Humanitarian action can help break violent cycle - Annan

There were no more acute examples of the vicious circle between conflict generating humanitarian crises, and such crises then perpetuating instability, than the DRC and Angola, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated on Thursday. With the DRC crisis having its roots in the broader humanitarian situation in the Great Lakes Region, it was clear that humanitarian action could not only serve “to protect the victims of conflict from further loss and suffering” but also to enhance peace and security, Annan said in an address to the Security Council. Weak support for humanitarian action could result in “failure to restore livelihoods or rebuild societies” but positive action could enhance stability, restore respect for human rights and lay the foundation for reconciliation, he added.

The need for effective humanitarian assistance had never been greater, yet it alone was no substitute for political action and “integrating humanitarian and political-military elements of UN peace operations” was one of the major challenges facing humanitarian action, Annan said. Far too many peace agreements collapsed because they were not implemented, or signatories relapsed into conflict after initial implementation - “in part because there are not enough resources to foster essential post-conflict recovery and stability” - and the Security Council must find ways to avoid “this tragic and wasteful pattern of events,” he added. [see the UN Secretary-General’s Security Council speech at http://www.un.org/News/]