SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF CONFLICT PREVENTION, IN ADDRESS TO INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION AT WINDHOEK
Press Release
SG/SM/6514
SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF CONFLICT PREVENTION, IN ADDRESS TO INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION AT WINDHOEK
19980403 ADVANCE TEXT Following is the text of a message by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the opening of the Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), to be delivered by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast, at Windhoek on 6 April:It gives me great pleasure to extend my best wishes to this conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an organization which plays such an important role in promoting democracy throughout the world. I also welcome your choice of venue for this meeting, for it is yet another manifestation of what I see as Africa's new age: an age of democracy, human rights and sustainable development. Today, portents of this new age can be seen all around the continent -- not least here in Namibia, where the smooth transition to democracy has served as a source of inspiration to us all.
One of the main items on your agenda at this conference is the prevention of conflict and the restoration of peace and trust in countries emerging from war. I would like to share some thoughts with you about the role of the United Nations in this field.
The prevention of conflict is one of the founding purposes of the United Nations. It has assumed new urgency in recent years. In the aftermath of the cold war, we have seen an upsurge of violent conflict, a rising tide of intra-State wars, particularly in Africa. They are conflicts where civilians and whole ethnic groups are becoming the principal victims.
At the request of the Security Council, I will soon present a comprehensive report devoted to Africa.
The report covers a wide range of issues, from development and democratization to peace and security. It builds on the United Nations many recent experiences in Somalia, the Great Lakes region, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- experiences which more than highlight the relevance and urgency of developing preventive action and peace-building measures for Africa.
We all know that prevention is better than cure. In recent years, however, the United Nations has given increasing attention to the concept of "prevention as a root cure". The Carnegie Commission Report on the Prevention of Deadly Conflict distinguishes between operational and structural prevention. Today, the United Nations operational prevention strategy involves four fundamental activities -- early warning, preventive diplomacy, preventive deployment and early humanitarian action. The structural prevention strategy involves three additional activities -- preventive disarmament, development and peace-building.
Guiding and infusing all these efforts is the promotion of human rights, democratization and good governance, as well as enhanced cooperation with regional organizations in all these fields.
It is now increasingly recognized, however, that unless more systematic efforts are made to address the deep-rooted causes of conflicts, no operational preventive measures will be enough to prevent them. Poverty, endemic underdevelopment, weak or non-existent institutions, dependence and instability are major sources of these conflicts. Political exclusion and lack of respect for human rights, including freedom of association and expression, contribute to political instability.
It is equally clear that political, humanitarian, economic and social factors cannot be dealt with independently of one another. They need to be addressed in a mutually reinforcing manner by all actors involved in solving a particular crisis.
These two fundamental realizations lie at the heart of what we broadly call peace-building. The Deputy Secretary-General is coordinating innovative work on how the United Nations system, in collaboration with its many different partners, can ensure that development and assistance efforts, hand in hand with a political strategy, can better prevent the eruption or resumption of a conflict, and how we can thus improve the prospects for long-term sustainable peace in a given crisis country. In the context of my reform proposals, I have designated the Department of Political Affairs as the focal point for post-conflict peace-building activities in the United Nations system.
However much the prevention of conflict is central to our mission, the United Nations cannot act on every front and deal with every dispute.
In some cases, we welcome the initiative of other actors in taking the lead in the prevention, management or resolution of conflicts. Cases where, for historical, geographical, political, operational or financial reasons, Member States, a regional organization, an eminent person or a non-governmental organization may be better placed to lead efforts to prevent
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conflict or negotiate peace. In such cases, the United Nations stands ready to support and coordinate any efforts undertaken.
The United Nations looks forward to working ever more closely with African regional organizations, such as the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), of which Namibia is an important member. We recently opened a liaison office at OAU headquarters in Addis Ababa. This will help us consolidate cooperation and coordinate political efforts to prevent, contain and resolve conflicts in Africa.
For the United Nations, there is no goal more overriding, no commitment more compelling, no aspiration more profound than the prevention of armed conflict. Ensuring human security, in the broadest sense, is the United Nations cardinal mission.
The means to achieve that mission lie in genuine and lasting prevention. Democratization, the establishment of the rule of law, and respect for human rights are crucial ingredients.
To mark this fiftieth anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I have spoken to audiences from Harare to Shanghai about the rights that belong to all humankind.
In the same year you, the members of the IPU, have adopted the Universal Declaration on Democracy and thereby reiterated your commitment to peace and development through the strengthening of representative institutions. I see this as yet another manifestation of how parliamentarians such as yourselves, and organizations such as the IPU, are our indispensable partners in the service of a better world.
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