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Romania has urged the UN Security Council to recognise the importance of the news media in helping resolve conflicts and consider ways to promote greater respect for its role at a time more journalists are being killed covering dangerous stories. Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Baconschi, speaking on Wednesday in a debate on conflict prevention and resolution, said the media gave "voice and visibility" to all people, especially the poor, the marginalised and minorities. It was therefore well placed to help remedy inequalities, corruption, ethnic tensions and human rights abuses at the root of so many conflicts. "Since the worldwide toll of journalists and critical support staff killed covering the story of a conflict or a post-conflict situation has been spiralling, we should ... contemplate more thoroughly the need to promote and ensure respect for freedom of expression and opinion, as well as the basic principles of international humanitarian law," he said. According to INSI figures, 65 news media staff have been killed covering dangerous stories this year, following a record 117 in 2004. More than 1,300 have died over the past decade. Most were targeted for murder as a result of their work, often exposing crime and corruption and other abuses of civil society. Few people have been brought to justice for the killings. Following is a transcript of Mr Baconschi's address, delivered on behalf of Foreign Minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu: Mr. President, My delegation feels gratified by your presence in the Chair of the Security Council and I have to say that we are still under the wonderful impression that the SC Summit recently held under the Philippines Presidency made upon us. I wish to congratulate you for arranging a timely – and, I trust, rewarding - discussion on the potential of civil society, in particular nongovernmental, to contribute effectively to the UN action for averting conflict or settle disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with the provisions of the UN Charter. This is a rich topic, as it relates to the role of important partners in the peace works of the UN, and of its Security Council. I shall, nevertheless, be brief since Romania associates with the statement to be delivered by the UK representative on behalf of the European Union. The approach of the international community to conflict prevention and settlement of disputes continues to evolve in response to the changing nature of threats to peace and security in today’s world. Over the past years, the United Nations system expanded its capabilities for early detection of potentially dangerous situations, for avoiding escalation of tension and helping parties to manage and eventually settle peacefully their disputes. With all the finest display of the analytical and planning capacities of the Organization, realities on the ground reveal a continuous demand to further identify and put together additional resources. Our debate today is, therefore, more than welcome, as a means of fostering reflection on enhancing the UN’s capacity, knowledge, resources and tools to ensure better outcomes in conflict prevention and peaceful settlement of disputes. Acknowledging and taking stock of the ever growing contribution of civil society in these processes, we should turn more to exploring further avenues and modalities for its deeper involvement.. The added value of NGOs or civil society organizations participation in UN work has been repeatedly emphasized, even in this very room, where we recognized that these components of civil society are highly instrumental in making a difference, in practically all stages of a conflict, and in ensuring that, whatever political solutions emerge to end a conflict, they are durable and sustainable. The involvement of these organizations in conflict prevention is an active one, and it is based on a series of assets such as their first-hand knowledge of the situation on the ground and their unhindered contacts with relevant players. As a result, in certain cases, NGOs and civil society organizations are more effective in sensing emerging crises, thus becoming invaluable resources for a dedicated early warning system for international agencies acting in the field. In other cases, such organizations are able to produce the most accurate assessment of the danger of escalation, in a specific dispute, which is always a crucial element in halting a conflict before it actually breaks up. Moreover, at the difference of international involvement, which is occasional, temporary and fragmented, the continued presence of civil society provides them with opportunities to build long-term relationships and thus creating a sense of trust among parties to a dispute, as well as opening up more reliable and sustainable channels for dialogue. The longevity of their presence and their subsequently enhanced credibility provide civil society organizations with a superior capacity to access and influence actors involved in peaceful settlement of disputes, and allow them to explore innovative ways and means to assist in the process. Finally, since most of today’s conflicts have at their core ethnic or religious grounds, the neutral actors, such as multi-ethnic or inter-faith based civil society organizations, are in a privileged position to overcome sectarian divisions and foster better understanding between religious and ethnic components of society. Mr. President, Given the potential of knowledge and intuitive understanding of civil society actors, emphasis should be placed on promoting an improved and upgraded cooperation between the UN system and civil society organizations, to make activities associated to conflict prevention and peaceful settlement of disputes more sustainable and cost effective. Conflict prevention encompasses modalities such as participation, empowerment and national ownership for shaping up a timely reaction before a dispute reaches the stage of conflict. The International community must help fostering home-grown political processes in which civil society shares with the international community and local governmental actors ownership over prevention processes. Dialogue among civil society actors is to be encouraged and facilitated to allow for healthy debate, nurture transformations, build consensus and translate policy into practice. Particularly in countries where communities are distrustful of each other or where conflict has deeply eroded societal structures, there is a great need to explore all effective models for participatory conflict prevention and dispute settlement, including as appropriate enhanced cooperation between civil society organizations and the UN system, its relevant mechanisms and partners. In this context, I would like to highlight the role of the media. By giving voice and visibility to all people - including and especially the poor, the marginalized and the members of minorities – the media is well placed to help remedy inequalities, corruption, ethnic tensions and the human rights abuses that form the root causes of so many conflicts. Since the worldwide toll of journalists and critical support staff killed covering the story of a conflict or a post-conflict situation has been spiralling, we should also contemplate more thoroughly the need to promote and ensure respect for freedom of expression and opinion, as well as the basic principles of international humanitarian law. Mr. President, We witnessed Friday the adoption of the Outcome document of the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly of September 2005. We commend the recognition of the positive contribution of civil society, including nongovernmental organizations, in the promotion and implementation of development and human rights programs, which ultimately are key factors in the prevention of conflicts, and of the importance of their continued engagement with governments, United Nations and other international organizations. The contribution of civil society to conflict prevention and management is also an important “lessons learned” Chapter from the developing story of enhancing the UN regional organizations relationship. Such understanding of multilateralism is meant to create more appropriate avenues and mechanisms for cooperation towards the better implementation of our common tasks. Thank you. |