UN General Assembly
2012

﻿It is timely that we are meeting here over the next few days to seek ways and means to prevent and generally manage conflicts. While it may seem that conflict is perennial and its forms increasingly destructive, we have the urgent task of seeking more effective ways to prevent, manage and solve it. The losses we witness or experience on a daily basis in terms of human life and devastation are unacceptable. Moreover, at a time when widespread poverty robs too many people of the opportunity to realize their full potential in life, conflict also diverts us from development. We might ask ourselves why, after decades of efforts to rein in conflict on a global scale and foster multilateral cooperation for sustainable peace, the results are still not where they should be. The reasons for this are several and multifaceted. First, we must appreciate that many conflicts arise when people are, or feel they are, excluded from full participation in the affairs of their country, particularly around issues that affect their everyday lives. Even