Guyana calls for urgent reform of global systems to support int’l peace, security

… tells UN Security Council to tackle root causes of conflict… tells UN Security Council to tackle root causes of conflict

Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd, speaking on behalf of President Dr Irfaan Ali at the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on “Poverty, Underdevelopment, and Conflict” emphasised the need for strengthened strategies to address the immense challenges facing international peace and security.
Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, is presiding over the high-level open debate of the United Nations Security Council on “Poverty, Underdevelopment, and Conflict: Implications for the Maintenance of International Peace and Security” on behalf of His Excellency, President Mohamed Irfaan Ali.

In his address, Minister Todd underscored that international peace and security face significant challenges and emphasised that overcoming them requires a strengthened and evolving approach to conflict resolution.
“We meet today amidst immense challenges to international peace and security. This is manifested in the unprecedented number of conflicts and growing tensions in many parts of the world, where peace is becoming increasingly fragile. As challenges to international peace and security evolve, so too must our approach to resolving and preventing conflict,” he stated.
He added: “This requires us to delve deeper, including by addressing the root causes of conflict. For this reason, Guyana has chosen to focus today’s debate on poverty, underdevelopment, and its implications for international peace and security.”
Todd also stressed that peace and security cannot be divorced from development, noting that poverty and underdevelopment are common features across many of the situations currently before the Security Council.
He highlighted the need for the Council to apply a development lens in executing its mandate—an approach, he noted, that has been acknowledged on several occasions.
As an example, he cited the January 1992 presidential statement issued at the first meeting of the Security Council held at the level of Heads of State and Government. In that statement, the Council affirmed that:
“Peace and prosperity are indivisible, and lasting peace and stability will require effective international cooperation for the eradication of poverty and the promotion of a better life for all in larger freedom.”
Minister Todd stressed that this message remains especially relevant today, as global development challenges continue to deepen.
He further noted that the international community should be concerned that 83 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be met by 2030.
“This is borne out in UNDP’s recent Multidimensional Poverty Index, which highlighted that 1.1 billion people still live in multidimensional poverty, with nearly half a billion residing in countries affected by violent conflict.”
“Moreover, the 2025 World Social Report warned that an escalation of ongoing conflicts—or the emergence of new ones—would lead to further setbacks in the global effort to eradicate poverty and address underdevelopment. The world stands at a critical juncture, where the interlinkages between peace, security, and development have never been more pronounced. This requires collective and decisive action.”
He also emphasised that while reform of international systems has long been a topic of discussion, greater attention must now be given to reforming international financial institutions—not only as a development issue but also as a matter of global peace and security.
“We have been speaking for decades about the need for reform of the international financial institutions. We must also see this reform as important for peace and security. In fact, there is truth in the saying that being poor is expensive since developing countries expend more to access finance. The global financial architecture should be more responsive to the needs of developing countries as a whole, particularly countries transitioning out of conflict. This is critical for de-risking and resilience-building.”
He continued by underscoring a finding from the International Monetary Fund:
“Every $1 spent on conflict prevention in countries with recent violence could save up to $103 in costs. Sound macroeconomic policies and international support for these policies can play key roles in conflict prevention. This should be an element in the Council’s early recovery efforts.”