Joint UNOG-GPP–Institute for Economics and Peace Event

Dr. Wennmann
Mr. Lillelea
Distinguished panellists
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the Palais des Nations for this panel discussion on “Positive Peace and the Post 2015 Development Agenda: Towards a more comprehensive approach to increase resilience and wellbeing” organized jointly by the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, the Institute for Economics and Peace and the United Nations Office at Geneva.

In May of this year, the co-chairs of the Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda - President Yudhoyono of Indonesia, President Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Prime Minister Cameron of the United Kingdom – presented their report to Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon. This report will now form the basis of discussion during the Special Event of the President of the General Assembly, to be held on 25 September.

For me, three key messages of the report stand out: First, the post-2015 development agenda should be universal, applying to both developed and developing nations. Second, sustainable development must be firmly placed at the centre of the post-2015 development agenda. And third, peace and good governance is a core foundation for development.

Today’s event takes the third and fundamental message as its starting point.

There is no doubt that one of the the great development challenges of our time is to help countries affected by conflict and fragility find a path towards sustainable peace and development. It is clear – and quite simple: conflict impedes development. In the words of the Secretary-General: “Freedom from fear and violence is essential for building peaceful and prosperous societies.”

The magnitude of the challenge is equally clear: it is estimated that one in four people on the planet live in areas affected by repeated cycles of political and criminal violence. Fragile and conflict States seriously lag behind the rest of the developing world in terms of meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

Therefore, the post-2015 agenda must nurture the positive processes and establish the conditions which assist countries in becoming more resilient to conflict and better at overcoming the aftermath of conflict. In order to do this, we must build on available knowledge and sharpen our operational tools to support communities and individuals in their quest for more peaceful societies and sustainable development.

To better understand the long-term needs for resilience and capacity-building, the Institute for Economics and Peace has developed a new conceptual framework entitled “The Pillars of Peace”, which we will hear more about in a few minutes.

We are fortunate to have with us the author of “The Pillars of Peace”, Mr. Steve Killelea, to introduce the framework, as well as three expert commentators to explore and discuss its implications around the post-2015 development agenda.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Today’s event is part of our ongoing efforts to bring partners together in Geneva and beyond to address the many issues that face the international community at this time of transformation and opportunities.

The multitude of actors in Geneva with strong capacity and in-depth expertise in security, development, human rights and governance is a unique asset. We are committed to placing this at the service of the international community.

I am confident that this discussion today will allow for a frank exchange of views of the progress achieved to date, and the way forward on the nexus between security and development.

Importantly, this event is part of a longer-term effort to highlight the role of Geneva in the promotion of peace. We continue this series with another type of reflection on peace - the forthcoming “Geneva Peace Talks” on 20 September, to mark the International Day of Peace together with our partners of the Swiss Confederation, the City and Canton of Geneva, the Peacebuilding Platform and Interpeace. I hope that you will also join us on this occasion for what promises to be an interesting and more personal take on how we can all work better together for peace.

Now, it is my pleasure to hand over the floor to our moderator, Dr. Achim Wennmann, Executive Coordinator of the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, and wish you a very productive discussion.

Thank you for your attention.