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August-September 2006
Under-Secretary-General urges resources to back "talk" on conflict prevention.
 Stemming armed conflicts before they erupt requires a bigger investment in preventive action – not just lofty rhetoric to that effect, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ibrahim Gambari, told a press briefing at U.N. headquarters on 6 September 2006, the day before a debate in the General Assembly on the Prevention of Armed Conflict. In his remarks, USG Gambari highlighted the findings and recommendations of the recent report of the Secretary-General on Conflict Prevention -- including its call to correct funding shortages that have made it difficult for the Department of Political Affairs to provide strategic leadership in this area to the U.N. system as a whole. "DPA remains vastly understaffed and under funded for carrying out this very critical work in support of the Secretary-General," USG Gambari said. The report called on Member States to consider devoting to conflict prevention a dedicated percentage of what is currently spent on "putting out fires" through peacekeeping operations. The report also encouraged support for DPA efforts to bolster the good offices capabilities of the Secretary-General, through the work of a new Mediation Support Unit being established in the Department. USG Gambari was joined in the briefing by Dr. David Hamburg, former co-chair of the Carnegie Commission for the Prevention of Violent Conflict and current chair of the United Nations Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention. (Click here to view a webcast of the briefing)
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Under-Secretary-General urges focus on Israeli-Palestinian conflict
 Amid intense international focus on the situation in Lebanon, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ibrahim Gambari, urged renewed efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict underlying longstanding tensions throughout the Middle East. Briefing the Security Council on 22 August, USG Gambari said the peace process had reached a "sorry juncture" and cited a hardening of attitudes throughout the region as one of many factors contributing to fading prospects for peace. He urged a renewed international effort, sanctioned and championed by the Security Council, to bring peace and stability to the region as a whole. Middle East peacemaking efforts must not be "lost in the shuffle" as the international community seeks in the short term to stabilize the situation in Lebanon, USG Gambari added in comments to reporters after briefing the Security Council.
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