Statements were also made by the representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Argentina, Russian Federation, Netherlands, China, Tunisia, Malaysia, Mali, Namibia, Canada, Ukraine, Jamaica, Japan, Colombia, Norway, Brazil, Senegal, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Uganda and Kenya. "The knowledge we have becomes the source of inspiration for us to use, imaginatively and from all angles." Failure to use imaginative mechanisms and collectively to take corrective action could hamper prevention of future conflicts, he added. "We prevent on the basis of what we know", he said. The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could have been avoided before the outbreak of war. The representative of Rwanda said the tragedies of his country and Srebrenica could have been prevented on the basis of information available. The Council must, therefore, strive to prevent potential conflict from degenerating into instances of armed conflict. The security dimension was no less serious. His country had been overwhelmed by the social and economic dislocation associated with such massive invasions. The representative of the United Republic of Tanzania said his country had witnessed innocent civilians, mostly women and children, running for their lives from their own countrymen. The Council must act on the basis of objective assessment of a particular situation instead of responding selectively, and the Secretary-General must play a more active and impartial role, particularly in situations where massive violations of human rights against people under colonial rule or foreign occupation occurred. The principles that should guide Council action in conflict prevention should be based on the norms of collective security as defined in the Charter, said the representative of Pakistan. Considering the costs of conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction, in terms of human suffering, as well as financial and operational costs, the investment in conflict prevention might be the most economic and rational investment possible, he said. Speaking as Chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the representative of Austria said the United Nations, regional organizations and individual States could and must invest more effort, time and money in conflict prevention. There should be room for political, ethnic and religious minorities so that the alternative for them did not fall between their absence from political life or recourse to armed violence, he said. The rule of law, respect for human rights and the democratic foundation and functioning of political systems should be ensured. Responsibility in that area lay with States themselves, but international institutions and donors had a considerable role to play. The representative of France, speaking on behalf of the European Union and its associated States, said the best way to prevent conflicts was to deal with their fundamental causes. Attention must be paid to healthy and balanced economic and social development. In the day-long debate, in which 30 statements were heard, speakers urged a new culture of prevention and of peace. States would, in turn, have to give the institutions that existed for prevention the backing they so urgently needed. They would also have to acknowledge that the international community could play a constructive role in internal situation, which could strengthen sovereignty rather than weaken it. Leaders must recognize the need for preventive action, sometimes even before signs of crisis were evident. That would not be achieved by grand gestures or by short-term thinking, but required a change of deeply ingrained attitudes, the Secretary-General said. NEW YORK, 20 July (UN Headquarters) - Conflict prevention must be made the cornerstone of collective security in the twenty-first century, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Security Council this morning as it debated the prevention of armed conflicts. Speakers Urge New Culture of Prevention, Peace, Balanced Development For information only - not an official document.Ĭonflict Prevention Must Be “Cornerstone of Collective Security in 21st Century”, Secretary-General Tells Members,
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