Address to World Summit 2019, Seoul, Korea, February 7–11, 2019

 

Mr. President of the Universal Peace Federation, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, honorable guests,

Allow me, first of all, to express to the president and the secretary general of the Universal Peace Federation, and the secretary general of the Africa regional office of the Federation, our warm thanks for inviting my wife and I to participate in this meeting, the World Summit, a high-level thematic meeting, with reflections and exchanges of great value ​​on a theme that is always relevant across time, despite efforts we make every day—that is, peace, security and human development that is sustainable.

Over the past 20 years, the international community has been trying to broaden the concept of human security and to define a new framework to guarantee peace, security, human and sustainable development for all, and stability for our states, through more effective, efficient and preventive—better coordinated and better supported—actions.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We all remain convinced that security in each of our countries remains the foundation and essence for peace, stability and development on the global level—which is correlated with long-standing and emerging threats, including chronic and persistent poverty, violent conflict, climate change, pandemics, recurrence of human trafficking, economic and financial crises, sources of permanent vulnerabilities, and increasing cross-cutting and widespread threats.

The challenges facing the world today are developing at a very rapid pace in each country and on a global scale and, in our view, provoking more and more complex crises.

It is therefore imperative—on the basis of the contributions of governments, experts in the field, civil society and intergovernmental organizations—that the international community works to establish a new framework conducive to promoting the principles of survival, of decent life and the dignity of individuals that can henceforth constitute the foundations of peace, human and sustainable development and progress of the human being.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Once again, I welcome the choice of the theme that brings us here in Seoul, South Korea, and I would like us, together, to enable Africa, my continent, to make better use of the results of our meeting.

Indeed, as we all know, at a time when some African states are celebrating the 50^th anniversary of their independence and enjoying the fruits of their inclusive growth, the security situation in Africa—marked by increasing and persisting tensions and areas of conflict, which is increasing insecurity—remains worrying. From 1960 to the present day, Africa has recorded 75 coups, and the security landscape is dominated by conflicts in Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the civil war in Liberia and Sierra Leone, to name but a few.

Living conditions exacerbated by poverty fuel sources of instability, and unfortunately, also the resurgence of intra-community conflicts; crises and rebellions; border banditry; terrorism; the proliferation of small arms; and the rise of religious fundamentalism.

Thus, human security in our poor countries remains the foundation of peace, security and development. I would like to ask all of us who aspire for peace to work more towards the achievement of two priority objectives:

• the protection of people and
• the enabling of everyone to act.

Protecting people requires concerted efforts to develop standards, processes and institutions that systematically protect people from all forms of violence or threat of violence, and empower people to achieve their full potential and participate fully in the decision-making processes that affect their lives, through the path to lasting peace.

I therefore urge our authorities to work for the implementation of two major strategies targeting the most vulnerable people and communities of people living in areas affected by conflict; displaced persons; and regions in post-conflict situations.

I also recommend immediate actions, as preventive measures, to reduce vulnerability and risks, or to take curative actions in case of failure of prevention.

Let's work together in solidarity to

• protect people exposed to violent conflict and the proliferation of weapons,
• provide assistance for the security of displaced persons,
• create a fund for human security in post-conflict situations,
• call for greater equity in trade and markets for the benefit of the poorest people,
• establish minimum living conditions in all regions,
• give high priority to providing all with access to basic health care,
• develop an effective and fair system for intellectual property,
• define a global human identity that respects the freedom of individuals,
• congratulate and encourage actors who play a role in human security issues around the world.

Thus, by working for the ideal of peace, security and sustainable human development, raises the question: "What strategy and governance [is needed] for security, as a factor of sustainable human development? How to overcome fragility and consolidate peace in Africa and in the world?"

Action to combat poverty and promote development is a way to work on conflict prevention, country stability and sustainable peacebuilding for a more just world; to foster cooperation; and develop a culture of peace through economic and social conditions in which peace, security and development evolve through the promotion of participation in democratic and political processes to implement the desired transformations.

May our wishes for a world of peace begin with the transformation of the heart; the education of peace; and, above all, by witnessing peace from oneself, thus contributing to the creation of a mentality and culture of peace.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Unity is higher than conflict. Let us remain united for the maintenance of peace which, as a dynamic process, we must understand requires a permanent effort for a civilization of conflict, an effort aimed at transforming violent demonstrations allowing them to be solved through non-violent means and disorder into quiet order.

Our future challenges us to unite for our children in order to offer them an increase in individual freedom and potentiality, in all spheres—economic, social, cultural, ethical and political.

Let us work together to strengthen human development by making it sustainable, by integrating through our concerted actions the building of the capacity of our generation and that which awaits us tomorrow, in terms of economic growth and improvement of living conditions and social and human capital.

You will agree with me, ladies and gentlemen, that with this new alliance, our summit will have proudly offered a new dimension of human and sustainable development, which will henceforth be the development of people, for their present and future.

This is both my wish and the anticipated outcome of our joint actions for the next World Summit on peace and security, which will no doubt make room for state stability and feature sustainable human development on its agenda.

Thank you for your kind attention.