RSIS Seminar by Dr Noeleen Heyzer,Distinguished Visiting Fellow,RSIS; and Former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (2007-2015)
The NTS Centre hosted a seminar titled “Mediation for Peace: Conflict Prevention and Early Action” on Wednesday, 7th February 2018 delivered by Dr Noeleen Heyzer, Distinguished Visiting Fellow and Former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. Dr Heyzer highlighted the international community’s inability to respond adequately to complex and protracted conflicts, which has led to unbearable human suffering and the largest forced displacement since World War Two. This has led to the new Secretary General of the United Nations being determined to prioritise early action and to leverage effective diplomatic networks to prevent wars, to build fairer, resilient and more inclusive societies. The UN Secretary-General has called for a surge in diplomacy for peace and has emphasized mediation and dialogue at the international, regional and local levels as important tools in this regard. As a member of his recently established High Level Advisory Board on Mediation, Dr Heyzer looked at some of the current challenges to mediation, factors that support mediation and the use of a more comprehensive approach for addressing both the drivers of conflict and the drivers of peace, bringing together the Sustaining Peace Agenda, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda to “leave no one behind”.
