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	Development helps nations consolidate peace by Asha Rose Migiro, Amartya Sen United Nations   July 2010   Fostering economic development in countries emerging from conflict can only help to promote political and social stability, senior United Nations officials underlined today, stressing the strong ties between poverty eradication and security.   “The devastating effects of conflict on development are evident,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told a forum hosted by the Peacebuilding Commission. “It is not surprising that the majority of countries lagging furthest behind in achieving the MDGs [Millennium Development Goals] are countries emerging from conflict,” she added, referring to the eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline that have been agreed upon by world leaders.   Ms. Migiro noted that reaching a particular development objective could lead to tackling inequalities that trigger conflicts. “In such cases, shouldn’t national peacebuilding strategies give greater prominence to the MDGs?” she asked.   More than half of the 34 countries farthest away from reaching the MDGs are either in the midst of or are emerging from conflict, Hamidon Ali, President of the UN Economic and Social Council, said at the same event.   “Armed conflict can erase many years of development gains and very often the social and physical infrastructure needed for economic and social development is destroyed,” he stressed.   Maternal mortality rates in countries affected by violence is typically very high, while infant and child mortality rates also increase during conflict and very low life expectancy rates persist years after the end of fighting.   “However, the good news is that many countries are moving forward, including some of the poorest, which demonstrates that the MDGs are achievable when appropriate policies, prudent planning, good governance and adequate resources are underpinned by political commitment,” Mr. Ali said.   July 2010   Peace must be part of the development agenda not only because it is valuable in itself, but also because of its critical role in promoting human development, says Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen who spoke as part of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Distinguished Person Lecture series in Bangkok, Thailand recently.   “Peace helps indirectly to enhance development through making governments more stable and functional, and through facilitating industrialization, the expansion of trade, and the sustained advancement of education and health services. "While peace is certainly its own reward, it offers, in addition, other rewards as well.”   Professor Sen stressed that there are no single causes for violence in society and that the advancement of human development calls for a broader approach than solely the alleviation of poverty.   Sen also noted that the development agenda must include issues of human security – the “downside risks” as well. “Economic, social and cultural issues need to be integrated. Removal of poverty alone may not be enough to reduce violence.   "You want to eliminate it anyway, but the elimination of violence, and the subsequent increase in human security, requires other approaches beyond economics.”   Professor Sen referred to his work as chair of the Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding in 2006/2007 that lead to the Report Civil Paths to Peace.   Professor Sen strongly challenged the academic approach of seeing global violence as a result of “the clash of civilizations” focused on identity politics which sees human beings as members of exactly one group defined by their native civilization or religion and leads to “hate at first sight.”   Sen urged instead a broader understanding of the richness of human identities that can include religious, communal, regional, national and global identities that can be present in all persons.   “In Civil Paths to Peace, we outlined a number of ways in which our broader humanity and our plural identities can be used to encounter global threats to security and peace.   "The ways include enhancing the reach of the media, strengthening of democratic practice seen as “government by discussion,” and addressing deprivations and humiliations as well as grievances before they are exploited by instigators to cultivate divisive conflicts.”
	Accountability key to protecting civilians in conflict, UN Security Council told by John Holmes UN Emergency Relief Coordinator   July 2010   The targeting of civilians, sexual violence and the denial of humanitarian access remain widespread in armed conflict, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today, urging greater efforts to end impunity for such acts.   “The conduct of parties to conflict is inevitably affected by their sense of susceptibility to punishment and accountability to their victims, and clear signals that impunity will not be tolerated,” UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said during the debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.   He told the meeting, which heard from 40 speakers, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, that the danger is that the normative framework has outpaced the enforcement will and capacity of the international community.   “So I urge the Council to take a robust approach to accountability,” said Mr. Holmes, who addressed the 15-member body for the last time as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.   He noted that while national justice systems must remain the first line of defence, the international community must explore alternative means when those systems prove unable or unwilling to bring perpetrators to justice and provide remedies to victims.   He welcomed the commission of inquiry launched by the Secretary-General for crimes committed during violence in Guinea last September, as well as the panel set up to advise Mr. Ban on accountability for violations of humanitarian and human rights law in Sri Lanka, especially in the last stages of the conflict in that country, and the mechanism recently set up by the Government of Sri Lanka itself.   “The point is that this scrutiny needs to become the norm,” Mr. Holmes stated. “Actual and would-be violators need to understand that they have nowhere to hide. Politics must not always win out where powerful States or vocal States with powerful protection are involved.”   He suggested that a permanent mechanism be established somewhere in the UN system to conduct inquiries on serious allegations, more or less automatically, noting that this would prevent calls for investigations from being politicized from the start.   “Accountability of perpetrators is key for the protection of civilians,” stated Ms. Pillay, who noted that among the most significant actions taken by the Council for the protection of civilians is the establishment of commissions of inquiry.   She noted that States bear the primary responsibility for carrying out investigations and prosecutions regarding genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and gross human rights violations. Several countries have established national commissions of inquiry, which are welcome demonstrations of a State’s willingness to seek justice.   “True accountability can only be achieved,” she stressed, “if national inquiry mechanisms are credible, independent and impartial.”   Such national commissions should have the power of access to all relevant authorities, persons and information, as well as adequate financial and human resources. “It is these conditions that will instil confidence and trust in these national initiatives,” she said.   The Council has acted to promote accountability, Ms. Pillay added, noting that it has explicitly made its support for the military operations of national armed forces conditional on their observance of human rights law, humanitarian law and refugee law.   “We need to ensure that the UN and bilateral support to military operations and security sector reform is tied to promoting respect for human rights,” she stated.   For his part, the Secretary-General said the Council has adopted important measures designed to put civilians first, but there is more that it can and must do, including maximizing the impact of peacekeeping missions in protecting civilians.   He welcomed the Council’s efforts to increase the emphasis on the protection of civilians in designing peacekeeping mandates. However, he added, that for peacekeeping operations to successfully implement these mandates, the Council must provide them with the sustained political support they require.   “The Council’s engagement is vital to make certain that peacekeeping operations are adequately resourced, and to ensure that mission leadership is fully empowered to take forward this complex mandated task on the international community’s behalf,” said Mr. Ban.   The other key challenges the Council must address are increased compliance by non-State armed groups with international law, and ensuring accountability. “More must be done to increase the expectation that violators will have to face the consequences of their actions,” the Secretary-General stated. Visit the related web page
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