Opening Remarks by the Director-General of UNOG at the Opening of the Ministerial Review Summit on the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development (en anglais seulement)

Opening remarks by Mr. Sergei A. Ordzhonikidze
United Nations Under-Secretary-General
Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva
At the Ministerial Review Summit Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development
World Meteorological Organization
Friday, 12 September 2008

Madam Federal Councillor
Mr. Chairman
Ms. Cravero
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is a pleasure for me to be with you today. Allow me, first of all, to thank the Government of Switzerland and the United Nations Development Programme for organizing this Review Summit. And let me extend a special thank you to Madam Calmy-Rey for her strong personal involvement and leadership in raising awareness of the nexus between armed violence and development.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations has been encouraged by the efforts undertaken within the Geneva Declaration Process, in particular because of its focus on this interconnection between small arms, armed violence and development. And this Review Summit on the Declaration is indeed very timely. We have passed the halfway point towards the realization of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. But, progress has been uneven across regions and across individual Goals. And, the global food crisis threatens to further undermine efforts towards making the Goals a reality. In short, we face a development emergency. Urgent and increased efforts are needed if we are to meet the Goals by the deadline. And these efforts can only be effective if we address the linkages between armed violence and development in a more focused manner.

The figures – sadly – speak for themselves. Up to 875 million small arms and light weapons are in circulation worldwide. They are responsible for over half a million deaths each year. Armed violence fuels fear and instability; it contributes to trapping the most vulnerable fellow human beings and fragile societies in poverty, and it can undo hard-won development gains. Most conflicts are fought using mainly small arms and light weapons, and they are used in acts of terrorism, organized crime and gang warfare. The distinctions between the different uses of these weapons are blurred, and we can only effectively confront this challenge through a holistic approach. The devastating impact that armed violence can have on a country’s development prospects means that reduction strategies must be a key element in our work to meet the MDGs by 2015.

In only a couple of weeks – on 25 September – the United Nations Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly will convene a High-level Event on the Millennium Development Goals as an important part of the efforts to accelerate their implementation. This meeting will provide a forum for world leaders to review progress made so far, identify gaps, commit to concrete efforts, resources and mechanisms to bridge these gaps and – most importantly – to reinforce the political will to advance the Goals. It is my hope that the debates today, and the concrete measures to be identified may feed into and further enhance those discussions.

With a global membership, working across all areas of security, development and human rights, the United Nations family is well placed to play a lead role in supporting Member States in adressing this challenge through multidimensional activities. I know that my colleague, Ms. Cravero, will outline these efforts in more detail and propose how they can be reinforced.

The Geneva Declaration process shows an important example by bringing together all stakeholders – States, international organizations and civil society – with a common purpose and clear direction. I very much welcome and commend this type of approach. Geneva – with its particular expertise across disarmament, development, human rights and humanitarian action, the rich presence of different actors and a strong operational base – provides a conducive setting for forging such inclusive multistakeholder responses. The newly-established Geneva Peacebuilding Platform is an instructive example. It aims to advance a practical understanding of the critical issues in peacebuilding and to break down the institutional and organisational barriers to effective coordination. In the peacebuilding context, this Platform provides an additional avenue for addressing the link between armed violence and development.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The Geneva Declaration focuses on armed violence, and in particular on small arms and lights weapons. As Secretary-General of the Conference of Disarmament, it is my hope, however, that your discussions here may also serve to highlight more generally the close connection between disarmament and development.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, world military expenditure has this year topped 1,3 trillion dollars. And it continues to increase. Indeed, global military expenditure has gone up – in real terms – by 37% over the past ten years. This arms build-up not only increases the likelihood of violence, but it drains much-needed resources away from development. Strategic disarmament could free up significant funds that could be channelled towards improving the lives of the over 1 billion people that live on less than 1 dollar a day – the so-called “bottom billion”.

Moreover, strategic disarmament would help to build greater confidence among States and contribute towards stability, which would, in turn, also further the development agenda. It is my hope that the Geneva Declaration deliberations may be placed within this broader context and help to provide added impetus to the ongoing efforts to re-vitalize multilateral disarmament.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

As we count down to 2015, we must also look beyond this deadline. Achievement of the MDGs will only be a stepping-stone to continuing efforts. Together, we must build a broad-based, dynamic and enduring partnership that will address the different dimensions of our immense development challenge, also beyond this target date. I trust that the debates today and the proposals that will spring from your exchanges will help cement that partnership – so that we can all better help those who need us the most.

I wish you all success in your discussions.

Thank you very much.