international politics

Sustainable Support for Peace Building: the domestic and international aspects

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Today marked the annual session of the Peace Building Commission to discuss both the domestic and international elements of sustainable support in the peace building process. H.E. Mr. Patriota opened the dialogue by highlighting the weaknesses in current international aid, specifically the lack of political, technical, and financial assistance in helping these countries secure hard earned peace and stability.

Deputy Secretary General Mr. Eliasson focused heavily on the Commission’s need to sustain international attention beyond the immediate moment of acute crisis. While fighting may have stopped, the scars and public mistrust stemming from these conflicts often continue to be felt. To heal these scars, countries must restore and maintain public faith in the legitimacy of the state and trust in a peaceful road ahead. This requires that governments deliver public services, such as health care, education, and safe water, in a quick and equitable manner. But H.E Mr. Eliasson stressed that simple international aid rarely helps build this new social contract. Instead, it can weaken national ownership if not done in the right manner.

Mr. Eliasson highlighted three concrete areas of assistance for the international community to place high levels of importance on. First, support the development of the country’s own capacities and resources, primarily those that enable them to raise revenues. Second, fight the illicit flow of money, which resulted in losses totaling almost $1 trillion in developing countries last year. Finally, develop a predictable and more stable framework of support to facilitate peacebuilding in these at risk countries. H.E Mr. Ramos-Horta, former President of Timor-Leste, closed the meeting by commenting on his own experience in the successful peacebuilding process of Timor-Leste. Enabling the leaders of the region, both civilian and military, to engage in honest conversations that bridge the existing divide is essential to recovery. The international community must also help cultivate national ownership and national leadership, as foreign actors cannot stand in as the political leaders of an emerging country.

 

Meeting Title: Peacebuilding Commission annual session: Sustainable support for peacebuilding, the domestic and international aspects
Speakers: H.E. Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Chair of the Peace Building Commission and Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations; Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary General; H.E. José Ramos-Horta, United Nations’ Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peace-building Office in Guinea-Bissau former President of Timor Leste General;
Location: United Nations HQ, New York City
Date: 23 June 2014
Written by WIT Representative: Zachary Halliday
Edited by WIT representative: Sophia Griffiths-Mark

 

Orientating the Post-2015 Agenda

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The second day of the Forum on Youth focused on young people’s input into the post-2015 development agenda. Image

Mr. Russell-Moyle opened the proceeding by reaffirming that it is the tradition for young people to be agents of change. He urged young people to adopt various roles and strategies to make their voices count, whether it be respectfully communicating their wishes or passionately protesting against the darker shades of society. He encouraged advocates not too lose sight of the long-term goal of making young people the center of decision-making, for their work may “not reach our skyscraper of ambition, but will build our foundation of success”.

Mr. Awasthi briefed the conference on the consultation of young people on the post-2015 agenda. He believed that the crowdsourcing exercise of the Global Partnership on Youth on the post-2015 agenda provides a good reference point on which member states can refer to when consulting youth domestically. Mr. Awasthi pointed out several differences between the ideas raised by the General Assembly’s Open Working Group on Sustainable Development and that in the crowdsourcing process, and said that such differences illustrate the need to consult young people on issues of their concern. For instance, young people spoke out strongly in demanding the SDGs to enshrine provision for education in ICT, reproductive health and human rights, which is overlooked by member states in the Open Working Group.

The Forum continued with breakout sessions on the five thematic priorities identified in the crowdsourcing process, namely education, employment and entrepreneurship, health, peace and personal security and governance and participation. Meetings discussed the youth collaborative document proposing goals and crucial targets for the youth population: ‘The Global Youth Call: Prioritizing Youth in the Post-2015 Development Agenda’. 

 

Meeting Title: Post-2015 working sessions (“#Youth2015: Realizing the future they want”)
Speakers: Mr. Lloyd Russell-Moyle, Vice-President, European Youth Forum (Keynote Speaker); Mr. Prateek Awasthi, Technical Analyst, Adolescents and Youth, United Nations Population Fund (Moderator of Interactive Dialogue); Various Youth Delegates.
Location: United Nations Headquarters, Conference Room 1
Date: 3 June 2014
Written by WIT representative: Harrison Chung
Edited by WIT representative: Sophia Griffiths-Mark

Advancing progress in Africa beyond 2015: a youth perspective

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The third session of the Forum on Youth 2014 focused on the theme of creating an enabling environment for youth to thrive in post-2015 Africa. Moderating the panel, Ms. Ibrahim emphasized that the Youth Bulge in Africa makes a continent of talents, but these valuable human resources are often not translated into the desirable outcomes due to the lack of opportunities.

Mr. Bah stated that a more strenuous effort is required to give African youths the education they want. While African governments are firm in the conviction that education is important, such conviction is not matched by their budgetary commitment. The “business as usual” attitude is not good enough for post-2015 education, as Africa is the only continent where the secondary school completion rate has not increased in the past decade.

Ms. Agyemang commented that social inclusion of women is crucial for unleashing Africa’s potential. The paternalistic worldview of some communities curtails women from exercising their land rights, and thereby limiting Africa’s opportunities. She said that through further education, human rights and good governance can be infused into the communities as core values.

Mr. Hachonda spoke on the advancements needed in the area of reproductive health through comprehensive sexuality education. He believed the lack of such education is culpable for denying girls full reproductive rights.

Ms. Allam stated that African youth are enthusiastic advocates for climate change, and juxtaposed their enthusiasm with the lack of cooperation among African governments. She called for international cooperation in the transfer of know-how to combat climate change, for assistance should not only come in monetary form.

One recurring contribution from the floor was that African youths are ready to see to it the changes they want, and are not be content with being in the periphery of the decision-making process.

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Meeting Title: Advancing progress in Africa beyond 2015: a youth perspective
Speakers: Ms. Hadeel Ibrahim, Founding Executive Director, Mo Ibrahim Foundation (Moderator); Mr. Chernor Bah, Chairperson, Youth Advocacy Group for the Global Education First Initiative; Ms. Danielle Agyemang, Program Coordinator and Liaison to the World Youth Movement for Democracy–NED; Mr. Holo Hachonda, Member, High-Level Task Force for the ICPD, and Program Director, BroadReach Healthcare; Ms. Mariam Mohamed Abdullah Abdelhafiz Allam, National Coordinator of the Arab Youth Climate Movement.
Location: United Nations Headquarters, Trusteeship Council Chamber
Date: 2 June 2014
Written by WIT representative: Harrison Chung
Edited by WIT representative: Sophia Griffiths-Mark