security in post-pandemic times
Stefano del Col, Head of Mission and Force Commander, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
Christoph Heusgen, Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations
Lana Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the United Nations
Claudia Gazzini, Consulting Analyst, Libya, International Crisis Group
Moderated by
Richard Gowan, UN Director, ICG
