UNSC meeting: Peace and common development

UN Security Council Session on Promoting Sustainable Peace Through Common Development

The UN Security Council convened a session to discuss the crucial relationship between sustainable development and lasting peace. This meeting brought together representatives from various nations and organizations to address the complex challenges facing the international community. The discussions centered around several key themes, including the interconnectedness of peace and development, strategies for conflict prevention and resolution, the role of international institutions, and the importance of addressing global inequalities.

The Nexus Between Peace and Development

A central theme throughout the session was the inextricable link between peace, security, and sustainable development. Many speakers, including representatives from the Netherlands, Kenya, and the UN Secretary-General, emphasized that peace and development are mutually reinforcing. The Secretary-General argued that while development alone cannot secure peace, it is essential for sustainable peace. This sentiment was echoed by numerous participants, with the representative from Chile stating that “peace can be pursued only alongside sustainable development and human rights.”

Speakers highlighted how the lack of development increases the risk of conflict. The UN Secretary-General noted that nine out of ten countries with the lowest human development indicators have experienced conflict in the past decade. This point was reinforced by several African nations, including Mozambique and Nigeria, who stressed that poverty, inequality, and lack of economic opportunities create fertile ground for instability and violence.

Conversely, many representatives argued that conflict severely impedes development efforts. The speaker from Kenya emphasized that countries experiencing armed conflict face significant challenges in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This cyclical relationship between conflict and underdevelopment was a recurring theme throughout the session.

Strategies for Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding

The discussions also focused on strategies for preventing conflicts and building sustainable peace. Many speakers advocated for a comprehensive approach that addresses the root causes of conflict, including poverty, inequality, and lack of economic opportunities.

Several nations, including Canada and Japan, stressed the importance of inclusive development that leaves no one behind. Japan’s representative argued that providing necessary infrastructure and decent economic opportunities for all helps reduce grievances and lowers the risk of social instability.

The role of education in breaking cycles of conflict was highlighted by multiple speakers. Gabon’s representative pointed out the devastating impact of conflicts on education, citing examples from Sudan and the Sahel region where millions of children are out of school.

Numerous participants, including representatives from Slovenia and Denmark, called for increased investment in conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts. The importance of the UN Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund was emphasized, with many nations advocating for their strengthening and increased funding.

The Role of International Institutions and Cooperation

The session underscored the critical role of international institutions and cooperation in promoting peace and development. Many speakers, including those from Mexico and Croatia, called for better coordination across UN pillars and institutions for effective peacebuilding and development.

Several nations, including Russia and Bolivia, advocated for reform of the international financial architecture to better support developing countries. The need for debt relief and increased development financing was a common theme, with many speakers arguing that the current system perpetuates inequalities and hinders development in conflict-affected countries.

The importance of regional organizations in conflict resolution and prevention was highlighted by several African nations. The representative from Kenya emphasized the unique position of regional and sub-regional organizations in supporting national actors due to their local experience and understanding.

Addressing Global Inequalities and Emerging Challenges

A significant portion of the discussions focused on the need to address global inequalities and emerging challenges that threaten peace and development. Climate change was frequently cited as a major threat, with representatives from countries like Vanuatu and the Maldives emphasizing its disproportionate impact on small island developing states.

The digital divide was another key issue raised by multiple speakers. Representatives from countries like India and South Africa stressed the need to bridge this gap to ensure equitable development and prevent new forms of inequality.

Gender equality and women’s participation in peace processes were emphasized by numerous speakers, including representatives from Canada and Spain. They argued that the full participation of women is crucial for achieving sustainable peace and development.

The session also touched on the challenges posed by emerging technologies, with several speakers calling for responsible innovation and equitable access to new technologies to prevent widening global disparities.

In conclusion, the UN Security Council session on promoting sustainable peace through common development highlighted the complex and interconnected nature of global challenges. The discussions underscored the need for comprehensive, coordinated approaches that address the root causes of conflict while promoting inclusive and sustainable development. The session emphasized the importance of international cooperation, reform of global financial systems, and increased investment in conflict prevention and peacebuilding to create a more stable and prosperous world for all.

President – China:
The 9,482nd meeting of the Security Council is called to order. The provisional agenda for this meeting is Maintenance of International Peace and Security Promote Sustaining Peace Through Common Development. I would like to warmly welcome the Secretary General, Mr. Guterres, the distinguished ministers and other high-level representatives present in the Security Council Chamber. Your presence today underscores the importance of the subject matter under discussion. In accordance with Rule 37 of the Council’s Provisional Rules of Procedure, I invite the representatives of Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, the plurinational state of Bolivia, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cuba, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and Vienna to participate in this meeting. It is so decided. In accordance with Rule 39 of the Council’s Provisional Rules of Procedure, I invite the following briefers to participate in this meeting. Ms. Dilma Rousseff, President of the New Development Bank, and Mr. Jeffrey Sachs, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. It is so decided. In accordance with Rule 39 of the Council’s Provisional Rules of Procedure, I also invite His Excellency Mr. Olaf Skoog, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations to participate in this meeting. It is so decided. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of Item 2 of the agenda. I wish to draw the attention of council members to document as a letter dated 14th of November, 2023, from the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General. I give the floor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres.

Secretary-General:
Mr. President, Excellencies, I thank the Government of China for convening this debate on the vital link between development and sustaining peace. This link has defined the United Nations from the very start. Our organization is built on three pillars – peace, development and human rights – and this has been reaffirmed time and again. The 2005 World Summit declared that, and I quote, development, peace and security and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. Development by itself is not enough to secure peace. But development is essential. And no peace is secure without inclusive and sustainable development that leaves no one behind. And of course, this recognition also defines the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Just as progress towards one goal lifts all others, failure in one area risks reversing gains across the board. And no failure is more calamitous than the failure to prevent conflict. Indeed, development gains are often among the first casualties of war. We see this pattern play out across the world. The closer a country is to conflict, the farther it is from sustainable and inclusive development. Nine of the ten countries with the lowest human development indicators have experienced conflict. Nine of the ten countries with the lowest human development indicators have experienced conflict. experienced conflicts or violence in the past 10 years. Inequalities and lack of opportunities, decent jobs and freedom can breed frustration and raise the specter of violence and instability. Weak institutions and corruption increase the risk of conflict. Climate chaos and environmental degradation are further crisis multipliers, with even worsening climate emergencies, record heat and growing competition over dwindling resources. People are forced to move and vulnerabilities and insecurities skyrocket. Organized crime, violent extremists and terrorist groups find fertile ground in such environments, fraying the social fabric and further aggravating insecurities and corroding effective governance. But just as the lack of development feeds grievances that can increase the risk of conflict, the reverse is also true. Human development lights the way to hope, promoting prevention, security and peace. This is why advancing peace and advancing sustainable and inclusive development go hand-in-hand. Building peace means ensuring food security, access to education and skill development, health care, social protection and dignity for all. Building peace means strengthening resilience to climate shocks and investing in adaptation. Building peace means closing the digital divide and harnessing the benefits of digital inclusion while protecting against the perils of new technologies. Building peace means balancing the scales of power and participation equally for women and creating opportunities for young people. And building peace means scaling up affordable, long-term financing for developing countries everywhere so they can invest in public goods and services for their people. Mr. President, at a time when 85% of SDG targets are off-track, we must act on this understanding with far greater urgency and ambition. Developing countries, particularly least developed countries, are being battered by a perfect storm of crisis, crushing debt burdens, evaporating fiscal space and soaring prices, escalating climate catastrophe, widening inequalities and worsening unemployment and poverty, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and unequal recovery. This is a recipe for social strife, political instability and, ultimately, open conflict. We must do more to support countries in dire straits. I have been advocating for bold steps to make our global institutions, including the international financial architecture, more representative of today’s realities and more responsive to the needs of developing economies. I have also proposed a set of concrete actions we can take now, including an SDG stimulus of US$500 billion a year to reduce debt burdens and release resources for long-term, affordable financing from multilateral and private sources. Because investing in development today means investing in a more peaceful tomorrow. Mr. President, Each and every day, the women and men of the United Nations are bringing to life this link between peace, development and justice in our work around the world. Our United Nations country teams are spearheading efforts to support national priorities for sustainable and inclusive development. Our UN peacekeeping operations are assisting member states as they manage to resolve conflicts. My envoys and the UN Special Political Missions are facilitating political processes, mediating and preventing the eruption of open conflict. And our Peacebuilding Commission is bringing the international community together around the mutually reinforcing nature of peace and development. I call on member states to strengthen the Peacebuilding Commission and enhance the effectiveness of its work. Security Council, in particular, could more systematically seek the advice of the Commission on the peacebuilding dimensions of the mandate of peace operations. And our peace operations should be empowered to play a greater role in sustaining peace at all stages of conflict and in all its dimensions. Mr. President, we are proud of our work, but we also know that more must be done to join up humanitarian, peace and development efforts. I have put forward proposals for a new Agenda for Peace in a time of rising tensions and proliferating conflicts. These ideas are framed around core principles foundational to the UN Charter and to a stable world. We offer extensive thoughts that recognize the interlinked nature of the many challenges we face, and that clearly reflects our commitment to more firmly link actions for peace with the Sustainable Development Goals. This begins with more determined action to strengthen prevention, anchored in full respect for all human rights – civil, political, economic, social and cultural. And it calls for the transformation of gendered and intergenerational power dynamics across the board, including in peace and security. It is past time for action to ensure women and young people’s meaningful participation and leadership in decision-making, eradicate all forms of violence against women, and uphold women’s rights. Mr. President, the new Agenda for Peace sets out a vision for preventing conflict, sustaining peace, and advancing development that applies to everyone, in all countries, at all times. As an international community, we must recognize that we are only as strong as our weakest link. A sense of shared vulnerability must translate into common purpose to save lives and safeguard development gains wherever, whenever they are threatened. In this context, I welcome the adoption at September’s SDG Summit, the medical declaration and the shared commitment made by member states to undertake, and I quote, bold, ambitious, accelerated, just, and transformative actions anchored in international solidarity and effective cooperation at all levels, end of quote. Today I call upon all member states to approach the summit of the future in the same spirit of solidarity and ambition. To secure peace and advanced development, we must jettison the self-defeating logic of zero-sum competition, recommit to cooperation, and summon the courage to compromise. The Security Council must be at the heart of this vital effort, and I thank you.

President – China:
I thank the Secretary General, Mr. Guterres, for his briefing. His deep analysis and important understanding and the ideas he put forward is very important for our next phase of work and the discussion for today. I thank him once again. I give the floor to Ms. Dilma Rousseff.

Dilma Rousseff – New Development Bank:
Thank you, Honorable Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, Honorable Mr. Ambassador Zhang Jun, representative of the People’s Republic of China at the United Nations, distinguished Professor Jeffrey Sachs, president of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solution Network, distinguished members of the United Nations Security Council. of the United Nations in 1945, the world has undergone significant transformation. The central theme of this session, promote sustainable peace through common development, is very timely due to the challenge humanity faces. I thank the government of China for inviting me to talk in this important meeting. Ladies and gentlemen, cooperation among countries, able, productive, and respectful, conducive to dialogue and consensus, is a guiding principle to achieve peace and development that we need if we want to address the serious unstable and disruptive times the world is experiencing. I’d like to recall that back in 2011, when I was president, Brazil proposed a debate on the interdependence between security and development. By the time, the council emphasized that the reconstruction and revitalization of the economy are crucial elements for the long-term development of societies and the generation of sustainable peace. Since then, crises have deepened. Sustainable peace requires a comprehensive approach, taking into account the causes of violent, but also the social and economic situation. Poverty alone does not explain violence, and not all individuals or groups suffering from poverty resort to aggression, but social, political, and economic exclusion can contribute to the emergence, prolongation, or recurrent use of violence that fuels conflicts. It is clear that development, peace, security, and human rights are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. If we want peaceful environments, we need an economically, social, inclusive development. The world. faces overlapping crises, such as low growth and high inflation, a sharp increase in inequality, protectionism that fragments global value chains, serious geopolitical conflicts causing huge loss of life, and extremely severe climate change resulting in rising temperatures and the spread of natural disasters. The terrible consequence is that today insecurity and instability have become the rule rather than the exception. Financial neoliberalism has turned credited financial headlines rather than drivers of productive economy. They have become obstacles at the center of rampant speculation that drains all resources. The growing concentration of income and wealth in the hands of very few has brutally increased inequalities there in the developed countries, while also creating more poverty, speculation, and successive debt crises in the developing countries. The weak regulation of international finance has failed to prevent recurring crises linked to financialization. The regulatory measures recommended after the 2008-2009 crisis have not been able, in fact, to prevent the occurrence of new speculative bubbles or problems of excessive liquidity. Globalization has weakened since the last global financial crisis and has also been threatened by COVID-19 and worsening geopolitical conflicts. Bega-dynamic policies that produced the World War I and II combined now with decoupling and the risk policies have intensified these already serious threats. The dynamics of globalization have given rise to a profound interdependence among economies and regions of the world, and interconnection that has grown in parallel with the increase in international trade, the greater density of global value chains, and the proliferation of capital flows. Today, economic crisis, geopolitical conflicts, COVID-19, and especially the emergence of unbridled protectionism create momentum of violence and the resurgence of regional conflicts. In the recent times, the reaction of these factors produced an undeniable multilateral trend among emerging economies and developing countries, and within some regions such as Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. If disconnecting the world has become increasingly difficult, anyway, it is urgent to contain the abuse to the fragmentation and confrontation that has emerged in recent years. We know that attempts to erect unsurmountable barriers can produce disruptive consequences. The growing trend towards multilateralism is, in fact, a way to circumvent the protectionism of central economies, which is an important instrument for creating an environment suitable for economic growth and development. This also allows for the emergence of new actors in the economic and financial landscape. The pursuit of peace, sustainable and inclusive development for all can be successful if based on the principles of consensus building, multilateralism and international cooperation. The failure to adhere to these principles, as you are witnessing today, results in profound failures in international governance. The United Nations was created to prevent humanity from entering into conflicts like the Second World War. The principles and values that form the foundation of the United Nations are significant and enormous achievements of humanity because they are crucial in creating space where consensus can be built through cooperation, dialogue and mutual understanding, especially when it comes to preventing or halting violence and wars. If the United Nations has been unable to address the growing geopolitical tensions and the so-called Bretton Woods Institution, the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO have not demonstrated their ability to reverse the trends of geoeconomic fragmentation and increase social fragility. We have a mission that is to empower the United Nations and reform the Bretton Woods Institution. These are indispensable to make the system capable to deal with any type of crisis. The conditionalities imposed by international financial institutions on developing countries and emerging economies when they face crises must be rejected. It is important to reject the double standard of… rescue that has been applied during crisis. If it is a bank, it’s too big to fail. But if it is a country, regardless of its size, it can be left to fail. Another clear symptom of the lack of coordination in international governance is the alarming fact that the climate crisis and the 17 sustainable development goals of the United Nations are not being addressed in accordance with the decision made at all United Nations Conference of the Parties and other international environmental forums. As my dear friend António Guterres expressed in his address to the latest United Nations General Assembly, we need determination to keep up with our commitments. The capital contribution that wealth countries committed to make to developing countries since COP 15, the 2030 agenda that defines the sustainable development goals and even the agreement have never materialized. According to the principle of common but differentiate responsibilities, as defined by the protocol, there is a great responsibility on the part of developed countries in finance climate change. Therefore, neither the sustainable development goals nor the fight against climate change can be achieved without allocating and investing new funds from developed countries. The poorest countries need new resources to achieve the sustainable development goals in a way that does not further burden them with debt that they cannot Similarly, resources for climate change adaptation mitigation need to be made available, respecting the free exercise of full and permanent national sovereignty of developing countries over all their wealth, natural resources, and levels of economic activity. Therefore, it is imperative to build effective consensus and adopt a new stance of close cooperation between developed and developing countries to address these serious issues. Multilateral Development Bankers, MDBs, have an important role to play in development financing and can assist low- and middle-income countries in achieving their development path, climate change, and SDG goals. However, these banks play only a complementary role, and it is not possible to transfer to them the responsibility for providing all the resources for developing efforts, climate change adaptation mitigation that have been undertaken by wealth countries and have not been fulfilled so far. Developing countries have often suffered the effects of rising interest rates and currency depreciation. The high indebtedness of these countries largely caused by neoliberal austerity policies or liquidity shortages has affected their external debts, and many of them have come close to default. As a result, developing countries and emerging markets are struggling to generate prosperity for their population and cannot support the burden of financial climate change. The challenge faced by most nations of this group is also how to overcome the condition of being mere suppliers of commodities. Some of these countries need to pursue a process of industrialization with new characteristics, many countries have not even reached the third industrial and technological revolution. And now, in the face of the fourth industrial revolution, they risk becoming mere consumers of products from the platforms, limited to being users of digital apps in their economies. The fact is that the technological gap between developed and developing countries, especially the digital divide, is establishing new inequalities in development that we have to face. From another perspective, it is important to consider that concepts of cooperation and consensus are in opposition to the rhetoric of narratives that seek to impose a sectarian view of developing human rights and democracy. This is not in our interest and cannot thrive any longer. The United Nations, for example, was created to defend humanity from the lethal ideologies that sustain the right of a few to have cultural and ethical supremacy over people across the world. Political models derived from the experience of a single country have been elevated to the status of the only acceptable standard of the entire world. The adoption of this standard is imposed as mandatory. Otherwise, values are imposed to traditional warfare, coups, or blockades and sanctions. The rich diversity of human societies can no longer be dismissed. The different trajectories and developing models followed by different nations cannot be ignored. It is not possible in a plural and multipolar world. to be forced to choose a single path of development and a single vision of democracy. Neoliberal vision proposed by one country or a group of countries has allowed for the weakening of democracy in many countries and the resurgence of fascist regimes and could open the door for genocides. This is when dichotomies arise and all countries are confronted with a choice, polarization or common prosperity, cold war mentality or multilateralism, copying other countries’ development models or building one’s own path in light of each nation’s conditions, fighting climate change with meaningful rejections of new money or simply leave things as they are, as a result of the severe social natural challenge of the current century, economic development must be always viewed as sustainable, inclusive and resilient development. This means that it depends critically on health environment and on a society built on the foundation of equality. Also, peace and stability need a world of mutual understanding, dialogue and cooperation. Dealing with this troubling situation requires an urgent and indispensable new level of political and institutional engineering. If we genuinely want to promote inclusive and sustainable development in an environment of common prosperity and peace for all, without inclusive and sustainable development, there is no peace. Without peace, there is no stability and security. The different path and development models followed by different nations cannot be dismissed. It is not possible. to be forced to choose a single developed path and a single vision of democracy. Improving international governance lies at the core of building a future of common development for all. For all these reasons, it is essential to ensure an effective habitation power within the United Nations system. This is the only way that the voice and rights of the majority of humanity can be heard. I wish you a fruitful and productive discussion. Thank you very much.

President – China:
I thank Ms. Rousseff for her briefing. I thank her for her contribution to this meeting. I give the floor to Mr. Jeffrey Sachs.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Mr. President, Ambassadors, Secretary-General, NDB President Rousseff, distinguished diplomats, ladies and gentlemen, today’s meeting takes place at a time of several major wars. In my testimony, I will refer to four – the Ukraine war, which started in 2014 with the violent overthrow of Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych, the Israel-Palestine war, which has flared repeatedly since 1967, the Syrian war, which began in 2011, and the Sahel wars, which began in 2012 in Mali and have now spread throughout the Sahel. These wars may seem intractable, but they are not. Indeed, I would suggest that all four wars could be ended quickly by agreement within the U.N. Security Council. One reason is that major wars must be fed from the outside, both with external finances and armaments. The U.N. Security Council could agree to choke off these awful wars by withholding external finance and armaments. This would require a deal. in agreement among the major powers. The other reason why these wars can end quickly is that they result from economic and political factors that can be addressed through diplomacy rather than through war. By addressing the underlying political and economic factors, the Security Council can establish conditions for peace and sustainable development. Let me consider each of the four wars in turn briefly. The war in Ukraine has two main political causes. The first is the attempt by NATO to expand Ukraine despite the timely and repeated objections by Russia. Russia considers NATO presence in Ukraine as a significant threat to Russia’s security. The second political cause is the East-West ethnic division in Ukraine, partly along linguistic and partly along religious lines. Following the overthrow of President Yanukovych in 2014, ethnic Russian regions broke away from the post-coup government and appealed for protection and autonomy. The Minsk II agreement endorsed by this Council in Resolution 2202 called for regional autonomy to be incorporated in Ukraine’s constitution, but the agreement was never implemented by Ukraine despite the UN Security Council backing. The economic cause of the war results from the fact that Ukraine’s economy faces both west to the European Union and east to Russia, Central Asia, and East Asia. When the EU tried to negotiate a free trade agreement with Ukraine, Russia expressed alarm that its own trade and investments in Ukraine would be undermined unless a three-way agreement was reached among the EU, Russia, and Ukraine to ensure that Ukrainian-Russian trade and investment would be sustained alongside EU-Ukrainian trade. This is a well-known event in trade negotiations. Unfortunately, the EU was apparently not prepared to negotiate with Russia over such a three-way arrangement and the competing East-West orientation of Ukraine’s economy was never resolved. This Council could end the Ukraine war quickly by addressing its underlying political and economic causes. On the political front, the P5 countries should agree to extend a security guarantee to Ukraine while also agreeing that NATO will not expand to Ukraine, thereby addressing Russia’s concerns over NATO enlargement. The Council should also work to achieve a lasting governance solution regarding Ukraine’s ethnic divisions. On the economic side, there are two considerations, one in policy and the other in finance. On policy, Ukraine’s strong economic interest is to join the European Union while also maintaining open trade and financial relations with Russia and the rest of Eurasia. Ukraine’s trade policy should be inclusive rather than diversionary, allowing Ukraine to serve as a vibrant economic bridge across the east and west of Eurasia. On the financing side, Ukraine will need funding for reconstruction and for new physical infrastructure such as fast rail, renewable energy, 5G, and port modernization. As I described below, I recommend that the Security Council establish a new Peace and Development Fund to help mobilize the financing to help Ukraine and other war zones to turn away from war towards recovery and long-term sustainable development. Consider in a similar way the war in Israel and Palestine. Here, too, the war could be ended quickly by the Council enforcing the many UN Security Council resolutions made over several decades calling for a return to the 1967 borders, an end of Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories, and the two-state solution, including in UN Security Council’s resolutions 242, 338, 1397, 1515, and 2334. It is clear that Israel and Palestine are unable to reach agreements in line with these UN Security Council resolutions. On both sides, hardliners repeatedly frustrate moderates who seek peace based on the two-state solution. It is high time, therefore, in my view, for the UN Security Council to enforce its decisions by implementing a just and lasting solution that is in the interests of both Israel and Palestine rather than allowing hardliners on both sides to ignore the mandate of this Council and thereby to threaten global peace. peace. My recommendation to this council is that it immediately recognize the state of Palestine in a matter of days or weeks and welcome Palestine as a full member of the United Nations with the capital in East Jerusalem and with sovereign control over the Islamic holy sites. The council should establish a peacekeeping force drawn heavily from the neighboring Arab countries to help provide security in Palestine. Such an outcome is in the overwhelming will of the international community and the manifest interest of both Israel and Palestine despite the vociferous objections by hardline rejectionists on both sides of the divide. An economic strategy should accompany the political strategy. Most importantly the new sovereign state of Palestine must be economically viable and I give several examples of how that can be done. But most importantly both Israel and Palestine should become part of an integrated sustainable development plan for the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East that supports climate resilience and the region’s transition to green energy. The council could similarly end the war in Syria. The Syrian war broke out in 2011 when several regional powers and the United States joined forces to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This deeply misguided regime change operation failed but it triggered a prolonged war with enormous bloodshed and destruction including of ancient cultural heritage sites. The council should make clear that all P5 countries and the countries in Syria’s neighborhood are in full agreement that all regime change attempts are now permanently ended and that the UN Security Council intends to work closely with the Syrian government on reconstruction and development. On the economic side Syria’s best hope is to become closely integrated into the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East region especially through the construction of physical infrastructure connecting Syria with Turkey, the Middle East and the Mediterranean nations. The war in the Sahel has similar roots. Just as the regional powers in the U.S. aim to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad in 2011 the NATO powers similarly aim to overthrow the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. In pursuing this aim they grossly exceeded the mandate of UN Security Council Resolution 1973, which had authorized the protection of Libya’s civilian population, but certainly not authorized a NATO-led regime change. The violent overthrow of the Libyan government quickly spilled over to the impoverished countries of the Sahel. Poverty alone made these Sahelian countries highly vulnerable to the influx of armaments and militias. The result has been ongoing violence and multiple coups, gravely undermining the possibility of economic improvement. The countries of the Sahel form a natural aggregation for regional economic investment in infrastructure. The entire region urgently needs investments in electrification, digital access, water and sanitation, and road and rail transport, as well as in social services, notably education and health care. Because the Sahel is among the poorest regions of the world, if not the poorest, the governments are utterly unable to finance the needed investments. Here too, and perhaps more than in any other region, the Sahel needs external funding to make the transition from war to peace and from extreme poverty to sustainable development. All P5 members, and indeed the whole world, have suffered adverse consequences from the continuation of these wars. All countries are paying a price in terms of financial burdens, economic instability, risks of terrorism, and risks of wider war. The Security Council is in a position to take decisive actions to end the wars, precisely because it is clear that the interest of all UN Security Council members, and notably all of the P5 countries, is to bring these longstanding wars to an end before they escalate into even more dangerous conflicts. The Security Council is vested with considerable powers by the UN Charter when it has the resolve of its members. It can introduce peacekeepers and even armies if necessary. It can impose economic sanctions on countries that do not comply with UN Security Council resolutions. It can provide security guarantees to nations. It can make referrals to the International Criminal Court to stop war crimes. In short, the Council is certainly able to enforce its resolutions if it chooses to do so. For the sake of global peace, let the Council now choose to end these wars. The UN Security Council can also bolster its toolkit by engaging in economic peacebuilding alongside the more usual decisions on borders, peacekeepers, sanctions, and the like. I’ve mentioned already several times the idea of creating a new Peace and Development Fund that the UN Security Council could deploy to create positive dynamics for sustainable development and to work with other investors such as the World Bank, the IMF, the regional development banks such as the NDB, and others to co-invest in peacemaking. I would recommend three guideposts for such a fund. First, it would be funded by the major powers by transferring a part of their military outlays to global peacemaking. The U.S. for example. example, now spends roughly one trillion dollars per year on the military, while China, Russia, India, and Saudi Arabia are the next biggest spenders, with combined military spending roughly half of the U.S. Suppose that these countries reduce military outlays by just 10 percent and redirect the savings to the Peace and Development Fund. That alone would free up around 160 billion dollars per year. Second, the fund would emphasize regional integration. This is paramount for peacemaking as well as for successful development. Ukraine would be helped to integrate both West and East. Israel, Palestine, and Syria would all be helped to integrate in a network of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. The Sahel countries would be helped to break their isolation and lack of services through a network of infrastructure. Third, the Peace and Development Fund would partner with other funding streams, such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the European Union’s Global Gateway, the G7’s Global Partnership for Infrastructure and Investment, and increased lending by the Bretton Woods Institutions and the Regional Development Banks, as the Secretary General has called for in the SDG stimulus. Interestingly, the Fund for Peace and Development could be a vehicle for greater investment partnerships that links China, the EU, the United States, and the G7. This too would be a contribution towards peace, not only into ending today’s wars, but into increasing cooperation among the world’s major powers. Directly across the street from us is Isaiah’s wall, with the visionary words of the great Jewish prophet of the 8th century BCE. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. It is time to honor Isaiah’s words by ending these useless and destructive wars, slashing military outlays, and turning the savings into new investments. investments in education, health care, renewable energy, and social protection. As an American, I am proud that our greatest president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was the visionary who oversaw the establishment of this great institution. I firmly believe in the capacity of the United Nations and of this Security Council to keep the peace and to promote sustainable development. And all 193 UN member states, or 194 with the membership of Palestine, live up to the UN Charter. We will have a new global age of peace and sustainable development. Thank you.

President – China:
I thank Professor Sachs for his briefing. I believe that many of his insights will be extremely valuable for today’s meeting. I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of China. Dear colleagues, once again, I would like to thank Secretary General Guterres, President Rousseff, and Professor Sachs for their briefings. Your insights are truly enlightening. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to the representatives of member states participating in today’s meeting. Peace, development, and human rights are the three pillars of the United Nations. Among them, development holds the master key to solving all problems and constitutes the basis for promoting peace and protecting human rights. The Security Council is entrusted with a primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It is important to recognize that peace and development are intrinsically linked. To achieve lasting peace, we must effectively address the root causes of conflict and propose solutions from a development perspective. Some hotspot issues have remained open. been once for a long time. Some have even plunged into a vicious cycle of relapses. All those situations warrant deep reflection. China convenes this open debate with a view to advocating a deeper and broader view of security issues, filling the gap under the development pillar of the UN, promote the idea of development for peace, and exploring holistic and effective ways to build sustaining peace. I would like to share the following points. First, achieving essential, inclusive, and sustainable development represents the cornerstone of sustaining peace and stability of states. The majority of the hotspot issues of which the Security Council is seized are in less developed regions, with poverty and uneven development as their common challenges. Secured livelihood is the basis for achieving national stability. Developing agriculture and achieving food self-sufficiency is the only viable means to fight hunger. Scaling up industrial and infrastructure development is the sure way to improving living conditions and create more jobs. Future health care is essential for the protection of public health. Expanding and improving education is a sine qua non if we want the young people to see hope. Only by realizing people-centered development and eradicating poverty can we eliminate the breeding ground for extremism, conflict, and violence. Only by achieving inclusive and sustainable development can we lay a solid foundation for sustaining peace. Fragile countries must rationally distribute their social wealth and ensure equal access to public services. In particular, it is imperative to to enhance regional development coordination and protect the rights of all communities and all social segments to enjoy equal development, with special attention paid to vulnerable groups and areas with the biggest development challenges, so that development results can benefit the entire population more equitably. It is crucial to prevent excessive gaps between the rich and the poor and between the developed and the less developed, and bring states onto the path of sustaining peace and sustainable development. Second, achieving mutual respect and common development is an effective way to maintain international peace. We have taken note that some countries, using democracy and human rights as pretext, blatantly interfere in the internal affairs of other states and even impose governance models on others. These practices have led to protracted unrest in some regions, as well as a surge in cross-border refugees and migrants, and ultimately backfired on the perpetrators themselves. States have different national conditions, as well as historical and cultural contexts. We must fully respect the right of each country to choose its own development path and support each country in choosing a governance model that accords with its national conditions and formulating development strategies that leverage national endowment. The repeated relapses into conflict in some African countries fully demonstrate that the externally imposed models are often incompatible with the local environment and have generated even more problems. It needs to be pointed out in particular that the perennial inequality and imbalance in development between the North and the South has an inherent historical logic. Developed countries have the obligation and responsibility to provide tangible assistance to developing countries in achieving development. In particular, developed states should effectively honor their commitment to provide development assistance and genuinely help developing countries build up their capacity of independent development. In addition, every effort should be made to allow developing countries to benefit from the dividends of emerging industries such as digital technology, clean energy, and artificial intelligence so as to allow the leapfrog development of those countries. In today’s world, the globalization process has encountered some headwinds, but regional cooperation is still flourishing and going strong. We must supercharge regional and subregional economic integration and promote the integrated development of all countries. Through north-south, south-south, and triangular cooperation, we should enhance the international synergy for coordinated development and allow the results of global development to benefit all countries equitably. Only by strengthening the community of shared interests among all states and building a community with a shared future for mankind can we fundamentally eliminate the threats of various global security challenges. Third, it is imperative to achieve common development and common security and build a development-friendly international community. Developing countries have made great strides in recent years, but they have remained marginalized in globalization and confined to the lower end of global supply chain. This is not because developing countries didn’t work hard. Rather, it is because developing countries are powerless to change the injustice and inequity of the existing international order. We must resolutely reject protectionism and the practice of putting one’s own country first in international trade. We must oppose the attempts of certain developed countries to obstruct international cooperation by building walls and barriers and engaging in decoupling and severing supply chains. Due to the factors such as ongoing geopolitical conflicts and the spillover effects of the irresponsible financial policies of a major power, many developing countries are confronted with greater difficulties in post-pandemic recovery, with some states and regions engulfed by turmoil or facing heightened risks. This situation is a cause for alarm. We support the UN in prioritizing the development agenda. We echo the call of the SG to accelerate the reform of the international financial architecture and support giving developing countries a bigger share of voice in global governance. We urge international financial institutions to better meet the pressing needs of developing countries for development finance, climate response, and capacity building. We welcome a more active role by the New Development Bank, the African Development Bank, and their peers in this regard. We call for developed countries to earnestly fulfill their commitments on climate finance and technology transfer, and hope that the upcoming COP28 in Dubai will – produce more practical results in helping developing countries improve their climate response capabilities. Sustaining peace and sustainable development of the entire world cannot be achieved in a scenario where a few countries keep getting richer while the majority of states remain poor and underdeveloped indefinitely. We must build a development-friendly international community, encourage all countries to follow a path of common development and common security, leave no country behind on the road to development, and allow no country to get hurt on the journey to peace. Dear colleagues, China is a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of world order. At present, China is forging ahead with high-standard reform and opening up. The Chinese-style modernization will not only bring about new development in China, but also create new opportunities for the development of countries around the world. China will remain guided by its good-neighboring policy of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness, and promotes peace, stability, development, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. China has established a collective dialogue and cooperation mechanism with many countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. China spares no effort to assist developing countries, especially the LDCs and other countries in special situations, in achieving independent development and fostering and consolidating the foundation for peace and stability. China has proposed the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, which serve as concrete examples of the development for peace concept and represent Chinese solutions to the advancement of global development and common security. China will continue to support the UN and the Security Council in playing a leading and coordinating role in global peace and development. China will work through the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, as well as the China-UN Peace and Development Trust Fund, to scale up resource support and inject new impetus into the relevant activities of the United Nations and member states. In closing, I hope that this open debate will be an opportunity for member states to not only fully elaborate their positions and views, but also listen to each other and enhance mutual understanding. Our common goal is to put aside differences, seek common ground, build consensus, and allow the Security Council to better fulfill its important responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Thank you. I now resume my function as President of the Council. I now give the floor to His Excellency. Mr. Manuel José Gonçalves, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique.

Mozambique:
Mr. President, Mozambique welcomes the initiative by the People’s Republic of China of convening this timely open debate on maintaining international peace and security, promoting sustained peace through common development. I wish to express our appreciation to His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Her Excellency Dilma Rousseff, President of New Development Bank, and Professor Jeffrey Sachs, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solution Network and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, for their comprehensive and insight briefings to counsel on this important topic. Mr. President, armed conflicts, especially those resulting from competition for access to resources, are scarce present communities, states, and the nation, causing many deaths and forcing an increased number of people to abandon their area of origin, as well as their means of subsistence, forcing the poverty situation. Even nationals, as well as regional conflicts, are directly linked to development asymmetries that have often resulted in extreme poverty, disparity in distribution of resources, lack of job and infrastructure, placing a population in especially a less developed country in a vulnerable situation. Disparities in access to resources, as well as improper usage of emerging technology, provide as an environment of conflict that has the potential to give rise to social unrest with the risk of armed violence, as well as taking advantage of a bi-terrorist group. to recruit members to their ranks, promising to satisfy their financial returns and access to resources. In fact, history has demonstrated that the lack of sustainable development ferments grievance, injustice, and inequality. Sustainable and inclusive development is, therefore, the only way to achieve durable peace that is resilient in the shocks and crises of our times that brings our humanity family together. This reality compels us to reflect on the need to review our conflict resolution strategies, in particular those caused by poverty driven by access to resources. Others in turn hinder states in their respective effort to achieve, maintain, and consolidate sustainable peace. Mr. President, peace and security, human rights, the rule of law, and development have been established as the four pillars of the UN. As such, to talk about the nexus between peace and security and development is to talk about the very essence of our organization and the aspiration of member states and the people founded on the need to avoid the repetition of a scourge of wars, as well as addressing some of its root causes. Indeed, to link between durable peace, inclusive development, security, and stability is, therefore, an undeniable fact. This connection has been highlighted by various organizations, including this Security Council. The international community has been been reminded of the relevance of this linkage. More recently, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development made crystal clear, and I quote, sustainable development cannot be realized without peace and security, and peace and security will be at risk without sustainable development, end of quote. Today, halfway to meet the deadline of implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, we see with deep concern that aspiration of leaving no one behind become elusive, as only 12% of Sustainable Development Goals are tracked, and the rest in job bodies. If both measures are not taken to put the SDGs on track, the inequality in and between the countries will continue increasing. Nevertheless, to elaborate much more on the fact that the more the inequality increase, the greater potential for conflict, as this may act as a driver and a threat to multiply. Mr. President, Mozambique places significant values on reflection on a critical nexus, peace, security, and development agenda, in line with the United Nations Secretary-General recently launched a new police briefing called the New Agenda for Peace, that recognizes the interlinked nature of many of these challenges we are facing. His Excellency, Mr. Philippe Jacinto Nunes, President of the Republic of Mozambique, while council president at the open debate on peace and security in Africa, focused on the impact of development policy in implementation of Silence the Guns Initiative, convened by Mozambique in March 2023, underlined the need to ensure social stability through the creation of opportunity for development of a human. capital. This reality allows us to convincingly affirm that a purely traditional military solution can no longer be seen as the only way to achieve, maintain, and promote peace. Rather, a more comprehensive and coordinated approach among member states is necessary, especially emphasizing on the reinforcement of synergy between common development and a capacitating state to ensure and sustain peace. It is therefore important to give economic, social, and inclusive development dimension the same attention given to military ones. This is because economic and social factors are often the root causes of conflicts and can fuel violence and instability if they are not adequately dealt with. Addressing these factors is crucial for building sustainable peace. Mr. President, as clearly indicated in the concept note, development should be incorporated into all phases of conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and sustaining peace, bearing in mind the importance of ensuring that the needs of all segments of the population are taken into account towards recovery, reconstruction, and development, Mozambique established the Northern Integrated Development Agency, which is viewed to promoting the integrated socioeconomic development of the affected provinces of Cappadocia, Nampula, and Iniasa through professional training and human settlement, infrastructure development, focus on human and youth employment. Likewise, our dean was being engaged in promoting the improvement of the quality of life of of life of community by providing access to clean water, health service, education, land and justice. These actions have contributed to reduce poverty and development disparity, reinforcing the promotion of sustainable peace, social cohesion and resilience to conflict. Mr. President, on the subject under discussion today, Mozambique would like to call upon member states and encourage them to the following. One, to adopt an inclusive and integrated approach to strengthen the productivity capacity of the least developed countries by facilitating access to more effective technological means of production, including adequate financing for agriculture, livestock, fishing, sectors just mentioned few. Two, meet their international agreed development commitment and take concrete measure to ensure that least developed countries have access to emerging technology as a way of boosting common development to ensure the maintenance of a sustainable peace. Three, preventing weaponization of emerging domain and technologies and promoting responsible innovation highlighting the need for global governance to address threats posed by new technology such as artificial intelligence and autonomous weapon systems. Four, facilitate access to financing in light of presidential declaration S-PARES-T-2011-4 for least developed countries and those in conflict situation to accelerate their post-conflict reconstruction process, economic revitalization and strengthening its resilience to conflict. Five, prioritize investment. that add values to raw materials at the location of their exploitation, to create wealth and employment for a population, especially for young people, as well as strengthening the state’s capacity to invest in social areas, raising the human development index, and revenue for promoting development. Six, promote confidence and trust and encourage cooperation, creating incentives for collective action, and ensure that efforts are brought to local and national contests. To conclude, Mr. President, as General Assembly has emphasized, durable peace needs inclusive development and sustainable development. If it is to take hold and flourish, it needs peace and stability. We therefore would like to emphasize the need to address all potential factors behind eruption of a crisis or conflict in order to promote sustainable peace through common development. This is a holistic and integrated approach that is aligned with United Nations vision for sustainable peace. Thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank His Excellency, Mr. Gonsalves, for his statement. I now give the floor to the representative of the United States.

United States:
For convening today’s important discussion on peace and sustainable development. I would also like to thank all of the briefers for their insights. Colleagues, when all people in a country are not able to enjoy the benefits of development equally or when they cannot exercise their fundamental human rights, the risk of violent conflict increases. As members of the Security Council, it is our job to maintain international peace and security, which means we have the responsibility to strengthen human rights and promote equitable development so that we can prevent conflict before it spirals out of control. Let me be clear. Promotion and strengthening of human rights are not conflict drivers, as we have heard. But proactivity is necessary because we have seen how difficult it is to take action after conflict has already broken out. Take for instance global food insecurity. We know that conflict is the number one cause of hunger, but we also know that hunger is a driving force of conflict. It is our job to disrupt that cycle. In 2022, the United States was proud to provide over half of the World Food Program’s budget. But more than just responding to current famines, we need to work collaboratively to prevent future ones. Whether it’s helping develop climate-smart crops and agricultural practices, or helping family farmers secure equal access to land, knowledge, and financial support. That same spirit of equity applies to our financing strategy as well. Together with the G7, we committed to mobilize $600 billion in new investment by 2027 through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, including hundreds of billions in private sector investment. As the world’s major economies mobilize financing for development, it is imperative that we all ensure this lending is responsible and transparent, that we prevent rather than contribute to unsustainable debt and even debt distress and that we all come to the table together to help borrowers struggling to pay off their debts. The United States has been working with the broad coalition to evolve the multilateral development banks and to expand by hundreds of billions of dollars the availability of safe sustainable financing especially for the poorest countries. As we do and indeed as we work to meet all of the sustainable development goals the United States is committed to putting SDG 17 on partnership at the forefront of our approach and we will work bilaterally and regionally with the UN and other multilateral institutions to that end. Colleagues I want to be clear as we recommit to promoting peace through development and development through peace we must ground both in principles of human rights and conflict prevention and we must ensure no one is left behind. Failing to do this makes development work all the more difficult and it sets us up to be reactive rather than proactive when it comes to securing peace. We need to identify instability places where a lack of development and a lack of fundamental freedoms heightens the risk of conflict. To that end we appreciate the important roles played by the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund to identify and support states and communities experiencing fragility. I hope we can harness the momentum of today’s event to increase the council’s engagement with these organizations and support their work on conflict prevention because we know such crises result in so much senseless death and destruction and setback progress on every SDG. There’s no doubt this work will not be easy in fact we know it is not easy but now is not the time for cynicism rather this is a moment for renewed focus and shared dedication. As we mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights we must make sure that sustainable development is grounded in the principles of this foundational document one we all are party to and that we must work to make reality for every single person so that we can finally realize the vision of a world without conflict. Our children and our grandchildren’s future depend on this. Thank you Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank the representative of the United States. Now I give the floor to the representative of France.

France:
Mr. President I thank the Secretary General for his briefing Madame Rousseff and Mr. Sachs for their participation. I wish to emphasize three points. Firstly in observation In light of the magnitude of international tensions, it is our duty to revisit and review our modes and means of action to genuinely create the conditions for a lasting peace. It is our duty to establish and to tackle the root causes of conflict. These conflicts are intrinsically tied to development issues. We see this in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Climate change and environmental degradation are additional factors for instability. Their nefarious consequences will continue to grow in the decades to come. Investments in all aspects of sustainable development contributes to upholding a lasting peace, to invest in education, women’s rights, protection of the climate, and biodiversity. Health care is to invest in peace. Inversely, upholding peace and security is an intrinsic condition for sustainable development. For this reason, the entire United Nations system should work hand in hand. The Security Council, the General Assembly, the organizations, funds, programs, as well as all development partners. Second, the new agenda for peace was submitted by the Secretary General. This offers an opportunity for the collective recommitment of member states. The vision that has been proposed is supported by us, and it dovetails with the human rights-based approach on the basis of Agenda 2030. It merges development with support for political processes, respect for human rights, and mandate delivery for peace operations. France contributed to the development of this strategy. We call on all member states to contribute. However, we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that, we mustn’t lose light of the fact that development cannot be a uniform response to threats to international peace and security. Despite all of the instruments for prevention and peace building, we shoulder responsibility. to react when crises break out. And we have a responsibility to support the mandate delivery of the United Nations, including in terms of peacekeeping and human rights. My last message is a call for collective action where France intends to meaningfully contribute. This appeal was relayed by France during the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact last June. It helped to generate momentum at the highest level and with the proposal of tangible solutions on the basis of the needs that were expressed by developing countries. This demand for international solidarity lies at the heart of the Paris Pact for peoples and the planet. We also need to create a virtuous cycle for development, for economic and social development, and efforts in favor of the climate and biodiversity. This is the purpose of the Great Green Wall Project, which is geared towards countering the consequences of climate change, desertification, food insecurity, and poverty from Senegal to Djibouti. France contributed to the mobilization of $16 billion for this project. I wish to recall our collective call to reinforce the climate peace security mechanism at the UN. The Council should be in a position to be able to better assess, preempt, and especially prevent the impact of climate change on peace and security, and to draw all the consequences therefrom. Thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of France for his statement. Now I give the floor to the representative of Malta.

Malta:
Thank you, President. And we thank the briefers for their insights. Malta is of the firm belief that sustainable development and human rights are integral to addressing inequalities, grievances, and exclusion. Often these elements are at the root of instability and conflict. From the adverse impacts of climate change to food and water insecurity, from forced displacement to heightened inequalities, the challenges that persons in vulnerable situations face, especially in conflict-afflicted countries, are multifold. Such disproportionate impacts on people’s livelihoods continue to limit their capacities for ensuring resilient, sustainable development for current and future generations. Against this backdrop, Malta recognizes the Security Council’s responsibility in addressing these multidimensional challenges. In reinvigorating our trust in multilateralism, we believe in inclusive approaches to sustainable peace, where the voices of all relevant stakeholders are heard. This comprehensive vision must be underpinned by sustainability across the three strands of development, environmental, social, and economic. Sustainable development is an enabler of conflict prevention and peace-building as it unlocks transformative change in societies. It enhances their adaptation, mitigation, and resilience to current and future shocks. We also underscore that human rights, democracy, the rule of law, and good governance on one hand, and inclusive and sustainable development on the other are indivisible, interdependent, and mutually reinforcing. We call for a whole-of-system approach towards peace-building. We support further cooperation between UN bodies, including the Security Council, the General Assembly, and the Economic and Social Council, as well as the Peace-Building Commission and the Human Rights Council. Through the relentless efforts of UN peacekeeping missions, special political missions, regional offices, and country teams, we are better able to identify the root causes that fracture stability and to empower communities with the tools to mitigate threats. President, the European Union and its member states, including Malta, are the world’s leading donors of development assistance and cooperation. The EU will invest €300 billion in sustainable development over the next five years through its Global Gateway Initiative. We believe in the importance of robust partnerships underpinned by a human rights-based approach to development, encompassing universal values and high standards that deliver for people and the planet, which is what the Global Gateway stands for. Our partnership with the African Union is an example of this. Inclusive development requires our collective recognition to the specific needs of women and girls in both complex and post-conflict situations. It is in this light that we call for the full, equal, meaningful, effective and safe participation of women in all spheres and levels of public and political life, including in peace and development processes. Access to inclusive and quality education and empowerment opportunities is also a critical precondition to eradicating poverty, achieving gender equality and closing the digital gap. We need to empower people, especially young persons, through capacities, resources and skills to participate in democratic systems fully and meaningfully. We must also promote literacy, including digital literacy, to effectively counter disinformation and misinformation. Climate-related security risks, which are a daily and constant reality to many countries, also require our urgent attention. Sea level rise has the potential to wipe out low-lying nations, small island states and CIDs. Extreme weather events, droughts and floods are heightening the risks of conflict and instability in vulnerable regions. In light of this, we remain convinced that the Security Council has an important role to play in addressing these challenges. Let us not forget that climate-induced threats can also roll back decades of developmental progress. Thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Malta for their statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Gabon.

Gabon:
Thank you, Mr. President. I commend China for having taken the initiative of convening this important debate. And I thank the Secretary General for his tireless commitment for the advancement of peace and development as being two essential factors for sustainable security throughout the world. I also thank the President, Madam Dilma Rousseff, Professor Jeffrey Sachs as well, for their particularly edifying contributions to this open debate. Mr. President, since the end of the Second World War, the quest for a lasting peace throughout the world remains mired and undermined by the proliferation of violent, deadly conflicts which have resulted in bloodletting in many regions. More than two billion people, approximately one quarter of humanity, are plagued by war or cyclical crises, specifically in Africa, where a number of epicenters of instability have become chronic and at times are forgotten. I refer to the region of the Sahel, the region of the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes region, the Lake Chad Basin region. The horizon for sustainable peace is evidently obstructed through a series of crises linked to underdevelopment, geopolitical difficulties, a lack of international solidarity and a dearth of action in the face of the climate crisis. The consequences of this insecurity are reflected in living conditions of people when they are neither the causes nor the factors of exacerbation. The destruction of schools not only magnifies basic economic instructions, but also the structural problems and worsens them, but this also constitutes a crucial factor for the recruitment by terrorist and armed groups while maintaining the cycle of instability and poverty endured by countries in conflict. A recent report of the Secretary General of the United Nations highlights 19 million children who do not attend school in Sudan as a result of the current crisis. In another report, UNICEF highlights that in the Sahel region, since 2020, more than 8 million children aged 6 to 14 do not attend school. That is approximately 55 percent of this age group. Since November of 2023, we have known that approximately 3.2 million children do not attend school in the DRC. It is clear that in a number of regions of the world, deficits in the area of development are a genuine challenge which jeopardizes the peaceful coexistence of communities, which fuels antagonism, which weakens state institutions and results in ongoing intolerance. In this regard, there is a vital need to invest massively in development. This is necessary to pave the way towards a lasting peace. This is of paramount importance to break the vicious cycle of instability because there is more benefit from tackling the root causes of state fragility rather than dwelling on symptomatic aspects of crises. As the President, our collective action would be more meaningful and beneficial when we reinforce first and foremost societal resilience. This is necessary to prevent and reduce the high human and financial toll of conflict which compromise peace, security, and security. security, and sustainable development in the world, broadly speaking, and in Africa in particular. We concur with the Secretary General of the United Nations in the 2022 report on peace building and sustaining peace that the best defense against violent conflict is inclusive development which leaves nobody behind. This has the benefit of underscoring the importance of development centered on the human person, which constitutes the bedrock of the Sustainable Development Agenda for 2030. We have focused our international commitment on the implementation of Agendas 2030 of the United Nations and Agenda 2063 of the AU by focusing on four key pillars, namely the economic dimension, the social dimension, the environmental and sustainable development dimension, as well as the peace, justice, effective institutions, and global level partnerships dimension. Mr. President, to encourage and bring about peace, there is a need to begin with meaningful investments that reflect the magnitude of global challenges and that are commensurate therewith. There’s a need to embrace an inclusive approach based on conflict prevention with an allocation of adequate financial resources that are predictable for relevant sectors. This is necessary to facilitate countries’ development and to sustainably tackle root causes of conflict. There should be a particular emphasis on education, poverty eradication, youth employment. And this is necessary to protect these people from networks of violence and exploitation. And there’s a need to deliver a unified, diversified response for fragile states and to help them extricate themselves from multidimensional crises. The role of international financial institutions, such as the African Development Bank, is of paramount importance here, specifically in terms of financing programs for training, job generation. The implementation of the Agenda 2030 of the United Nations and Agenda 2063 of the AU by focusing on four key pillars, namely the economic dimension, the social dimension, the environmental and sustainable development dimension, as well as the peace, justice, effective institutions, and global level partnerships dimension. There’s a need to embrace an inclusive approach based on conflict prevention with an allocation of adequate financial resources that are predictable for relevant sectors. And there’s a need to deliver a unified, diversified response for fragile states and to help them extricate themselves from multidimensional crises. The role of international financial institutions, such as the African Development Bank, is of implementation of quick-impact projects, as well as financing for development programs. There is a need to move beyond the multilateral sphere to also mobilize the public and private sector, including civil society, to establish a genuine global pact for socioeconomic development for the benefit of fragile states, specifically those in the stages of post-conflict recovery and reconstruction who particularly need substantial financing for their recovery processes. In the name of indivisibility of peace, it is the responsibility of the international community to support nations, as well as regional and sub-regional organizations, by encouraging them to both adopt and implement strategies that are geared towards reinforcing institutions, political socioeconomic systems, as well, in order to tackle the challenge of achievement of sustainable peace throughout the world. I wish to conclude by stressing the prospect of a new agenda for peace of the Secretary General as an indicator of hope. This opportunity must not be allowed to slip away to achieve sustainable development and base it on the key pillars of development and respect for all human rights. I emphasize the centrality of the culture of peace in reaffirming that there is only one path towards sustainable development, only one path towards addressing crises, that is, that of sustainable development. Thank you.

President – China:
Thank the representative of Gabon for their statement, and I’ll give the floor to the representative of the UAE.

United Arab Emirates:
Mr. President, I wish to thank the Secretary General and President Rousseff and also Professor Sachs for their invaluable briefings today. The United Arab Emirates thanks China for bringing this important topic to the Council’s attention. China’s leadership on sustainable development and its impact on peace and security has made a difference worldwide, spearheading global initiatives that have led to significant investments and enabled governments to overcome structural obstacles to development has promoted equality, stability, and prosperity at scale. Mr. President, poverty and inequality exacerbate the fragility and vulnerability of countries and can lead to instability and conflict. The erosion of the social fabric of communities can be exploited by actors with violent agendas. We see this time and again on issues on the Council’s agenda from the Sahel to the Middle East. Without developing an agile UN response plan that factors in economic livelihoods, social inclusion, and resilience strategies alongside robust political frameworks, we are always going to be plastering over the underlying peace and security issues. Investing in development pays the dividends of peace, yet the latest scorecards for the Sustainable Development Goals show us that we are far from the desired results, as only 15% of the targets are on track and 48% are moderately or severely off track. If we are indeed convinced of the links we are confidently discussing here today, a radical change in approach is needed. The UAE would like to make three recommendations today to that effect. First of all, we accept that the science is clear. The relationship between vulnerability, climate change, and armed conflict can form a destructive cycle and should be addressed as such. This is a daily lived reality in many conflict settings around the world. Of the 20 countries most vulnerable to climate change, 15 are classified by the World Bank as fragile or conflict-affected. This Council should embrace innovative approaches to see conflicts through a climate-sensitive lens and do better to address this phenomenon. We welcome the Council’s foresight in Resolution 2677 by including a request for the Secretary General to incorporate analysis of the risks associated with climate change that may adversely impact peace and security in South Sudan in his reporting on UNMISS. We hope to see similar reporting requests in other mandate renewals when appropriate. In a little over a week, the UAE will host COP28, where we are organizing a first-of-its-kind relief recovery and peace day. It will highlight the intersection of climate change, peace, and security with a political spotlight on the importance of increasing climate funding to the communities on the front lines of the climate crisis that are also experiencing conflict and fragility. We have a window of opportunity to integrate climate action and development, and it’s critical to seize this moment. Second, we must ensure, as others have said, sustainable and equitable access to finance. This is key. We cannot expect peace if we do not invest in it. And there’s no question that the current international financial architecture is not keeping pace with the challenges of the 21st century, and it’s increasingly, in fact, acting as a barrier to development. We need to ensure that developing countries have access to low-cost, long-term financing and that the needs of the most vulnerable countries are front and center of our considerations, including for building the resilience needed for climate change. This does require bold decisions on a reform of the international financial architecture approach. The UAE welcomes the various reform initiatives that have been discussed on IFI reform to date, including the Bridgetown Initiative. will also be an integral part of discussions at COP28. But we also need a quantum leap in climate financing. Expanding access to special drawing rights, for example, could free up $500 billion in climate finance for the most vulnerable countries. And for our part, the UAE has pledged $4.5 billion in financing by 2030 for African climate projects. Ultimately, sustainable development and peace building go hand in hand. Supporting those efforts now is much more cost effective than paying the price of conflict later. Third, our policies, whether on development or peace and security, must be inclusive. It’s simple. Inclusive societies thrive. Every day that women and youth are excluded from development is a day that we hold ourselves back in the pursuit of our shared prosperity, peace, and security goals. It is critical to ensure their engagement in the national strategies and measures aimed at building resilience to guarantee the stable, prosperous, and peaceful societies that we talk about here every day. The full, equal, and meaningful participation of women is part and parcel of nation building. And all our efforts for security and stability must center around that inclusion. It is a collective responsibility. Mr. President, the international community must ensure that development programs mitigate climate, economic, and social vulnerabilities in its pursuit of promoting peace and security. Thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of the UAE for their statement. And I’ll give the floor to the representative of Brazil.

Brazil:
Thank you, Mr. President, Mr. President, colleagues. Brazil is thankful to the Chinese presidency for organizing this very timely open debate. I also thank the Secretary General and Professor Sachs for their insightful remarks. I gladly salute and commend the contribution of the president of the New Development Bank and former president of Brazil, Mrs. Dilma Rousseff, to this debate. Mr. President, as the concept note of this open debate rightly points out, the discussion on the interlinkage between security and development is not new. On the contrary, it dates back at least to the adoption of the UN Charter, when member states agreed that in order to ensure peace and security, they would, quote, employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all people, unquote, as stated in the preamble of the Charter. Detailed in Chapter 9, this link permeates the idea of sustainable peace, which is the UN’s ultimate goal. While the interdependence between security and development has been extensively debated, concrete measures in that direction have not always been taken. Purely military engagements in conflict situations are unlikely to bring about the sort of peace that can be sustained in the medium and long term. Without addressing the root causes of conflicts, which more often than not regard socioeconomic aspects, this ultimate goal will remain elusive. Development, peace, and security, and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. These main lines motivated an open debate organized by Brazil in this council on this topic 12 years ago during the first mandate of then President Dilma Rousseff. Since then, we have witnessed the deterioration of the international security environment. Underinvestment in prevention and in economic and social development has contrasted with the appalling increase in military expenditure and the reinforcement of approaches that respond to immediate security concerns. At the same time, new conflicts have emerged, and also countries that seemed to be stabilized have relapsed into violence. This grim scenario invites a deep reflection on a better way to prevent conflicts and to manage conflict-affected countries and regions. Brazil commands the analysis presented by the Secretary General in the policy brief, a new agenda for peace, especially the strong case for prevention put forward. A comprehensive approach to prevention based on full national ownership is long overdue. Strong investment in social and economic development is an inherent part of this approach, being one of the main pillars of more equitable and stable societies. The importance of engaging more women in that endeavor and decision processes cannot be overemphasized. If development is important to prevention, it is all the more important to restore peace in conflict-affected countries. Supporting conflict-affected countries in their journey towards peace and prosperity must be a system-wide commitment by the United Nations, as is the case with the Sustainable Development Goals, which feed into the same stream and should lead us into the same direction. As we have observed in different cases, violence is brewed and fed by contexts of destitution and lack of opportunities. This situation has a disproportional impact on youth, which, deprived of positive prospects, become easy prey to criminal or extremist groups. Without concrete advances in economic and social development, the promises of peace are fickle and the relapse into conflict more likely. The role of the international financial institutions is crucial in this regard. Countries affected by conflict and economic and institutional crisis should not be further penalized when trying to access resources. The international financial institutions should take their place as partners for the implementation of the SDGs, especially by financing capacity-building initiatives related to peace-building and conflict prevention. Instead of demanding austere fiscal policies, international financial institutions should aim at projects that create conditions for economic and social inclusion and, therefore, bring about sustainable peace. Ensuring that development initiatives are as inclusive as possible should be a priority. Promoting the kind of development that effectively incorporates current technological gains and bridging the digital divide is paramount in this process. technology can be a game-changer, if well applied, and can accelerate economic and social gains in many sectors. Colleagues, peacebuilding has emerged as the primary tool for bridging the gap between security and development. The Peacebuilding Commission is well positioned to connect discussions across different UN pillars and garner international support to address underlying causes of conflict. Many of these are not dealt with by the Security Council. The proposals laid forth in the new Agenda for Peace, on how to elevate the work of the Peacebuilding Commission, are a very good starting point for our discussions regarding the forthcoming Summit of the Future and the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review. Only through a comprehensive perspective on the nature and particular circumstances that give rise to conflicts will we be able to both prevent and adequately address them with real and long-lasting solutions. Thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Brazil for their statement. And now I’ll give the floor to the representative of Japan.

Japan:
Mr. President, I thank Secretary-General Guterres, Mrs. Rousseff, and Professor Sachs for their remarks. Achieving and maintaining sustainable peace and security requires not just a short-term response to violence or a humanitarian situation, but also medium- to long-term efforts to prevent the outbreak or recurrence of conflict. In this regard, a comprehensive and inclusive approach built on the humanitarian development peace nexus is key. There is no doubt that development is one of the foundational components of peace and security. People cannot feel secure when they have no means to sustain themselves. Providing necessary infrastructure and decent economic opportunities for all will help reduce grievances and lower the risk of social instability. At the same time, for peace and security to be truly sustainable, especially after the conflict situations, it is imperative to build and nurture trust between people, community, and government in the development process. Mr. President, for people to have faith in their government, basic services such as health, education, and security must be delivered to the public. Building resilient institutions through education and training is essential. The international community, therefore, should support countries’ efforts to build institutions based on the rule of law, which is the basis of good governance, and to invest in people who are the cornerstone of governance. All this takes us back to the principles of the UN Charter that all efforts should focus on human dignity. Yes, when we talk about peace and security, economic development is an indispensable component thereof, yet it is about the dignity of each individual in the end. From this perspective, all development initiatives should be inclusive. It is vital to ensure inclusiveness so that every individual, including women and youth, can play an active role to secure their dignity. Development efforts, therefore, must encompass both promoting economic and social rights and protecting civil rights. In this regard, we highlight the importance of equal, full, and meaningful participation of women as decision-makers and actors leading to sustainable peace. Women’s participation is not only vital in the context of the protection of women and girls in conflict, but also in all stages from conflict prevention to peace processes and post-conflict peace building. Women’s empowerment also positively impacts the global economy. Mr. President, none of this is possible in the absence of peace. Thus, the Security Council has an integral role to play. The Council should adopt a consistent approach based on the HDP nexus, aiming not only to resolve the conflicts, but also to prevent their recurrence and build sustainable peace. And this requires organic collaboration across and beyond the UN system. In this regard, Japan, in collaboration with UNHCR and UNDP, has launched a multi-stakeholder pledge on HDP nexus approaches for the upcoming Second Global Refugee Forum in December. This aims not only to provide humanitarian assistance, but also to enhance self-reliance and build resilience of affected people and communities, as well as to resolve conflicts and prevent their recurrences. Moreover, the Council should further encourage cooperation and coordination between peace operations and country teams, as well as agencies, funds, and programs. The Resident Coordinator System should harness its full potential to support the host country’s efforts to improve the capacities of its people and institutions. Such system-wide cooperation should be incorporated from the very moment a peace operation is deployed to the moment of its departure and beyond. Further synergies can be achieved by aligning goals with international financial institutions. The Council can also benefit from the advisory function of the Peacebuilding Commission, the PBC, through deepening its discussion and leadership. The lessons learned from the experiences of conflict-affected countries can contribute to the Council’s deliberations and actions by broadening its understanding of the root causes of conflict, early warning, prevention, and best practices to respond to emerging threats. Greater two-way communication between the PBC and the Council will strengthen the efforts of both. Mr. President, in all aspects of the HDP nexus, upholding human dignity and building trust must be at its core in order to achieve sustainable peace. Therefore, Japan is promoting human security and will continue to contribute to this end. I thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Japan for their statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Albania.

Albania:
Thank you, President. I also thank the Chinese Presidency for organizing this important open debate today. I thank the Secretary-General Guterres, President Rousseff, and Director Sachs for their remarks. We agree with the Secretary-General that the new Agenda for Peace sets out a vision for preventing conflict, sustaining peace, and development that applies to everyone in all countries at all times. We agree also that we live in an era where no nation is an island unto itself. The security and development of one country is linked with those of others. And so are all issues and problems that make or break peace and stability. In 2005 World Summit, our leaders declared that development, peace and security, and human rights were interlinked and mutually reinforcing. This basic concept is also reflected at the heart of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was built on that understanding, taking an integrated approach, achieving peaceful and inclusive societies, providing access to justice, and building accountable institutions. The best way to prevent and resolve conflicts is by staying true to the commitments we have made to each other for an international rule-based order. When countries act in ways that violate these commitments, such as infringing on another country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, or by trying to pressure another country into acting against its own interests, or by committing human rights abuses, it undermines the security of every nation and it undermines the international system that upholds peace and security around the world. Critical challenges or the reluctance to deal with protected conflicts reflect the breakdown of our commitment to the common good. It reflects a breakup of our shared values and principles that peace is indivisible, that no one can really have lasting peace until everyone has it. Equally, we cannot ensure basic rights for all if we select one subset of rights and ignore the rest. We should keep in mind also that the respect for human rights and rights of women are also important factors in promoting development and sustaining peace. Also, we should keep in mind that the role the women play in conflict prevention, peace processes, and post-conflict peacebuilding efforts. President, I do not think we disagree about the main challenges we face, the need to tackle them, and the priorities we should have as a world community, but I think we must change the way we approach these problems in order to deal with them effectively. Our task is to expand our horizon of possibilities and push for more action while upholding our core norms and values. The traditional approach of addressing security challenges in isolation is increasingly impractical in our globalized world. As we deliberate on how to better maintain and promote stability and security through common development, it is paramount to address conflict-affected countries’ capacity building for development and enhance their resilience to security risks. International financial institutions must be reoriented to better promote global peace and stability. Some countries, particularly conflict-affected ones, face challenges in obtaining adequate and sustainable development resources and financial support. Realigning these institutions to provide equitable access to financing can break the vicious cycle of poverty and conflict, fostering common development and sustaining peace. Equally, the United Nations peacekeeping operations, special political missions, and other UN presences can play an important role in creating conducive conditions both internally and externally for the development of host countries. Also seeking the advice of the Peacebuilding Commission can help the Council. As we embark on the path to promote sustaining peace through common development, I would like also to underline justice as a crucial component of our efforts to promote sustaining peace and common development. We cannot have people across the world postpone their hopes and abandon their demands for justice. Without justice, we will not have neither peace nor development. And in concluding, we agree with the Secretary General Guterres that the Summit of the Future should recommit to cooperation and the Security Council to be at the heart of it. And also, investing in development today is investing for peace tomorrow. I thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Albania for their statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Switzerland.

Switzerland:
Thank you, Mr. President. We would like to thank China for organizing this debate. Today it is, fortunately, also a commonplace statement that there can be no peace without development and no development without peace. The speeches by the Secretary General, the President of the New Development Bank Dilma Rousseff, and Professor Sachs illustrated this. I would like to thank them for their remarks. And things always come in threes. The third indispensable component for lasting peace is the realization of human rights in their entirety, economic, social, and cultural, civil, and political. As former Secretary General Kofi Annan used to say, no development without peace, no peace without development, and neither without human rights. This observation was already at the heart of the founding of the United Nations and has been reaffirmed many times by its member states. At a time when we are facing a world in deep crisis which must rediscover its humanity, it is important to remember the intrinsic links between the three pillars of the UN. The founding countries of the UN resolved not only to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, but also to promote human dignity and improve the living conditions of every individual. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines civil and political rights as well as economic, social, and cultural rights in a single document. Today, this holistic vision has lost none of its relevance to the protection of individuals and the progress of societies. By creating the peace-building architecture, the UN has given itself powerful instruments that can, in cooperation with the Security Council, even better ensure the link between peace, development, and human rights. By adopting Agenda 2030, UN member states have drawn up a roadmap for achieving these goals. Agenda 2030 anchors the consensus that development can only be sustainable if it is underpinned by peaceful, inclusive societies led by good governance. The link between the three pillars has also been confirmed several times by this Council. Through its international cooperation, Switzerland has always sought to link these aspects. At a time when we, the member states, are struggling to overcome the many challenges we face, Switzerland remains convinced that common answers can be found through constant and constructive exchanges. There is no magic formula. We must address these differences openly and honestly. This approach must also guide us in implementing the new Agenda for Peace. This Agenda makes a very clear case for working together on what unites us, not what divides us. The new Agenda for Peace establishes that cooperation cannot work unless states respect their commitments and the UN Charter in their entirety. While trust between states is vital for international cooperation, trust between governments and their populations is integral to the functioning of societies. Low levels of trust indicate weak social cohesion, which in turn is closely linked to high levels of economic inequality. The new Agenda for Peace contains important recommendations for actions that my country takes very seriously, such as preventing diplomacy, preventing the militarization of emerging issues such as digital space, accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, attacking the underlying drivers of violence and insecurity, and addressing the links between climate, peace and security. This Agenda for Peace will play an important role in these discussions only if it reinforces a holistic approach to fulfilling the UN Charter’s prevention mandate and vision. A key element in this is the integration of the women, peace and security dimension in its work. No society can benefit from common development without the exclusion of all its members, and no society can prevent and resolve conflict without the equitable integration of women into peace processes. The potential of peacemakers must be better used. By giving peacekeeping missions more tools to monitor the human rights situation, the Council can guarantee the sustainability of its commitments. The Council must ensure proper coordination between all the players involved. In this respect, resident coordinators have an essential role to play in the interaction of the three pillars. In addition, the advice of the Peacebuilding Commission is invaluable and can galvanize the efforts of other players such as the international financial institutions. In the course of its long-standing commitment to development cooperation, Switzerland has learned to harness the immense potential of the link between peace and security, economic development and human rights. It has learned this from the three-pillar principle in the Charter itself. The negotiations of the Summit of the Future must be conducted not only on the basis of trust, but also with a willingness to compromise, to be humane, and with the aim of ensuring that the next generations who will preside over the destinies of our governments and of this organization have the right instruments to do so. The UN Charter still contains all the tools we need to evolve together and collectively to save future generations from the scourge of war. This is our best, if not our only, chance of achieving lasting peace. I thank you.

President – China:
Now I give the floor to the representative of the UN Security Council. Ecuador.

Ecuador:
Thank you, President. I would like to express the appreciation of my delegation for the way in which you have been conducting the work of this Council throughout this month of November. And I would like to thank you for convening this central debate. I would also like to thank Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General, Madam Dilma Rousseff, President of the New Development Bank, former President of Brazil, and Mr. Jeffrey Sachs, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. I’d like to thank them all for their briefings. Peacebuilding requires long-term responses, but also results in the near-term restore trust of the population that we are helping. Prevention is the best tool for maintaining peace and security. Interoperative dialogue, mediation, consultations, political negotiations, and other peaceful means are indispensable, as are efforts in the area of economic and social development. The motto, leaving no one behind, has become very difficult to achieve, virtually impossible, under the pandemic and various conflict situations. We’re all affected by this, in particular least-developed countries. And that is why, at the SDG Summit in last September, we renewed our political willingness to once again focus on the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The mandates of this Council, issued more than three decades ago, recommended including a broad and integrated approach between political, security, development activities, as well as human rights and the rule of law. Mr. President, bearing in mind and that peace and development are mutually reinforcing, I would like to focus on two central aspects. The first of these is related to the needs that a country has in a situation of either conflict or transition. Accountability through the establishment of strong institutions is indispensable in order to promote sustainable development. This implies facilitating access to justice and the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies in accordance with the aims of SDG 16. The preparation and implementation of plans, programs, and projects on a case-by-case basis is also indispensable to eradicating deep-rooted causes for conflict, such as poverty and inequality. The second aspect relates to a more global focus and addresses the principles guiding transition towards sustainable peace. I’m referring to the synergistic and complementary work of peacekeeping missions and special political missions with UN agencies and regional and national offices, which support national planning and facilitate access to multilateral financing. Over-indebtedness of countries in conflict, not only due to the cost of weapons and ammunition, but also as a result of an unjust financial architecture, as well as limited access to concessional financing, causes, I think, to reflect on aspects such as fragility, because it’s not enough to come out of a conflict. What is also required is to maintain levels of satisfaction amongst the population, which implies public investment in basic services, health, education, and infrastructure. Corruption is a phenomenon that leads to poverty. It hinders development, and it weakens legal and political systems. It weakens democracy. And that is why, in fighting this scourge, the public and private sectors and civil society must unite their efforts in order to work on initiatives that will lead to transparency and integrity of institutions. That is why we need to implement the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development. SDG 17 calls for the strengthening of the means of implementation and for a revitalization of the Global Alliance for Sustainable Development. We call upon the developed countries to allocate 0.7% of their GDP to official development assistance, and between 0.15% and 0.2% of their GDP for the least developed countries. The world also depends on digital tools and connectivity for its development, and therefore we need to close the digital divides between countries and within them. And that is why it is essential that there be access to financing for investment in digital infrastructure, connectivity, and technological projects and capacity building. In conclusion, I’d like to reiterate the importance of the Peacebuilding Fund as a tool which can generate international effective cooperation and the central role of the Peacebuilding Commission, including the exchange of good practices and lessons learned. Thank you very much.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Ecuador for their statement. I thank his friendly words. Now I give the floor to the representative of the UK.

United Kingdom:
Thank you, President. I’m grateful to China for convening this meeting and to all our briefers for framing the challenge. As the Secretary General reminded us, development, peace and security, and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. It is an obstacle to sustainable development. A lack of development can drive fragility and insecurity. Breaking this cycle is one of the biggest challenges we face. The United Kingdom is committed to development partnerships founded on mutual respect that support national efforts to reduce poverty and instability. Today, my government launched an ambitious new international development white paper setting out a re-energized agenda for the UK to work with partners and accelerate progress towards the SDGs. Under this new framework, we will champion action to address conflict and fragility and to build resilience. Crucial to this will be standing up for the values of open and inclusive societies and promoting gender equality. We are already working with partners around the world to do just that. In Somalia, we are supporting community reconciliation in areas recovered from al-Shabaab. From Ethiopia to Colombia to Myanmar, the United Kingdom is working for sustainable development and peace bilaterally and with our partners. President, there are profound risks when development efforts are not undertaken with great care. To sustain peace, we need to identify and address risk factors such as horizontal inequality and discrimination, and strengthen protective factors that mitigate risks. As a decades-long international development player, the United Kingdom has learnt that effective prevention efforts engage multiple stakeholders at all levels in multi-sector responses. At the UN, this means working better across pillars and in the institutions of peacekeeping, peacebuilding and development, and with partners such as the World Bank. It also means using holistic analysis to generate integrated solutions that get at the root causes of conflict and violence and establish sustainable development on strong foundations. President, the United Kingdom will continue to offer honest and reliable development support around the world. We will support work to tackle climate change and other issues that threaten development and peace. And we will take a patient, smart and long-term approach with partner governments to put in place the institutions and policies that can bring about long-term peace and resilience. I thank you.

President – China:
I thank you. Now I give the floor to the representative of Ghana.

Ghana:
Mr. President, let me begin by thanking China for organizing this important open debate and for once again putting in the spotlight during its presidency the importance of common development and a holistic approach for sustainable peace, especially in conflict-affected countries. We thank Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his thoughtful statement, and Ms. Rousseff and Professor Sachs for their unique and insightful perspectives. As the founders of this universal organization rightfully envisaged, equal attention to the intellectual pillars of peace and security, development, and human rights is necessary to preserve succeeding generations from the scourge of war and maintain global stability. Without a commitment towards common development and its shared benefits, peace is imperiled, and where human rights of a people are constrained. by their own state and leaders, instability usually follows not too far in its train. Across several parts of the world today, we see a strong correlation between the lack of development and fragilities and conflict. Indeed, without the financial resources that equitable global development brings, many of such countries have little or no capacity to create resilience and contain the proximate factors and triggers of conflict. At the center of this challenge, of course, is the ineffective states, states that for the most part have also suffered greatly from previous decades of internationally imposed one-side fits all policies to roll back their rule and service to their citizens, and which continue to endure the practices of an unfair global financial development system that limits their access to resources and constrains their capacity. As President Nana Akufo-Addo stated at the 2023 Paris Peace Forum 10 days ago, inequalities have implications beyond economic development, and for international peace to be sustained, each citizen must have an equal opportunity to develop their potential and contribute to global stability and prosperity. Deteriorating socioeconomic conditions alienate any citizenry and can turn them against their government. And as we have also seen in many contexts, exclusion, marginalization, and ineffective governance create state deficits that contribute to instability and conflict. We must therefore prioritize interventions to tackle the root causes and underlying drivers of conflict and seize the opportunity of the Secretary General’s policy brief on the new agenda for peace and the path for the future to rethink our approach to conflict prevention, management, and resolution. Embracing inclusive development as the foreguard of the prevention agenda would be an important means. for ensuring long-term peace and prosperity for all. Mr. President, in response to the guiding questions raised by your concept notes, Ghana will make the following additional specific points. First, multilateralism remains critical to serving our collective and individual national interests. Without multilateralism, we risk the violent coalition that seeking national advantage brings. However, multilateralism cannot be treated a la carte, taking what one likes and ignoring or trampling on aspects that is disliked. We therefore strongly hold that the commitment of member states to the full respect of the Charter of the United Nations remains pivotal to global stability. That is the predictable way we believe for enhancing trust and addressing the mutual concerns of all. Secondly, the dominating influence of the international financial architecture on the fortunes and capacity of states means that we are well past the time for a genuine reform of the international financial system. It is evident that the architecture is not fit for purpose and has thus far been incapable of addressing inequalities among countries and supporting the efforts of states to resolve inequalities within their nations. As we focus on reforms across the financial system, we also urge the IFIs, the MDBs, to prioritize the provision of well-tailored and long-term support to vulnerable countries for macroeconomic stability, strengthened resilience, and sustainable and inclusive growth in a manner that makes their debt stock sustainable. Thirdly, and in recognition of the contribution of the Sustainable Development Goals, thirdly, and in recognition of the contribution the Sustainable Development Goals can make to global stability, we urge the timely and full consideration of the SDGs stimulus proposed by the Secretary-General. and welcomed by the SDG Summit this past September to correct the deterioration in progress that we have seen across many countries. We also encourage national governments to ensure equitable distribution of national development, to address the specific concerns of the youth and women, to sustain state presence and the provision of essential services without discrimination, and to ensure the inclusive participation of all segments of society in the effort to sustain peace and guarantee security. Fourthly, urgent cross-pillar action by the United Nations, especially at the country and regional levels, is required to deepen the efforts to develop resilience and sustain peace. In this regard, it is necessary for member states to carefully consider how we fund the UN development system and reflect further on how we can use the reinvigorated resident coordinator system to get the United Nations to truly act as one in support of the efforts of national governments to sustain peace and create inclusive prosperity in their national spaces. Lastly, the role of the Peacebuilding Commission and the synergy of its actions with those of the Council would continue to be important in building peace, including within the context of transitions in peacekeeping. We also see an advantage in strengthening networked multilateralism through partnerships with regional arrangements such as the African Union and its regional economic communities like ECOWAS to detect at an early stage warnings of conflict and to mobilize action to prevent them. Mr. President, in concluding, it is our conviction that prevention and peacebuilding should be a key part of our shared commitment under the new agenda for peace. Advancing inclusive economic development to sustain peace is also a facilitator for global stability and peace. Listening closely to today’s debate, Ghana is convinced that the challenges that the lack of a common development post for peace and security are clearly understood. We must therefore generate the necessary global support and resources to make the most vulnerable nations resilient by translating our understanding of the challenges into a clear commitment with programmatic implications in order to address them. I thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Ghana for his statement. Now I give the floor to the representative for the Russian Federation.

Russian Federation:
Mr. President, it is with great attention that we listen to the statements delivered by the United Nations Secretary General, the president of the New Development Bank, Dilma Rousseff, and Professor Jeffrey Sachs. We thank our Chinese presidency for having taken the initiative to hold a discussion at the Security Council on the nexus between peace and development. This is particularly symbolic today, for today we are commemorating the day of industrialization of Africa. At the same time, we wish to underscore that in discussing modalities of the constructive nexus of peace, sustaining peace, and the development issues which today are only taking shape at the conceptual level, there is an important need to guarantee strict compliance with what is enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. I refer to the principle of division of labor between its main bodies in the area of peace and development, and there’s a need to avoid duplication of mandates. We believe that development issues must be dealt with first and foremost by specialized platforms, including the United Nations General Assembly and ECOSOC and the development system. Mr. President, we concur with the concerns voiced by the Secretary General and eminent experts in this area, in connection with the fact that implementation of the main objective of Agenda 2030, namely eradication of poverty, are lagging. Beyond the consequences of the pandemic, this is a result of serious macroeconomic miscalculations by the West, growing politicization of international development by leading donor countries, by large donor countries, including the ongoing practice by the collective West of imposing unilateral coercive measures which undermine the welfare of ordinary civilians in the most vulnerable states, and these result in fragmentation of global trade and result in limited access to investments and technologies. Developed countries are not honoring their obligations to assist the global South in the area of official development assistance and climate financing, and yet they are eagerly increasing weapons deliveries to conflict zones, profits from which, as is well known, line the pockets of Western manufacturing companies. At the same time, development assistance from Western donors is frequently accompanied by effective intervention in domestic affairs of developing states in the guise of demands to implement certain socioeconomic, for example, with an imbalance in the direction of climate agenda reform or even political changes are demanded. In parallel, we would note that the European Union and the United States are first and foremost concerned with the establishment of competitive advantages, and they’re imposing upon countries of the global South a forced energy transition and abandonment of traditional types of fuel. They themselves, however, have no qualms about resorting to this where and when this is beneficial to them, and developing countries ultimately are stripped of the possibility to catch up with the flourishing garden that is made all the more verdant at an expedited pace. In the concept note of our Chinese friends, there is also rightly attention paid to unequal access in. to public and private financing. This is largely a consequence of structural specificities of the existing international financial system and its institutions, which were built by the West for the advancement of its own interests. One cannot disregard the exacerbating debt crisis, issues of commodities dependence of former colonies, the bias of credit rating agencies, and Anglo-Saxon arbitration courts. These are all elements of neo-colonialist policies which are geared towards maintaining the subordination of the developing countries as they continue to lag behind, ensuring the robust conditions for decent life and peaceful conflict-free existence organically requires radical reform of international economic systems of development through the prism of multifaceted economic vulnerability, which in our view is beneficial to the nascent concept. There is certainly justification for consideration of certain country issues, for example, Syria, Afghanistan, or countries in Africa for whom unilateral restrictions and blockades undermine their ability to attract international financing, technical assistance, and capacity building. The United Nations should sustain assistance to these countries in establishment of effective and sustained development partnership networks. Mr. President, we believe that if we fail to develop a uniform understanding of the root causes of existing problems related to upholding peace and security, the UN will be unable to reverse what we have observed today. These are trends which are exceedingly deleterious for developing countries. And regardless of how many billions of dollars may be allocated to countries in need, the situation with international peace and security will continue to deteriorate. And inequality, poverty, and large-scale migration will continue to grow. And as a consequence, there will be a growing number of and severity of conflict. One need not be an economist to understand that there’s a need for first and foremost, to mobilize vast financial and non-financial resources for countries of the global south to implement Agenda 2030, to ensure that they can jettison colonial economic models and embark on independent development paths, and at the same time, such resources which exist not just on paper or disappear into the pockets of consultants from donor countries, but resources that actually reach those in need. Needs assessments here vary. The figure widespread at the U.N. for the achievement of sustainable development, there’s a need for approximately $4.2 trillion annually. However, resources in and of themselves will not suffice. There’s a need to fundamentally alter the approach to the delivery of assistance to developing states. At the same time, there’s a need to be realistic. It is unlikely that Western ruling elites will in the foreseeable future renounce their destructive policy of maintaining their domination. However, the world is radically changing. There’s a stark demand for alternative methods for upholding global stability through the establishment of something that is not under the control of Washington and its satellites, namely security mechanisms, this through the establishment of zones for pragmatic cooperation and development in various parts of the planet. This process could be expedited by harnessing multilateral platforms which work on an equitable basis. And on a constructive agenda, we see sound prospects in leveraging the potential of associations that are active in Eurasia. This includes the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the CSTO, Eurasian Economic Union, CIS, SCO, ASEAN, the Gulf Cooperation Council as well. We note the constructive and large-scale capacity and potential from Beijing’s program, One Belt, One Way. Linking programs and their work will help to shape a large, greater Eurasian partnership and help to find ways to ensure security and progress. of economic development, there is increasing interest sparked by the format for South-South and trilateral cooperation. These are designed to help reverse the vicious cycle of poverty and stability and equality in development and to advance the principle of effective accountability for national development strategies, as well as to enhance the benefits from individual and collective efforts. At the global scale, we wish to note the clear growth in both the authority and the appeal of BRICS. Through BRICS, countries with various political systems set the example of multipolar diplomacy, which is focused on reaching agreement on equitable, effective forms for trade, economic, and investment, humanitarian assistance, in turn making a meaningful contribution to development assistance without diktat from abroad. Mr. President, there is an important need to emphasize that peace in and of itself does not guarantee development and vice versa. We are concerned by the growing popularity of thematic linkages of certain elements in the area of development to security, for example, climate or access to water resources. This detracts both attention and resources from the important objective of facilitating development as such and reduces the significance of this agenda within the United Nations system. We see the risk in the use of the development issue for the introduction of certain universal indicators, which could be used to justify preventive steps for conflict prevention and thereby could be used or exploited as tools for intervention, domestic affairs of so-called inconvenient states, exerting upon them both political and financial economic pressure. We reject the image of what is unacceptable is the emergence within the United Nations of ratings of conflict potential of countries. This is a politicized practice which is already being enacted among certain rating agencies at the United Nations, including with an emphasis on the issue of development. need to abstain from one-size-fits-all arrangements in this regard. Turning to the Russian Federation directly, one of our main objectives is enshrined in the state policy framework of the Russian Federation for assisting international development. That is facilitating the eradication of existing potential hotspots of tension and conflict. Guided by this approach, we prioritize questions of transfer of technology and expert capabilities to the poorest and vulnerable countries without preconditions in development of industry and critical infrastructure. Russia is participating in projects in the areas of industrialization, digitalization, and agriculture. We continue to help in areas of electrical power generation, including nuclear energy. We are expanding the practice of providing government grants. We call upon our colleagues to follow this example. Thank you.

President – China:
Thank you. I thank the representative of the Russian Federation for their statement. I would like to give the floor to the representatives attending the conference based on Rule 37. I wish to remind all speakers to limit their statements to no more than four minutes in order to enable the Council to carry out its work expeditiously. Flashing lights on the corners of the microphones will prompt speakers to bring their remarks to a close after four minutes. I now warmly welcome His Excellency Mr. Péter Szijjártó, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, at today’s meeting, and I’ll give the floor to the Foreign Minister.

Hungary:
Thank you so much, Your Excellency. Thank you for convening this very important meeting around this very important topic, Unfortunately, I have to report to you that the continent I’m coming from has been confronted with very serious security-related challenges. There’s a war going on in the European Union, in the neighborhood of the European Union, in Ukraine, for more than one and a half years. years now, and there is an armed conflict in the direct neighbourhood of Europe in the Middle East. And on top of it, Your Excellency, during the last eight years, we in Europe have been confronted with the challenge posed by a massive, illegal wave of migration, and we, the Hungarians, are protecting not only ourselves, but the external border of the European Union on the most busy migratory route leading to Europe. And Excellency, dear colleagues, I have to tell you that we have made tremendous efforts to be able to protect ourselves from those violent gangs and groups, members of which are now not shying away from shooting at our border guards and our policemen, sometimes using automatic rifles as well. So what causes the big problem for us? The migratory policy of the European Union proved to encourage migration towards Europe and proved to feed the business model of the smugglers. And according to the migratory policy of the European Union, unfortunately, border protection is not considered to be a security duty, but a human rights issue. On the contrary, Mr. President, we Hungarians are in favour of strict protection of the borders, and we are speaking very clearly that violating a border is a crime and it has to be addressed properly. We are absolutely aware that stopping migration is only possible in case the root causes are being tackled. And instead of inspiring the people to hit the road, we do have to tackle the root causes. Now what are the root causes? twofold, first, threat of terror and violence, and on the other hand, poverty and underdevelopment when it comes to economy. And these two root causes design our homework. What to do? We have to ensure security and safety, and on the other hand, we have to bring investments and job creation to places where there’s a need for economic development. And Mr. President and dear colleagues, as a representative of an EU member state and the representative of a country which is protecting the external border of the European Union, I have to share with you a very regrettable experience of ours, which is namely that terrorism and migration are forming an evil cycle, because terrorism is on one hand a root cause for migration and on the other hand, it’s a consequence of migration as well, because all these migratory flaws are offering the chance for the terrorists to hide among the migrants, come and go and come back without any kind of problem, and this is one of the reasons why the threat of terror in Europe has also increased, and this is the reason why in certain Western European countries, parallel societies have been created, modern age anti-Semitism is on the rise, no-go zones are being established, and gang wars take place. So we Hungarians are absolutely interested in the success of the anti-terror fight, and we take part in these international efforts as well. And we in Europe see that one of the major migratory risks on Europe is coming from the geographic direction of Africa, and we see the Sahel region as one of the sources of migratory flaws to Europe because of the instability of the region. In order to contribute to the stability of the Sahel region, we have decided to deploy 200 troops to Chad in cooperation with the government of Chad from the next spring to help the regular forces of Chad to create stability and peace in that region to avoid further migratory waves to hit Europe. And we are all aware that the population of Africa is going exponentially. So it’s a crucial question for Europe to help the African countries to be enabled to keep their growing population at home. Now, how we can do it? Creating jobs and creating appropriate living standards. How you can do that? Bring investments, job creation, and technologies to these African countries. We are, Hungarians are taking our share. We have been carrying out tied aid credit programs worth of $140 million in African countries on the field of water management, food industry, and public administration assistance. Another $30 million on aid programs. And in 18 countries of Africa, we are supporting the Christian communities to be able to stay where their communities had been staying for centuries or even longer period of time with investments and with creating the necessary circumstances for that. And in the meantime, every year, we receive 1,425 students from 24 different African countries on full-fledged Hungarian scholarships on the Hungarian universities. So, Excellency, summarizing, in order to be able to stop migration, which is a dangerous phenomenon, it’s disadvantageous for the countries of source, but it’s dangerous for countries of transit and countries of destination. We do have to strengthen our fight against terrorism. We do have to bring jobs and proper living standards for the exponentially growing African population. And instead of inspiring people, we have to bring jobs and proper living standards for the exponentially growing African population. to hit the road. We have to create appropriate living standards back at home. And we Hungarians, Your Excellency, are ready to take our share in the future as well. Thank you very much.

President – China:
I thank His Excellency Mr.Szijjártó, Foreign Minister, for his statement. Indeed, development and immigration are interconnected. I agree with him in that we need to work hard to put in place a good cycle to break down the vicious cycle. I thank you again for your statement. I now give the floor to His Excellency, Mr. Gerardo Peñalver Portal, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba.

Cuba:
Mr. President, we would like to thank the People’s Republic of China for convening this open debate of the Security Council. And we would also like to thank the distinguished speakers for their briefings, Madam Dilma Rousseff and Mr. Jeffrey Sachs. The subject at hand is very relevant in a context of a multidimensional crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic, where we saw a perpetuation of inequalities and poverty as a consequence of the unjust international economic order that reigns, bringing with it several multiple challenges for developing countries. Decades of a relentless neoliberalism, the persistence of irrational patterns of production and consumption of capitalism that are degrading the environment, as well as the proliferation of protectionist policies and speculative practices of major capital, causing prices of essential goods and services to plummet. services to skyrocket. The impact of the huge external debt that constrains the availability of resources in developing countries and also has a negative effect on the aspiration of these countries to achieve sustainable development. Time itself, international peace and security are consistently threatened by conflicts, acts of aggression, non-conventional wars, embargoes, attempts at regime change, and frequent violations of the United Nations Charter and international law. We are extremely concerned given the serious escalation of violence between Israel and Palestine, which is the consequence of decades of Israeli practices of illegal occupation and settlement, in flagrant violation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to their own land, as well as the systematic failure to respect the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, including numerous pertinent resolutions of the United Nations. The Security Council must fulfill its mandate and put an end to the impunity of Israel, the occupying power of which the United States has historically been an accomplice by repeatedly obstructing and vetoing action of this organ, undermining peace and security and regional stability. We call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the warmongering rhetoric. We urge the delivery of expedited and sufficient humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. We must avoid the forced displacement of the Palestinians from their land, which by right belongs to them. We reaffirm our support for a broad, lasting, sustainable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of the creation of two states that will make it possible for the exercise of the self-determination on the part of the Palestinian people and the creation of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and also a guarantee of the right of return of refugees. Mr. President, what will happen if the legitimate aspirations for development of peoples and the common commitment of the United Nations to leave no one behind, what will happen to this if we don’t unite our efforts to achieve a world of peace? We continue to see a sustained increase in military expenditure. Last year, the figure was so scandalous, $2.24 trillion. resources are being squandered on sophisticated artifacts to kill whilst we continue to not fulfill the commitments to official development assistance. The unilateral coercive measures seriously hinder the efforts of countries affected, prevents them from achieving their SDGs and sustainable development in general. The international community, including the United Nations system, must continue to firmly reject the imposition of these measures and work for their unconditional removal. Embargoes and sanctions do not contribute to international peace and security. A sustained and lasting peace requires the eradication of its root causes, the root causes of conflicts in particular. The problems of social and economic development that particularly affect the countries of the south as a consequence of the unjust international order that we see at the moment. The global initiatives of China, spearheaded by President Xi Jinping, can contribute towards this goal. We must urgently safeguard world peace, prevent conflicts and place the issue of development at the heart of the international agenda. It is also essential that we promote a culture of peace that will banish all hate speech. We must, as a matter of urgency, unite our efforts and our wills to preserve multilateralism, cooperation and mutual respect, as well as the promotion of a just, democratic and equitable international order that will put an end to exclusion and inequalities for the common well-being of humanity. Thank you.

President – China:
Because members of the Council have other engagements, our meeting for this morning is scheduled to conclude at 1 p.m. According to my list of speakers, we still have time for two to three statements. Now I’m going to give the floor to the representative of Egypt.

Egypt:
Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, members of the Security Council, ladies and gentlemen, at the outset, I would like to congratulate China on assuming the presidency of the Security Council for this month, and I thank you for holding this important discussion on the promotion of sustaining peace through common development. Mr. President, our world today is entering a new era of unrest as we face interlinked and overlapping threats, challenges, and risks. We are witnessing an increase in the hotspots, which is threatening international peace and development, shortage of food, a rise in the prices of energy, levels of poverty as a result of the successive economic crises. This means we must all shoulder our responsibility to find practical solutions to establish a permanent peace as the only way to overcome these complicated and overlapping unrests. And of course, their consequences are different. The only way to prevent conflicts is by implementing the Sustainable Development Agenda and its objectives. Security can contribute to achieving economic development and reducing social gaps. I would like to highlight the following points that could represent a framework to strengthen the mechanisms of a durable peace through common development. First, we need to address the concept of development and in achieving peace and security from a comprehensive manner as two sides of the same coin, particularly given that African countries continue to suffer from the scourge of terrorism and instability, in addition to other challenges linked to sustainable developments. Intensifying efforts to advance sustaining peace could accelerate national reconciliation and achieve prosperity and welfare to peoples in a sustainable manner. Second, we need to mobilize resources to create the right conditions for economic development. We also need foreign investments and new job opportunities based on the principle of national ownership. What we are witnessing today in Africa in particular means that we need to look at these countries in a new way, a new way that would allow these countries to advance at the development level by strengthening investments in infrastructure and by eradicating poverty through development and advancing the livelihood of peoples. This is the only way and the optimal way to eradicate conflicts in this region. Third, we need collective action to reform the global financial system and to increase financing for development. This would meet the aspirations of a large number of developing countries to eradicate poverty and alleviate the burden of debt based on the principle of common responsibilities and the sharing of debts. The best way to prevent conflicts is through a comprehensive and sustainable development. That means that international institutions must support developing countries to confront crises and build their resilience in the face of international crises. We also must create financing tools that are. innovative and effective, in addition to enhancing the effectiveness of current financing tools. Fourth, conflict, insecurity, weak institutions, a limited access to justice, all these factors threaten sustainable development. Therefore, we need to support the efforts of countries in building their institutions and national capacities and strengthening the rules of good governance so that we can prevent conflicts and contribute to addressing the root causes of conflicts. And we need to enable national authorities to identify, plan, and implement their own national priorities. Fifth, we need to address challenges confronting the African continent through a comprehensive approach that contributes to meeting the aspirations of the peoples in Africa. We need to combat terrorism, we need to dry up its sources of funding, and cut off its sources of financing, and we need to confront extremist ideology. Sixth, we need to pay further attention to building peace. We need to provide the necessary funding as a prerequisite to make sure that our common efforts are successful. Seventh, it is important to look at the recommendations issued by the Secretary General in the new agenda for peace that is based on establishing a new system of prevention to combat all forms of violence, to focus on mediation, and on the link between sustainable development and peace, as well as respecting all human rights, including civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, while putting in place a vision for sustaining peace by identifying the reasons for wars. I thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
representative of Egypt for their statement, and now give the floor to the representative of Thailand.

Thailand:
Mr. President, at the outset, I wish to congratulate China as it continues its presidency of the Security Council this month, and to express appreciation for convening today’s important open debate on promoting sustaining peace through common development. I wish to also thank Brazil for the successful presidency in October, and we appreciate the Secretary-General and all the briefers for sharing their insights in this meeting. Thailand has been resolute that peace will be most sustaining if anchored on human security and sustainable development. Indeed, peace and development are two sides of the same coin. Sustainable development is critical to conflict prevention. The UN World Bank study on Pathways for Peace identifies that development processes can interact with security, diplomatic, justice, and human rights efforts to prevent conflicts from becoming violent. On the other hand, the Secretary-General’s new Agenda for Peace, based on data from the OECD, finds that conflict-affected countries are significantly lagging behind on their sustainable development goals, especially those that relate to hunger, good health, and gender equality. It is promising that the new Agenda for Peace recognizes that sustainable development is ultimately the only way to comprehensively address the interlinked, multidimensional drivers of violence and insecurity. We hope that this approach will be taken further forward. Mr. President, I wish to share the following observations on the Agenda before us today. First, we believe that conflicts do not occur in a vacuum. The context and drivers that brought about the conflicts themselves matter. Therefore, efforts to foster peace must address the root causes of such conflicts. Inclusive and sustainable development is a vital component throughout the peace continuum. Local development needs should be integrated in every step toward peace, from prevention to peacekeeping and peacebuilding. To forge a strong foundation… to sustain peace and to prevent countries from experiencing the vicious cycle of conflict and poverty. As we approach the summit of the future to enhance multilateralism with the UN at its core next year, our collective efforts must be mobilized towards promoting peaceful means and pacific settlement of disputes in accordance with the UN Charter, applicable international law and the Security Council resolutions, as peace is prerequisite for development to take root. At the same time, the summit of the future should gear us towards addressing poverty eradication, development gap and digital divide, shoring up efforts to respond to existing and emerging challenges, including climate change and turbo-charging efforts towards attaining SDGs, which are key for peace to be lasting and sustainable. Second, the ultimate beneficiaries of our work here at the UN, whether on peace or development, are the people themselves. It is their welfare and future for which we are accountable. People-centered approaches are vital in overcoming multifaceted challenges, as they are firmly based on the interlinkages and complementarities between sustaining peace, sustainable development and human security. Inclusivity and participation are the inherent principles to such approaches. People need to be empowered in order for them to play a role in designing their common path towards sustainable peace. All stakeholders, from women and girls, people with disabilities to other vulnerable groups, should be able to engage actively in efforts towards sustainable peace and development. And third, a wider and more robust global partnership is required to ensure synergy and effectiveness in promoting sustained peace through development. This means greater coherence within the UN system and more enhanced partnership beyond the UN. The Security Council needs to engage with other UN bodies, such as the Peacebuilding Commission, the General Assembly, and the ECOSOC, to better incorporate their expertise on development into its work, which will help ensure a more holistic approach in delivering the Council’s mandate. International financial institutions, through engagement with relevant UN bodies, could also be an essential enabler in both financial and economic development. financing for development and financing for peace-building. Beyond the UN, regional organizations can play an important role in supporting such a holistic approach, as regions know the causes of their common challenges and the appropriate solutions to them best. They should be placed in the position to contribute to peace endeavors, and most importantly, in prevention through promoting sustainable development more suitable to their needs. We hope that these efforts will also be accompanied by wider partnership and processes. On this note, Thailand reaffirms our support for our efforts to build peace through development at regional and global levels. We will continue to support ASEAN’s effort to enhance complementarities between ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the 2030 Agenda, including through the ASEAN Center for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogues. We commend China for its global development initiative with GDI to strengthen partnership for development and look forward to actively engaging in activities as a founding member of the Group of Friends on GDI. And we will continue to work with the international community to rescue the SDGs and to promote sustainable development in the UN and through international partnerships. Mr. President, to conclude, Thailand believes that there can be no peace without sustainable development. And peace can only be sustained when people’s development needs are met. Thailand stands ready to work with our partners to accelerate global efforts to achieve the SDGs in order to bring about sustained peace for all. Thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Thailand for their statement. And now, give the floor to the representative of Italy.

Italy:
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’ll be very brief. First of all, thanks for convening this meeting. Italy aligns itself with the statement to be delivered by the European Union. I would like to add the following comments in its national capacity. Today’s global challenges are multidimensional and interconnected. Back in 2015, heads of states of government recognized in the 2030 agenda that sustainable development cannot be realized without peace and security, and peace and security will be at risk without sustainable development. There should be little room for interpretation and more room for action, including stronger political leadership in implementing key operational drivers such as the humanitarian development peace nexus. The path towards peace and development is rooted in solidarity and accountability. Solidarity among countries, rooted on the guiding principles to leave no one behind, to recognize that the lack of development is a main driver for conflicts, violence, and insecurity, and to therefore accelerate action towards the sustainable development goals. Accountability of countries, as long as the path towards sustainable development, a social pact between states and their own communities, needs to be honored. There are liberties to safeguard, human rights to uphold, gender and youth empowerment to achieve, and the rule of law to abide by, not only domestically but also internationally. Any time a country violates international law, it becomes itself a driver of conflicts and insecurity, hampering development. The universal commitments enshrined in the UN Charter, including the respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, cannot be questioned. Dear colleagues, peace and development, solidarity and accountability must go hand in hand. The United Nations Secretary-General and the wider UN-led leadership are providing us with concrete pathways to make this a reality. We must untap the potential of the UN toolbox linking the development agenda with peace and security, fully embracing the conflict-hunger nexus and the climate, peace, and security nexus. Italy fully supports the good practices implemented by the UN and the FAIs on development in emergencies, fragility, and conflicts. The role of the UN system and its agencies, funds, and programs remain crucial and must continue to be supported politically and financially by all member states. These interlinkages should also be addressed in the context of the next Summit of the Future and its Pact of the Future. Dear colleagues, the new Agenda for Peace states that the peace we envisage can be pursued only alongside the sustainable development of the world. development, and human rights. This is what the European Union has been tirelessly pursuing, both as the world’s largest global donor and as a promoter of rule-based effective multilateralism. And this is also at the core of the cooperation between the European Union and the African Union. In this framework, the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund are in a unique position to mobilize financial resources. Italy has just doubled the annual contribution to the Peacebuilding Fund and is committed to ensuring adequate, predictable, and sustainable financing for peacebuilding, also through UN-based contributions. Italy will continue to spare no efforts to ultimately attain the common goals of peace and development, leaving no one behind. Thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
To suspend the meeting until later this afternoon – until 3 p.m. this afternoon. I thank the President of Italy for their statement. There are still a number of speakers remaining on my list for this meeting. I intend, with the concurrence of members of the Council, to suspend the meeting until 3 p.m. this afternoon. The meeting is suspended. The 9,482nd meeting of the Security Council is resumed. According to rule of procedure and – I propose that the Council invite the Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine to the United Nations to participate in the meeting in accordance with the provisional rules of procedure and the previous practice in this In this regard, there’s no objection, it’s so decided. I wish to remind all speakers to limit their statements to no more than four minutes in order to enable the Council to carry out its work expeditiously. Flashing lights on the collar of the microphones will prompt speakers to bring their remarks to a close after four minutes. I now give the floor to the representative of Mexico.

Mexico:
Mr. President, Mexico thanks China for having convened this open debate. It provides us with an opportunity to once again tackle the nexus that exists between development and peace. Mexico agrees that there is a need to adopt a holistic approach to tackle the root causes of conflict. Two years ago, in this precise Council, the President of Mexico outlined how corruption, exclusion, poverty and inequality are factors which impede conflict resolution. At that time, the Security Council adopted a presidential statement. That statement recognized the ways in which exclusion and inequality can become factors which exacerbate situations on the Council’s agenda. It is increasingly clear that in order to achieve a sustainable peace, it is necessary to holistically tackle the multidimensional causes of conflict. In our region, the situation of insecurity currently prevailing in Haiti is not only the consequence of a political crisis but also of factors related to development. These include inequality, poverty and environmental damage. As such, the Security Council must adopt a broad approach to discharge its mandate to maintain international peace and security. It must do this by preventing conflicts and tackling their root causes. It must strengthen the rule of law, promote human rights, as well as sustain economic growth. It must eradicate poverty, usher in sustainable development and national reconciliation, among others. All of these are factors which the members of this Security Council must address. Council must not lose sight of when we establish or renew peacekeeping mission mandates and the mandates of SPMs. So that these aforementioned missions are successful, they must be placed in a position to contribute to national development strategies. Mr. President, to conclude, I wish to once again underscore the need, and indeed this was recognized by the Security Council in the presidential statement adopted during Mexico’s presidency in November 2021, the need to adopt an integrated and coherent approach which establishes synergies between political, security, and development stakeholders inside and outside the United Nations system. To tackle multidimensional challenges such as the exorbitant debt facing many developing countries, it’s also vital to recognize that there is a need for the wholesale reform of IFIs. This must be built on a corporation-based approach. Within this organization, we must continue to work to make the Economic and Social Council and the PBC work more closely together to tackle the underlying causes of conflict in an inclusive, integrated, and sustainable fashion. I thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Mexico for the statement. I now give the floor to Turkey.

Turkey:
Mr. President, we thank the Chinese presidency for organizing this open debate. At a time when the international community has come under increasing stress in terms of achieving sustainable development goals because of formidable challenges, including the multiplicity of devastating conflicts, natural and man-made disasters, terrorism, irregular migration, and climate change, shedding light on the interconnection between sustainable peace, security, and development has become all the more important. It will also be useful to take stock of the history of the last quarter of the century, the way we responded or failed to respond to real or perceived threats to international peace and security, and how our responses have had an impact on prospects for sustainable peace and development. Such a stock-taking exercise can provide us with reliable guidelines as we navigate in a fluid international system under transformation. As a country which has been in the close proximity of major upheavals and conflicts that happened in the time span that I mentioned and directly affected by them, Turkey believes that sustainable peace and development necessitate nurturing of inclusive, resilient, and accountable institutions. It takes a holistic and integrated approach of poverty reduction, capacity building, job creation, facilitation of access to education, health care, greater economic opportunity, and political participation. It takes bolstering social cohesion and, in some fractured societies, enacting new social contracts. It takes national and regional ownership and international cooperation to tackle problems of terrorism, violence, irregular migration, environmental degradation that hold back economic growth. development. Sustainable peace also requires effectively addressing the root causes of conflicts and perpetuated instability. It calls for facilitation of bottom-up approaches based on national specificities rather than imposition of one-size-fits-all kinds of models. As we witness today in the Middle East, Europe and beyond, armed conflicts, grave violations of human rights law and humanitarian law, illegal occupation, oppression, and lack of good governance are major threats for peace and security at national and international level. These factors are further exacerbated by poverty, double standards, and social and economic inequalities between and among nations. In this regard, sustainable development is the cornerstone for achieving lasting peace across the globe. Sustainable development cannot thrive in the shadows of conflict and insecurity. In the same vein, peace cannot be achieved where sustainable development is absent. Mr. President, more than ever we need a world where the benefits of development are shared by all, particularly by the least developed countries. Digital transformation and artificial intelligence deserves our special focus in development efforts. We should make sure that emerging technologies play a role in reducing rather than widening the digital divide. While we are astonished by rapid developments on AI, millions do not even have access to Internet. We cannot let two separate worlds living in different centuries. Technology should be accessible and beneficial to all, where no one is left behind. In this respect, the UN Technology Bank for LDCs that we host in Turkey has an important role and should be supported by all. In conclusion, I want to reiterate our commitment to continue to actively contribute to international efforts to advance sustainable peace and development, taking into account interconnected and mutually reinforcing nature between these two objectives. I thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Turkey for his statement. I now give the floor to Netherlands.

Netherlands:
Mr. President, I deliver this statement on behalf of the Benelux countries, Belgium, Luxembourg, and my own country, the Kingdom of the Netherlands. We align ourselves with the EU statement and thank China for organizing today’s open debate. Mr. President, the United Nations, in the words of the UN Charter, was founded with a determination to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, war that had brought untold sorrow to mankind. However, a quick glance at this Council’s agenda makes one thing clear. The world we committed ourselves to building when we signed the Charter is still a long way off. We therefore welcome this opportunity to not just discuss conflict, but also its causes and its relation to sustainable development. This is reflected in the UN Charter in its determination to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom. And the Charter does not end there. The UN was also founded on the determination to reaffirm fundamental human rights, the dignity and worth of the human person, the equal rights of men and women, and of nations large and small. Peace, development, and human rights are an unbreakable triangle. This nexus is reflected in Agenda 2030 and should continue to guide us. In order to implement Agenda 2030, we should collectively do better if we are to create the world that the founders of the UN aspired to. This requires that we all need to step up our efforts, including reforms that are vital for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and for making sure no one is left behind. Mr. President, let me just highlight two of those reforms. Firstly, reform of the United Nations Development System. The Benelux countries are a firm supporter of the UNDS reform. We welcome the great strides that have been made in coherence, cooperation, and collective action at country level, so that UN country teams can work with program countries on development, peace, and human rights, because ultimately it’s about achieving results for people on the ground. Secondly, reform of the international financial architecture. The Benelux countries concur with the Secretary-General that the multilateral system as a whole is insufficiently equipped to address today’s development challenges. We aim to further mobilize capital, including private capital, for SDGs and climate financing. We are extending our hand to non-traditional donors, for example through trilateral cooperation. Mr. President, the Security Council is tasked with maintaining peace and security. Development and human rights are essential to achieving lasting peace and security. They are inextricably linked and it is therefore incumbent upon the Council to look at matters of peace and security in a holistic way. where development and human rights form part and parcel of its discussions. I thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of the Netherlands for the statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Ethiopia.

Ethiopia:
Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to start by thanking the Chinese Presidency for the continued effort to keep the development and peace agenda as the priority of this Council. I commend the Secretary-General and the other briefers this morning for their pertinent and insightful remarks. Mr. President, extreme poverty is the most potent underlying cause for the rise and protraction of conflicts. Extreme poverty also worsens humanitarian consequences of conflicts and fosters entrenched positions by interest groups, thereby complicating prevention and peaceful resolution of disputes. Agenda 2063, that is a blueprint for Africa’s transformation, clearly indicates underdevelopment as the primary root cause of crisis and insecurity, and that development and peace are inseparable components that need to be pursued simultaneously. Poverty reduction and expansion of opportunities is imperative to prevent conflict and create and sustain peace. Realizing peace and development are intertwined, international cooperation, including international financial institutions, should systematically implement the peace and development agenda without creating undue prioritization. Mr. President. Based on the guiding questions for today’s open debate, I would be addressing two aspects of the theme of the day. That has to do with national capacity, as well as circumstances of UN peacekeeping and political missions. On the need to build national capacity and institutions, Ethiopia is of the view that development plans must center on local context and national ownership. Countries should make their best effort to enhance national resource mobilization and expand their revenue base. This, among others, would empower states to design their policies freely and in full sovereignty. We believe that mutually beneficial cooperation and partnership would produce better and sustainable results when anchored on the above premises. On the same point, we need to create conducive circumstances in trade and financing arrangements to enable developing countries to convert their national resources, natural resources, into productive economic assets. To this end, international cooperation needs to focus on enabling states to exploit their natural resources for the benefit of their population. Furthermore, cooperative frameworks should effectively address illicit exploitation of natural resources, especially precious minerals from the developing South, particularly Africa. In the meantime, the Council should play its rightful role by avoiding securitization and politicization of national development efforts and projects. On the issue of peacekeeping, this critical tool of collective security is facing challenges, especially in the region. especially in terms of relations with the host communities. We are of the view that one of the factors that contributed to this circumstance is the insufficient level of support to development efforts of the host countries. There is a clear imbalance between the investments on the smooth running of peacekeeping missions and the resources allocated to national development. International institutions in several of the host countries have constrained access to international financial, economic, and other areas of cooperation. This approach has created the condition for peacekeeping missions to be perceived as competitors for resources. We therefore need to remedy this anomaly through a fair and balanced allocation of resources to the peacekeeping efforts and national development and institution-building endeavors. I thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Ethiopia for their statement and now give the floor to the representative of Indonesia.

Indonesia:
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for convening today’s open debate. Peace and development are two different sides of the same coin. Without peace, fostering development is unattainable. Without development, sustaining peace remains elusive. In Gaza, we are losing on both fronts. No peace, no security, no development, almost no hope for the people in Gaza. There is no stronger voice to peace and development than the voice coming from Gaza. Governments must stop, aid must be delivered, civilians must be protected, and livelihood must be restored. This shows the irony in our celebration of the 75th of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this year. The universality that we all aspire to and put forward in this August assembly does not apply to the Palestinians, especially in Gaza. So are we now to pursue different standards of human rights for different people? Mr. President, our collaborative efforts are crucial in achieving and sustaining peace and security. In progressing towards our common endeavor, I would like to highlight the following. First, addressing the root causes of conflict should be the priority. We must address the basic needs of populations. Poverty and equality must be eradicated to break the cycle of conflict. Right to development and peace should be at the heart of our efforts. efforts. Past this stage, we need to create an enabling environment for peace and security, including by strengthening capacities of conflict-affected countries. The Security Council should provide a well-targeted mandate for all peacekeeping operations and U.N. Special Political Missions to enable them to help create a strong foundation for long-term and sustained socioeconomic development. To support this endeavor, inclusive and meaningful participation from all national stakeholders, including women, are vital. Second, stronger partnership should be forged across the U.N. system. Partnership is not only about coordination and information exchange, but also meaningful collaboration. Security Council must be able to create greater synergy with other U.N. bodies, including the Peacebuilding Commission and other U.N. agencies. Such synergy is needed to find solutions to new and emerging challenges emanating from interlinked issues, including security implications of climate change and food security. Greater partnership is also important to mobilize regional organizations, international financial institutions, and private sectors. Third, regional architecture should serve as a strong foundation to global security and development. Regional and subregional organizations have unique perspective that are crucial to support countries in building peace to help prevent, manage, and resolve conflict. In our region, we successfully transformed trust deficit into strategic trust. We invested in prevention through dialogue and consensus building. We built an array of confidence-building measures to manage strategic risk, not only among our members, but also incorporating other countries outside the subregion. We maintain ASEAN’s centrality in establishing peace, progress, and prosperity. Today, ASEAN stands tall as the epicenter of growth, peace, and stability in the region. The Security Council must continue to support to support efforts by regional and sub-regional organizations in this regard. Mr. President, promoting, sustaining peace and development is a collective undertaking. We need to work together with a global solidarity, unity, and responsibility for the benefit of all. And I thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Indonesia for their statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Canada.

Canada:
Mr. President, we are meeting amidst a staggering number of crises and challenges that are putting all of us to the test. Humanitarian needs are soaring. Civilian deaths, as we all know, are rising. The number of forcibly displaced people around the world is the highest that it has been since 1945. And the willingness of many countries to contribute to our common needs is simply not growing to meet the demand. These challenges are manifested every day in the immense suffering that we are witnessing in Israel and in the Gaza Strip, in the impacts of Russia’s illegal assault against Ukraine, in Sudan, Haiti, Myanmar, Afghanistan, among so many other situations that require our attention. Faced with crisis upon crisis, our ability to achieve the SDGs is at risk. Mr. President, we must be clear-eyed. We are not on track. Inequalities are rising, and the most vulnerable are being left behind. In response, our solutions simply cannot be selective. They must be comprehensive. And they must be aligned across the three mutually reinforcing pillars of this organization. Such an approach is grounded in the Charter, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in the 2030 Agenda. Above all, it is grounded in our common… timeless quest for human dignity. To succeed, we do not need new global initiatives produced by individual member states. Rather, we need to fully implement the foundational documents to which we have all ready to breathe. And this informs my main point today, Mr. President, that we cannot achieve sustainable peace or sustainable development without respecting the human dignity of every individual. And we will not achieve sustainable peace or sustainable development if people continue to be excluded on the basis of their race, color, sex, language, religion, political, or other opinion, national or social origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, property, birth, or any other status. Indeed, as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration, we must remind ourselves that every individual is entitled to their rights and freedoms without distinction of any kind. Monsieur le Président, Mr. President, Canada recognizes the inherent link between peace and development. The Secretary General himself declared in the new Agenda for Peace a more deliberate and explicitly universal approach to the prevention of conflict and violence would align with the approach guiding action across the human rights and sustainable development pillars. And he goes on, and I quote, the challenges of our time require universality in the implementation of commitments, not selectivity. We cannot make do with declaring interdependence through gritted teeth. We have to put it into practice in everything that we do. If we want to achieve peace, we have to focus on development, just as we need to promote and protect human rights. And we have to do these things at the same time, recognizing the profound links that exist between these three pillars. Canada believes that this is a more reliable way to build sustainable peace. Promoting rights-based, open and inclusive societies is also a sure path to building a safer, more prosperous world. All people should fully benefit from equal participation in every aspect of economic, political, social and cultural life. Yet in the two spheres we are considering, peace and development, this is not the case. We agree on the need to provide greater financing for developing countries, and we are heartened by the momentum around the reform of the international financial architecture. But we cannot expect to achieve sustainable development when half of the global population is literally suppressed. Democracy and rights are not a frill or a luxury. Tyranny and corruption are no friends to development. The security that is found in dictatorship is actually brittle and unstable because it requires the repression of the freedom and dignity that are at the heart of the human spirit. It has violent repression at its core. The full enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and their full, equal and meaningful participation are also fundamental to achieving the SDGs. We cannot expect to realize sustainable peace if women and girls, who are a fundamental force for leadership, for conflict resolution and the promotion of lasting peace, continue to be excluded in matters of peace, security and development. We believe in Canada that the empowerment of women and girls in all spheres of life is essential. It is core. to our dignity as individuals and as a collective, just as it is foundational to freedom, justice, and peace for all. Thank you very much, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Canada for their statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Chile.

Chile:
Mr. President, Chile is grateful to China for convening this open debate, and we take note of the briefings heard. We believe that it is clear that there is an inextricable link between the pillars of international peace and security, development, and human rights, all of which comprise the architecture which created this multilateral system. Tackling this multilateral topic means adopting a holistic approach. This was stated by the Secretary General when he proposed his new agenda for peace. He said peace can be pursued only alongside sustainable development and human rights. We believe that the concept of development refers to and means improving the living qualities of each and every individual, regardless of their origin or social status. Consequently, development is a catalyst for the development of stable and secure societies. Sustainable development is key for peace, and we need to adopt an integrated approach which includes political activities, security, development, human rights, and the promotion of the rule of law. Development must be closely tied to equity. Equity is not only an ethical imperative but also a prerequisite for long-term stability. Inequalities and inequities, exclusion, marginalization, and the myriad forms of discrimination and intolerance are all a source of tensions and conflicts and can exacerbate destabilizing processes as well as extremism and violence. By tackling inequalities and by promoting policies which guarantee inclusion and social justice, we can lay the foundations for more cohesive and more resistant societies. security are crucial components of any prosperous society. However, peace is not simply the absence of armed conflict, but states must be capable of tackling the underlying causes of discord as well as of fostering the peaceful coexistence of all. Development acts as an antidote to despair and marginalization. These are factors which often fuel violence and extremism. By offering prospects for a better future, development reduces the motivation to participate in violent activities. Moreover, equitable access to resources and opportunities reduces competition and clashes. Societies which fairly distribute the dividends of development are less likely to see social unrest and discontent. Economic and social equity is a solid foundation on which we can build a lasting peace. We reiterate that effective tools to prevent conflict, to build peace, to strengthen democracy and the rule of law, to safeguard individual freedoms, and ultimately to build more fairer societies are tools which involve closing all gaps and avoiding some sectors of the population from being left behind. Special political missions and peace operations can be nuclei around which the rule of law can be consolidated. That process facilitates the construction of more democratic and prosperous societies. For these missions to be successful in achieving that goal, the Security Council must adopt a sequential approach when it comes to developing peace operation mandates. The Council must set forth long- and medium-term goals for these mandates involving verification mechanisms on the ground and implementation strategies. We recognize that one of the difficulties facing special political missions is that of the budget available for the DPPA. As such, we suggest the establishment of a fixed budget and an agreement which makes it possible to guarantee funds for SPMs so that they can be properly deployed and provide adequate support to regions in conflict. Thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Chile for their statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Philippines.

Philippines:
Thank you, Mr. President. We congratulate China for its presidency of the Security Council this month. We appreciate this important open debate and the invaluable insights from the distinguished briefers. We acknowledge the interconnectedness of international peace and security with development. A secure and prosperous world is a goal that requires a collaborative, rules-based international approach underpinned by the principles of equity and justice. Nevertheless, we emphasize the importance of close coordination between the Council and development agencies for economic and social reconstruction to enhance complementary and properly delineated efforts. We need to ensure a focused approach to global peace and security challenges. In our quest for sustainable development, we have learned that fostering peace and stability through development is key. My country’s experience in building peace and forging new paths of cooperation in the Bangsamoro in Mindanao is an example of a successful and effective coordination between security-focused efforts and development initiatives. The Bangsamoro process, while demonstrating our respect for distinct security mandates and our commitment to holistic development, is also supportive of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Our approach to counter-terrorism exemplifies a comprehensive security strategy that aligns with the Security Council’s mandate. By integrating community engagement and socio-economic development into our security efforts, we not only address immediate threats, but also lay the groundwork for long-term stability. This approach reflects our understanding that security and development are mutually reinforcing. The Philippines firmly advocates for international collaboration and a rules-based order. Our active participation in ASEAN and other global partnerships underscores our dedication to multilateralism and international law. We believe that such collaboration is crucial in assisting conflict-affected countries, enhancing capacity building for development, and strengthening resilience to security risks. Hence, we also look forward to the summit of the future next year as an opportunity to collectively chart our path for peace and development. As we embrace the fourth industrial revolution, the Philippines recognizes the importance of narrowing the digital and development divides as part of addressing global challenges. We support UN-led efforts to build robust digital infrastructure and promote technology transfer. Recognizing the crucial role of financial support, there is also a need to provide necessary resources for rebuilding post-conflict areas, enhancing governance capacities, strengthening justice systems, and investing in education and skill development. International financial institutions play a crucial role. inclusive growth, ensuring that advancements benefit all, and do not exacerbate existing disparities that foment conflict. Since 1963, the Philippines has been committed to its role in UN peacekeeping operations. And today, we intend to increase our footprint and align ourselves with global challenges like global change impacts, participation of women, and cybersecurity. We believe in the power of diplomacy, dialogue, and peaceful negotiations in conflict resolution. Peacekeeping and development are examples of interconnected processes, which, when effectively combined, contribute to sustainable stability and prosperity. Mr. President, we believe that there can be no development without peace, and no peace without development. As a partner, pathfinder, and peacemaker, the Philippines is ready to share our robust insights and experiences with the Security Council, ensuring a focused and effective approach to global peace and security challenges. Thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank the representative of the Philippines. I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Olaf Skoog, Head of the Delegation of the EU to the United Nations.

European Union:
Thank you for organizing a very timely and important meeting. I speak on behalf of the EU and its 27 member states, and the candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as the potential candidate country, Georgia, align themselves with this statement. Mr. President, it’s widely acknowledged that development and peace are intrinsically linked. While development is not possible without peace, peace and security. Conversely, development largely contributes to stability, security and peace. Development is key not only for the stability of a country, but also for peace and stability among countries. It’s not just a national issue, it is indeed a global imperative. But in this equation, we shouldn’t forget human rights, as the Secretary General very rightly pointed out this morning. As economic development alone will not be sufficient to ensure stability if human rights are not respected, and if people suffer discriminations. Moreover, individuals, and in particular women and young people, must also be at the heart of our response, as agents of change, if we are more effectively trying to resolve conflict, longer-term development impacts, and building peace in a sustainable way. The General Assembly and the Security Council here has resolutions on sustaining peace, and they all underline that development, peace and security and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. And they emphasize the importance of such a comprehensive approach to sustaining peace. The EU has just signed a new partnership agreement with the Organization of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States, the Samoa Agreement. This new framework is based on a comprehensive approach which includes sustainable development and growth, human rights and peace and security. We believe that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is key, and we are committed to contributing substantially to their achievement. As the leading global partner for the SDGs, the EU and its Member States collectively provided US$92.8 billion in 2022 alone, which amounts to 43% of global assistance. Since December 2022, we are rolling out the Global Gateway, which is our strategy for sustainable investments in infrastructure globally. The Gateway will contribute directly to progress on a range of interlinked SDGs, notably through investment in transport, transport, energy, digitalization, infrastructure, as well as health and education. Part of the Global Gateway is dedicated to supporting Africa’s regional integration processes, for example, through the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area. These investments will bring people closer together through 11 strategic transport corridors that will facilitate trade, but will also bring them closer to services, education, health care, and economic opportunities. The investments are fully in line with the SDGs, and by creating more resilient societies, they ultimately also contribute to peace. Throughout our Global Gateway initiatives, whether in the food, health, water, transport, or communication sectors, we pay particular attention to the necessary resilience and protection of critical infrastructure, which is always conflict-sensitive. The Global Gateway projects are initiated in full partnerships with the countries concerned, of course, and the microfinancial impact is minimized through grants, blending public and private funds, and innovative financial instruments such as guarantees. But development projects will not be a true game-changer unless we also address development finance and debt alleviation. We need a fairer financial architecture to enable developing countries to put their economies back on a growth trajectory. We need to make sure that everyone has a fair access to finance. To make this happen, multilateral development banks must help ensure faster and better access to finance, and assist countries in need by providing more concessional lending. Tackling the problem of debt is another key issue. An important number of developing countries are currently drowning under their debt load, where servicing that debt reduces the fiscal space, which is in turn jeopardizing social cohesion and stability. We are engaging very actively in discussions with partners to address these issues, including as part of our Common Agenda. At the UN level, there are a number of tools that enable us to link the development agenda with peace and security. The Peacebuilding Commission is one of them. Its ability to convene UN bodies, donors, and developers is a key part of our work. Development Banks makes it a suitable forum on discussions about how development can promote peace building. This role could be extended. It is important that the PBC is not limited in its mandate to meet with any UN body that has relevance for its work, including on human rights. At the operational level, the Peace Building Fund has proven to be a useful instrument in supporting coordinated efforts across the humanitarian development peace connections. The Peace and Development Advisors and the Human Rights Advisors in our UN country teams can also help bring peace building, development, and human rights together in the field. These key parts of the UN must be adequately resourced. We are alarmed at the huge funding gap that peace building and conflict prevention suffer from. Conflicts are on the rise, but development assistance for peace is at a 15-year record low. This assistance also relies on a small number of donors. For example, the EU and its member states provide more than 60% of the Peace Building Fund’s financing. There is a need to broaden the donor’s base, formalize the relationship with the IFIs and regional banks with the PBF, and urgently find a way to ensure more predictable and sustainable financing for peace building. The new agenda for peace, Mr. Chairman, provides a unique opportunity for a reflection on how to make these tools more efficient and how to ensure closer collaboration between peace building entities and the Security Council. The EU is committed to actively contribute to this reflection. I thank you very much.

President – China:
I thank Mr. Skoog for his statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Germany.

Germany:
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to thank the Chinese presidency for organizing this timely and important debate and today’s briefers for their valuable insights. Germany aligns itself with the statement just delivered by the European Union. Germany has consistently been a strong proponent. and active supporter of the UN Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace Agenda. We are one of the largest bilateral and multilateral development cooperation partners worldwide. Addressing the root causes of conflict by reducing poverty and inequality is one of the central pillars of Germany’s global commitment for peace and development. One current and important example is the strategy Shaping the Future with Africa. Allow me to make three suggestions for concrete steps to more effectively address the interconnected nature of development and sustaining peace. First, we need to strengthen and mainstream existing approaches to address root causes of conflict. Closely interlinking our humanitarian, development and peace efforts is key to being more effective and efficient on the ground. This is what we call the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. Germany fully supports this approach. Germany is also fully convinced of the value of the Peacebuilding Fund and is therefore its biggest donor. The PBF’s projects are and can be interlinked with structural development approaches, making them a valuable tool to further local and regional peace and conflict prevention and also lasting development. One example, UNDP’s Regional Stabilization Facility in the Lake Chad region has a strong track record as an effective mechanism to help consolidate and expand legitimate state presence in unstable but strategically important areas. Through targeted civil-military joint action combining security, governance, infrastructure and livelihoods, the facility contributes to a more stable and peaceful region and stronger resilience against violent extremism. Germany actively supports this bridge towards sustainable development pathways. Second, we need to mobilize and generate more funding and investments for the UN’s Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace Agenda. In the new Agenda for Peace, the Secretary General has rightfully underscored the importance of adequate financing for tackling peacebuilding challenges. We strongly encourage all Member States to agree on the introduction of assessed contributions to meet conflict-affected countries’ rising requirements for support by the PBF. Yet, even if adequately and sustainably funded, the PBF alone will not even come close to filling the immense gaps in peace financing and investment that many partners, in particularly least-developed countries, are exposed to. Germany is therefore actively exploring innovative initiatives. Together with PBSO and the UN Capital Development Fund, we have just launched the Investing for Peace initiative. This initiative is aiming to set up a blended finance mechanism to enable peace-positive investments in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Third, we should establish the Peacebuilding Commission as the central UN forum to coordinate and streamline efforts in this field. As an active supporter and current Vice-Chair, Germany welcomes the Secretary General’s suggestion to enhance the Commission’s role in addressing issues that lie between peace and development. Formalizing the PBC’s relationship with IFIs and regional development banks, and further strengthening its cooperation with ECOSOC, would be important steps towards operationalizing and strengthening its impact. Through a strengthening of its advisory role, the PBC could also provide more systematic advice to the Security Council on the issues in front of us. Mr. President, let me conclude by stressing that Germany, as one of the co-facilitators of the Summit of the Future process, is carefully listening to fellow Member States’ ideas on today’s topic. We hope that in September 2024, we can agree on a bold and pragmatic pact for the future and ask for your constructive cooperation in the months to come. I thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Germany for the statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Slovenia.

Slovenia:
Thank you very much, Mr. President. Let me first congratulate you on your successful presidency of the Security Council for this month. And I also want to thank you for organizing today’s debate. I also want to thank Secretary General Guterres, President of the New Development Bank, Ms. Rusev and Professor Sachs for their contribution to this debate. We also aligned with the statement made earlier by Ambassador Skok on behalf of the European Union. Firstly, allow me to echo the concerns of today’s panelists. They illustrated how the lack of economic progress, social well-being and environmental health contribute to instability and conflict. Inequality, poverty, social injustice, water scarcity, food insecurity and climate change score as the most evident drivers of social fragility. There is a need for a holistic approach to building peace, as the Secretary General told us this morning. Therefore, peace and security hinge upon sustainable, inclusive and climate-resilient development. Agenda 2030 provides a comprehensive framework for protecting our natural environment, promoting economic development, eradicating poverty and fostering just and inclusive societies. This requires changes in governance and institutions, efficient international and cross-boundary cooperation and solidarity, and active promotion of sustainable development through science, technology and innovation. Development Cooperation Program in a partner country in Africa. In response to acute food and water insecurity, our civil society partners introduced sustainable agriculture practices and access to safe drinking water. As they establish cooperatives and savings schemes for local communities, they build social cohesion among the displaced, the refugees, and host populations. Secondly, in our collective reflections, the humanitarian development peace nexus and interdependence should assume central position. Coordinated planning of humanitarian assistance, development cooperation, and peace building represent building blocks of prevention. And prevention is cost effective as a joint study pathway for peace by the UN World Bank Group established. In addition, in the new agenda for peace, the Secretary General emphasizes the responsibility held by the international financial institutions who are not only agents for global financial stability but for peace. Stakeholders, donors, and recipients alike should work together to better align the financial institutions, SDGs, and collective security mechanisms. Lastly, the UN Security Council is well equipped with tools that go beyond peacekeeping and peace building. The peace and development advisors in missions are contributing to state building through good governance. They have supported stabilization through the rule of law and resilient institutions. They are essential for full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and youth in peace and security processes. Mr. President, Slovenia supports ideas from your concept note for today’s discussion. We stand ready to work together within the UN Security Council to integrate development efforts within peacekeeping mandates. and adaptive mandates focused on capacity-building and local partnerships can harmonize security and development efforts. Investments in long-term inclusive and sustainable development are investments in peace. Thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Slovenia for the statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Kenya.

Kenya:
Thank you, Mr. President. I congratulate China for its presidency of the Council for the month of November and for organizing this important debate. We thank all the briefers for their enriching contributions. President, it is widely acknowledged that poverty arising from under development and socio-economic inequalities is a major root cause of conflict, insecurity, and fragility. This is particularly true for parts of Africa, including the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes. We therefore agree with the opinion of the Secretary-General in his 2022 report on peace-building and sustaining peace that the best defense against violent conflicts is inclusive development that leaves no one behind. Today’s dialogue aligns with Article 55 of the UN Charter, which envisions a preventive diplomatic strategy where UN bodies, including the Security Council, work with the General Assembly and ECOSOC to create conditions of stability and well-being which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations. Noting the huge potential to scale up peace efforts during this decade of action for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDGs, I will make four recommendations that speak to some of the questions in the concept note. First, The Security Council must always consider the economic, political, and social dimensions of conflict. It should, in this regard, increasingly shift from short-term stabilization approaches in responding to conflict, instead placing more focus on long-term, context-specific solutions, including those that recognize the role and the unique needs of women and the youth. Secondly, the Council should recalibrate the mandates of peacekeeping and special political missions to play a more effective role in preventing the reoccurrence of conflict. These missions can partner with host countries in facilitating inclusive, community-level reconstruction, thus serving as a pivot of a nexus between peacekeeping, peacebuilding, development, and peace and political stability. Third, the Security Council should not only make more use of the advisories of the Peacebuilding Commission, but also support efforts to actualize the ambition of the Finance for Peacebuilding Resolution of multiple funding streams, including voluntary, innovative, and assessed financing. Fourth, the Security Council must support countries to curb illicit exploitation and trade in natural resources that has contributed to underdevelopment and conflict in many African countries. It should require countries receiving these resources to institute measures for compliance with national and regional instruments aimed at ensuring that Africa’s natural resources are contributing to the sole country’s development and peace and security. I reiterate in conclusion that building and sustaining peace is a shared responsibility, and it is only through inclusive, sustainable development that countries in fragile and conflict situations will be able to build back better, sustainably. I thank you.

Spain:
Spain aligns itself with the statement made by the European Union, and in my national capacity, I’m now going to make a number of additional comments, touching on the questions raised in the concept note. Spain advocates for a comprehensive approach to be adopted to the nexus between international peace and security. This involves addressing humanitarian assistance, development, human rights, climate action, and the effective and egalitarian participation of women in all spheres, social, economic, and political. All of these components are mutually supportive and reinforcing when it comes to achieving SDG 16, that which involves building just and peaceful societies equipped with the instruments necessary to tackle security challenges. Mr. President, international financial institutions play a key role in the promotion of peace and sustainable development. Spain favors maximizing the financing capacity of multilateral development banks, as well as exploring ways in which international financial architecture can be made more effective, inclusive, transparent, and ultimately more democratic. In order to actively contribute to this urgent debate, Spain has offered to stand as host for the fourth Conference on Financing for Development in 2025. We hope that that conference will have a transformational impact. We cannot forget either the link between digital connectivity and development, particularly SDG 4. Spain cooperates with the global initiative GIGA. That GIGA initiative is promoted jointly by UNICEF and the ITU. Its goal is to connect all schools throughout the world to the Internet by 2030. The establishment of the GIGA Technological Center in Barcelona is a demonstration of that cooperation. Mr. President, peacekeeping operations under the UN flag, as well as special political missions, are a key part of the GIGA initiative. and other United Presences in the field can serve to create conditions which facilitate the sustainable development of host states. On the principle, based on the principle of national ownership, achievements when it comes to peace building must go hand in hand with social, economic, and institutional transformations if we are to build peace. Particular emphasis must be placed here on tackling the root causes of conflict, as well as on consolidating institutions and guaranteeing the full participation of women in political, economic, and social life. The new agenda for peace and the Pact for the Future constitute a key opportunity to forge ahead on all of these issues. And my country will actively participate in this process to achieve a more effective response to current challenges. Thank you.

President – China:
I thank the Representative of Spain for her statement. I now give the floor to Morocco.

Morocco:
Thank you, Mr. President. The Kingdom of Morocco welcomes the holding of this important and timely open debate, and welcomes the distinguished and venerable participation of the United Nations Secretary General and the other briefers, and takes due note of their statements. Mr. President, the international community has, for several years, affirmed that sustainable development in its economic, social, and environmental dimensions cannot be achieved without peace and security, and that peace and security will be jeopardized without sustainable development. When societies are affected by conflicts, development is often hindered. Indeed, when development actions are undertaken in conflict or post-conflict areas, they help strengthen stability and promote peace by responding to the fundamental needs of the population. creating economic opportunities, as well as promoting social inclusion. In other words, investing in development means investing in peace. What’s more, Morocco believes that it is essential to invest in prevention, peace building, and the women, peace and security, and youth, peace and security agendas. Prevention itself, above all in areas that are in fragile circumstances, requires action based on inclusive dialogue, strengthening the social contract, diplomacy, the good offices of the Secretary General, and the centrality of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. Mr. President, it is also time to intensify our efforts to build and consolidate peace. Here, we must avoid falling back into conflict, prevent conflicts from the outset, and above all, eradicate their root causes. One of the most effective ways to maintain peace and prevent conflicts is to build national capacities, invest in human resources, the emancipation of women and young people, digital inclusion, consolidating national institutions, transparency and good governance, as well as respect for human rights. Nevertheless, investments in development, which are also investments in peace, have proven to be insufficient in recent years. Strengthening appropriate and predictable financing for good offices and mediation activities, as well as the capacities of the Peace Building Fund, the PBF, is key. This fund is the cornerstone of financing peace-building activities in conflict-affected areas. Morocco considers that the Peace Building Commission, the PBC, can make a substantial contribution to breaking down silos to resolve fragmentation and the duplication of efforts. Through its advisory role and its linking function within the Security Council, the Commission, together with a large range of regional, key regional and international actors, is able to provide a peace-building perspective and introduce that perspective into the deliberations of the principal organs of the United Nations based on national ownership. As chair of the PBC configuration for the Central African Republic, which I visited last week, I am fully aware of and testament to the key role and tangible role of the international financial institutions in mobilizing resources to help conflict-affected countries that have a very limited budgetary space to build and sustain peace and to promote sustainable development as well as national reconciliation. In this regard, we believe that a concrete response to the challenges of conflict and post-conflict countries also requires a coordinated and concerted engagement from the entire United Nations system. The involvement of triple-hatted resident coordinators with humanitarian functions, the international financial institutions as well as regional and national actors. Lastly, Mr. President, Morocco reiterates its full support for the Secretary-General and fully shares his vision and his recommendations to address the common challenges of the 21st century, including through the implementation of our common agenda and the new agenda for peace. The 2024 Summit for the Future and the revision of the peace-building architecture in 2025 will be key opportunities to consolidate. a strong and significant international political consensus, and to implement our common ambitions for development, peace, and security, and above all, to provide legitimacy to multilateralism and to reinvigorate it. What’s more, Morocco is working tirelessly in the context of effective and proactive South-South cooperation in accordance with the high-level guidance by His Majesty the King Mohammed VI for the socioeconomic development of fraternal and friendly countries, particularly on our African continent. Morocco has a very large number of multidimensional partnerships and agreements with fraternal African countries. Indeed, Morocco remains determined to work hand in hand with African countries in order to make our continent a zone of peace, development, and prosperity for everyone. Our world today needs a glimmer of hope to restore confidence in the power and centrality of multilateralism as a space for sustainable development, peace, coexistence, and regional and international security. There is only one path towards a peace which is resistant to the crises of our time, and that path is sustainable development, because this is the tool that is best able to break cycles of instability and address the root causes of fragility for countries and their humanitarian needs. Thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Morocco for his statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan:
Mr. President, at the outset, I would like to thank the delegation of China for having convened this important open debate. Azerbaijan has been a staunch promoter of the people-centered development approach. including through transformational changes to remodel the country’s economy with a focus on sustainability, inclusive growth, social justice, and clean energy. Over the last 20 years, more than 310 billion US dollars have been invested in Azerbaijan’s economy, including around 200 billion in the non-energy sector. Furthermore, Azerbaijan has transformed into one of the key transport and logistics hubs between Europe and Asia, greatly contributing to the development of trans-regional connectivity projects, investing in transport infrastructure, and widening cooperation with regional partners. All these efforts have been undertaken despite decades of armed conflict and its devastating humanitarian and economic impact. Earlier this month, on 8th of November, Azerbaijan commemorated the third anniversary of this Victory Day to mark the end of the 30-year Armenian aggression and occupation. Because of the war, our indicative of how ethno-nationalist ideology, the rejection of diversity, and the aspiration for mono-ethnicity can be a driving force dominating over universal principles, sustainable and inclusive development, and the prospects and benefits of regional cooperation. Those who ordered and perpetrated mass atrocities against civilians and other protected persons in my country were inspired by the objectives of ethnic purity in one of the most horrific campaigns of systemic racial discrimination in recent history. history. They first expelled more than 200,000 Azerbaijanis from their historical homeland in Armenia and today deny their right of return, then ethnically cleansed all occupied territories of their more than 700,000 Azerbaijani population, razed nine cities and hundreds of villages in Azerbaijan to the ground and looted, vandalized and destroyed thousands of our cultural and religious sites. Those in Armenia who refrained from prosecuting serious crimes committed by its forces, shy away from shedding light on the fate of almost 4,000 missing Azerbaijanis as well as planted hundreds of thousands of landmines and other explosive devices in the formerly occupied territories and refuse now to disclose their locations are guided by the same hate motives. Mr. President, providing support to states affected by conflict and engaged in post-conflict peace building is and must remain a critical commitment of the United Nations. Such support and solidarity are critical to my country and many states around the world that are overcoming the severe consequences of conflicts. After the end of the war three years ago, Azerbaijan has prioritized humanitarian demining, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the liberated territories and their integration into the country’s economy to ensure the safe and dignified return of the displaced population and the highest standards of living. Life is gradually returning to these lands, and the first groups of displaced families have already returned to their places of origin. Despite the post-conflict peace and development prospects, Armenia opted for maintaining territorial claims, refusing to completely withdraw its armed forces from the territory of Azerbaijan, further inciting violent ethnic separatism in my country, and increasing armed provocations on the ground. The security measures taken by Azerbaijan in its Karabakh region within less than 24 hours this September ensured the restoration of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity in full conformity with the rights and responsibilities vested in states in accordance with the United Nations Charter and international law to protect their nationals and react to an unlawful military presence of foreign troops and illegal armed formations on their territory. As the main obstacles to advancing the agenda for the normalization of interstate relations have been eliminated, we expect that Armenia will strictly abide by its international obligations, cease and desist from disinformation and misinformation, and engage faithfully in efforts to build peace and stability in the region. Attempts by some non-regional states to turn the South Caucasus into an object of geopolitical including by arming Armenia and encouraging its hate propaganda, do not serve peace, reconciliation, and inclusive development. Azerbaijan will continue its development and peace-sustaining efforts in the region and will further contribute to global endeavors to ensure equitable access of developing countries to financing, development resources, and benefits of progress. I thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Azerbaijan for the statement. I now give the floor to Vietnam.

Viet Nam:
Mr. President, peace is a prerequisite for development. There’s no development without peace. At the same time, inclusive and sustainable development is a precondition for long-lasting peace as it helps address the root causes of conflicts. This correlated relationship is even more crucial in the current context, where wars and conflicts are still prevalent in many parts of the world, and why the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is far off track. It is not a coincidence that conflict-ridden countries also score the lowest on the SDG Index. The Security Council plays a vital role in creating preconditions for development through the maintenance of international peace and security. There are a number of ways in which the City Council can promote sustaining peace through and for development. First, the Council must be at the forefront of discharging the responsibility to prevent conflict and build peace, so as to create a more conducive international environment for development. It must also take a leap forward. leading role in the prevention of armed race and the resolution of conflicts through peaceful means so more resources can be channeled to development in the interest of humanity. Second, it is imperative for the Council to place a high premium on addressing the development-related root causes in conflict prevention as well as post-conflict reconstruction. Eradicating hunger and poverty, safeguarding livelihood, ensuring social cohesion and inclusiveness are not only the basic goals of development but also fundamental factors preventing the outbreak and outspread of conflicts. Third, the United Nations, including the Security Council in particular, should take a whole-of-system approach to promoting sustainable peace and development and break the versus cycle of conflict and poverty. It is also important to take into account the development aspect in funding for peace-building to secure adequate resources to address the development challenges in conflict-affected countries and for effective post-conflict recovery. Fourth, it is essential that the Security Council gives more attention to addressing the emerging and non-traditional threats to both common development and security, including climate change and sea-level rise. It is incumbent upon the Council to heed the Security Council’s implications, the security implications of those challenges, and contribute to global efforts to prevent and mitigate their negative impacts on development in a comprehensive manner. Mr. President, from a country ravaged by war, Vietnam has accomplished considerable development progress in the past 50 years. We understand first-hand the critical importance of promoting socio-economic development and ensuring the well-being and livelihood of our people in maintaining peace and stability, and vice versa. We will continue to contribute to the efforts of the international community to promote sustaining peace through common development and always stand ready to share our experience and best practices in this regard. I thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Vietnam for their statement. Now I give the floor to the representative of the Republic of Korea.

Korea:
Thank you, Mr. President. I’d like to begin by expressing my appreciation to the People’s Republic of China for convening this open debate. I also thank the Secretary General and other briefers for their insightful remarks. I couldn’t agree more what the Secretary General said in his remarks today, that development itself is not enough to secure peace and that no peace can be secured without inclusive, sustainable development that leaves no one behind. I’d like to add our experience as a citizen of Korea, a country that has quickly gone from being one of the least developed to one of the most advanced in many areas. As you know, Korea has been able to achieve economic development and deepening democracy in just one generation. Through trial and error, Korea has developed a society that values democracy, freedom, and rule of law, which has allowed it to be resilient despite the challenges of the economic growth. Korea’s experience shows that economic growth and development of democracy do not just go hand in hand, but are mutually reinforcing. Mr. President, in the face of multi-faceted global crisis of unprecedented scale, the gap between countries is widening in several areas. Unlike the past several decades when Korea was striving to achieve economic development, developing countries now face the reality of having to address these complex issues. and interrelated challenges simultaneously. While Korea has been able to narrow the development gap through foreign investment and transfer of technology, as well as vital development assistance from the international community, narrowing the development gap alone is no longer enough to achieve sustaining peace. In many developing countries, the climate crisis is exacerbating threats to peace and security, and the digital divide between countries is widening as all industries are transformed by new digital technologies. Therefore, as my president strongly emphasized in his address to 78th General Assembly, the international community must stand united with the UN at its core in providing the necessary support to developing countries to address these complex challenges of the development gap, climate gap, and digital divide gap simultaneously. The Republic of Korea will fulfill its responsibility and leadership in this area by sharing our experience and providing necessary support. In this regard, Korea aims to double this year’s 21.3% increase in its ODA budget next year, focusing our ODA on education, training, and green technology. We’ll also play a leading role in building the digital divide. Mr. President, in closing, the Republic of Korea would like to highlight the vital role of the Security Council and a more systemic and integrated approach, both within and beyond the UN, to address these multipliers of conflict and achieve sustaining peace. First, the Security Council should pay elevated attention to challenges such as climate change and AI and digital technologies. as these issues are directly and closely related to the peace and security not only of fragile states, but also regionally and globally. Second, all United Nations organizations, including the Security Council, must work together in a coherent and strategic manner. In this regard, the Republic of Korea would like to highlight the role of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund in addressing the complex challenges we face. The ROK welcomes the meaningful development in coordination between the PBC and the Security Council in this connection and encourages the Council to further strengthen this cooperation. Last but not least, we also call for strengthening the humanitarian development peace nexus and expanding partnership with all other stakeholders, including international financial institutions, regional organizations, private sector, and the civil society. I thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Republic of Korea for their statement and I’ll give the floor to the representative of Croatia.

Croatia:
Let me start by offering my appreciation for the opportunity to engage in this timely debate. Croatia aligns itself with the statement delivered by the European Union. Allow me to make a few remarks in my national capacity. We recognize that increasing crisis, conflicts, and related challenges have adverse effects on our collective ability to fulfill adopted policies or deliver new ones in a credible and feasible manner. Addressing root causes of conflict is essential for conflict prevention and sustaining peace. The root causes of major political, societal, and economic tensions lead to division and exclusion. In such conditions, legal and social contracts and expectations break. easily. Addressing root causes requires a holistic approach, working across peace and security, development and human rights. Conflicts can be mitigated or resolved by promoting dialogue and fostering inclusive mediation processes. This allows societies to focus their efforts on development and foster social cohesion. In this pursuit, the full implementation of the rule of law, principles of good governance, transparency and accountability, democracy, anti-corruption and the protection of human rights are key. Trusted, fair and efficient institutions and processes are necessary ingredients for an environment conducive to achieving sustainable development goals and for maintaining sure societies, making sure that societies and states are more resilient to divides and conflicts. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its sustainable development goals are an excellent framework for addressing root causes of conflict. They cover all three dimensions of sustainable development. They are human rights-based and recognize that there can be no peace without development and there can be no development without peace. In peaceful and democratic societies, individuals and communities can thrive as their human rights are respected. They create prosperous and inclusive economies and are better equipped to deal with the impacts of climate change and to protect the environment. Synergies between sustaining peace, peace building and sustainable development should be utilized in a systemic manner. It is paramount that we invest more in prevention and promotion of lasting peace globally if we are to achieve sustainable development goals. Attaining the 2030 Agenda is dependent on our success in sustaining peace as a global public good and we all have a stake in it. In this context, the Peace Building Commission stands at the nexus of peace, security and development, uniquely positioned to address the challenges of sustaining peace and peace building in an integrated manner. This is why it is important to strengthen the Commission to be even more effective. Building on national ownership, supporting countries in sustaining peace, peace and preventing conflict, including through national prevention strategies, is something the PBC is well-placed to do. To enhance the Commission’s effectiveness, its ties with regional and sub-regional organizations must be strengthened, as well as with international and regional financial institutions. The collaborative effort will enable the Commission to follow up on recommendations and assist countries in implementing crucial measures for achieving peaceful and prosperous societies. The Summit of the Future in 2024 and the 2025 Review of the Peace-Building Architecture provide valuable opportunities to bolster the Peace-Building Commission. Let us seize them to the fullest extent possible. Thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Croatia for their statement and give the floor to the representative of South Africa.

South Africa:
Thank you, Mr. President. Like others, we’d like to thank you for convening this open debate to highlight the linkage between peace and development. We acknowledge and are grateful for the briefings by Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the new Development Bank President Dilma Rousseff, and Professor Jeffrey Sachs, who is leading critical work at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network on improving the rollout of the Sustainable Development Goals. Mr. President, countries that experience armed conflict often face challenges in development and are far behind schedule in achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This is primarily because violence and its drivers reduce countries’ abilities to generate domestic revenue and attract international investment. We acknowledge the work that is done by key UN agencies, such as the UNDP, in helping to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and exclusion, and build resilience so that countries can sustain progress and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. goals. We advocate for the closer collaboration between peacekeeping missions, the UNDP, ECOSOC, the Peacebuilding Fund and the Peacebuilding Commission. The primary function of peacekeeping operations is to protect civilians, actively prevent conflict, reduce violence, strengthen security and empower national authorities to assume these responsibilities. We acknowledge the important work that has also been done through quick impact projects in support of local communities to improve the attainment of sustainable development. We emphasize that the vital role played by the Economic and Social Council and the Peacebuilding Commission in enhancing socio-economic situations in countries affected by armed conflict. In this context, the regular discussions and closer collaboration with the Security Council remain invaluable in achieving peace from a more holistic perspective. Mr. President, the relationship between the Security Council and regional organizations also remains critical in the resolution and prevention of conflicts and engaging on matters pertaining to sustainable development. It has always been South Africa’s view that regional and sub-regional organizations, including regional financial institutions, remain uniquely positioned and better experienced to provide support to national actors addressing conflict, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction. Mr. President, South Africa welcomes the ongoing discussions in the context of the Secretary-General’s new agenda for peace and the emphasis on the need to revisit the collective security system. It’s important that it can respond to these needs of all countries based on trust, solidarity, universality, but also, we may add, mutual respect, commitment and honest fulfillment of international agreements and undertakings. Importantly, With respect to today’s discussions, we welcome the emphasis on the necessity to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This flows from the understanding that there can be no peace without development, no development without peace, and neither without the respect for human rights. We thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank you for your statement. Now I give the floor to the representative of Angola.

Angola:
Thank you, Mr. President. I am going to congratulate China for the assumption of the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of November, and commend for the initiative of organizing these thematic debates. We believe that peace, security, and stability are the foundation to create a kind of safe environment for global prosperity and common development, including the realization of the 2030 Agenda. Angola advocates for greater global concerted efforts to end conflicts worldwide by addressing their root causes, investing in preventive diplomacy and mediation, and promoting a peace-building agenda to help countries sustain peace toward achieving inclusive, sustainable development. Mr. President, several factors are behind the imbalanced development, including conflicts, food insecurity, high energy prices, and adverse effects of climate change. In addition, pandemics and diseases can further destabilize the economy, particularly in developing countries. The alarming increase in external debt is another factor that decreases the prospect of economic growth, increases inflation, creates political instability, and reduces confidence in the governments. Mr. President, we believe that common development is a shared responsibility in a world increasingly in decline. interdependence. Therefore, we believe that the following actions are needed. Restructuring the global governance system through a comprehensive reform of international financial architectures. Second, building better and more than infrastructure and investing in education. Third, accelerate agriculture, modernization, and industrial transformation, thus contributing to our country’s long-term peace and stability. We believe that it is also important to promote gender equality and a youth-inclusive policy to ensure their full participation in the society. Furthermore, we cannot talk about common development without the proper attention is given to the climate change, energy transition, and food security as essential tools for conflict prevention. The upcoming COP28 in December provides an opportunity to reinforce the policies to address climate change, drive the global transformation toward low emission and climate-resilient world, as well as foster ambitious climate action and facilitate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Mr. President, our national experience makes us to understand the connection between peace and development. In this connection, Angola is organizing the Pan-African Forum for the Culture of Peace in Africa, known as Biennial of Rwanda, from 22 to 24 November, in partnership with African Union and UNESCO, aiming at promoting democratic principles and practices and consolidate an environment of political tolerance and inclusiveness in the continent in a view to promote sustainable development. I thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
Republic of the Congo.

Congo:
Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, my delegation wishes at the outset to congratulate you on your presidency of the Security Council for November 2023. We congratulate you on your sage choice for a theme for today’s open debate, namely maintenance of peace and international security, promoting sustainable development through common development. My delegation is delighted to be able to participate in this debate and wishes to convey to you its gratitude to and to the members of the Security Council for having given it the opportunity to share our country’s vision where this issue is concerned and how the Security Council can best proceed. Allow me to pay tribute to His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, for his involvement in the DRC’s efforts to build and sustain peace. May he accept our encouragement in that endeavor. Mr. President, peace and security are prerequisites for the achievement of sustainable development. Testament to that is the Sustainable Development Agenda for 2030 that was adopted by the UN General Assembly on the 25th of September 2015. But this ambitious agenda also recognizes that sustainable development paves the way for the construction of peaceful societies. This correlation is proof that development and sustainable peace are inextricably linked together, sustainable development and peace, that is. Consequently, at a time when the world, entire regions, and some countries are on the brink of conflagrations, it’s vital that we, and those regions and countries are facing multifaceted challenges. It’s vital that we strengthen this tool of prevention that is common development for the benefit of peace. Peace and development are vital for all. Sustainable development contains the solutions to the challenges faced by fragile contexts. Many countries, indeed, suffer such fragility and conflict, so areas affected by multidimensional and violent conflicts are also in the grips of such challenges. Sustainable development also involves overcoming the challenges of marginalization, resilience, the reduction of inequalities, extreme poverty, the unequal distribution of resources and climate change. Sustainable development has the key to tackle those problems and, in brief, to tackle the root causes of conflicts and fragility at a global level. It’s able to provide coherent, coordinated, additional responses to those challenges. Moreover, transnational and global challenges are becoming increasingly complex and interdependent. As such, they are a growing threat to sustainable development for all, a threat that no country can face alone. The object of common development means that we must all commit. Agenda 2030 was launched in 2015, and efforts to rejuvenate its implementation and to achieve the SDGs are the most eloquent illustrations of our needs and our focus. Countries in the grips of protracted conflicts, such as the DRC, have, in reality, two major challenges to address, simultaneously the challenge of peace and security on one hand and the challenge of sustainable development on the other. The DRC is working on these two fronts. As part of its commitment to achieve common development, my country, under the leadership of the President of the Republic, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi-Chilombo, has implemented a multisectoral roadmap, which contains actions and reforms that will catalyze progress to achieve the SDGs and Agenda 2030. Moreover, to ensure more progress and so that we have the emergence of a national integrated economy which ensures that local development actions take root, my government in 2021 launched the Local Development Programme, which brings together 145 territorial areas and focuses particularly on rural development. That programme, PDL 145, financed in the main part by the Government of the DRC, aims to improve the living conditions of local populations, reduce inequalities, strengthen public institutions that are all at a local level. It looks ultimately to pull 25 million Congolese people out of poverty. Turning now to peace and security, Mr. President, as was underscored by the President of the Republic in his statement on the state of the nation made on the 14th of November, and here I quote, the security situation in our country is marked by the occupation of a part of our territory in Nyong’o, Masisi and others. That aggression has already claimed the lives of many of our compatriots that were massacred by cowards in Gizimba, Masisi, Bambu, Pongo, Tongo, Kalaki, and more than 2,500,000 people are now IDPs, and some 500,000 of these were affected in the areas around Goma. The RDF M23 coalition has destroyed a great deal of health and education infrastructure as well as religious sites in the occupied areas, as well as destroying the Violonga Park, which is a site of world heritage. This war has been unjustly imposed on the Congolese people. Moreover, we’re seeing the activity of negative and other local terrorist groups and foreign terrorist groups. We have the increased activity seen on the part of ADF terrorists. They’re waging a jihad and are looking ultimately to install an Islamic caliphate in the territory of Benin and in the south of the country. That was a quote from the state of nation address. by our President. We are looking to restore peace in the DRC, but that will only be possible if this Council, the primary organ of the United Nations responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security, will only be possible if that Council takes appropriate measures. So the DRC expects to see this debate lead to the adoption of practical recommendations, the implementation of which will allow IDPs to return home and will allow children to return to school so that they can fully enjoy their rights to education. This is a right that they have been stripped of since the beginning of the country’s aggression in 2021. The country has been a victim since then. The country is looking to prevent conflicts and as such has not lost sight of the fact that these IDPs are in the main children and that these children are potential agents of change when it comes to the development endeavours that we are looking at today. Allow me, in the time I have left, to make a number of recommendations and voice a number of expectations. We should see greater visibility lent to the UN as a platform for common development. Greater synergies should be established between the UN’s development work and regional and sub-regional organisations. Diversity should occur to encourage new and innovative approaches to development, financing and support, and accessing finance should be made easier for all, especially all in fragile countries. Thank you.

President – China:
Thank you for your statement. Before I give the floor to the next speaker, I would like to remind all speakers that the time limit should be observed. We have a long list of speakers to finish before 6 p.m. It is still very challenging. I now give the floor to the representative of Nigeria.

Nigeria:
I thank the delegation of China and President for convening this meeting to address such an important topic. Permit me to also express my sincere appreciation to the Secretary General of the United Nations, His Excellency Antonio Guterres, for his briefing, and the New Development Bank, and Professor Geoffrey Schatz. of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solution Network and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development for their contribution to this debate. Security challenges and their root causes have been debated severally as elaborated in the concept notes since it was introduced at the Security Council ministerial level meeting in September 1997. Yet we kept experiencing widening and deepening even newer conflicts. As we gather here, the conflict in the Middle East has become a horrible war which is already also an agenda item before the Security Council. This is happening while we have yet to stop the war in Ukraine. Many civilians have been displaced by conflict, losing their dignity with the destruction of homes, livelihood, including loss of family lives, as well as destruction of essential facilities and infrastructure. The situation is further challenged with the rise in insurgency and terrorism as global concern. The root causes of conflict and the consequences as a complex mixed of interlinked factors, including poverty, inequality, irregular or forced migration, communal crisis, organized crime, natural disaster, as well as climate change. Many conflicts evolve around the control of natural resources. Conflicts were by bad governance, terrorism and proliferation of small arms and light weapons, among other factors, hampers social economic development, putting populations in very difficult situation of poverty and suffering. To address this multifaceted and still unfolding effects of conflicts and wars on economics, we need concrete, comprehensive and robust transformative actions. The former Secretary General Kofi Annan in his report titled The Cause of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa, stressed that poor economic performance in unequal development has resulted in a near permanent economic crisis for some states, greatly exacerbated internal tensions, and greatly diminishing their capacity to respond to those tensions, and underscore that the development is central to the prospects for reducing conflict in Africa. The human as well as the social and economic impact of conflict are massive. Yet, resolving such large scale conflict is beyond the capacity of any single state. While the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security rights resides with the United Nations Security Council, conflict prevention resolution involve a range of actors who provide distinct but mutually reinforcing ways to address both the immediate and deeper causes of violence, conflict. There is no doubt that natural resources and their exploitation has been a major contributing factor to tension and conflict. The struggle over domestic natural resources have been a source of brutal conflict and civil war in some parts of the world. A more significant and no less devastating aspect of illegal exploitation of resources in conflict situation is its impact on the environment and its distortion of the livelihood of people in affected community. There has been a sudden rise of foreign driven illegal exploitation and plundering of resources, impacting negatively on social economic development. Such illicit foreign driven exploitation is among other things a source of funding for terrorist groups which further precipitates conflicts. It is imperative that natural resources are managed responsibly for the benefit of the population in order to prevent conflict and enhance conditions necessary for human security. Mr. President, in the discharge of its mandate maintaining of international peace and security, the Security Council should focus on the exploitation of natural resources as one of the root causes of conflict, including criminalizing illegal exploitation as crime against humanity. We must take deeper view of. this dimension of conflict in order to secure a more peaceful world. We must also address the issue of proliferation of small arms and light weapons and its interlinguages with terrorism. The consequences of the devastating impact of the illicit transfer of trafficking of weapons across Africa can be seen in many conflicts. We allowed the AU Agenda 2063, which seeks to eradicate poverty in one generation and build share prosperity through social and economic transformation. In addition, the road map on the practical step to silence the guns clearly underscore that peace and security and social development are threatened by illicit transfer of weapons in Africa. Expanding capabilities or disrupting illicit among flows is important for curbing the proliferation of misuse. Recovery and resilience strategy must center on unique national and regional perspectives to address the root causes of violent conflict. In addition, ensuring adequate, predictable, and sustainable financing for peace and security activities remain a challenge facing the African Union, regional institutions, and African states. Mr. President, reduction or even stoppage of agricultural activities due to insecurity and displacement have social consequences in many communities, including regulating food insecurity and joblessness. We need to work harder to stop violent conflicts, not less because this harmful impact on the vulnerable, even more there. As several briefers indicated, women and children are the most affected. We need, therefore, to increase investment in agriculture through mobilization of resources, both public and private, as well as attract social responsibility and environmentally sustainable investment. Smallholders should be at the center. Government needs to identify more assured, adequate resources of revenue aimed at economic recovery. Extractable resources are the obvious choice. to generate financial returns and employment. Therefore, unmanaged structures must be put in place with transparency and accountability for beneficial results. Any resource-manageable approach should address poverty, maintain sustainability of resources for present and future generations. In conclusion, Mr. President, as we prepare for the summit of the future, we call on the United Nations in collaboration with member states to consider innovative ways of leveraging peace processes and political settlements to achieve accountability and justice for conflict-related violence, thereby laying the foundation for transformative actions that will sustain inclusive society. I thank you.

President – China:
Thank you for your statement. I now give the floor to the permanent representative of

Pakistan:
Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, the Pakistan delegation congratulates you and the Chinese delegation on your active and positive presidency of the Council during this month and for convening this important debate on development and peace. We thank all the briefers for their views. Mr. President, the interdependence between peace and development is well established. In the past eight decades, hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty through planned and market-driven development, investment, trade, and technological breakthroughs. Yet we have failed to promote the Charter’s vision of prosperity for all peoples of the United Nations. Indeed, we live in an age of inequality. The unequal structures of finance, trade, and technology constructed over the past several decades have created the super-rich and the super-poor. Mr. President, the development progress made in the past few decades has been halted and reversed by the COVID pandemic, by climate change impacts, and by proliferating conflicts. One hundred and fifty million people have descended into extreme poverty. Mr. President, growing poverty and hunger and the illegal exploitation of natural resources are the principal causes of many of the conflicts and disputes among and within states, such as in the Sahel and other parts of Africa. Climate change is exacerbating the scramble for scarce resources, particularly water, and could lead to the proliferation of conflicts. We support the efforts of the Peacebuilding Commission to address the resolution of conflict situations through the promotion of development. Yet no amount of development can bring peace when peoples are suppressed by foreign occupation and forcibly denied their right to self-determination, as is happening today in Palestine and as has been happening also in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Mr. President, the international community already has an agreed blueprint for equitable global development comprehensively reflected in the political declaration of the SDG summit. The pledges and commitments made under this declaration must be implemented, in particular to expand concessional and grant development finance, rechannel the unutilized SDRs, provide urgent debt relief, allocate new development-linked SDRs, adopt an equitable international tax treaty, hold illicit financial flows, reform the international financial architecture, revive international trade as an engine of growth and development, meet climate commitments, mobilize at least $1 trillion annually in sustainable infrastructure investment, bridge the digital divide, and utilize technology as a global public good. Mr. President, the commitments and pledges that have been made on development could be endorsed by the Security Council so as to transform these into binding obligations. The Global Development Initiative, launched by President Xi Jinping three years ago, provides an important vehicle to promote the realization of these development objectives that I have listed. China’s successful experience provides an invaluable template for rapid development in the global south. Pakistan will work vigorously in the Group of Friends of GDI to realize our agreed development aspirations and goals, especially at the forthcoming Summit of the Future, and thereby construct a common future of prosperity and peace for all mankind. I thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank Ambassador Akram for the statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Bahrain.

Bahrain:
At the outset, Mr. President, I would like to congratulate you and congratulate the delegation of China for your assuming the presidency of the Security Council during this month of November, and I would like to thank you for your considerable efforts and your stewardship of the Security Council. And I would like to thank you also for convening this open debate on promoting sustaining peace through common development. I would like also to thank the Secretary General, Mr. António Guterres, and all the briefers for their valuable insights. Mr. President, the achievement of peace and prosperity in the world, given the current intertwined challenges, makes it incumbent on us to make more efforts in order to promote collective work. The Secretary General, in his new agenda for peace, underscored the importance of achieving the SDGs as a target in its own right or within the larger course and framework of sustainable development, as this is the only effective path to address the root causes of conflict. strategy for achieving peace and security in the Middle East and the world, which is underpinned on the nexus between prosperity and security, to achieve the aspired progress at all paths of development. Bahrain gives priority to peaceful settlement of conflicts, especially putting an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is still unfolding before our eyes. Bahrain renews its principled and unwavering position regarding the tragic situation in Gaza, and we condemn the killing of innocent civilians. And we call for putting an end to the latest escalation and to expeditiously guarantee access to humanitarian aid and to put an end to this war. Bahrain reiterates that conflict and violence should not have the upper hand when it comes to settling international differences, as diplomacy and international law should have the upper hand. Mr. President, we are cognizant of the fact that international cooperation based on good faith and common understanding is the best way to overcome common challenges. And one of our priorities is to propagate the values of tolerance and interfaith dialogue as main pillars to achieve security development and uphold human rights. The Kingdom of Bahrain stresses the importance of promoting international cooperation and creating more conducive environment for international dialogue to reach better economic stability in order to achieve and answer the aspirations of peoples. presented in sustainable development. And this requires more investments and more international efforts to obliterate and eliminate hunger and poverty, and to address the issues of water, energy, and to create more conducive environment for free trade without leaving anyone behind. Bahrain continues its contributions effectively towards the achievement of U.N. goals, including by awards that are made by Bahrain for digital transformation for women and young people, together with providing humanitarian aid to a number of countries that are affected by conflicts and natural disasters. In conclusion, Bahrain pursues its endeavors towards preventing conflicts, saving lives, and guaranteeing a better future for all. Thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank the permanent representative of Bahrain for his statement. Now I give the floor to Denmark.

Denmark:
Thank you, Mr. President. And I thank the presidency of the Security Council and the briefing for their interventions. I have the honor of delivering the statement on behalf of the Nordic countries, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and my own country, Denmark. The Nordic countries have long recognized the nexus between sustainable development, peace, and respect for human rights. But the stark reality we face today, in a time with a rising number of armed conflicts, emphasizes the urgency with which we must act. In order to address the underlying drivers of insecurity, promoting the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the SDGs must remain the all encompassing priority. There can be no sustainable development without. without peace, no sustainable peace without development, and no peace and development without human rights. First, it is clear that we must address inequalities between countries. The global effect of climate change has worsened, and LDCs carry the heaviest toll. They account for less than 4 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions, yet are affected most by climate change. The destructive impact of climate change is, therefore, a driver for growing inequality. It is also well known that among those facing the most serious consequences of climate change are those living in small island-developing states. Finding workable solutions is the joint responsibility of all states. The climate crisis is one of the greatest threats to international peace and security, and we must work urgently as well as strategically to better address interlinkages between climate change, peace and security, and sustainable development, especially in fragile contexts. The Nordic countries remain committed to supporting conflict- sensitive efforts for adaptation and mitigation in order to foster greater resilience. Climate sensitivity is also an area in which coherent interagency analysis could be strengthened to underpin the work of peacekeeping operations and special political missions. Second, the new agenda for peace promotes key actions for addressing the link between peace and sustainable development. Delivering effective solutions on prevention, peacebuilding and sustaining peace require multidimensional engagements. The Nordic countries remain committed to strengthening the peacebuilding architecture. In this respect, we should elevate the advisory, bridging and convening roles of the Peacebuilding Commission. Third, a fundamental requirement for delivering on those agendas is financing and addressing the burden of debt that also affect the countries in transition contexts. The role of the international financial institutions and regional development banks in financing the transition towards sustainable development and peace is critical. Moreover, it is It is key that we act on ensuring that assessed contributions to the Peacebuilding Fund become a reality. This is long overdue. Fourth, the Nordic countries remain committed to working with partners to advance our work for inclusion, in particular the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda. These agendas not only provide a meaningful contribution to peace and security, they are absolutely necessary for sustainable peace. Finally, we must redouble our efforts to achieve the full and effective operationalization of the human-development-peace nexus. Our collected efforts cannot hope to advance sustainable development and peace if our engagements are not based on a comprehensive, whole-of-system response. Indeed, development, peace and security and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing, as recognized in the Sustaining Peace Agenda. The Nordic countries will continue to work to promote a response based on greater cooperation, coherence, coordination and complementarity among development, disaster risk reduction, humanitarian action and sustaining peace. This is a response rooted in efficiency and effectiveness in addressing the needs of people and communities. I thank you.

Mali:
Thank you, Mr. President. President, ladies and gentlemen, members of the Council, first of all I would like to congratulate the Chinese Presidency of the Security Council for organizing this debate on a relevant and timely theme, that is to say, how to promote peace and security through common development. We all agree in recognizing the inalienable link between peace and development, just as we are all aware that there is no peace without development and vice-versa. If we manage to overcome the challenge of political will, in particular within the security sector, Security Council and the other relevant organs. If we afford ourselves the time to properly read each crisis situation, we will then be able to take concrete, lasting measures to address the causes of conflicts so as to establish peace and common development. Mali has had experience of the unsuccessful management of crises by the international community. After more than 10 years of the presence of the United Nations Mission MINUSMA and other foreign powers in the context of the fight against terrorism in Mali, the security situation in my country has nevertheless broadly deteriorated. Insecurity, which in 2012 and 2013 was limited to the northern regions of Mali, has steadily spread to the center and the rest of the country. We count the dead and wounded, both civilians and soldiers, as Malians and foreigners in the thousands. In addition to tens of thousands of refugees and IDPs, thousands of shuttered schools which deprive several thousand children of their fundamental right to education, economic and development activities have been seriously affected, forcing the population to live in the greatest precarity. The population of Mali could no longer continue with this extremely difficult situation. That is why the government of Mali in June 2023 requested the immediate withdrawal of MINUSMA, faced with an acknowledgment that the mission had failed. And that was because the mission was not able to protect the civilian population and property, nor to help Mali restore its authority over its territory. And thus, this process of MINUSMA’s withdrawal is underway, and we hope that it will be concluded as quickly as possible. Faced with this acknowledgment of failure and along the lines of the sovereign choice of the people of Mali to take their destiny into their own hands, the government of Mali has undertaken significant political and institutional reforms. Mali has adopted a new constitution, which has the primary strategic objective of improving the country’s governance. In parallel, the government has worked to build the capacities of the Malian defense and security forces to allow them to effectively accomplish their sovereign mission to defend the country’s territory and protect the population and property. I am pleased to tell you that particularly significant results have been achieved by our forces, including the liberation of several Malian towns from the grip of terrorists and their accomplices. And here I commend the valiant Malian army, whose courage and determination allowed for the liberation of the town and city and region of Kidal on the 14th of November 2023. And I recall that the process of liberating Malian cities and towns is in the context of implementing Resolution 2690 of 2023 of the Security Council, which has the aim of the Malian state taking control over MINUSMA installations and exercising Mali’s sovereignty over its territory, as well as the preservation of the unity and territorial integrity of Mali. I regret that I have to note that these major developments that have taken place in Mali have given rise to no reaction from the Secretary General and this Council, which is nevertheless responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. We were also surprised to note that the members of the Council were not able to agree to a simple statement to condemn the barbaric terrorist attack against Timbuktu on the 7th of October 2023, which killed several dozen people, including women and children. When all is said and done, this security progress, far from any triumphalism, as was so well put by His Excellency Colonel Asimi Goyta, President of the Transition and Head of State of Mali, in his address to the nation on the 15th of November 2023, following the liberation of Kidal. This security progress is an opportunity to strengthen national cohesion, peace and development for the benefit of our populations. That is why the state is currently working to secure the liberated areas, working on the return of the administration and basic social services, refugees and internally displaced persons. We are open to any partnerships in this regard with a view to consolidating lasting peace and to relaunch development for all Malians. This will guarantee lasting stability in our country. Thank you for your kind attention.

President – China:
I thank the Permanent Senator Mali for the statement. Now I give the floor to Australia.

Australia:
I express my appreciation for the briefing by the Secretary General and others earlier this morning on this important matter. At the halfway point for achievement of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, just 15 percent of the SDGs are on track. This opportunity to discuss the link between peace and development is a time for all states to recognize that for peace and prosperity, we must do better. President, the great wisdom of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development is in recognizing the interconnectedness of the challenges that the world is facing. That social, environmental and economic development go hand in hand with fostering more peaceful and stable societies. The 2030 Agenda provides a common and indispensable framework to tackle these shared challenges. It was tirelessly debated, negotiated and reaffirmed by all members of the SDG Summit. Concrete implementation of the sustainable development goals must be our shared focus, and it most certainly is the case for Australia. Australia’s new development policy will deliver some $1.7 billion additional Australian dollars in official development assistance over the next five years. We aim to protect against backsliding, address uneven implementation of the SDGs, and ensure no one and no country is left behind. Australia has rechanneled some $3 billion of our IMF special drawing rights allocation to support vulnerable countries’ development efforts. We have engaged actively in the development of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index. We stand strongly behind efforts to reform the multilateral development banks, and Australia is listening to and supporting our Indo-Pacific partners in building effective, accountable states that drive their own development and stability. President, this is, sadly, a time of increased conflict, weak rule of law, resources scarcity, and now exacerbated by climate change, inequality, and unresolved regional tensions. These are some of the factors that interplay in complex ways to drive conflict. We must settle disputes through mutually agreed frameworks, uphold international law, including the UN Charter, and fully respect human rights. Australia is committed to a new agenda for peace, one which seeks to remedy declines in trust and social cohesion through democratic renewal and strengthening the social contract. Peacebuilding and the new agenda for peace are anchored in respect for all human rights, civil, political, economic, social, and cultural. In both bilateral and multilateral efforts, Australia promotes and protects human rights. We strive to improve the inclusion of women and youth in political processes, and we emphasize peacebuilding through reconciliation. Australia is proud to be a continuous top 10 donor to the UN Peacebuilding Fund. We look forward to 2020. 25, when Australia will again serve as a member of the Peacebuilding Commission, and 2029, when Australia hopes to serve as an elected member of this Council, demonstrating the priority we place on peace and development. Thank you.

President – China:
I thank the permanent representative of Australia for the statement. Now I give the floor to the permanent representative of Qatar.

Qatar:
Thank you, Mr. President. We would like to congratulate your friendly country for presiding over the Council, and we do welcome this important session, and we would like to thank the Secretary-General and all the briefers. Mr. President, as we do actively engage in this debate on a comprehensive approach towards the sustaining of international peace and security, as well as international sustaining international peace, we do stress the importance of the nexus between sustainable development and peace. In this regard, we have to shed light on the factors that hinder the achievement of sustainable development and peace, especially occupation. We have to reiterate that no peace and no sustainable development could be achieved under occupation and settler colonialism in any other country, in any given country. And this is the only truth that is reiterated by the illegal practices of the Israeli occupation, which is trying to subdue the Palestinian people by way of forcible displacement and ethnic cleansing. In this regard, we renew our condemnation of international crimes, such as genocide and war crimes, as well as crimes against humanity that the occupation, the Israeli occupation assiduously continues to perpetrate against Palestinian people in Gaza and other occupied Palestinian territories, and cataclysm upon the Security Council to uphold its moral and legal responsibilities by compelling the Israeli occupation to put an end to this escalation. and to respect the international law and the international humanitarian law. Mr. President, the state of Qatar hopes that the efforts made at international level to achieve peace and security are to be inclusive and preventive, and to take into consideration the root causes of conflicts, including that compromise international and regional peace and security. This is reflected by the ongoing efforts of Qatar through bilateral and multilateral efforts, including the strategic partnership between Qatar and the United Nations. In this context, the state of Qatar stresses that no sustainable development could be achieved without peaceful societies where no one is marginalized, and without providing access to justice to all, as per the SDG 16 of the 2030 Agenda. It is very well known that the least developed countries and the most vulnerable groups are more vulnerable to conflicts and to the repercussions of post-conflict. And in this regard, we would like to recognize that the Doha LDC program of action, which was issued by the UN 5th LDC conference, which was held in Doha from 5th to 9th of March 2023, stressed that no sustainable development could be achieved without peace and security. It also stressed that peace and security, together with development and human rights and humanitarian action, are all interrelated and interdependent. It also stressed the positive role that could be played by sustainable development in order to mitigate the factors that cause conflicts, as well as risk factors and the complicated emergency situations. Mr. President, Qatar calls for investment in preventive diplomacy, early warning, mediation, dialogue, as well as preventive efforts to prevent conflicts and to address the root causes of conflicts, in addition to investing in efforts for building peace, which should focus on women and young people. In this regard, we do welcome the report of the our common agenda and the new agenda for peace. And we find it important to adopt this multilateral vision while preparing for the Summit for Peace in 2024 and reviewing the U.N. peacebuilding architecture in 2025. In conclusion, we do stress that we will continue to make efforts and we are ready to cooperate in the efforts to maintain international peace and security, and we will continue our pursuance to achieve the SDGs. Thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
Now, I give the floor to the representative of Panama.

Panama:
Thank you, Mr. President. The world is facing unprecedented challenges in terms of the maintenance of international peace and security. According to the Global Trends Report of UNHCR of 2022, more than 108 million people throughout the world were forced to leave their homes. That is the highest figure ever recorded. This figure is twice as high as that recorded only 10 years ago. Panama can bear witness to the increase in the number of people that have been forced to leave their homes in search for a better life because in the year so far, more than 474,000 people have moved through our territory, and 20% of those are minors and breastfeeding women. And that is an unprecedented situation for our country. We’re grateful for the focus of this session on development and its links with peace. Societies with high levels of poverty tend to be more susceptible to instability and conflict. Consequently, protecting human rights and promoting development is vital to combat these challenges. The most vulnerable sectors of our societies, including girls, boys, teenagers, women, persons with disabilities, older persons, all these groups are at greater risk, and these challenges cannot be tackled effectively through the use of force. Sustainable development and peace are fundamental pillars of the United Nations mission. However, we must recognize the extent to which they are interlinked is often underestimated. Economic and social development cannot prosper in an environment characterized by instability and conflict. Lasting peace cannot be achieved without tackling systemic inequalities and without guaranteeing equitable development, a development in which women play a leading role and in which they have an active and effective participation. In this intricate dance between development and peace, it is vital to identify and strengthen the link between them, that is, inclusive state institutions and an effective democracy. State institutions are the backbone of any society, and their capacity, their ability to be inclusive to a large extent determines how far a nation will prosper. When we talk about inclusion, we refer not only to the participation of several communities in the political process. We also refer to guaranteeing rights and opportunities for all citizens, men and women, regardless of their ethnic origin, gender, religion, or political orientation. Systematic inclusion can turn into a breeding ground for distrust and resentment by dividing communities and wearing away the social fabric. Consequently, promoting inclusive institutions is vital in order to build a development which benefits all and which fosters the social cohesion necessary for peace. Economic and social development strengthen the basis of a vibrant democracy because they provide citizens with the means they need to participate fully in their country’s social and political life. This relationship can only flourish when democracy is rooted in solid institutions and when democratic principles are applied coherently. Strengthening institutions is not only an issue of good governance, but it is also a measure that will prevent potential conflict. The promotion of inclusion and democracy is not only a moral imperative, it is also a pragmatic strategy to prevent conflicts and to build a fairer and more peaceful world for future generations. With that strategy, we can tackle the root causes of instability, such as poverty, inequality and exclusion, and we contribute with this strategy to resolving conflicts by providing a framework for dialogue, negotiation and reconciliation. Moreover, such endeavours can serve to build resilience against shocks and crises, such as pandemics, natural disasters and economic recessions, because such endeavours guarantee that all people share the dividends of progress. The role of the United Nations and the Security Council in promoting inclusive and effective state institutions is vital. The UN can provide technical assistance and encourage capacity building and the exchange of knowledge to help countries to develop their institutions. It is vital to build the institutional capacities of states, which in turn help them to uphold their responsibilities to all their citizens. Moreover, at the same time, monitoring and accountability are crucial to guarantee that resources are used effectively and transparently. The Security Council authorises peacekeeping operations and special political missions. In doing that, it must bear in mind the need to create an enabling environment for the development of host countries. At the same time, the Security Council can work to ensure that its mandates for peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations are designed to support the development of inclusive and effective state institutions. Peace is not simply the absence of armed conflicts, rather it is a situation in which the root causes of conflicts are tackled, a situation in which human rights are promoted and where sustainable human development is encouraged for current and future generations.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Panama for their statement. Now I give the floor to the representative of Burundi.

Burundi:
Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, at the outset, we would like to point out here that crises and lethal conflicts are being seen everywhere. And although the drivers, dynamics, and triggers differ from country to country and continent to continent, they all have destructive consequences with a negative impact on development. Armed violence is visible above all in regions where poverty predisposes people to adopt all different sorts of behavior and reactions to survive, amplifying their receptiveness to messages of violence. It’s no accident that the first SDG in the Sustainable Development Agenda is the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. The violence following activities conducted by some armed groups with the aim of ensuring that terror brains is based on a low level of literacy and frustration caused by economic poverty and the unequal distribution of economic growth within states. In these circumstances, it’s difficult to envisage the well-being and improving the living standards of people or, indeed, sustainable development through the 17 SDGs for advanced in the context of the 2030 Agenda. And yet, for all continents, this is development that responds to the needs of the present without compromising the possibility for future generations to also be able to meet their own needs and which aims to achieve the well-being of populations through policies that improve living standards in the present without jeopardizing the resources for future generations. And yet, it’s almost impossible to conceive of the future when the present is under threat. Just as it’s difficult to improve the present when guns are firing in the background. My delegation would thus like to recall here the very strong fundamental link that exists between peace and community development. We cannot undertake major development projects in a country where there’s no peace. And similarly, it’s unthinkable to speak about peace when many signals indicate that development is not forthcoming. Above all, in the context of post-conflict countries, the United Nations has not always been able to sufficiently mobilize the necessary financial resources for economic recovery. Establishing a recovery fund to support post-conflict countries so that they can respond to threats, whatever forms those threats may take or where they may exist, would provide support to actions in favor of peace and security in a world of constant upheaval and a geopolitical context that gives rise to several question marks. Peace-building programs have not always been sufficiently tangible to rapidly establish the necessary links between peace and community development. These links could allow communities living in post-conflict countries to benefit from the dividends of peace and to take charge of their own destiny and benefit from their natural resources and to give themselves over fully to development. Along the same lines, post-conflict countries, although driven by the political will to rebuild their socio-political and economic fabric, are often consigned to pre-established systems established by the international financial institutions and development institutions and development financing institutions that cannot achieve the expected positive results and eliminate poverty. It’s not just that the Bretton Woods institutions aren’t corresponding to the present moment and that reforms are needed, but also that they are not managing to properly mobilize financing for post-conflict development. A new generation of special missions is needed. This new generation will not be limited to humanitarian action, as is unfortunately the case today. They would establish a direct bridge between peace and development in post-conflict countries with a specific focus on national post-conflict programs. Here, I’m pleased to note that the government of Burundi, a post-conflict country itself, in its peace capitalization program has adopted the vision of Burundi as an emerging country in 2040 and a developed country in 2060, with the aim of improving the living conditions and well-being and reducing inequalities. We are of the opinion that any support for development cannot have a beneficial effect when it is poorly thought through and when it is detached from national realities. It could even do more harm than good or, at the very least, significantly reduce its beneficial effect. However, it does produce positive results when it is conceived of respecting national realities and corresponding with the ethical principles of international mutually advantageous cooperation and focuses on development that is community-based. In this regard, it is essential to build new models of community development focused on the realities of post-conflict countries that need the financing of international financial institutions to prevent new conflicts, but which are struggling under the weight of the conditions imposed on them by those institutions. Most certainly, the Security Council and the international community must very strongly recommend development support to prevent conflicts and stabilize post-conflict regions. What’s more, a paradigm shift is needed to emerge from the worn-out cliches of development imposed by the starting from Bretton Woods to unpick the international economic order under which fragile states are struggling to relaunch their economies and build a new economic and financial order that is commensurate with the international circumstances and would provide true added value for community development. Thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Burundi. for their statement. I give the floor to the representative of Bolivia.

Bolivia:
Thank you very much, Mr. President. The plurinational state of Bolivia thanks the People’s Republic of China as President of the United Nations Security Council for convening this debate on an issue of such importance such as the maintenance of international peace and security through common development. Moreover, we deeply value the briefings issued by the briefers invited today. Mr. President, unequal development have historically been the result of processes of dispossession, occupation or colonization, and have led to deeply rooted disparities in terms of our country’s and people’s trajectories when it comes to building well-being. You simply need to look back through history to confirm that generally the causes of war are conflicts which themselves have arisen over the distribution and redistribution of resources or as a result of the seizure of the resources offered by Mother Earth. Bolivia is convinced that international peace and security will only be possible if underpinned by social justice, when all human beings, simply on the grounds that they are human beings, have the possibility to access quality education, quality health care, quality housing, basic services and recognition of their dignity as human beings. As such, we must think deeply and engage in coherent action as an international community. It is inconceivable that while thousands of girls, boys, young people and adults are desperately seeking a plate of food that they often do not find, at the same time, thousands of millions of dollars are being funneled into the manufacture of weapons and into war. Excellencies, we must work swiftly and with a sense of urgency so that one day, in the not-too-distant future, instead of of peace missions in the United Nations, we agree to deploy sustainable development missions at the request of states. The purpose of these missions would be to guarantee the basic material conditions necessary for lasting peace. As we move forward with our work to build trust and real international solidarity as a bulwark against hegemonizing interests, the stability and security can be maintained in the medium term if financing for development commitments are upheld, and if we channel military expenditure towards investment in countries’ productive capacities. In doing this, we must respect every state’s sovereignty. Our peoples see a different future. The day that international cooperation is based on complementarity and reciprocity, on the recognition of responsibilities and historic debts, and when these efforts cease to be used as a means for coercion, that is when we will see that different future. Mr. President, our efforts must focus on the implementation of Agenda 2030 and achieving sustainable development goals. We must do this without prevarication and without weakening previously established agreements. Let us work without delay to increase the number of regions declared to be zones of peace through an inclusive and solid multilateral framework. As has already been said on several occasions, to achieve the above, we also need to see a structural reform of the international financial architecture that includes making adjustments to multilateral development banks. There needs to be international cooperation on taxation, and we need to look at that taxation in the same way that we look at development. This reform must be one which encompasses a variety of visions of the future. States must not fall foul of hegemonizing processes, and we must not fall into that trap. Today, it’s more urgent than ever to recognize and work on the basis of our various capacities and various potentials, because there are current inequalities, but we’re also falling victim to new ones. We have the rapid advancement of emerging technologies, but the majority of the world’s population here is being left behind, and that includes the most poor and the most vulnerable. As an international community, we must learn from the past and not reproduce or widen gaps when we distribute the dividends of or the cost of the future. This stands for both within countries and among them. Bolivia is grateful for this debate and reaffirms that building peace involves equity and justice in its three dimensions, economic, social, and environmental. Investing in development is to invest in a better future for our people so that they can live well or live well without anyone being left behind. Thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Bolivia for their statement. Now I’ll give the floor to the representative of Poland.

Poland:
Excellencies, let me start by thanking the People’s Republic of China for convening today’s debate. Sustainable and inclusive development is both a goal in its own right and the world’s most effective form of conflict prevention and maintaining peace. Poland strongly believes that peace efforts should be anchored in the principles of the 2030 agenda and that the SDGs form the best framework to address major drivers of instability and conflict. Both socioeconomic development and political stability need strong institutions based on principles of good governance and full respect, protection, and fulfillment of human rights. These considerations are present in 2030 agenda. Factors which give rise to violence, insecurity and injustice, such as inequality, corruption, poor governance and illicit financial and arms flows, are equally important to be addressed if we are serious about development. This integrated and indivisible nature of 2030 Agenda will be promoted by Poland during our upcoming membership in the ECOSOC. The necessary precondition for socioeconomic development is the creation of enabling environment at national level. At the same time, it is our main responsibility, as the United Nations, to help those with greatest needs and least ability to do so. In this sense, international cooperation and partnerships based on mutual trust must be strengthened. The pursuit of sustainable development also necessitates systemic conditions, including making the international financial architecture work better for the most vulnerable in mobilizing necessary resources. Poland strongly believes that anticipatory action and investment in resilience have become increasingly important. For the peace development nexus to work, we need long-term strategies that reduce vulnerability and instability, such as efforts aimed at poverty alleviation and risk management. This also requires increased cooperation among implementing agencies from across the humanitarian, development, disaster risk reduction and climate sectors. Let me now focus on the peace part of today’s discussion. The United Nations and the Security Council should be at the forefront of actions to strengthen resilience to international security risks. Peacekeeping is a critical contributor to sustaining peace agenda in all its dimensions, from conflict prevention and resolution to post-conflict recovery. Peacekeepers play the central role in delivering an enabling transition and preparing the ground for peace-building actors. Therefore, the withdrawal or reduction of UN peacekeeping operations or special political missions is a serious challenge in terms of ensuring peace continuum both for the host countries and the UN. The 2020 Security Council resolution on the review of the peacebuilding architecture confirmed that effective peacebuilding requires cross-pillar commitment of the entire UN system and should be mainstreamed in various UN actions at all stages of conflict. In this vein, we are fully convinced that transition and peacebuilding considerations should be a part of the initial mandate of each mission or operation. To conclude, let me emphasize that while violence and armed conflict continue to take lives around the globe, their damaging force is long-term and lies in preventing societies from realizing their development. We should ensure that peace and stability remain at the heart of the global development agenda. Thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Poland for the statement. I now give the floor to the

Portugal:
representative of Portugal. Mr. President, Portugal aligns itself with the statement delivered by the European Union and would like to add the following in our national capacity. We thank China for convening this debate. Sustaining peace through development is a priority and should be regularly contemplated by the Security Council. Looking at the five critical dimensions of the Agenda 2030 and the SDGs – people, prosperity, planet, peace, and partnerships – the interlinkage becomes clear. The socioeconomic impact of COVID-19, the numerous conflicts around the world, and the consequences of the climate crisis are jointly increasing the vulnerabilities of societies and exacerbating the potential for further conflicts. As stated by the Secretary-General in the new Agenda for Peace policy brief, the asymmetries and inequities among and within states are as much a barrier to peace as they are to development and human rights. Therefore, human-centered approaches to development can successfully address triggers of violence and war and provide answers to root causes on ongoing conflicts. We need to keep connecting the dots between peace and development and human rights, literally too, as connectivity unlocks development potential through transportation infrastructure, energy, and digital. For that, we need to map the many dots early on. Early warning mechanisms for more efficient efforts in conflict prevention should be combined with data for identifying the opportunities for development and with data on climate-related security risks. We also need to keep in mind who we are connecting. A strong commitment towards social protection, universal health care, education, and professional training without leaving anyone behind will be essential. Particularly, the economic empowerment of women and youth will be indispensable for a growing middle class in developing countries. As we have heard from the Secretary-General this morning, building peace should be at the core of the United Nations, and we fully concur with his recommendations to further strengthen the Peacebuilding Commission. And we echo the calls of many others throughout this debate to advance. on that important first step of ensuring sustainable and predictable resources for the Peacebuilding Fund, also through assessed contributions. Mr. President, now in a spirit of sharing good practices, I would like to highlight some steps that Portugal has recently undertaken, also in the scope of our new 2030 Strategy for Development cooperation. Aware of the asphyxiation of external debts, Portugal and Cape Verde have recently celebrated an agreement to convert debts into climate investment. It is an innovative financial solution, a new way of looking at financing for development. Aware of the need to strengthen the institutional capacity of developing countries, Portugal has provided direct budgetary support to several of our development partners. In a way to give answers to root causes of fragility, Portugal contributes to programs such as the EU project Mais Emprego, More Jobs, in the region of Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, aimed at young persons until 25 years, helping companies to create sustainable jobs and not neglect gender equality. Portugal is also committed to furthering international cooperation in the digital field and enable expertise and experience sharing through multilateral fora, such as the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development, as well as through regional networks like the Portugal-based Atlantic International Research Center, AIR Center. Mr. President, in closing, at a time when conflicts abound, when we are lagging behind in implementing the SDGs, when humanitarian needs are skyrocketing and when violations of human rights are mounting, none of us, developed and developing countries alike, can rightly claim to be doing enough. Peace, development and human rights are interconnected, and we need the United Nations to make sure that we uphold them.

India:
International peace and security is one of the key mandates of the UN Security Council. My delegation believes that maintaining peace is weighty, nuanced, and multidimensional, and is not just linked to common development. Our leaders met recently to assess global progress on the SDGs and concurred that urgent measures are necessary to reverse the concerning trend of faltering on these goals. My delegation reiterates that we do not lose focus by diluting or cherry-picking in name or substance from the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Development is not the synchronon for peace or vice versa, and it is this knowledge that made the international community to come together to articulate and interlink all the 17 SDGs. Hence, we need to ensure the indivisibility of the Sustainable Development Goals, thus working towards all 17 SDGs in unison. Peace is elusive and development a distant dream if resource crunch continues to exist. Hence, India in various fora, including in its current G20 Presidency, has worked towards reforms of the international financial institutions. As the concept paper suggests, we should work on transparent and equitable financing and be vigilant with respect to the dangers of unsustainable financing which leads to vicious cycle of debt traps. Similarly, peace is elusive as in our lived experiences where the UN, representing the international community, struggled to restrain the vaccine apartheid during COVID or the rising inflation of food, fuel and fertilizers which unjustly affect the Global South. It is reflective enough that without representation, the voice of the Global South is lost and forgotten. SDG 16 in particular calls for peace and in the same breath calls for effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. India believes that a UN Even befitting the aspirations and needs of the 21st century is only possible through a sustained reform multilateralism, especially through expansion of both categories of membership of the Security Council. Choosing peace, cooperation and multilateralism is essential for building our collective future free of wars, conflicts, terrorism, space race and the threats from new and emerging technologies among others. To sum up, while a comprehensive vision of the international security must encompass the interdependence of the UN system’s three pillars, peace and security, development and human rights, it is important to remember that this does not imply that the Security Council should assume all these functions. Security is indeed multidimensional, but the Security Council’s involvement in every aspect, including those mandated to other UN bodies, might not be advisable. Mr President, before concluding, I will not take more than a few seconds to dismiss the unwarranted remarks made by one of the permanent representatives against parts of my country, and I am not going to dignify those with a response here. Thank you, Mr President.

President – China:
I thank the representative of India for the statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Djibouti.

Djibouti:
Mr President, allow me at the outset to express Djibouti’s profound gratitude to China for convening this open debate on a theme of vital importance. We further wish to thank the briefers for their contributions. They go a long way in deepening our understanding of the linkages between peace, security and development. Their insight and analysis will undoubtedly help inform the actions of United Nations Member States in their efforts to address those challenges. Paul Collier, an eminent economist, once famously said, War retards development, but conversely, development retards war. Thus underlining the main proposition that development is central to the prospects of preventing and reducing conflicts. According to some estimates, conflicts cost the average of 30 years of GDP growth. and countries in protracted crisis fell over 20 percent in overcoming poverty. Aside from the obvious cost in the destruction of infrastructure, loss of lives, massive displacement, the refugee crisis and shattered societies it generates, its long-term devastating impact on uneducated youth, a so-called lost generation, and as experts note, the complexities created by the militarization of politics are equally significant. We therefore concur with the Secretary General that sustainable development is ultimately the solution to address the multidimensional drivers of violence and insecurity. With support strengthening the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peace Fund, they can help implement comprehensive programs that promote inclusive governance, justice, reconciliation, and address the drivers of conflict and violence. They are critical in supporting post-conflict countries, rebuilding institutions, infrastructure, and social services to ensure that development gains are not lost. In this era of poli-crisis, to avert the exacerbation of tensions within societies, multilateral development institutions should provide financing at scale to struggling economies in the developing world and take steps to make changes with the ultimate aim of establishing a fairer and more equitable international financial system. We call on all concerned to make a serious, meaningful, and decisive effort to find a systemic solution to the debt crisis. It is a matter of life and death. Maximum support should be lent to vulnerable and fragile countries as they try to capacitate the state and build institutions that are fit for purpose. If we are to build a more peaceful and prosperous world, the Security Council should find solutions to the deepening gridlock that hampers its effectiveness, authority, and legitimacy with hugely negative implications for peace and security around the world. The Council should monitor and demand the consistent implementation of its resolutions. Too many resolutions are not honored, mediation efforts are undermined, spoilers are unhinged and energized. As a result, too many conflicts are left unresolved and may roll back, new ones emerge, wars of aggression continue, the terrorist threat is metastasizing, and we face an epidemic of coups, as the SGE put it, on the continent of Africa. Mr. President, UN peacekeeping operations have a proven track record of success. They have saved many lives, but because of the changing nature of conflicts, what is required now, in our view, in many situations, is peace enforcement operations, missions with a robust mandate, financed through assessed contributions, adequately equipped to tackle the multiple challenges of today’s hostile environment, mainly because of the threat of terrorism. To conclude, as we are set to embark on negotiations on a new pact for the future, the decisions we make today will determine the future we will collectively build. Let us build momentum towards a more equitable, sustainable, peaceful and prosperous world. Thank you for your attention.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Djibouti for the statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Greece.

Greece:
Thank you, Mr. President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates. I would like to thank the People’s Republic of China for convening this very important meeting. Greece aligns itself with the statement delivered earlier on behalf of the European Union and its member states, and I wish to make the following comments in a national capacity. Sustainable development is currently hampered by an international context of profound uncertainty and geopolitical divide. This is sustainable development and highly topical and inextricably linked issues, especially in the context of the current global environment, afflicted by virulence, geopolitical conflicts and tensions, climate emergencies and rising humanitarian needs while still facing the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we all know, inequalities and poverty are important drivers of social exclusion, often leading to conflict, social unrest and political instability. Peaceful settlement of dispute is one of the main priorities of Greece’s candidacy for a seat to the UN Security Council for the period 2025-2026. There is no doubt that addressing the root causes of conflict and violence is key to achieve sustainable development. This, however, includes promoting social justice and political participation. It also involves strengthening institutions that uphold the rule of law and protect human rights. Mr. President, increasing levels of inequality within and between countries also pose a threat to sustainable development by hindering long-term economic stability and green and inclusive growth, affecting health and education. Reinforcing social cohesion and facilitating access to basic social services and social protection reduces poverty and inequalities and has the potential to promote new social contracts and social inclusion globally. In this context, we cannot think of a higher priority than the protection of human life. According to statistics from the World Health Organization, more than half a million women die every year in the world as a result of a complication related to pregnancy or delivery. In this context, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece and the London-based Foundation have partnered to implement a fetal medicine program for the period 2022-2025, a signature development program in selected priority partner countries – Albania, Armenia, Ethiopia, Moldova, the Republic of North Macedonia, as well as in Kosovo. The aim is to contribute to the reduction of maternal and perinatal mortality through training in the use of ultrasound and the creation of fetal medicine units to improve the care of pregnant women. And now it is more urgent than ever to use official development finance strategically to mobilize additional resources and align investment with sustainable development goals. In this context, it is important to mention the European Union’s Global Gateway Strategy, which aims to mobilize investments in partner countries of up to €300 billion for the period 2022-2025. 2021-2027, in order to boost connectivity and economic transformation in digitalization, energy and transport, and strengthen health, education, and research systems across the world. Mr. President, peace and security are a prerequisite for sustainable development in line with the 2030 Agenda. We must work together to uphold fundamental values and strengthen the capacity of the UN to fulfill its mandate in this regard. Multilateralism has been and should remain the most effective means to govern global relations. Respect adherence to international law are essential to maintaining international peace and security. We need to invest in conflict prevention and peace building, and put women and girls at the center of security policy. It is important to promote the new Agenda for Peace, and in this context, the Peace Building Commission has a crucial role to play. I thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Greece for the statement. I now give the – I still see 12 speakers on the list. It is already 6 o’clock. I would like to first thank our interpreters for continuing to provide service. I also hope that the speakers will observe the four-minute time limit. I now give the floor to the representative of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh:
Mr. President, I congratulate China for assuming the presidency of the Security Council for this month, and thank for organizing this open debate on the important issue of promoting sustaining peace through common development. I thank the distinguished briefers for their insightful presentations. Mr. President, the link between peace and development is well recognized. Peace and development are complementary to each other. Promoting peace heavily relies on eliminating the root causes of conflicts and creating a social and financial system that meets the needs of the people and reduce risk of conflict. It is evident that without peace and stability, we cannot think of development. In the same vein, without eradicating poverty, addressing inequality, creating decent works and gainful employment, no peace will sustain. Mr. President, peace and stability are the core of achieving Agenda 2030. The multiple and interlocking crises that the world is facing today are significantly impeding the development initiatives of many developing countries, placing them at a heightened risk of relapsing into conflict. It is deeply concerning that at the midpoint to 2030, the overarching objective of Agenda 2030, to leave no one behind, remains elusive. With only 12% of the SDGs are on track, and the rest in jeopardy. The financing gap for achieving the SDGs has increased from the 2015 estimate of US $2.5 trillion to a staggering $4.3 trillion in 2022. The ongoing financial crisis has made the situation unbearable for many LDCs and developing countries globally in achieving SDGs. We need to have global solidarity to adopt a well-coordinated response commensurate with the scale and gravity of this crisis. Mr. President, let me highlight a few points with regard to the current situation. First, we need to reinvigorate the ongoing peacebuilding efforts of the UN and put special focus on the peacebuilding architecture. This must be coupled with a determined effort to end inequality and injustice within and among societies, and dedicated investment in capacity building and institutions, implementation of Women, Peace and Security Agenda, and Youth Peace and Security Agenda. In this regard, we underscore the role of Peacebuilding Commission, especially in linking development aspects with Security Council’s agenda. Second, recognizing the interdependence of security and economic development is paramount. It is critical to mainstream development in all the policies of the UN system, and while also encourage similar supportive measures and initiatives in the Britain institutions, and the WTO, where progress in addressing developmental consequences has been insufficient. Additionally, international financial frameworks should move beyond traditional cost-benefit analysis and come up with innovative approaches. In this regard, we refer to the joint report of the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, A.S.-HRC-54-38, which called for greater international cooperation and solidarity to increase resources and fiscal space to countries and communities. It is also urged ODA donors to redouble efforts to meet their commitments and increase other forms of economic cooperation, such as rechanneling unused special drawing rights to benefit the developing countries. Third, we highlight the instrumental role of peacekeeping missions in strengthening relations, capacity building, and creating conducive environment for overall development of the host country. The Security Council has the main role to play in leveraging the potentials of peacekeeping operations by scaling up the peacebuilding activities of the missions from the very beginning of the mission. Fourth, we emphasize on the peace development and humanitarian nexus of the United Nations and reiterate our call for system-wide coherence and greater synergies and coordination across the United Nations systems. The role of the resident coordinators is critical in achieving these objectives. Last but not the least, we would like to mention the cross-cutting issue that undeniably impacts on overall development endeavors of a country vis-à-vis sustaining peace. These include addressing the digital divide and mitigating the adverse effect of climate change and so on. It is alarming that roughly 2.7 billion people, constituting about one-third of the global population, lack access to the Internet, representing a stark modern day poverty and social exclusion. It is imperative to actively work towards narrowing the digital divides among countries and peoples with a commitment to fostering inclusiveness and equity. Echoing the Secretary General’s statement that the uneven suffering created by the effects of climate change ranks among the greatest injustices of this world, we underscore the urgent need for implementing the loss and damage agenda and ensuring adequate climate finance. I thank you.

President – China:
Mr. President. I thank the representative of Bangladesh for his statement and I’ll give the floor to the representative of Ukraine.

Ukraine:
Thank you, Mr. President. Today we have a chance to discuss important issues of strategic nature and my delegation regrets that the beginning of the discussion has been marred with manipulations and distortions by one of the briefers who, while addressing the war against Ukraine, contrived not to mention the country responsible for waging this war. And this omission speaks volumes in itself. Instead of referring to the root cause of the war, Russia’s imperial sentiments, plain and simple, he scattered a bunch of fake reasons to justify the aggressor and blame the victim. The very first argument about the alleged NATO expansion in Ukraine is an outright lie. When the attempted annexation of Crimea started in February 2014, Ukraine did not seek the NATO membership. It had a non-block status enshrined in the Ukrainian legislation. We gave up this status only 10 months later, in December 2014, responding to the Russian aggression and illegal occupation of Ukrainian sovereign territories in Crimea and Donbass. And following the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, two more countries were compelled to reconsider their neutral status, Sweden and Finland, another achievement of Putin. What was even more dangerous was his attempt to camouflage the neo-colonialism and neo-imperialism with a development pillar. We were advised to accept the vision that the development of all states by BAD’s superpowers would only be possible if national governments forget about the UN Charter Principle of the Sovereign Equality of States and will decide on what alliances to join and what trade partners to choose, taking into account sentiments of big neighbors rather than their own national interests. If we are ready to undermine our commitment to development, we should definitely follow this advice. We could hardly progress on the development track if aggressive plans and actions against sovereignty and independence of other states are tolerated and not properly responded, in particular by the Security Council. The Russian aggression against my country serves as a powerful example in this regard. The rapid damage and needs assessment undertaken jointly by the Government of Ukraine, the World Bank, the European Commission and the UN reported that the direct damage in Ukraine in February 2022-February 2023 reached $135 billion. Disruptions to economic flows and production, as well as additional expenses associated with the war, amounted to $290 billion. Reconstruction and recovery needs estimated at about $411 billion. While being attributed as our national losses, these resources were a part of the world economy. They would have made it more resilient and better equipped to tackle with global challenges, especially those associated with the sustainable development. Moreover, the immediate global effects of the war increased food and energy insecurity, disruption of supply chains and inflation, diminished the health and well-being of people around the world, especially for the most vulnerable. The solution to this threat could not be found in persuading the defending party to cease resistance and make concessions to the aggressor. These would make new wars, and thus new development-related global challenges, only a matter of time. States have regularly reiterated that all three UN pillars, peace and security, development and human rights, are equally important, interrelated and interdependent. As former Secretary General Annan once said, the human family will not enjoy development without security, will not enjoy security without development, and will not enjoy either without respect for human rights. It’s evident that countries waging aggressive wars and thus undermining development prospects for others could not serve as sincere contributors to the development pillar on the global level. We reiterate once again that Russia’s aggressive behavior continues to undermine our ability to focus on achieving SDGs. And as soon as comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine based on the UN Charter principles is achieved, our common efforts on development would be more efficient. I thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Ukraine for his statement. I now give the floor to the representative of El Salvador.

El Salvador:
Thank you very much, Mr. President. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, I’d like to start by expressing our gratitude to you for convening this significant debate on maintaining international peace and security focused on the promotion of sustainable peace through development. We would also like to highlight the intrinsic connection between peace and development, which is key for being able to achieve sustainable development. However, inequalities, poverty, and violence are some of the triggers of conflict. For this reason, we are deeply concerned by global trends in the current geopolitical landscape. While we’re holding this debate, millions of people… are affected by violence and conflict. These phenomena, in turn, exacerbate poverty, create more inequality, and deepen the development gap. Given this landscape, it’s imperative that we make progress in fulfilling international commitments in the area of sustainable development. In order to place prevention at the heart of our efforts, invest in policies and social programs that promote inclusion and provide the necessary financial resources for peace building. To that end, it’s necessary to analyze new ways of strengthening the intrinsic connection between peace and sustainable development, in keeping with the specificity and needs of each country. We believe that addressing the connection between peace and sustainable development should be done periodically, systematically, and when appropriate, coordination should take place between the relevant bodies of the U.N., given the fact that this Council should take decisions, enact measures, and take concrete action in order to address holistically the link between peace and development, especially for countries affected by conflict. Mr. President, in our 2022 Voluntary National Review with regard to fulfilling the SDGs, we highlighted significant progress in goals and indicators that relate to peace, justice, and sound institutions. And we recognize that it’s important to continue working to eradicate all forms of violence to build fair, peaceful, and inclusive societies. In this regard, it’s relevant to highlight that the policy report of the Secretary General on the new peace agenda recognizes the importance of seeing peace from the point of view of sustainable development and human rights. Specifically, the report recommends providing more predictable and sustainable financing for peace-building efforts, in order to support national prevention strategies and address the different factors that fuel and drive violence and conflict in our societies. Given that this was a unanimously adopted commitment undertaken by member states in Resolution 76305, El Salvador takes this opportunity to once again express its deep-seated concern for the ongoing persistent challenges for achieving sufficient, predictable, and sustained financing for peace-building. In keeping with what my country has expressed in other fora, implementation of this important resolution is a crucial step in order to fulfill the many commitments undertaken in peace-building and make it a reality. This is about preventing the outbreak, intensification, continuation, and recurrence of conflicts. It’s also about addressing root causes and achieving international commitments in the area of sustainable development. We firmly believe that this approach will bring us closer to a more fair and peaceful world. Finally, we cannot overlook the significant contribution of women and young people in efforts in order to achieve sustainable development and to bring about peace-building and achieve peace. To that end, we reaffirm the relevance of their significant participation, implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda, as well as that of Young Youth, Peace and Security. We appreciate your attention to our thoughts here, and we hope that this debate will contribute significantly to building a peaceful and sustainable future for one and all. Thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of El Salvador for his statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Venezuela.

Venezuela:
Mr. President, as this is the first time that my delegation is taking the floor in this body during this month, may we first begin by expressing our best wishes for success. at the helm of the important work of the Security Council in the month of November. We trust that under the leadership of your country, this body will be able to make progress towards full and effective implementation of its mandate, specifically in contexts such as the growing and escalating Israeli-Palestine conflict, where it’s urgent more than ever to bring about an immediate and lasting ceasefire with a view to saving as many lives as possible and putting an end to the current genocide underway, and to provide a political horizon for achieving a two-state solution. We also take this opportunity to thank you for convening this important open debate and the concept note that were prepared to guide our discussions. And we also would like to express our gratitude for the very worthwhile presentations earlier today. Mr. President, we believe that the Security Council is not the appropriate body to address issues related to development. We recognize that international peace and security can have a positive impact on the development of nations. However, on some occasions, decisions or a lack of decisions by this very same body can also have adverse consequences on the well-being and future of entire peoples and nations. Now, this open debate does provide us with an opportune moment to highlight the importance of inclusive development and the building of equitable, fair, and peaceful societies as a fundamental condition in order to prevent, address, and overcome conflict and violence. And there’s nothing more true than the truism that there’s no peace without development and no development without peace, but understood as well that there’s no single model of development, and each country is free and sovereign to decide its own destiny and vision for development. My country, for example, sees equitable and inclusive development as a key policy for the Bolivarian revolution in the context of its some 25 years that it’s been underway. Social programs and great missions where we have reinvested national income to provide for eradication of poverty, social exclusion, eradicate illiteracy, hunger, and disease. The Venezuelan government assumes the occlusion of all members of our society, men and women, as the final goal of development, which is conceived of as a universal human right, which is indivisible and inalienable for all of our people. Mr. President, it’s for all of these reasons that Venezuela believes that the international community should, in a comprehensive manner, address the norms of international law and the provisions of the charter and the root causes of political, economic, and social imbalances in the current international order, which creates tension and, furthermore, fuels and prolongs conflict, including those that stem from situations that were inherited from colonialism or the petty interests of a few powers, decadent powers, that today even in the 21st century claim to try and exert their domination over nations and people, which clearly is avoiding the realization of social justice. The Palestine case is a clear example of that. Despite the fact that it’s clear that colonialism and foreign occupation are root causes of this prolonged and painful conflict, this Security Council remains paralyzed as a result of the decision of the U.S. government, the main partner and accomplice of the occupying power, in its war crimes, in crimes against humanity, extermination and genocide committed against the Palestinian people, without caring at all about the resultant consequences of their actions. of its deliberate and premeditated decision, which has impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people who have been killed throughout the last 75 years. It is therefore clear that in order to reverse the negative trends that stem from colonialism and the pillaging of natural resources and an unjust economic, financial, and social structure worldwide, it’s urgent to join our efforts together in the context of truly inclusive multilateralism. This will make it possible for us to, amongst other things, reform social norms and policies and economic policies that are linked to unsustainable consumption patterns and production patterns on the planner. The international community needs to therefore put greater emphasis on promotion of the sustainable development agenda. Also, developed countries need to fulfill their commitments, including in the area of official aid to development, transfer of technology, and climate change. Likewise, economically, they must respect the principle of shared but differentiated responsibilities, provide differentiated and special treatment for developing countries, promote fair trade, cooperate in the restructuring of sovereign debt, and assist the global south to achieve the development goals that were agreed at an international level, including those that stem from Agenda 2030, without any conditions attached. Mr. President, recent history has shown us that imposing a model or a vision, as well as interfering in affairs which are essentially the domestic jurisdiction of states, along with socio-economic imbalances including exclusion, social injustice, and inequality are frequently part of the structural root causes of conflict. Countries with their own development plans, many of which include part of the agenda of this body, often have suffered from interference, political destabilization, or even military intervention for the simple fact that they took sovereign decisions which went against the economic or geopolitical interests of third parties. There are too many examples of this in Africa, in the Middle East, and even in our own region of Latin America and the Caribbean. Along these lines, Venezuela believes of the greatest importance to respect not just the proposals and principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, but also guarantee to the people the necessary means for their survival and create the foundation for inclusive, sustainable, fair, and equitable development. Development with social justice should be part of a process that would seek to guarantee peace in the short, medium, and long term. And to that end, it is in turn also necessary to put an end to all forms of interventionism or supposed neocolonial domination. Mr. President, however, this is a sine qua non condition for sustainable development. It’s a task which involves more than 30 countries around the world, including Venezuela, which suffer on a daily basis the criminal effects of coercive unilateral measures which were imposed illegally and in violation of all international law norms, and which are cruelly calculated and in a deliberate manner and impact the right to development of more than a third of all humanity. A truly peaceful and prosperous world will elude us until we put an end to the complete and unconditional enactment and implementation of these so-called sanctions, which are creating a truly systemic crisis in a world which is not only more interconnected, but also more polarized and in more upheaval. Coercive unilateral measures one way or another create an environment which is not propitious for dialogue and understanding and mutual trust. It exacerbates tension and deepens the multifaceted crises which are underway today. Not only does this take us away from the goal of development, but it takes us away from other goals. To conclude, for Venezuela, which is part of a region that presents itself to the world as a zone of peace, where inclusive and comprehensive development is at the very center of our government’s priorities, we reiterate our firm commitment to participate in an active and constructive manner, always guided by central values such as cooperation and international solidarity. In all of our efforts geared to sustainable development and peace, and making it a reality for all peoples of the world, we are convinced that we live in a community of shared and common destiny where, amongst others, we are all united by the same desire to achieve the three pillars of our organization. Thank you very much, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Venezuela. I now give the floor to the representative of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia:
Mr. President, Your Excellencies, representative of member states, at the outset, I would like to express my sincere thanks to China for convening this open debate on discussing promoting sustainable peace through common development. We definitely needed to discuss this in a more constructive and elaborate manner more than ever before, given the important and sensitive side of this subject. I would also like to thank His Excellency, the Secretary General, and Ms. Dilma Rousseff, and Mr. Jeffrey Sachs. I’d like to thank them for their invaluable briefings. Mr. President, the exchange of views on how to contribute to common development to sustain peace and security, and how to follow a comprehensive approach to support countries affected of conflict to achieve peace and security through promoting peace and support their capacities in the field of sustainable development, and how to address root causes of conflict, all these require international cooperation to address the different… important impediments before sustainable development in the international level. Saudi Arabia supports all efforts aiming at achieving peace and security, sustainable development, dialogue, deconfliction, and de-escalation, and urging countries to avoid escalation and to focus on achieving the interest of all through multilateralism within the UN, that is, to achieve international cooperation to address the challenges facing our world with participation in all aspects that would lead to a more just and peaceful world. Mr. President, the common challenges before opportunities to economic and social development are plenty, most important of which is the lack of supply of food and energy, and challenges in environment and climate change. Saudi Arabia has among its main objectives addressing this matter, which requires international cooperation and solidarity, and a just, balanced, unified approach to address the increasing environment challenges. Saudi Arabia has proposed initiatives for environment protection, including sustainable afforestation, reduction of emissions, and that is to food development in countries which have investment opportunities and are presenting themselves as international partners in many security and economic fields, consistent with the Paris Agreement and other international agreements. The objective is to respond to the increasing demand to achieve the interest of producers and consumers, and to spare the world the negative impacts of unrealistic policies which exclude the key sources of energy without caring for their impact on international supply chains, inflation, the prices of energy, increased unemployment, and other negative socioeconomic impacts. Saudi Arabia has always been a leader in sustainability. Therefore, it has launched two initiatives, the Green Middle East and the Green Saudi Arabia. It has announced ambitious objectives in relation to its activity in the field of energy and sustainable afforestation, reduction of emissions by 278 million tons annually by 2030, and to achieve the zero carbon or carbon neutrality by 2060. That is in line with the development plans of Saudi Arabia. Mr. President, Saudi Arabia works side-by-side with its international partners to alleviate the negative impact of armed conflicts and their negative impacts on food security, and how they disrupt the implementation of sustainable development goals, in particular the goal on reducing… hunger. We stress that efforts should be made to facilitate the grain export and other food material. Saudi Arabia has contributed a lot in this field, as our contribution in the field of food and agricultural security reached more than $2 billion U.S. dollar. And Saudi Arabia, with its partners in the region, announced its allocation of $100 billion for this purpose by coordinating and unifying the efforts of 10 development funds, nationally and regionally. Saudi Arabia announced the establishment of World Water Organization, with its headquarters in Riyadh, in line with its interest in maintaining the international stability in water. Thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Saudi Arabia, and I’ll give the floor to the representative of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka:
Mr. President, may I congratulate you in making available today’s meeting as the signature event of China’s November presidency, which seeks to focus on the root causes of conflict and how we should take a holistic approach to support conflict-affected countries to achieve sustainable peace through common development. It is my delegation’s considered view that we must make an effort to exploit our competencies to achieve peace and security through common development for the common good of humanity, particularly in contemporary times, when the core institutions and values of humanity are blatantly and assuremently challenged. It was former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who said that the basic building blocks of peace and security for all peoples is economic and social. security, anchored in sustainable development. It is a key to all problems because it allows us to address all the great issues, poverty, climate, environment, and political stability as parts of the whole. It is in 2022, in a report in 2022, the Interagency Task Force on Financing for Development convened by the UNSG to follow up on the Addis Ababa action agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development makes reference to the point that the poorest developing countries pay 14% of revenue for interest on their debt on average, almost four times higher than developing countries. In fact, the reality of the current international financial architecture is that more difficult the situation one is in, not only is there less likelihood of assistance coming, but the prospect of credit downgrades and stricter lending conditions are likely to trap those countries into a further vicious cycle of poverty. Sri Lanka, having undergone the economic turbulence of last year and having stabilized the situation with difficult policy measures in consultation with our development partners, underlines the importance of reform of the international financial architecture as a priority in our quest to pursue the concept of common development. Our own experience and that of the world has shown that reform of the international financial architecture is a global imperative. International assistance through multilateral institutions should be rendered, Mr. President, when a nation needs it on its road to recovery and not on the brink of collapse. Mr. Chairman, it is a fact that current global trends do not provide a cause for optimism. Climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as war and insecurity, affect developing countries the most. Most of the developing countries are not responsible for either global… conflicts, or for climate change and biodiversity loss. Mr. President, development and sustaining peace requires understanding of the root causes of conflict and insecurity. In equality, you will see that common development initiatives can help us in addressing the underlying causes of conflict, such as poverty, inequality, and the lack of access to resources. By promoting inclusive and sustainable development, nations can reduce socioeconomic disparities and create opportunities for all individuals, thereby minimizing the likelihood of conflicts arising from grievances. We have been reminded that there is still work to be done, but that remains a crucial lesson. You cannot bring peace and security to people just by signing an agreement. In fact, Mr. President, most peace agreements don’t last. Common development projects also often require cooperation and collaboration amongst nations. By working together towards shared development goals, common development efforts can help to create stable and resilient societies by investing in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and other essential services by which nations can strengthen their social fabric, enhance governance structures, and build capacities to withstand various challenges. We have also seen that often they involve regional cooperation and integration. By promoting economic integration, infrastructure, connectivity, and trade partnerships, nations can foster interdependence and build mutually beneficial relationships. Common development efforts can address transnational threats such as climate change, terrorism, organized crime, and pandemics. Mr. President, common development initiatives we have seen can also promote social cohesion within societies by reducing inequalities and marginalization, the eradication of poverty. but a question of justice, that we can end poverty if we have the political will and the collective action. So by ensuring that all individuals have equal access to opportunities, resources and services, common development can help build inclusive societies where people feel valued and have a sense of belonging. Common development efforts can also play a preventive role in countering the emergence of extreme ideologies, strengthening governance and the rule of law. And finally, common development projects can provide opportunities for diplomatic engagement and dialogue between nations. Collaborative efforts in areas such as infrastructure development, trade and cultural exchange can create platforms, I say, for diplomatic interactions and build bridges between countries. Often common development prioritizes the empowerment of local communities, and that’s an experience we have had, by involving communities in decision-making processes, ensuring their participation and promoting their economic and social well-being. Mr. Chairman, permit me to conclude by reminding ourselves of the words of Haile Selassie, who said that we should not lose sight of the Charter of the United Nations, which expresses the noblest aspirations of man, and that is the abjuration of force in the settlement of disputes between states, the assurance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion, the safeguarding of international peace and security. Let us realize that significant inequalities and divides, especially in economies and technologies, when allowed to perpetuate, will not create a conducive atmosphere for peace and security or the protection of human rights. These divides, Mr. President, can only be bridges when we realize that the planet itself is an integrated whole, and common development is common to everyone. This cannot be a zero-sum game, as someone said. Let us regain our moral compass, I say, which seems to have deserted us. us right at the moment. Thank you, Mr. President.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Sri Lanka. I now give the floor to the representative of Algeria.

Algeria:
Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to congratulate China for assuming the presidency of the Council of the Month of November. And thank you for the relevant choice of the theme for this open debate. I would like to focus on the key following areas. First, sustaining peace requires a comprehensive, integrated, coherent, and cross-PR approach. And the development is one of the key PRs of this approach. As we know, conflicts and development are intervened. Investing in inclusive and sustainable development with special focus on targeting the underlying causes of underdevelopment is the most effective means for conflict prevention. Second, conflict and fragility remain the greatest impediment to the aspiration of the UN Agenda 2030 and the African Union Agenda 2063. Therefore, achieving the SDGs is the best response to conflict and crisis. However, an effective implementation of this developmental agenda requires support to the national and government over the long term with a focus on supporting national-owned initiative and capacity to embed the SDGs within the member state development programming. Third, prevention and development are mutually reinforcing. While underdevelopment creates a fertile conflict ground, development remains a key element to eradicate the root causes of conflict. Conflicts and political crisis that affect the African continent are interestingly linked to the socio-economic condition of the population, and the Sahel region is one of the most affected areas in this regard. We are looking forward to the report of the High-Level Independent Panel aiming at making an assessment of the situation in Sahel and recommendation on ways to foster international engagement and response to the region’s complex challenges. Fourth, the development is crucial in post-conflict recovery process and help in straightening the capacity of government and individual to prevent, respond and recover from crisis through straightened socioeconomic inclusion. The development-driven, peace-building efforts in post-conflict context should be supported through the access to the U.N.-assisted contribution for the peace-building fund. Five, financing for development and for the SDG, achieving sustainable development and fostering inclusive, sustainable economic growth in developing countries hinges on the consolidation of peace, security and stability. In this regard, we reaffirm the need for robust governance policies and institutions that will support developing countries to implement the agenda of 2030. Furthermore, we underscore the pivotal role of development in fostering sustainable peace, tackling the root causes of conflict, promoting economic growth and reducing poverty. This role is even more crucial in light of the challenges that developing countries are facing in mobilizing adequate financial resources to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality and accelerate the implementation of the agenda 2030. In this context, it is primordial for development countries to fulfill their ODAs commitment as well as climate financial commitment under the UNFCCC to address the pressing mitigation and adaptation need of developing countries as well as the operationalization of the laws and damage fund. Sixth, and finally, based on the conviction that security and stability in Africa are linked to development, my country’s contribution to the development of the African continent is articulated through several initiatives. In 2020, Algeria has decided to allocate $1 billion to finance development project across the continent through the Algerian Agency of International Cooperation for Solidarity. and development, with a targeted focus on continental integration project. This is in addition to multiple and regular capacity building and technical assistance program for the benefit of African broadly countries. Algeria strongly convinced that the consolidation of the debts of many African countries a tool for their economic development. Since Algeria has carried out, during the last decade, the consolidation of debt for more than $1.5 billion, which concerns 16 developing countries, Algeria is as well a founding member of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, aiming at addressing Africa’s development problems with a new paradigm, with the objective to reduce poverty, put Africa on a sustainable development path, halt the marginalization of Africa, straighten governance and empower women. I thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Algeria for the statement. And I’ll give the floor to the representative of Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone:
Mr. President, the delegation of Sierra Leone congratulates you on the assumption of the presidency of the Security Council. We further commend you for organizing this important open debate. We thank the briefers for their important contributions early today. With the proliferation of conflicts and multiple global crises, promoting sustainable peace through common development resonates with a call for collective action through solidarity to address the development-related root causes of conflicts and shared interests. There is therefore a need to address today’s complex global challenges and to effectively deal with the interconnected threats through partnership and multilateralism. Accordingly, we must recommit to our obligations under the Charter of the United Nations to prevent and resolve conflicts, pursue development, and promote shared interests. sustainable development by managing economic uncertainty and be resilient in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. This will equip states to effectively counter challenges to global peace and security. Mr. President, The global hostilities and overlapping crises have further driven more people around the world into extreme poverty, with widening inequalities and increased vulnerabilities. This makes it harder to close the existing gap between the rich and the poor. Thus, eradicating extreme poverty and lowering inequality within a period of only seven years to deliver on the 2030 Agenda is becoming increasingly impracticable. In the context of heightened uncertainty and persistent financial stability risks, the growing high debt burden on LDCs continues to undermine our ability to make sufficient investments to achieve the SDGs. In addressing these global challenges, we would like to emphasize the need for developed countries to partner with LDCs and countries in fragile situations to build peaceful and prosperous societies through enhanced development assistance, climate financing and technology transfers. To that end, we would also like to highlight the need to sustain and implement commitments within the framework of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development. Further, we would like to underline the crucial imperative for stronger global cooperation to address rising public debt burden, consideration of debt cancellation, especially for vulnerable and fragile countries, and the allocation of special drawing rights to allow for the re-channeling of all unused special drawing rights to developing countries that need it. Mr. President, Sri Lanka would like to reaffirm its strong support for the UN Secretary-General’s proposal for an SDG stimulus for developing countries, as well as the need for the international community to work concertedly and adhere to a new international financial architecture that will ensure that finance is automatically invested. support just, inclusive, and equitable transitions for all countries. We equally welcome the Secretary-General’s call for a new Agenda for Peace, including its 12 concrete sets of proposals for action in five key priority areas. We also support the Secretary-General’s call in the Agenda for the International Financial Institutions to align funding mechanisms to help address the underlying causes of instability through inclusive, sustainable development. Mr. President, the developed countries continue to make advancements in technologies associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, while countries in the Global South, particularly the LDCs, struggle to catch up with the first and second generation technologies. In addition, the alarming technological and digital divide is further widening inequalities. Countries of the South have made tremendous progress in the field of STIs. However, we must now strengthen unity and solidarity among the countries of the Global South and increase collaboration in the fields of science and technology. We believe this will help to create a fertile ecosystem for development, innovation, and diffusion of STI-related knowledge and inventions. We should work collectively to safeguard universal, affordable, and equitable access to the Internet and broadband connectivity for all. Moving forward, it is important to note that peace cannot be sustained in any country or region if there is widespread economic and social deprivation and lack of enjoyment of basic human rights, such as freedom of expression, transformative actions, adequate financing, and cooperative work across the entire peace, security, and development nexus, and are generally needed for much-needed progress on sustainable development. We must maintain the importance of SDGs at the core of peacebuilding. Moreover, the peace, development, and humanitarian nexus cannot be overstated, and adequate financing is needed to support the peacebuilding fund. The critical role of international financial institutions in that regard is crucial. It is our fervent hope that the Secretary-General’s new Agenda for Peace could leverage more investment in prevention and peace building as well as provide support for countries on the agenda of the PBC including delivering continued financial assistance to countries that have exited from a formal agenda of PBC in order to build resilience and sustain peace through common development. Furthermore, as member states of the UN, we need to recommit to the principles of freedom, justice, democracy, tolerance, solidarity, cooperation, dialogue and the share of tolerance to secure a shared peaceful future. Mr. President, in conclusion, let me emphasize that Sierra Leone remains committed to the vision and goals of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs for achieving sustainable development. We therefore recommit to work with development partners on the ground ranging from United Nations family, international financial institutions to bilateral partners and NGOs in our efforts to transform our economy, build resilient systems and ultimately achieve sustainable peace through the effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. I thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Sierra Leone for the statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso:
Mr. President, on behalf of Burkina Faso, I would like to congratulate you. Congratulate you and your delegation on presiding of the Security Council this month of November. I would like to also thank you for organizing and presiding over this important debate which covering a multitude of challenges. The topic of promoting sustainable peace through common development is relevant and pertinent and is therefore is of interest to those states which are in conflict, but also for those states which are handling a security challenge having to do with terrorism, and that is the case of my country, Burkina Faso. Mr. President, we acknowledge that terrorism in Burkina Faso is something that takes place at an instigation of nebulous terrorist entities. The government of my country, nonetheless, does not lose sight of the fact that they have taken advantage of a domestic situation which was conducive to their penetration and spread. Indeed, youth unemployment, people who are frustrated by successive governance which were far from virtuous, have created a fertile ground for the development of this phenomenon, which is why, under the leadership of His Excellency Mr. Ibrahim Traore, Transition President, Head of State of Burkina Faso, we undertook a certain number of initiatives so to improve governance and promote basic development. And they include the re-founding of the state, the initiative to rebuild the roads in those areas which have security challenges, promoting community entrepreneurship so as to directly involve the Burkinabes in major projects underway in the country. The presidential initiative on food production, the ultimate goal here is to ensure there is food sufficiency in Burkina Faso. Here, I would like to underscore that the national strategy on combating terrorism also talks about the areas which are other than military combat. And I am referring to various development areas so as to bridge various capacity gaps. Mr. President, cooperation and regional partnerships are key if we want to tackle the challenges having to do with the nexus between peace and development. And that is why we’re working on raising the awareness of the gamut of challenges we’re dealing with, security, climate development challenges, by the three other countries in the central Sahel who have been hardest hit by terrorism. And those countries are Niger, Mali, and our country. This awareness has been shown through the strengthening of cooperation amongst the three countries and was translated into a signature on the 16th of September. of this year of the Liptako-Gurma Charter, which established the alliance of Sahel states. And it shows the willing and the will of the heads of states of the three countries to establish a permanent framework for collective defense and mutual assistance. Burkina Faso, similar to all other countries of Sahel, is thus launching an appeal for global international assistance to help us strengthen our capacity to fight criminals and terrorists, to strengthen our border controls, and promote regional cooperation for development. Mr. President, peacekeeping alone cannot create lasting peace if the conditions which have resulted in the conflict remain unchanged. We need to also have political solutions for long-term investment with the goal of having equitable and sustainable development. The Peacebuilding Fund is an important tool in this regard. It supports crucial projects in those countries which are post-conflict. But to be more effective, predictable and flexible funding is needed here. In conclusion, lasting peace is something that requires us to draw lessons from the past. Underdevelopment, inequalities, poor governance, and others are reliable predictors of a future conflict. If we have committed ourselves to keep peace, we need to pay greater attention to sustainable development by mobilizing resources and multilateral cooperation, which is needed to help recover for the poor and fragile countries. I thank you.

President – China:
I thank the representative of Burkina Faso for the statement. And I’ll give the floor to the representative of South Sudan.

South Sudan:
Mr. President, South Sudan commands your excellency and the rest of the international community focus on the crucial linkage between peace and development. It is on behalf of the people and the government of South Sudan I address this gathering on the vital topic outlined in the concept note of today’s order. open debate. South Sudan recognizes the interlinked linkage between peace and development, understanding that challenges we face require a comprehensive approach. As we navigate the complexities of the global landscape, South Sudan aligns itself with the principle highlighted in the concept note, emphasizing the urgency of addressing the root causes of conflict and fostering development, sustainable development. The historical context presented in the concept note, dating back to the discussions in the 1990s, resonates with South Sudan’s own journey. We acknowledge the importance of integrating development into peace-building efforts, and we appreciate the deepening understanding reflected in the various open debates convened by different nations over the past decade. Our nation, as in many others, have witnessed the devastating consequences of conflict on our people. The alarming figures presented in the UNHCR Global Trends Report 2022 underscores the imperative to revisit the strategies and approaches to maintain peace. South Sudan commits to actively engaging in discussions during this open debate, sharing our experience and learning from the global community. We endorse the Secretary General António Guterres’ emphasis on sustainable development as the comprehensive approach needed to address the multidimensional drivers of violence and insecurities. Inclusive development, as outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, is not only a goal for us, but a pathway to lasting peace and stability. Mr. President, by recognizing the challenges faced by conflict-affected countries, South Sudan supports the call for supplementing short-term humanitarian aid with a long-term development investment. We emphasize the importance of fostering a sense of ownership, nurturing internal development drivers and enhancing resilience to shocks for sustaining peace. South Sudan also acknowledges the multidimensional challenges highlighted in the concept note, including the financial difficulties and technological disparities. We are ready to participate in the discussion on how the international community can collectively address these challenges, ensuring that all nations, regardless of their circumstances, have equal access to benefit of development. With this thought in mind, we suggest the following actions. Invest in infrastructure. We believe that increased international support and investment in crucial infrastructure projects such as food security technologies, road, energy, and water supply can address the root causes of unbalance, and adequate development-improved infrastructure can contribute significantly to economic growth and stability. Capacity building. South Sudan emphasizes the importance of targeted capacity building programs to enhance the skills and capabilities of local workforces by investing in education and vocational training, which can empower its citizens to create a foundation for sustainable development. Job creation. South Sudan proposes initiatives that focus on job creation, especially for youth, implementing programs that stimulate economic activities such as small and medium-sized enterprises can mitigate the risk of conflict by providing employment opportunities and fostering economic resilience. Conflict-sensitive development. South Sudan stresses the importance of adapting conflict-sensitive approaches to development projects. These involve considering potential impacts of initiatives on local dynamics, promoting social cohesion, and avoiding exasperating of existing tensions. Five, international assistance. South Sudan calls for increased international assistance. in terms of both financial aid and technical expertise. Collaborating with international organization and donors nation can amplify the impact of development initiative and contribute to sustainable peace. Digital inclusion. South Sudan recognizes the significance of bridging the digital divide and emphasizing the importance of technology transfer. By promoting these initiatives, the world can ensure equal access to emerging technologies, enhancing education, communication and economic opportunities. Synergy between peacekeeping and development. South Sudan proposes a closer alignment between peacekeeping operation and development efforts. We need to explore the ways to integrate peacebuilding components into peacekeeping mandates, fostering long stability and development in conflict affected regions. As we look forward to the outcome of this open debate, South Sudan expressed the appreciation for the leadership of Ambassador Zeng and welcomes the insight of the distinguished Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez, Ms. Dilemma Rousseff and the President of New Development Bank and Professor Jeffrey Sack. We commit to actively participating in this discussion, offering our unique perspective and working collaboratively with the international community towards a shared goal of promoting sustainable peace through common development. The night cannot end without thanking the Secretariat and all the interpreters for keeping up with us up until this late evening. I thank you, Your Excellency.

President – China:
I thank the representative of the South Sudan for her statement. There are no more names inscribed on the list of the speakers. This open debate has lasted for about seven hours. Once again, I’d like to express my thanks to all the interpreters for their hard work. I wish also to thank all the members of the Council for their strong support for this open debate. The meeting is adjourned. Thank you.