Coût du conflit au Moyen Orient (en anglais seulement)

Ambassador Tanner
Distinguished Panellists
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to the Palais des Nations for the official launch of this timely study on the cost of conflict in the Middle East. Allow me, at the outset, to thank the Swiss Permanent Mission and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy – GCSP – for organizing this event. Let me also thank the Governments and political leaders that have supported this project – from Norway, Qatar, Switzerland and Turkey – for their commitment to bringing this important analysis of the impact of the conflict in the Middle East to a wider audience.

This is a welcome opportunity for allowing research to feed into global discussions and help strengthen the basis on which international decision-making takes place. The United Nations Office at Geneva appreciates greatly our continuing collaboration with the research and academic community in Geneva, and in particular our strong partnership with the GCSP. I should also like to extend a warm welcome to our panellists who have joined us from different corners of the world.

The study by the Strategic Foresight Group represents a valuable input into global thinking about the situation in the Middle East. As in any large analytical effort, some of the methodological choices may be questioned and will, I am sure, be the subject of debate. But, there is no doubt that the report presents critical data regarding the huge and measurable cost borne by countries, communities and individuals because of continued conflict.

Many of these costs cannot be assigned a monetary value: the loss of human lives, the despair and humiliation of displaced populations, the damage to the very fabric of societies, the rise and persistence of a culture of violence, fear and extremism. The attempts made in the report to quantify the impact of conflict across a wide variety of sectors, are nevertheless commendable.

The research shows that the costs of conflict in the Middle East are particularly high in terms of lost opportunities. This is because the comparative advantages enjoyed by many countries of the region in terms of strategic location, infrastructure, resources and level of education, have been annulled by political uncertainties and violent struggle. This is a clear illustration of the link between peace and development so often highlighted by the United Nations. Importantly, the survey points to the costs both to countries and people in the region and to the international community. The cost of conflict indeed has global dimensions.

As Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament I welcome the focus on the arms race in the Middle East. The region not only has the highest military expenditure burden in the world, but also registers the highest increases. This arms race also holds a clear danger for nuclear proliferation. The authors rightly note that this record military spending has done little to improve human security in the region. As you know, the Secretary-General has repeatedly expressed his deep concern at the immense resources consumed by the pursuit of military superiority and has underlined the peace and development dividends that could be derived from disarmament. According to figures by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, global military expenditure has topped 1.3 trillion dollars. Even a modest part of these resources could make a significant difference to our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The study therefore also serves to highlight the urgent need to revitalize multilateral disarmament – not only for the Middle East, but for all regions of the world.

It is clear that many of the promises of the Madrid Conference, Oslo process, Arab Peace Initiative and Annapolis Conference have yet to materialize. Some in the international community may be tempted to give in to discouragement, and even cynicism, when discussing prospects for peace in the Middle East. But, as this study demonstrates, there is no alternative than to keep working to advance peace in the region. The United Nations and the other members of the Quartet, and all other interested actors, have to pursue tirelessly their efforts to engage parties in the peace process.

The key to peacemaking is to convince all parties that the rewards of peace will far outweigh the risks, real or perceived, entailed in laying down weapons. I therefore commend the emphasis placed on the potential benefits of a comprehensive peace for the region. These are benefits that would result not only from a cessation of conflict but from a genuine “warm peace”, which would foster harmonious development in the economic, social, cultural and political fields. This applies not only in the context of the Middle East but in other parts of the world subjected to prolonged conflict.

I hope that this study will not only serve to inform and clarify, but also to reinforce the collective resolve and galvanize action for peace in the region and in the world.

Thank you very much.