The event was co-organized by the World Leadership Alliance – Club de Madrid and the European Commission. The former brough into the discussion the political experience and regional knowledge from its Members, Joyce Banda (Malawi), Hamadi Jebali (Tunisia), Mary Robinson (Ireland) and Danilo Turk (Slovenia). The EU was represented by an array of top officials such as Neven Mimica, Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Stefano Manservisi, Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development and Gilles de Kerchove, EU Counter Terrorism Coordinator.
Click here to see the events final agenda
A video sent by the UN Secretary General and on leave Club de Madrid Member, Antonio Guterres, opened the discussions. In his message, the UNSG welcomed the efforts made by the Club de Madrid and the European Commission addressing the clear links between security and development. Guterres highlighted the importance of the Agenda 2030, our “shared plan to give peace ans prosperity for all in a healthy planet and also stressed the fact that “when people feel excluded, frustration can tend to radicalization”.
Read here the UNSG full message to the CdM – European Commission event “Security and Development – A Critical Nexus”. New York, 19 September 2017
“Excellences, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to greet my good friends in the club of Madrid. Thank you for gathering during the opening of the new session of the United Nations general assembly.
As leaders in government and other fields, you have much to contribute to this week’s debate. Do all faces major threats, from the nuclear peril, to global terrorism, to inequality and protective armed conflicts; Megatrends such as climate change, population growth, rapid urbanization, and migration continue to shape our future.
Your discussion focus on a key piece of the picture: the connection between security and development. And there are clear links between falling economies and the fragility of societies. Where progress fails to benefit all, the seeds of instability take root. When people feel excluded, frustration can turn to radicalization, and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development is our shared plan to advance peace and prosperity for all, on a healthy planet. Development is an end in itself, but sustainable and inclusive development is also our best form of preventing violent conflict, and sustaining peace.
Two days from now the United Nations and the World Bank would release a major trends study on conflict prevention. It will show us that prevention works and to underscore that peace is more than a question of security alone, and that security and development go hand in hand.
United Nations looks forward to your support, as we bring the understanding to live and strive to seize the opportunities of our era”.
