Prevention is multidimensional.
He commended the Council for taking the subject of prevention seriously, citing its recent decision to ban imports of unlicensed diamonds from Sierra Leone, following a similar embargo on gems from rebel-controlled Angola. The Council could also work more closely with other UN organs, Mr. Annan said, proposing that prevention issues be put, for example, on the agenda of the monthly meeting between the Presidents of the Security Council and the General Assembly. Closer interaction with non-State actors was another option the Council could consider, Mr. Annan said. Prevention cannot be achieved by States alone. Civil society, including the corporate sector, has a vital role to play in defusing or avoiding conflicts - as we saw, to take just one example, in South Africa in the 1980s.