Ban stresses financial as well as human benefits of avoiding armed conflicts
29 July 2008 - Preventing or resolving armed conflicts through political solutions and negotiations provides vital economic benefits
to go with avoiding the enormous human costs extracted by war, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a gathering of Islamic
scholars today.
In a message to the Third International Conference of Islamic Scholars, held in Jakarta, Mr. Ban stressed the need for the United Nations to work ever more closely with Member States,
regional organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others to try to prevent conflicts from emerging or
continuing.
"Ultimately, conflicts can be resolved only through political solutions," he said in the message. "If the UN is unable
to foster lasting political solutions, it will be left with humanitarian emergencies and peacekeeping without end. And
these solutions need to have the support not only of the warring parties but of the region and the big powers."
Mr. Ban cited a recent report indicating a 40 per cent drop in the number of armed conflicts worldwide since 1992,
attributed largely to an increase in UN efforts in peacekeeping, peacebuilding and conflict prevention. A separate study
by the RAND Corporation found the UN is far more cost-effective at nation-building than individual governments.
"Although the annual peacekeeping budget has climbed steadily, now at approximately $5 billion, it is still dwarfed by
the approximately trillion dollars spent annually on military expenditures and the arms trade. And that does not begin
to take into account the massive human costs of war."
The Secretary-General noted that the prevention of conflicts is an even more cost-effective process than peacekeeping.
As an example, the mediation role played by former secretary-general Kofi Annan in Kenya earlier this year, which led to
the end of that country's deadly inter-ethnic political clashes, cost $208,000.
In a separate message to the ministerial meeting of the Movement of Non-Aligned Nations (NAM) in Tehran, Mr. Ban pledged
to "marshal the forces" of the UN behind efforts to solve three current global crises - relating to development, food
and climate.
"These three crises are not isolated problems," he said in the message, delivered on his behalf by Sergei Ordzhonikidze,
Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva. "They are inter-related, affect both rich and poor, and require all of us
to do our part."
ENDS