From Gaza and Ukraine to Sudan and Yemen, escalating conflicts are taking a mounting human and economic toll, prompting Prime Minister Mia Mottley to propose a new United Nations mechanism aimed at intervening earlier in global crises.
Mottley called for the systematic deployment of small mediation teams, led by current and former political leaders, to work with parties to conflicts before violence becomes further entrenched.
She outlined the proposal in her UN General Assembly speech on Thursday, warning that conflicts were becoming increasingly prolonged and fragmented.
“We need to address with laser-like focus each and every one of these conflicts,” she said.
Under the proposal, the mediation teams would operate on behalf of the UN Secretary-General and include political figures who command the Secretary-General’s confidence and the respect of member states.
“This, my friends, will help lift the heavy weight necessary to end these multiple conflicts and to bring peace and dignity to those affected populations.”
The diplomatic effort, she proposed, would be supported by quicker deployment of technology-enhanced observer forces capable of monitoring and supporting ceasefires and peace agreements.
Such forces, she said, would require realistic mandates, predictable financing and adequate resources.
The proposal came as Mottley pointed to continuing conflicts in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan and Ukraine as evidence of the scale of the challenge confronting the international community.
She noted that the consequences were not confined to the battlefield, with conflicts contributing to higher energy and transport costs, rising interest rates and inflation.
“It means that no one, even on the other side of the world, can escape the hardships in meeting their daily needs,” she said.
On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mottley maintained that a two-state solution remained essential to lasting stability.
“The truth is, until there is a two-state solution that respects the rights and territories of both the Israelis and Palestinians, we will continue to live on the edge in this world.”
The Prime Minister also argued that efforts to resolve conflicts should extend beyond securing ceasefires to creating economic opportunities for affected populations.
“Let us work, my friends, together with the parties to these conflicts to build dialogue and to bring opportunities for investment and jobs to the affected populations so that they too can live properly.”
But the Prime Minister placed particular emphasis on earlier intervention, contending that the international community too often failed to act before conflicts escalated.
“If we don’t act early enough, we have trouble.
“That is why we say that the UN must receive the resources and the resolve to act before the guns speak and not after the guns start to fight.”
Mottley linked the need for more effective conflict prevention to the wider importance of preserving an equitable rules-based international order, particularly for smaller countries.
“Without an equitable rules-based order, smaller states like mine will simply cease to exist in this world.”
(SM)
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