7561st Security Council Meeting on International Peace and Security - Part 1

Prevention Should Be Integral to All United Nations Efforts, Secretary-General Tells Security Council in First Open Debate on Root Causes of Conflict.

7561st Meeting (AM)

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 02:31:02
• Production Date: 17 November 2015
• Asset Language: Arabic; Chinese; English; French; Russian; Spanish
• Personal Subject: BAN KI-MOON
• Subject Topical: INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY; PEACE AND SECURITY
• MAMS Id: 1511736
• Parent Id: 1509648

Description

Some 80 Speakers Weigh in on Link between Development, Security during All-Day Meeting
Today’s violent conflicts, most recently marked by terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut and Baghdad, were often rooted in a mix of exclusion, inequality and governance failures, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council today, urging a greater focus on prevention, human rights and coherence among all actors to address problems which, when allowed to fester, led to large-scale atrocity.

“Prevention is not something to be turned on and off,” Mr. Ban said, opening the Council’s first high-level open debate on security, development and the root causes of conflict. “It should instead be an integral part of United Nations action in all contexts.” While development that left people behind sowed the seeds of violence, well-targeted assistance could address risk factors, such as inequality and marginalization, at the most critical moments.

In addition, he said, human rights violations were often the best warning signs of trouble. As such, the Human Rights up Front initiative — which called for cultural and operational change within the United Nations, as well as more transparent engagement with national authorities — was being rolled out and a system for early warning and quick response was being put in place.

Against that backdrop, coherence among all actors must be strengthened, he said, and the United Nations should pool its strengths in bringing analysis to the Council and the Peacebuilding Commission. Adequate, predictable financing was also needed for good offices and mediation, Country Teams and the Peacebuilding Fund. “The human costs of our failures can be seen in all-too-many places,” he said. “We have the tools with which to do better. Let us use them.”

Broadly agreeing, Olof Skoog, (Sweden), Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, said international actors must act more coherently in addressing root causes. “By overcoming short-sighted turf wars, we would not only increase the efficacy of this Organization, but even more importantly, provide more effective support for the societies that it was set up to help,” he said. The importance of coherence was never more evident than during transitions, which required understanding of complex interrelationships and a shift away from a linear perception of conflict.

Wided Bouchamaoui, President of the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2015 of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, said the appearance of terrorism in Tunisia was, in large part, the result of a “tragic” mismanagement of the Libyan situation. Her country was at an ever-growing risk of destabilization, which would impact Europe and the world. Security threats included transborder traffic, mass migrations and terrorism.

She said a system to set up the rule of law, strengthen institutions and raise awareness was needed, as was a new social contract through which civil duties were clearly spelled out. Tunisia was considered an exception, as it had avoided conflict through compromise and dialogue. It had given hope that a democratic transition was possible and could be an example to other Arab States.

In the ensuing debate, most of the nearly 80 speakers expressed their condolences to the people and Government of France over the loss of life in last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris, with several decrying them as further proof that the global response had not caught up with the current realities of conflict. France’s delegate said the attacks would never change the face of his country, but rather, strengthen its determination to fight terrorism everywhere.

In that context, a number of speakers stressed that security and development were “two sides of the same coin” on which the Council had an important role to play. Malaysia’s representative pressed the 15-member body to enable the conditions for the Peacebuilding Commission to work. Through better coordination with the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and others, it could better analyse specific situations.

Justine Greening, Secretary of State for International Development of the United Kingdom, said the Council had a vital role in seeking political solutions and ensuring that international humanitarian law was followed. She compared development without peace and stability to a house built on sand, which would be washed away when crisis hit.

To prevent that scenario, said the United States’ representative, operational changes that promoted system-wide analysis were needed, which would enable more timely action to respond to large-scale human rights abuses. She cited recent events in Burundi as evidence of how countries could progress, and then slip back into crisis.

Portugal’s representative added that while issues such as climate change, transnational organized crime and migration fell under the purview of other forums, the Council must be mindful of their increasing impacts. It should not fear innovation. It had every advantage in developing a more comprehensive and informed approach in that regard.

However, other speakers took a markedly different view. While acknowledging a link between development and security, the representative of the Russian Federation pointed to the danger in making that connection an “absolute truth”, as the Council had neither the power nor relevant tools for undertaking such work. Going beyond its purview risked degrading its effectiveness. Development had an inherent value, which should be promoted by the General Assembly, Economic and Social Council and others.

Moreover, he said, some States had defined development with strict criteria, by which donors imposed standards but did not honour development pledges. His Government stood for effective conflict prevention, marked by non-intervention in State affairs and dialogue with sovereign authorities.

Pakistan’s delegate weighed in, pointing to international institutions, especially within the United Nations, that oversaw issues pertaining to development and human rights. If the Council started taking up those responsibilities, the bodies mandated to deal with them would lose their relevance.

Along similar lines, Brazil’s delegate said the relationship between security and development could not be understood from a simplistic notion that poverty constituted a threat to peace. The gravest threats to international peace and security, including world wars, had historically risen from tensions among industrialized nations. Militaristic agendas and the unilateral use of force were far more significant sources of instability than poverty. The first “silo” to be broken down was the erroneous perception that only developing countries needed to build peaceful and inclusive societies.

On that point, Venezuela’s delegate said the root causes of conflict had more to do with the imposition of economic and social models by developed countries, including former colonial powers, on developing nations. As such, the Council must identify foreign interference as one such cause, he said, citing situations in Western Sahara and territories occupied by Israel.

Still, offering a view from the frontlines, the representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reminded the Council Chamber that his organization witnessed first-hand, and on a daily basis, the devastation and humanitarian consequences that armed conflict brought to people’s lives, driving millions deeper into poverty and causing enormous development reversals. Poverty and suffering were much reduced in those conflicts where international humanitarian law was widely respected.

Also speaking today were representatives of Lithuania, Angola, Spain, China, Nigeria, Chile, Chad, Jordan, New Zealand, Netherlands, Rwanda, Thailand, Guatemala, India, Iraq, Liechtenstein, Australia, Italy, Iran (on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement), Colombia, Mexico, Hungary, Ethiopia, Germany, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Belgium, Slovakia, Croatia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Armenia, Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Pakistan, Peru, Switzerland, Canada, South Africa, Ireland, Paraguay, Israel, Japan, Slovenia, Poland, Cyprus, Ukraine, Syria, Palau, Georgia, Egypt, Algeria, Kuwait, Turkey, Sierra Leone (for the African Group), Botswana (for the Southern African Development Community), Kenya, Norway, Montenegro, Cambodia and Azerbaijan, as well representatives of the European Union and Holy See.

The representatives of the Russian Federation, Armenia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan addressed the Council a second time.

The meeting began at 10:11 a.m. and ended at 6:20 p.m.