Understanding climate risks is crucial to ensuring effective and sustainable conflict prevention. On 11 July, Sweden will hold the first meeting in the UN Security Council since 2011 on climate-related security risks, to better understand how climate change impacts security, and enhance UN responses across the conflict cycle.
The relevance of climate change for peace and security has been a topic at the highest level within the UN on numerous occasions. The UN Security Council first considered climate change in April 2007 at the request of the United Kingdom. Two years later, in June 2009, the UN General Assembly passed resolution A/RES/63/281, proposed by several small island states, which asked the UN Secretary-General to produce a comprehensive report on climate change and its possible security implications. Published in September 2009, the report (A/64/350) highlighted climate change as a ‘threat multiplier’ with the potential to exacerbate existing threats to international peace and security.
In recognition of the growing security concerns posed by climate change, the German Presidency of the Security Council took the initiative to consolidate the topic within the United Nations framework by calling an Open Debate on the impact of climate change on the maintenance of international peace and security in July 2011.
During the last 18 months, the Council has also recognized the adverse effects of climate change and ecological changes on stability in several country-specific and regional contexts, such as the Lake Chad region (S/RES/2349), Somalia (S/RES/2408), and West Africa and the Sahel (S/PRST/2018/3).
Throughout these months, Sweden has been at the forefront of efforts to recognize that climate change and its negative impacts are no longer abstract but a present-day existential threat, with clear implications for peace and security. The meeting on 11 July will be chaired by Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ms. Margot Wallström, with briefings from:
- The UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed;
- Minister of Water Resources of the Republic of Iraq, H.E. Hassan Janabi; and,
- Civil society representative Ms. Hindou Ibrahim, Coordinator of the Indigenous Women and Peoples’ Association of Chad.
It’s official: India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for 2021-22. Previously, the country has adopted a cautionary approach towards climate security. While it may not significantly shift its positions, global realities may trigger more openness, with an eye on multilateralism, rule of law and fairness.
75 years ago, the UN was born. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the UN looks back at several important achievements, but much work on persisting challenges still lies ahead. Increased UN engagement in three areas can make the region more resilient to future challenges.
Water, Peace and Security
Conflicts connected to water-security are often related to climate change issues. However, the link between water-scarcity-related risks and security challenges is not as straightforward, direct and immediate as often perceived. The online workshop ‘Mobilising decision-makers on water scarcity-induced conflict risks: The Water, Peace and Security Partnership’, organised by the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO) and adelphi, looked into this complex relationship.
Insecurity is plaguing north-western Nigeria, due to persistent herder-farmer tensions, rising crime and infiltration by Islamist militants. Federal and state authorities should focus on resolving conflict between agrarian and pastoralist communities, through dialogue and resource-sharing agreements, while also stepping up law enforcement.