Secretary-General, in Message to Moscow Security Conference, Calls for Recommitment to Common Values ‘to Secure Our Common Future’
(Delayed in transmission)
Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the fourth annual International Security Conference, delivered by Michael Møller, Acting Direct General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, in Moscow on 16 April:
I am pleased to send greetings to all participants at this fourth International Security Conference, and I thank the Russian Federation for hosting. You meet at a time of pressing and complex peace and security challenges on the United Nations agenda. The interlinked nature of threats, ranging from terrorism and organized crime to civil conflicts and even health crises, calls for a collective response. The stakes are high for civilians and fragile societies affected by such threats, whose impact on regional stability and national security in Member States can be devastating.
Perhaps, no other situation illustrates the tragic consequences of an inadequate collective response to threats to international peace and security than the crisis in Syria, now in its fifth year. The Syrian people are victims of the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. The impotence of the international community to stop the war in Syria should shame us all.
The continued bloodletting in Syria has contributed to the spread of dangerous new element that threatens the stability of the Middle Eastern region and beyond. The emergence of ISIL [the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant/Sham], or Da’esh, with its murderous ideology, and of other violent groups like Boko Haram, exemplifies one of the central threats to international peace and security today, namely the growth of transnational terrorism and violent extremism. How the international community responds to this acutely dangerous phenomenon will be a major test of our recently frayed ability to come together for the collective good.
The United Nations is addressing this threat, including by developing a United Nations Plan of Action on Preventing Violent Extremism that I intend to present to the General Assembly later this year. That Plan will reinforce the international community’s commitment to fundamental values and human rights that violent extremists seek to undermine. This is essential to upholding the ideals of the United Nations and succeeding on the ground to defeat the threat posed by these extremist ideologies. The international community must mobilize whole societies, engaging women and young people, as well as cultural, religious and educational leaders in this effort.
We are also boosting our ability to address tensions before they explode into conflicts. The United Nations is strengthening its capacity for preventive diplomacy while intensifying our focus on early warning signs of distress. The United Nations is also bolstering our peace operations by engaging with officials and institutions from around the world to sharpen this essential tool for collective security.
Our partnership with regional organizations has also gained importance in recent years. Towards this end, I would welcome strengthened collaboration with the Collective Security Treaty Organization to promote stability in the region and beyond. Good governance, grounded in political and economic inclusion, is the best way to prevent and counter violent extremism. Security is sustainable when populations have a shared interest in preserving State institutions rather than seeking to overthrow them. Let us recommit to our common values to secure our common future. In this spirit, I wish you great success.