Romania calls for an integrated approach of security, human rights and development during the open debate of the Security Council

On 17 November 2015, the British Presidency of the UN Security Council organized, in New York, at Ministerial level, the open debate on security, development and the root causes of conflict. According to Ambassador's Office press release, in his statement, the Permanent Representative of Romania to the UN, Ambassador Ion Jinga, underlined the importance of the balance and interdependency among the three pillars of the UN system: peace and security, development and human rights: “If one of these pillars is fragile, then the entire system becomes fragile. Balance is key”. Noting that terrorism threatens the essence of state sovereignty, it is a clear violation of the UN Charter and hinders the implementation of the Sustainable Development Agenda, the Romanian diplomat stated: “Poverty is not a cause of terrorism, but it can fuel resentments that the terrorists can exploit. From this perspective, sustainable development is an integral part of the efforts of countering violent extremism.”. Joining the other speakers, he condemned the latest terrorist attacks in Paris, Ankara and Beirut, stating that they represent attacks against the entire humanity and universal values, and that the perpetrators must be held accountable.

The Permanent Representative of Romania underlined, in this context, that fragile states, characterized by poor governance, have had the greatest difficulty in achieving the MDGs. The Sustainable Development Agenda, adopted by UN member states at the highest level, recognizes the inter-linkages among poor government, conflicts and underdevelopment. He recalled Romania’s active role in the field of good governance during the works of the Open Working Group on SDGs, including in establishing, together with Mexico and the Republic of Korea, the “Group of Friends of the Governance for Sustainable Development”. Referring to the latest report of the Secretary General on UN Political Missions, Ambassador Ion Jinga affirmed that, in the context of the deterioration of global security (the number of major conflicts tripled from 2008 to 2015), the Security Council’s efforts must be based on an integrated approach of conflict management, preventive actions and institution building, together with partnerships with regional organizations, and a strong national ownership and commitment: “Conflict prevention is, before all, the states’ responsibility. Ungoverned spaces and post-conflict societies can generate security threats for the neighboring countries and even the international community as a whole. The 2030 Agenda proves that, when there is will, there will be solutions. Facing the multiplication of threats to international order, the UN, as the center of the multilateral system, needs to be ready to tackle these challenges.”.

Background The event, chaired by Justine Greening, the British Minister of International Development, is the first one to place sustainable development on the Security Council agenda, in the context of the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, in September 2015. The Agenda sets out the mutual conditionality between sustainable development and peace and security, emphasizing the rule of law, access to justice, effective institutions and protection of human rights, in analyzing root causes of conflict. The 2030 Agenda consists of 17 goals and 169 targets on poverty, hunger, food security, health, education, gender equality, water and sanitation, energy, economic growth, infrastructure and industrialization, inequity, cities, sustainable consumption and production, climate change, oceans, biodiversity, forests, peace and justice, partnerships. Romania was one of the 70 members of the Open Working Group that actively contributed to defining these objectives and placed good governance, peace and security, human rights and rule of law among its political priorities.

Developed by Codecraftsman