She added that apart from the heavy cost in human and material terms, conflicts impede production, damage infrastructure, prevent the reliable delivery of social services and disrupt the growth of societies.
“Due to conflicts in the continent, poverty continues to be perpetuated with a negative impact on our collective strive for sustainable peace and security. The socio-economic conditions and the governance and security situation in the Sahel continue to alarm us. A more urgent and holistic response to the problems of the Sahel are currently needed. Without a stable Sahel the West African region will lag behind in its development aspirations.”
In Africa, she continued that there is undisputed recognition of strong interlinkages between peace and development with studies confirming that armed conflicts remain a major obstacle to development in the continent.
VP Touray reiterated that her delegation called on the international community to come together and act coherently to address the root causes of conflicts and recovery in Africa by adopting new approaches and narratives that suit the demands of our time.
“The international community should intensify its collective efforts to accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the goals and targets of Agenda 2063, including silencing the guns in Africa. We must equally strengthen the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in formulating joint responses to existing and emerging threats to peace, security and development in the continent.”
She further called on the United Nations and the rest of the international community to help in building resilience and sustainability in Africa by promoting global engagement and actions around issues of health, education, Covid-19 recovery, vaccine accessibility, democracy, social protection, human capital development with a view to consolidating regional integration.
Dr. Touray said Africa must continue to accelerate structural transformation while promoting industrialisation in the continent.
“Our partners should adopt a conflict-sensitive lens to development programming in Africa, including approaches that would prioritise prevention, stabilisation, transformation and sustainability to help African countries in their post-pandemic recovery and long-term development.”
