UN General Assembly
2024

16. Conflict prevention is the main reason why the UN exists. But the task of prevention becomes all the more difficult when conflict becomes normalised, when even the condemnation of violence and civilian casualties, and calls for a ceasefire, are somehow regarded as controversial. 17. As we emphasised at the Abuja High-Level Ministerial meeting, we must renew our focus on conflict prevention. Indeed, addressing the root causes of conflicts is often the first step towards providing longterm solutions. Clearly, some of the root causes of conflicts are social in nature, including poverty, hunger, ignorance, inequality and exclusion, as well as other forms of injustice. In Sudan, other parts of our continent and further afield, foreign actors are exacerbating those tensions to prolong conflict and deepen the suffering of innocent people. 18. Today, we are all witnesses to the heart-wrenching situation in Gaza and other Palestinian Territories. We cannot discuss war and peace, conflicts and reconciliation or humanitarian imperatives today without reflecting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has been raging since 7th October last year.