We Must Adapt ‘If We Are to Meet the Expectations of the People We Are to Serve’, Secretary-General Tells Partnerships for Sustaining Peace Event
Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson's remarks at the side event “Partnerships for Sustaining Peace and Preventing Violent Conflict”, in New York today:
It is a pleasure for me to make some remarks at this important event.
I commend Ambassador [Juan José] Gómez Camacho [of Mexico] for his leadership in convening this meeting. I would also like to applaud his initiative to establish the Group of Friends of Sustaining Peace.
Let me also express gratitude to Ambassador Macharia Kamau of Kenya and Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission for his leadership and for moderating today’s discussion.
Our gathering is taking place at a moment of profound challenge. This side event is a milestone in a series of efforts to rally support for the sustaining peace agenda.
The number of civil wars has tripled in the past 10 years, and their human toll has been devastating: 65 million people have been forced from their homes, and at least 130 million need humanitarian assistance.
Conflicts today are also far more complex. Their effects are felt well beyond national borders, often destabilizing entire regions. They have also become breeding grounds for terrorism and violent extremism.
These challenges are testing our collective ability to respond effectively. They have also demonstrated the limits of conventional methods for conflict resolution. We must adapt and be innovative if we are to meet the expectations of the people we are to serve.
It was the recognition that fundamental change is needed that led to the recent policy reviews of peace operations, peacebuilding and Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), placing conflict prevention in the centre. The reviews also underscored the primacy of political solutions, the importance of partnerships and the need for sustained and adequate financing.
These messages also figure prominently in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Several Goals address factors that often are causes of violent conflict, including those related to employment, equality, natural resource management and access to justice. I am glad one of the goals speaks directly to the ultimate objective of prevention: to promote peaceful, just and inclusive societies.
The “sustaining peace” resolutions, adopted unanimously by the General Assembly and the Security Council in April this year, are further calls for an increased emphasis on conflict prevention at all stages of the conflict cycle.
Within the United Nations, we are working to strengthen the tools and methods that bring the system together. We are trying to bridge the work between peace and security, development, humanitarian and human rights actors.
At the same time, I claim that this is not a task the United Nations can carry out alone. Bridging walls and silos must be a collective endeavour. The resolutions offer a valuable tool for Member States to rethink the scope of peacebuilding and to consider ways in which they can bring greater coherence to their work.
Ending fragmentation will also require us to align mindsets and activities with our partners, in particular regional and subregional organizations, international financial institutions and civil society. That is the objective of our gathering today: to identify areas for further collaboration, as well as any shortcomings that should be addressed.
I am very pleased to see Nancy Lindborg, President of the United States Institute of Peace, and Hafez Ghanem, Vice-President for Middle East and North Africa of the World Bank, on the panel.
The Institute recently hosted an important event on Security Council resolution 2250 (2015) on youth, peace and security.
And our partnership with the World Bank on conflict-affected countries grows stronger by the day. The President of the World Bank and the Secretary-General have travelled together to the Great Lakes, Sahel and Horn of Africa. I am particularly pleased to note that the World Bank is assessing what sustaining peace and prevention means for them in terms of development work.
Another example of where we are working across humanitarian, development and peace silos is on the recovery and peacebuilding assessments. These bring together the United Nations, World Bank and European Union to conduct joint assessments and planning exercises in support of host countries.
Our hope for the future is that these and other efforts to break down barriers and work together will make a substantial difference for people on the ground. The discussions today are an important part of the work to improve the ways we are to prevent conflict and sustain peace, to the benefit of millions of people worldwide.
I wish you a stimulating and fruitful discussion.