[Index]
The UNECE/OSCE Colloquium:
Role
of the Economic Dimension in Conflict Prevention in Europe
Geneva, 23 November 2001
The Villars Colloquium on the Role of the
Economic Dimension in Conflict Prevention in Europe, jointly organized by the
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Organisation for
Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), has just ended, bringing the
cooperation between UNECE and OSCE to a new level. More than 50 experts from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
(NATO), the European Union (EU), the Department of Political Affairs of the UN
Secretariat, the private sector, and governmental institutions of member
States have held a forthright informal discussion on issues of great concern
to all member States of the UNECE region. A two-day elaboration resulted in important findings and concrete
recommendations on further work and joint activities.
Most participants shared the view
that the region had failed to preserve peace and security for all its
inhabitants, and that conflict-inducing factors, especially those of economic
origin, had proliferated in some countries and sub-regions, causing frictions
and clashes along ethnic, social and national lines.
Among the economic factors
responsible for recent conflicts in the region, complexities and social
consequences of the post-socialist transformation were identified as the most
important ones. The latter were
further aggravated in some instances by the collapse of states, augmenting the
burden of structural problems inherited from the past. Resulting fragmentation in its turn had accelerated impoverishment due
to a reduced scale of economy and, hence, of income opportunities, generating
massive unemployment that had reached in some of the new states more than 50
per cent of the labour force.
On the institutional dimension, most of the
participants agreed that a weakening of the State and institutional
uncertainties had also contributed to the build-up of tension, causing a rise
in predator behaviour manifested in criminalization, asset-stripping, petty
and grand corruption and victimization of the weak. In the absence of decisive and concerted actions to set up a new
institutional system that would favour constructive and cooperative behaviour
at the both levels, group and communal, such a situation, according to most
participants of the Colloquium, was unavoidably conflict-prone.
On the economics of terrorism, many
participants agreed that the issue of financing was of paramount importance,
as well as the issue of sustainability of militant group activities. It was acknowledged that the role of diasporas in funding such
activities in their countries of origin had been underestimated, so was the
role of financial linkages between terrorism and organized crime. A swift international action against money-laundry in combination with
a proper regulatory framework for global financial transactions and banking
operations, especially with regards to those conducted on the Internet, was
seen as a first immediate step in undermining the financial foundation of
terrorism. However, in the long-term prospective, well-targeted
multilateral and bilateral development assistance to conflict-prone countries
in combination with other incentives and instruments was felt to be the most
effective mean to reduce the social base of terrorism.
On the common security issue, most
participants agreed that a recent terrorist attack against the United States
revealed loopholes and weaknesses in the existing security arrangements and a
high degree of vulnerability of modern states. It also demonstrated the existing gaps between safety and security
precautions that needed to be closed in most effective and efficient ways.
It was noted that the specific nature
of the terrorism threat called for a joint counter-action of all the civil
actors, and, first and foremost, of the private sector, which, as recent
events had shown, could otherwise suffer enormous losses. The view, that the private sector had an important role to play in both
types of conflict-prevention measures, immediate and long-turn, was fully
recognized by all participants, including the representatives of the corporate
sector.
After making an
inventory of the institutional strength, expertise and capacities, that could
be employed to assist the UNECE/OSCE member States to meet the challenges of
terrorism and to mitigate the economic risks of conflict, participants of the
Colloquium made the following suggestions. Firstly, it would be useful to
bring experts on safety and security together to discuss possible measures,
which could help to reduce the threat of terrorism to the economic
infrastructure. Secondly, it was proposed to establish a public-private
partnership on conflict prevention under the auspices of UNECE and OSCE, which
would operate within the framework of the UNECE Public-Private Partnership
Alliance of the Working Party 5. Thirdly,
the idea was put forward to convey a regular informal meeting of staff members
of UNECE, OSCE, EU and NATO (so-called the Villars Group) in order to exchange
experience, knowledge and views on the economic dimension of conflict.
For further information please
contact:
Larissa Kapitsa,
Chief
Coordinating Unit for Operational Activities
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Palais des
Nations, Office 436
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 22 917 42 21
Telefax: +41 22 917
01 78
E-mail: [email protected]
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or: |
Geoffrey
Hamilton
Regional Adviser on Investment Promotion
Coordinating Unit for Operational Activities
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Palais des Nations, Office 433
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 22 917 28 38
Telefax: +41
22 917 01 78
E-mail: [email protected]
|
Ref: ECE/OPA/01/13