Security Council underscores importance of conflict prevention
20 July -- After a day-long debate on ways to improve United Nations capacity to avert conflict, the Security Council today unanimously adopted a presidential statement that called for the creation of a "culture of prevention" and mandated Secretary-General Kofi Annan to submit to the Council by next May his recommendations on best strategies to reach that goal.
The statement reaffirmed the Council's belief that "early warning, preventive diplomacy, preventive deployment, preventive disarmament and post-conflict peace-building are interdependent and complementary components of a comprehensive conflict prevention strategy". It emphasized its continuing commitment to addressing the prevention of armed conflicts in all regions of the world.
Recognizing the important role of the Secretary-General in the prevention of armed conflicts, the Council expressed its willingness to consider appropriate preventive action in response to matters brought to its attention by him or by States that might pose a threat to international peace and security.
On the role of regional organizations, the Council emphasized the need for their cooperation with the UN and expressed its willingness to support the Secretary-General's efforts in collaborating with the leadership of regional organizations on strategies and programmes to be deployed at the regional level.
The Council also said it was prepared to consider ways to improve UN system-wide cooperation on effective post-conflict peace-building strategies to prevent the re-emergence of conflict. In that context, it highlighted the importance of strengthening its collaboration with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in the prevention of armed conflicts, including addressing their root causes.
Expressing its willingness to seek the cooperation of Member States and the business community in curbing the illegal exploitation of mineral resources that could contribute to the escalation of conflict, the Council welcomed efforts to ensure transparency in the sale of arms and effective monitoring and regulation in their transfers.
The Security Council underlined the vital importance of effective national regulations and controls on small arms transfers and encouraged Governments to exercise the highest degree of responsibility in these transactions. It also called for complementary supply- and demand-side measures, including those against illegal diversion and re-export.
Emphasizing that all States had the obligation to enforce existing arms interdiction measures, the Council stressed that the prevention of illicit trafficking was of immediate concern in the global search for ways and means to curb the excessive destabilizing accumulation of small arms, especially in regions of conflict.
The Council encouraged Member States to support the Trust Fund for Preventive Action set up by the Secretary-General for short-term preventive activities and recognized the importance of consistent funding for long-term preventive efforts.
Underlining the need for continued in-depth consideration of the issue of conflict prevention, the Council asked the Secretary-General to submit within six months a report containing an analysis and recommendations on UN system initiatives on the question, including lessons learned in the area of preventive deployment. The Secretary-General was also requested to utilize panels of qualified experts in various fields to enable him to present to the Council periodic reports on disputes likely to threaten international peace and security with a view to developing, on a case-by-case basis, strategies for peaceful settlement of disputes.
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