Peace forum to double efforts in combating twin threats
Print Edition
AN international peace forum vowed yesterday to double efforts to combat the twin threats posed by terrorism and mass migration in rich and poor nations by tackling the causes of conflict and poverty.
Leaders of the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (IDPS) said rising numbers of conflicts and extremism — such as the attacks in Paris and Brussels — coupled with migration had changed the global landscape.
Studies show 2014 was the most lethal year since the end of the Cold War while conflict, poverty and climate change have forced 60 million people from their homes — the highest level since World War II — creating volatility and instability.
Isabella Lovin, Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation and forum co-host, said nations must join forces to address the “growing challenges for humanity” or risk the increase of violence in all countries.
“This is maybe the opportunity to see the world is one and we need to work longterm to help poor people in their countries and to create global security for all of us,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation at the fifth global IDPS meeting.
“The refugees that are coming into Europe right now remind us that the war going on in Syria is not so far away ... and we do have the instruments to try to stop new conflicts erupting.”
She called for all nations to speed up and scale up efforts to meet global goals agreed by the UN last year to end poverty and inequality by 2030 and to use an IDPS blueprint, the New Deal, to get parties on the ground working to peace.
The IDPS, launched in 2008 to encourage political dialogue for countries affected by conflict and fragility, includes more than 40 countries, nine multilateral organizations including the World Bank and United Nations and civil society groups.
Lovin said the forum agreed to a “Stockholm Declaration” to double efforts to help fragile and conflict-affected nations move toward peace through long-term investment in institutions, programs and support to alleviate poverty.
The IDPS meeting is the first international peace forum since the UN’s 193 member states agreed last year to 17 sustainable development goals to end poverty and promote equality and peace by 2030.
UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson said the world was at a “critical juncture,” facing turmoil and risks from various forms of violence as well as “glaring inequality.”
“We see civilians continue to pay the highest price in today’s crises ... we have to confront these threats together,” Eliasson, a former Swedish foreign minister, said.
But he said there was some good news with peace talks in the works for Syria and Yemen and agreement on the UN global goals building momentum for greater efforts to tackle poverty and conflict.
“If we live up to these intentions we could turn a different direction,” he said.
In this new global landscape, Lovin said there had never been a greater need for global cooperation to address the root causes and drivers of fragility and conflict.
“I hope this gives a new injection into the thinking of how we provide development aid and also how we do peacekeeping and peacebuilding,” Lovin said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
