27 Armed Conflicts Continue to Devastate Lives: UNGA Prez

UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Csaba Korosi said on that 27 ongoing armed conflicts across the world are continuing to devastate lives.

"As we look around the globe today, 27 armed conflicts continue to devastate lives," Korosi told a joint debate on the UN Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund at the UN headquarters in New York.

The UNGA President said that two decades ago, about five countries each year suffered more than one simultaneous war or insurgency, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Now 15 do. Three-fold increase. The number of conflict-related deaths has reached a 28-year high and over 100 million people have been forcibly displaced," he added.

Korosi noted that conflicts have become more complex, and civil wars have a significantly stronger foreign involvement.

"And an increase of one degree in local temperature raises the chance of intergroup conflict by more than 10 per cent," he continued.

"These realities should be a wake-up call," stressed the UNGA President.

"Unless we place the prevention of conflict at the core of our peace efforts, our 2030 promise of a safe, sustainable future will slip beyond the reach of many of our communities."

Speaking of the Peacebuilding Commission, he said that 18 years after its creation, the commission "is strategically placed to help the UN keep pace with today's evolving threats".

As an advisory body to two key UN institutions, he said, the commission has unique chances to advance coherence and assist both the General Assembly and the Security Council in fulfilling their mandates.

"The General Assembly could benefit from more substantive advice on specific situations, as well as on cross-cutting issues, such as the water crisis, which are major drivers of violence," he said.

"For this end, I suggest that the PGA (UNGA president) and the chair of the Peacebuilding Commission should hold regular consultations, similar to those with the presidents of the Security Council and Economic and Social Council," he added.

Korosi said that from war and violent extremism to the triple planetary crises of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, "global developments are demanding that we invest more in the peaceful future we aspire to achieve."

"The suffering we see -- from North to South, and East to West -- offers clear proof that the costs of our inaction far outweigh the price of proactive investment in prevention," the UNGA president stressed.

In 2022, the Peacebuilding Fund approved record levels of support to 37 countries, according to Korosi.

He further mentioned that in the previous General Assembly resolution, member states confirmed their commitment to exploring all possibilities for sustained financing in peacebuilding.

"In this spirit, I urge you to contribute to the fund. To reflect that, if no progress is made today, our goal to save lives will remain elusive tomorrow. We know we are paying too steep a price for conflict."

He expressed the hope that the debate would inspire innovative ideas to strengthen collaboration among all stakeholders at every stage of the peace continuum.