"The dreadful human costs in Gaza should not blind us to the global human cost of this unresolved conflict" says LI President
Speaking in the House of Lords on 21 January, at the official launch of a new report “The Cost of Conflict in the Middle East”, LI President, Lord Alderdice, described this latest endeavour with Sundeep Waslekar, President of the Strategic Foresight Group.
“Our purpose is not to suggest that by producing a report easy solutions will follow. However throughout our endeavours for peace in this region we have become very aware of a certain ignorance, indifference and resigned despair that people have towards the Middle East — simply assuming that a far-away conflict did not affect their day to day lives. The dreadful human costs we have seen mount up in Gaza in recent days should not blind us to the global human cost of this unresolved conflict. This conflict affects the whole world not only in economic terms, but also in profound political, social, environmental, cultural, financial and very real human terms. For the first time in sixty years this report sets out the costs comprehensively, dispassionately and objectively. I have no doubt that people will be shocked by the scale of what they see in facts and figures. It is my hope that it will jolt decision-makers into action.”
A renowned mediator and facilitator of the Good Friday Peace Agreement in Northern Ireland, Lord Alderdice further expanded on how to build lasting peace: “Trust is an outcome, not a prerequisite to building a real and lasting peace. It is self-evidently impossible to trust someone who until quite recently was launching shells onto your houses and towns. But through small steps and setting up mechanisms for moving forward that peace can come about. When Europeans first began to come together in the aftermath of World War II, they focussed on coal and steel, not because they were the cause of all the problems, but because those traditional enemies - Germany and France - had real common social and economic interests which were shared and transnational. These two commonalities eventually became the instrument which was used to bring about the greatest supranational institutions the world has ever known and has guaranteed peace in a continent that had been mired in war for centuries. Water, energy and the environment could provide similar common interests in the Middle East. What this report does is show how much all of us are losing thorough the conflict and how much we stand to gain by its resolution.”
The report was compiled by pains-taking research and by speaking to stakeholders from many of the different communities in the Middle East and from other affected states. Summaries and availability can be accessed on-line at www.strategicforesight.com