13 March 2013: The Global Thematic Consultation on Conflict, Violence and Disaster in the Post-2015 Development Agenda has culminated with final, high-level meeting, which recognized that conflict, violence and disasters mutually reinforce each other, and recommended addressing them simultaneously within the post-2015 agenda.

The meeting took place in Helsinki, Finland, on 13 March 2013, and was organized by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), the UN International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), with support from the Government of Finland.

Rebeca Grynspan, UNDP Associate Administrator, presented the Synthesis Report of the Conflict, Violence and Disaster Consultation, which includes the outcomes of regional consultations in Indonesia, Liberia and Panama between October 2013 and February 2013. She noted that participants had stressed the need for a multidimensional framework that explicitly calls for access to justice, inclusive institutions, economic opportunities, equity, the mainstreaming of human rights and women’s empowerment, and combating all forms of violence against women.

Participants, including 120 leaders from civil society, government, the private sector, UN agencies and international organizations, met in three interactive panel discussions to review the findings of the synthesis report and make recommendations on how to incorporate issues of conflict, security and disaster in the post-2015 framework. The panel on conflict and fragility and the post-2015 agenda underscored the relationship among violence, conflicts and development. The panel on violence, security and the post-2015 development agenda noted the difficulty of involving conflict-affected countries in the post-2015 process, and suggested re-framing the fourth dimension of sustainable development as peace, justice and security. The panel on disasters and the post-2015 agenda considered the role of disaster risk reduction (DRR) for sustainable development.

Summarizing the final meeting, Heidi Hautala, Minister for International Development, Finland, highlighted convergence on a number of issues, including that: the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have achieved considerable success, but the post-2015 agenda should address the causes and consequences of conflict, violence and disasters; conflict, violence and disaster hit the most vulnerable the hardest and undo progress towards the MDGs; conflict, violence and disasters destroy lives and livelihoods; and development that is insensitive to conflict, violence and disaster can fuel the factors that cause conflict, violence and disaster.

The outcomes of the meeting will inform forthcoming reports by the UN Secretary-General and the High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP). [IISD RS Meeting Coverage] [UNICEF Press Release] [UNISDR Story] [Webcast]