Important to find root causes to break the vicious circle of violence: Rabab Fatima at UN

Staff Reporter: Addressing root causes of conflicts is critical for breaking the cycle of recurring violence said Ambassador Rabab Fatima, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations at the Security Council High-Level Open Debate on “Maintaining international peace and security: exclusion, inequality and conflict” on Tuesday (November 9). The open debate was convened by the delegation of Mexico, the current President of the Security Council to deliberate on the possible role of Security Council in addressing inequalities, exclusion and conflict. The President of Mexico chaired the open debate. At the meeting Bangladesh Ambassador underscored that the underlying factors of conflict may vary across economic, political, and cultural spectrums. As such, “there must be a whole of UN approach for encouraging a nationally driven and multi stakeholder solution towards durable peace”, she added. The Ambassador stated that the Security Council has a critical role to play in mitigating inequalities and exclusion when they lead to international or regional conflicts. Referring to the Rohingya crisis, she added that ‘social and political exclusion of Rohingya minorities in Myanmar has blown into a crisis with serious humanitarian and security ramifications for the region.’ In the context of maintaining international peace, Ambassador Fatima said that the UN peace operations and special political missions can bring great strength to preventive diplomacy because they have first-hand information from the field, which can strengthen early warning systems against impending crisis. Bangladesh’s PR recommended that the Council should invest more in implementing the WPS and YPS agendas in order to ensure inclusion. Ambassador Fatima emphasized on upholding rule of law at the global level and in this regard recognized the role of International Court of Justice, and other international legal bodies and tribunals. “It is imperative that the Council demonstrates its firm commitment in upholding the sanctity of ICJ and other legal bodies” she further added. BP/SM