Annan Sees Lack of Political Will in Conflict PreventionU.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday complained about a "worrying lack of political will" in prevention of armed conflicts among U.N. member states.Opening a day-long Security Council debate on its role in conflict prevention, Annan said only seven countries have contributed 7.4 million U.S. dollars in three years to a special fund committed to conflict prevention. He appealed to the international community for helping developing countries to address the underlying causes of conflict such as underdevelopment. He proposed that periodic meetings be held at the foreign minister level to discuss thematic or actual prevention issues. Close to 30 countries took the floor at the debate, concerned about the consequences of the conflicts which claimed the lives of five million people in the 1990s. |
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