Doha: In its first session yesterday, participants at the Doha Regional Dialogue on Sustaining Peace discussed many topics related to the effects of conflicts and civil wars on stability and peace efforts with an emphasis on the importance of finding political settlements for conflicts and the relation between development and sustainable peace.
They also discussed the importance of finding new approaches to peace in the world through preventing conflicts, and finding solutions before the start of the conflict. They also confirmed the importance to achieve social well-being to communities that suffer from unemployment and food shortages, noting that poverty is one of the main reasons for lack of peace in many societies.
They said the conflicts increased the death rate to five times during the past six years, especially in the Middle East and North African region. They confirmed that holding a dialogue on sustaining peace comes at the right time to find a solution to these recent developments.
They said the exacerbation of conflicts does not only show through civil wars between rebel groups only, but also includes the proliferation of groups from outside countries, some of which cross borders. In addition to the internalisation of conflicts with the participation of states that are not involved in the conflict, which complicates the efforts to find solutions to these conflicts and wars.
They confirmed the importance of the dialogue meeting since it is held before the United Nations meeting for sustaining peace, where the Doha event helps in devising ideas that hopefully will outline the discussions in New York.
The participants of the session were Director of New York University’s Center on International Cooperation Sarah Cliffe, Founding Director of the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies in Doha Sultan Barakat, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN and Chair of Group of Friends of Sustaining Peace Juan Gomez, Associate Administrator at UN Development Program Tegegnework Gettu and UN Official Dr Noeleen Heyzer.
