UN Secretary General: Conflict prevention must be a priority

Baku. 25 April. REPORT.AZ/ "For a number of important indicators, humanity is not moving forward, but backward: more countries are involved in conflicts than ever in the past three decades."

Report informs citing the press service of UN, UN Secretary General António Guterres, speaking in the General Assembly at a high-level event on peacebuilding and peacekeeping.

Heads of states, governments and ministries gathered to participate in the two-day discussions in New York. The General Assembly noted that this is the largest meeting in the UN after a week of general debate by the General Assembly in September. Politicians, experts, as well as scholars and public figures are among the delegates.

The UN Secretary-General speaking at the meeting noted that a record number of urban residents are dying from firearms; the number of people forced to leave their homes, fleeing from violence, war and persecution, has exceeded all previous indicators, and to achieve peace it is necessary to combat these phenomena. "We need to use an integrated approach [to address issues related to peacebuilding], and conflict prevention must be a priority," the UN Secretary-General concluded.

The program of the two-day event, in addition to the opening ceremony and the high-level segment will hold interactive dialogues on peacebuilding and peacekeeping issues.