Note: A full summary of today’s Security Council open debate will be available after its conclusion.
PEACE THROUGH DIALOGUE: THE CONTRIBUTION OF REGIONAL, SUBREGIONAL AND BILATERAL ARRANGEMENTS TO THE PREVENTION AND PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES
Briefings
MOHAMED KHALED KHIARI, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, noted that, today, the stakes for preventive diplomacy and dialogue could not be higher, warning that absent a negotiated two-State solution for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the vicious cycle of violence risks plunging the entire region into conflict for years and generations to come. With the post-cold-war period over and a transition under way to a new global order, he noted that “the world has entered a new era”, but already it is marked by deepening divisions and retrenchment, with geopolitical tensions at their highest in decades. “The ensuing loss of trust – and the risks of escalation – affect almost all regions,” he pointed out, noting that many States have been sceptical about the multilateral system and have profound grievances regarding unmet commitments and double standards. “Women and men everywhere also have a deep sense that Governments and international organizations are failing to deliver for them,” he added.
“With increasing geopolitical strife and challenges to international norms, negotiated settlements of conflicts have been harder to achieve,” he said, pointing to the pursuit of military solutions prominently featuring in recent conflicts for which the civilians are paying a heavy toll. Moreover, the deterioration of global and regional arms-control frameworks has increased the possibility of dangerous standoffs, miscalculations and escalation. He highlighted that: “Against this backdrop, the Secretary-General’s policy brief on A New Agenda for Peace outlines how Member States can take action to re-engage, deescalate, recommit to diplomacy for peace and rebuild trust.” While it takes risk-taking, persistence and creativity, diplomacy must be the driving force for a more effective collective security system, he said, stressing: “Diplomatic engagement is important among countries that think alike. But it is crucial between those that disagree.” Diplomacy demands, above all else, a commitment to the pacific settlement of disputes, he emphasized, pointing to Chapter VI of the Charter of the United Nations, which prescribes that all States shall rely on peaceful means as their first option to resolve disputes.
Regional organizations and frameworks, which have a critical role in resolving armed conflict, can bring credibility and legitimacy for preventive diplomacy, increase trust and reduce misperceptions, as well as enhance mechanisms for crisis management, he pointed out. They can also offer avenues for trust-building and détente, he added, highlighting that regional actions have successfully prevented conflicts and escalation throughout recent history. While not all lessons are transferrable from one region to another, they show how to initiate dialogue to overcome differences – and seek assistance of a trusted intermediary when needed; ensure that channels of communication remain open even when the disputes escalate into violence; and take account of the fears and concerns of one’s rival and actively work to reduce these by building frameworks that enhance trust. Strengthening, building or rebuilding regional frameworks and organizations is particularly important in regions where long-standing security architectures are collapsing or mired in stalemate – or where they have never existed, he stressed, adding that strong partnerships between the United Nations and regional organizations are also needed.
“As A New Agenda for Peace recognizes, the Member States of the United Nations have the responsibility – and the means – to meet the shared obligations entrusted to them by the United Nations Charter,” he said, noting that the good offices of the Secretary-General, and his envoys, remains at their disposal – not only as a tool to prevent and mediate conflict, but as an impartial vehicle to bring Member States together to seek mutually acceptable solutions. “In this increasingly divided world, we need at least one institution in which all can trust,” he emphasized. No stone can be left unturned in the search of avenues for de-escalation and trust-building, he said, stressing that: “For this to work, we need courage to listen to the views of others and consider them in good faith.” Regional frameworks and institutions play a key bridge-building conduit in this regard, he said, stating: “At a time of heightened tensions, it is our shared responsibility to do everything in our power to maintain the system of collective security that our predecessors built.”
MICHELLE BACHELET, former President of Chile, underlined that, amid a shifting world order, the world must adjust to a more fragmented geopolitical landscape. The growing complexity of the conflict environment makes its resolution more difficult, as local and regional dynamics intersect in complex ways with the interests of external parties. To address such challenges, she called for the building of a robust and universal approach to prevent conflict and violence guiding action across the human rights and sustainable development pillars, adding: “Prevention saves lives and safeguards development gains.” Outlining the provisions of Chapter VI of the Charter of the United Nations, which lays out tools for prevention of disputes, she noted that preventing crises is primarily the responsibility of Member States.
On Chapter VIII of the Charter, which contains provisions concerning the role of regional arrangements in maintaining peace and their relations with the Council, she said that, more than ever, the United Nations is called on to encourage dialogue among Members to strengthen regional organizations to enhance their role in maintaining international peace and security. She highlighted that, in the policy brief on the Secretary-General’s A New Agenda for Peace, published in July, he calls for robust regional frameworks and organizations in the face of growing competition at the global level and increasingly transnational threats. These regional frameworks and organizations should promote trust-building, transparency and détente. “But, we cannot forget that conflicts breed where there is poor governance, human rights abuse and grievances over the unequal distribution of resources,” she stressed.
At the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights are facing pushback in all regions, she went on, adding: “Painfully, we see a significant retrenchment of human rights and an erosion of the rule of law, including in contexts of armed conflicts.” Against this backdrop, she underlined the urgent need to return to core principles. The United Nations is a norms-based organization, she said, underscoring the need to rebuild consensus among Member States. Diplomacy should not just be a tool for reducing risks of conflict, but also to manage heightened fractures marking the geopolitical order today. On this, she emphasized the need for women’s participation in mediation for lasting peace, which goes beyond the silencing of guns. Precipitating women’s meaningful participation in decision-making, eradicating all forms of violence against women, among other measures, would help shift power and enable progress in sustaining peace, she added.
On the positive role of bilateral, subregional and regional arrangements in building confidence and maintaining peace, she spotlighted the imminent twenty-fifth anniversary of the signing of the Brasilia Agreements, a historic moment which ended a boundary dispute in the Americas, with the participation, as guarantors, of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the United States, which provides evidence of the value of the regional actors in building sustainable peace.
THABO MBEKI, former President of South Africa, noting that for decades, the overwhelming majority of UN peacekeepers have been deployed to Africa, said that the continent, and more specifically the African Union, will continue to cooperate directly with the Security Council on peace and security challenges. Highlighting past failures, including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan and Mali, he reminded the Council of two elements of the 2015 report of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations, which called for politics to be the hallmark of the United Nations approach in peacemaking and for global and regional partners to work together for peace and stability. These points are still important because of their direct relevance to what needs to be done to strengthen the peace effort globally, he said.
The African Union, with its strong peace and security architecture, is best placed to ensure the politics for prevention and resolution of conflict in Africa, he continued, adding that this idea applies equally to other regional organizations in other parts of the work. Going forward, a bold new agenda is required through partnerships. He called for some UN resources to be used to fund African Union peace operations, explaining that this will not weaken the Council, but rather help it to discharge its obligations through strong regional partners.
JOSEFINA ECHAVARRÍA ÁLVAREZ, Director of the Peace Accords Matrix (PAM), said that sustained dialogue is most needed when there are disagreements and political difficulties. “These are the best times to deepen our understanding on how and when the implementation of peaceful arrangements fails – not an uncommon occurrence – and focus our attention on how to design and implement peaceful arrangements that can succeed in the short, mid- and long term.” The Peace Accords Matrix project at the Kroc Institute has researched more than 34 intra-State comprehensive peace accords signed since 1989. The project’s data offers insights into the types of provisions that are more or less likely to be implemented, how implementation processes unfold over time and how implementation affects different post-accord outcomes. “We make use of this research-based knowledge to engage conflict parties, mediators, negotiators and civil society organizations in dialogues and with technical advice on process and content issues,” she said.
Most peace accords fail when they are not comprehensive in relation to the issues they cover, when not all actors and stakeholders are engaged in negotiation and implementation and, importantly, when a peace accord lacks strong and independent verification and monitoring mechanisms, she said. Peace agreements are more likely to succeed when the commitments included in the accord go beyond military and security provisions, such as those dealing with demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants. “They are more likely to succeed when they incorporate questions of political and social development, gender and ethnic rights, as well as justice-related reforms that benefit society as a whole.” Research shows that peace accords with third-party mechanisms have almost a 47 per cent higher rate of implementation success over those that do not, she said.
Turning to the Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace in Colombia, signed between the Government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) in 2016, she said that the project provided technical support during negotiations in Havana. The signatory parties gave a mandate to the Kroc Institute to be part of the International Verification Mechanism and monitor the implementation of the entire accord in real time. “We created a matrix based on 578 concrete, observable and measurable commitments.” The peace accord’s strong, independent and reliable mechanism of verification also has a crucial component, namely the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, she added. This is vital for maintaining the momentum, support and resources of the United Nations and the international community on the peacebuilding process.
Statements
SÉRGIO FRANÇA DANESE (Brazil), Security Council President for October, speaking in his national capacity, called on members to look inwards and outwards. The former means rediscovering the Council’s own tools while the latter means learning from initiatives that have been successful elsewhere. Chapter VI of the Charter of the United Nations gave the Council wide latitude to be creative, he pointed out, adding that, unfortunately, creativity in political solutions has waned recently as the Council focused on coercive measures. The over-reliance on Chapter VII has made consensus harder to reach. The Council must also examine where preventive diplomacy, mediation and other tools of peaceful settlement have proven successful. While it has been prolific in creating subsidiary bodies to monitor sanction regimes, there is scarcely any subsidiary body dedicated to supporting political processes under Chapter VI, he pointed out. Calling for “a healthy degree of humility”, he stressed the need to expand the Council. “More voices around the table can help overcome the logic of rivalry that periodically paralyses many decisions here,” he stressed.
IGLI HASANI, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania, pointing to the conflict in Ukraine and the escalating situation in the Middle East, said that the rules-based international order remains an essential tool for promoting peace and stability. Recalling that the Secretary-General’s policy brief “The New Agenda for Peace” calls for strong partnerships between the United Nations and regional frameworks, he said that it is imperative to reflect on the most efficient form of cooperation between the Security Council and regional organizations. He underscored the European Union’s role in promoting peace, security and human rights, meeting humanitarian and development needs, mitigating climate change and strengthening accountability for violations of international law. He also spotlighted the recent Summit of the Berlin Process for the Western Balkans, an initiative that has launched a process of reconciliation, peaceful resolution of bilateral issues and improved regional economic cooperation.
NOURA AL KAABI, Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, said the impact of the Council’s work on preventing conflict will be in its results and “not in our statements”. Underscoring trust as a critical foundation for peacebuilding, she said that deconfliction efforts or establishing hotlines among militaries can prevent miscalculations or escalation. Coordination is also critical, she added, as the benefit of a multilevel, multi-prong approach is the reinforcement of efforts towards conflict prevention and mediation. However, because a multiplicity of mediators-to-be can give rise to mixed messages and risks undermining progress, coordination mechanisms must be strengthened. The United Arab Emirates believes that the current crisis in the Middle East is the result of the belief that conflict can be managed indefinitely, without addressing its root causes. This clearly not a solution, but rather highlights the need for international and regional actors to prioritize preventive diplomacy and conflict resolution. While these tools are clear, “what we need is the political will to deploy them, even when the risks of failing are high”.
VANESSA FRAZIER (Malta) said that regional and subregional organizations have in-depth knowledge that can greatly help to facilitate progress towards peace. The European Union is a living example of how multilateralism and regional integration brings peace, stability, prosperity and growth, while the African Union actively contributes to sustainable peace and security in Africa through its peace support operations. “Partnerships between international and regional organizations are also worth investing in,” she said, pointing to UN-African Union-European Union cooperation on peace and security. The United Nations, and particularly the Council, must use all means and measures provided for in the UN Charter to prioritize the peaceful settlement of disputes and advance conflict prevention and resolution efforts. The Organization’s capacity to act as a mediator and implement effective UN-led mediation must be enhanced, while the use of the Secretary-General’s good offices remains crucial for promoting the peaceful resolution of disputes, she added.
MICHEL XAVIER BIANG (Gabon), pointing out that the current crisis in the Middle East calls on the Council to reflect on the scale and breadth of the responsibility it shoulders, underscored the need to commit to reinvigorating diplomacy and breathe new life into the prevention and peaceful resolution of disputes. The Charter of the United Nations contains tools which should be used more, he said, echoing A New Agenda for Peace, which pointed out that distrust had taken root around the world amid clashes, international law violations and expansionist logic. Trust must be rebuilt to restore peace, he said, noting his country’s participation in regional organizations to manage and prevent crises, including the Central Africa Early Warning System, headquartered in his country. The Luanda and Nairobi agreements show that subregional frameworks can build credible bridges with international action, he said, also highlighting cooperation between the United Nations and African Union across various fields, including peacebuilding and combating terrorism. In this context, he underscored the urgent need to ensure predictable and adequate financial support to peace operations undertaken by the African Union.
ROBERT A. WOOD (United States) called regional partnerships essential for addressing regional challenges, including climate change, conflict, violence and terrorism. Next year’s Summit of the Future will be an important opportunity to take stock of the tools for maintaining peace and security. He highlighted the United Nations’ critical convening role at the regional and national levels and its ability to bring together civil society, major donors and Governments. Welcoming A New Agenda for Peace’s focus on conflict prevention and an expanded role for the Peacebuilding Commission, he emphasized the need to fully integrate respect for human rights and the advancement of international law and the rule of law at the national level into the Commission’s work. “Development and peace cannot advance without full consideration of these issues.” For its part, the Council must be responsive to regional organizations’ requests for peace support, he said.
PEDRO COMISSÁRIO AFONSO (Mozambique) said that dialogue is at the heart of any conflict resolution. “It bridges differences, it leads to a mutual understanding, to shared values, to our common humanity,” he said, adding: “We speak from our own experience in our region: Southern Africa.” That region has suffered most from the lack of dialogue, but it has evolved from a past “infected” with tensions, conflicts and wars into a place of relative peace and a firm commitment to dialogue and cooperation. Today’s Council debate is particularly important because it is taking place at a moment of heightened geopolitical tensions, particularly at regional and subregional levels. He went on to say that the concept of “African solutions to African problems” is a clear recognition of the undeniable contribution of local, subregional and regional entities, as well as bilateral arrangements, in attaining sustainable peace and security.
ISHIKANE KIMIHIRO (Japan), noting the varied and complex crises of the moment, said the international community must use all tools available, including negotiation, mediation, arbitration, judicial settlements and regional arrangements. Highlighting the role of bilateral, regional and subregional arrangements based on mutual trust and geographic specificity, he commended the activities of the African Union, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), European Union and others. Encouraging the utilization of such mechanisms, he said the Peacebuilding Commission is a platform for strengthening partnerships and sharing best practices. Noting the global impact of regional crises, he said the United Nations and regional arrangements must not be mutually exclusive. The most important thing is to prevent a crisis from happening in the first place, he stressed, adding that upholding the rule of law is key to that.
VASSILY A. NEBENZIA (Russian Federation) said the role of regional and subregional organizations is unquestionable and he noted the work of organizations around the world in strengthening unity and finding common ground. However, he deemed the European Union’s contribution to peace and security highly dubious. The European Union has been preparing Ukraine to oppose the Russian Federation for years and supplies offensive weaponry to Ukraine, violating their own standards, he said, adding the bloc has not brought anything positive to the normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and has only increased the divergences between the States. Brussels is only motivated by geopolitical ambitions and trying to acquire new spheres of influence and colonize vulnerable States, he said. Similarly, the North Atlantic bloc is a hangover from the cold war and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations are characterized by many civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure, he said, adding the bloc is focused on the strategic defeat of the Russian Federation.
ZHANG JUN (China) said regional mechanisms, in working with the United Nations to maintain common security, must abide by international law and basic norms governing international relations, respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries concerned. They should also reinforce each other’s strength in trust-building, prioritize preventive diplomacy and eliminate the root causes of conflicts. Describing the Palestine-Israel situation as the “most pressing crisis in front of us”, he urged the UN and the Security Council to heed the call of Arab countries and strengthen coordination with regional mechanisms to promote an immediate ceasefire and protect civilians. The Organization should help Africa maintain stability and combat terrorism, while forming synergy with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Afghanistan Contact Group on Afghanistan; at the same time supporting ASEAN in resolving the Myanmar situation. China opposes the use of human rights as a pretext to interfere in the internal affairs of States, he said.
PASCALE CHRISTINE BAERISWYL (Switzerland) said that, when regional organizations take the lead in conflict mediation, the Council’s role is three-fold: a normative guardian, a catalyst and a preventive role. As a normative guardian, the Security Council has a duty to ensure that regional arrangements comply with universal norms. As a catalyst, the Council can amplify regional conflict-mediation efforts through the sharing of views and recommendations, such as during its field visits or informal interactive dialogues. The Council must assume its preventive role by focusing on cooperation in the broadest sense of the term. The UN’s special political missions must be able to engage more in prevention, while the Secretary-General should make full use of all his mediation tools. “The New Agenda for Peace can serve as a common point of reference for all of us,” she emphasized, stressing that Member States for whom the peaceful settlement of disputes remains an obligation must be “guided by a shared conviction: that every conflict avoided benefits humanity as a whole”.
JAMES KARIUKI (United Kingdom) observed that people are living – and dying -through an unprecedented period of conflict, pointing to figures from the Peace Research Institute of Oslo, which found that, last year, there were 55 active conflicts, and more battle-related deaths than in any year since 1984. With conflict “trending relentlessly the wrong direction” for decades, he asked what the Council, United Nations and other actors can do to change that trend. In that context, he underscored the need to do more, and in a more coordinated manner, to support national actors to prevent and resolve conflict, pointing to his country’s bilateral and multilateral conflict-resolution efforts, including as a major voluntary donor to global United Nations peace programmes. Coordination and support for regional organizations, such as the Council’s with the African Union Peace and Security Council, could be deepened and extended, through various measures, including stronger linkages between early warning mechanisms. “Where national and regional efforts fail, it is the duty of this Council to take action to safeguard international peace and security,” he added.
HERNÁN PÉREZ LOOSE (Ecuador) said States’ underutilization of the means available to them for peacebuilding, as established in the Charter, is one of the greatest shortcomings of the international community in achieving the peaceful resolution of disputes. He said regional, subregional and bilateral agreements have the potential to complement and strengthen UN efforts to settle disputes. “Regional actors are the first to recognize the signs of a potential conflict. They are also able to guarantee the implementation of peace agreements through the creation of demilitarized zones, ceasefires and supporting political and negotiating processes, amongst others,” he said. The experience of Latin America in this area speaks volumes, he continued, and the region has demonstrated in recent decades that conflicts can be prevented and resolved peacefully. The Brasilia Peace Agreement that Ecuador and Peru signed in 1998 was aided by negotiations including regional countries as guarantors. The peace settlement proved that conflicts between nations can be resolved, he said.
NICOLAS DE RIVIÈRE (France) said that regional integration is of invaluable service to the maintenance of international peace and security. Such cooperation continues to be the “driving force of growth” on the European continent. It is a model which respects the fundamental principles laid out in the United Nations Charter. “We support all of the regional actors that share that vision,” he added. The European Union is by far the number-one donor to the African Union and will continue to offer its support. In Latin America, the European Union continues to work in partnership with the region’s organizations to address threats to international peace and security, mainly the scourges of climate change. In Asia, the European Union’s cooperation with ASEAN is one of strategic partnership. He also stressed that regional action must remain complementary to Security Council action. The Council retains primarily responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
HAROLD ADLAI AGYEMAN (Ghana) said it is ironic that the Council has often not resorted to the use of pacific tools, despite options to do so, within national mechanisms, regional protocols and international treaties, including the Charter of the United Nations. While some hold that peaceful means would not produce desirable outcomes, or necessarily be swift, in fact, they have usually led to just and enduring outcomes. Highlighting the Secretary-General’s good offices, he said the Organization’s mediation capacities should be interlocked with those of regional arrangements in ways that can leverage regional knowledge and experience with the global resources of the UN. Pointing to the success of many regional arrangements on his continent, he said they have mechanisms that are deployed to defuse tensions, elicit commitment to peaceful settlement and resolve disputes. Calling for additional resources in support of their effective functioning, he proposed periodic informal interactive dialogues between the Council and such arrangements.
GERARDO PEÑALVER PORTAL (Cuba) said the indiscriminate bombing by Israel against the Palestinian population and the destruction of housing, hospitals and civilian infrastructure, and the withholding of food, water and fuel from the Palestinian people, must stop immediately. Nothing can justify such actions which constitute serious violation of international law, he said, calling for an immediate ceasefire, access to humanitarian assistance for the civilian population and the prevention of forced displacement of Palestinians from land which belongs to them by right. There cannot be peace if atrocious violations of international humanitarian law are allowed, such as those being perpetrated by Israel, the occupying Power, against Palestine, he said, adding that the complicity of the United States in the commission of these war crimes is shameful and sets a dangerous precedent. The path towards peaceful coexistence is by the preservation of multilateralism and respect for the Charter of the United Nations, he said.
ALEXANDER MARSCHIK(Austria) said just as human rights are universal, all countries likewise need to play their role in building inclusive, just and ultimately peaceful societies. Endorsing the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace, he encouraged the Secretariat, while discussing operationalization modalities, to utilize existing structures in providing guidance in the run up to the Summit of the Future. He said the United Nations and the Security Council must foster stronger partnerships with regional and subregional organizations, even as Austria hopes for sustainable financing for their operations, including the African Union Peace Support Operations mandated by Council. These efforts, however, do not translate to a reduction of or a departure from classic UN peacekeeping, which “must remain a core function” of the Organization, he noted. Describing trust as the lifeline for multilateralism, he called for greater cooperation and adherence to the rule of law.
OSAMA MAHMOUD ABDELKHALEK MAHMOUD (Egypt) said African mechanisms directly linked to the African Union and those alongside it have made notable successes but are facing significant challenges posed by different approaches and lack of coordination among them. He thus welcomed the Council’s efforts to coordinate those African mechanisms, including within the framework of its annual meeting with the African Union Peace and Security Council, as well as the briefings it receives on African issues. To step up the continent’s efforts in peace and security, the Council must fund the African Union peace and support operations and provide resources to the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund based on Member States’ contributions. Although the Council has been unable to resolve the situation in the Middle East, his country spared no effort to that end. The current challenges reaffirm the urgency of reforming the Security Council, he stressed, stating: “We need a permanent Arab and African presence within the Security Council with all the prerogatives of a permanent member of the Security Council.”
MATHU JOYINI (South Africa) said that instead of speaking about preventive diplomacy, as is fashionable to do, “we must instead ask why is it that preventive diplomacy and measures provided in Chapter VI of the Charter of the United Nations are seldom utilized.” However, for these tools to be used, political will and visionary leadership are vital, as is restoring trust among conflicting parties. Due to its history of avoiding a civil war, South Africa believes in the peaceful resolution of conflicts, she said, highlighting participation in engagements that have contributed to finding political solutions in many countries in Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Tigray, Ethiopia. As well, South Africa is part of Southern African Development Community (SADC) and African Union efforts to prevent and resolve disputes, she said, underscoring the need to support regional organizations, which are often best placed to mediate conflicts under their geographical scope.
IVAN ŠIMONOVIĆ (Croatia), speaking on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect, recognized the value of bilateral, subregional, regional and multilateral efforts to protect populations. Regional organizations are often well-placed to guide multilateral action on emerging atrocity situations and threats to peace and security “as they may have a better political understanding of dynamics within the countries where atrocities or conflicts are taking place”, he said. Subregional organizations have previously addressed imminent risks to prevent prolonged conflict, he noted. Effective strengthening of prevention must be predicated on early warning signs and clarity on what early action can be taken. Effective early warning, including by regional and subregional organizations, should be rooted in accurately identifying all factors that increase the risk of violence, he said, rather than solely focusing on the risk of conflict. He encouraged the Secretary-General to carry out preventative actions and called Council members to address the risk of mass atrocities.
HYUN WOO CHO (Republic of Korea) said that it is imperative that the international community finds ways to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace. This must be done in accordance with the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. The Security Council must make full use of its comparative advantage of proximity and existing mechanisms to promote confidence-building and dialogue in its ongoing efforts to prevent and peacefully resolve conflicts. For its part and over the past years, the Republic of Korea has been actively expanding its horizon of engagement through regular consultations with various regional mechanisms throughout the world. More recently, it hosted the first ever Korea-Pacific Islands Summit in May 2023 and is working with partners in Africa for a future Korea-Africa Summit, he noted.
SERHII DVORNYK (Ukraine) noting that multilateralism is especially necessary in regions where longstanding security architectures are collapsing, cited the United Nations many results-oriented partnerships with the European Union and African Union among others. While “one could hardly doubt the importance of partnership between the Organization and those regional organizations that strive for peace”, he expressed concern about the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Russian federation-led military bloc and attempts to such bring organizations onto the UN platform under the guise of Chapter VIII. Expressing support for role of bilateral arrangements, he said that the Russian Federation’s ongoing war against his country has highlighted the impact of ad-hoc frameworks to support victims of aggression. Condemning the “legally dubious” presence of the aggressing country on the Council, he said addressing that should be part of the reform of the Organization’s collective security mechanism.
ERIK LAURSEN (Denmark), also speaking for Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, said that dialogue is a key tool in resolving conflicts as well as a conflict prevention tool, and he encouraged the Security Council to better utilize its potential preventive role under Chapter VI of the Charter of the United Nations. He suggested that leveraging the potential of the Peacebuilding Commission to facilitate inclusive conflict prevention and resolution and that the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace is an opportunity to strengthen the role of Member States in addressing current security challenges and evolving threats.
Turning to the role of regional and subregional organizations, he said they play a significant role with their local knowledge and that the Charter of the United Nations is clear on this role. He encouraged more frequent use of Chapter VIII, including deepening the cooperation and information-sharing between the Security Council and regional organizations. In conflict prevention and resolution, inclusive ownership is key, he said, adding that the parties need come up with – and own – their solutions. Peace processes should always reflect the needs and perspectives of those affected by conflict, and strengthening the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, youth and civil society is critical, he said. If a process is not inclusive, it is hard to reach sustainable peace, he added, and stressed his delegation’s commitment to a future with peace, stability and development for all.
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