Ms. Hilde F. Johnson, Minister of International Development, Norway
Norway - Japan Joint Seminar:
Peace-building and Development Co-operation
Oslo, 25 September 2003

Opening remarks on Peace-building and Development Co-operation

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Mr. Akashi,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to open this joint seminar between Norway and Japan on peace-building and development co-operation. We are fortunate to have with us today two distinguished speakers from Japan, Mr. Yasushi Akashi and Professor Yozo Yokota. Let me offer you a warm welcome to Norway, and thank you for sharing with us today your views on this important topic.

I would also like to welcome the Norwegian speakers at this seminar - Olav Kjørven, Stein Tønnesson, Astri Suhrke and Jon Westborg – and all of you who have taken the time to participate in a discussion of cooperation between Norway and Japan.

I have been told that the first known contact between Norway and Japan happened in the year 1639, when a Norwegian blacksmith sailed to Japan on a Dutch ship. As the story goes, this blacksmith became a technical expert serving in the military forces of the Shogun. Although it is doubtful that this in any way benefited peace-building, it is a fascinating story and worth keeping in mind - maybe as the first step in the cooperation between our two countries...

Today the quest for peace is a key element in the relations between Norway and Japan. Japan is a major player in the international dialogue on development policy, and our two countries have cooperated extensively in countries like Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Burma. Your recently revised ODA Charter points to objectives and priorities very much in line with what my government is promoting. I have noted with particular interest the Charter’s emphasis on poverty reduction and peace building. These are, in my opinion, the two pillars on which our development efforts must rest.

Eugene O’Neill called poverty

"The most deadly and prevalent of all diseases."

1.2 billion people live on less than a dollar a day, and the same number of people has no access to safe drinking water. We must do something about this - together - today.

Norway has joined the rest of the international community in a commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a road map for halving poverty by the year 2015.

World leaders have promised that they will combat poverty through co-operation, through financial assistance, and through policies that are coherent, consistent and compassionate. They have agreed on this, and they have set concrete goals. This is a major breakthrough in international politics.

To reach the MDGs, we need to focus on four fronts:

The international community must improve the international framework conditions for trade, investment and debt, national governments in poor countries must focus on good governance and accountability, official development assistance must be increased and improved and the private sector and civil society must become active partners in poverty alleviation.

I believe the goals can be reached, but there are serious hurdles on the way. One is the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Another one is corruption. And the third is violent conflict, the topic of today’s seminar.

Without peace and stability our fight against poverty is doomed to fail.

The recently published World Bank report on "Breaking the Conflict Trap" states that "war retards development, but conversely, development retards war........Where development succeeds, countries become progressively safer from violent conflict, making subsequent development easier. Where development fails, countries are at high risk of becoming caught in a conflict trap in which war wrecks the economy and increases the risk of future war."

Sustainable development promotes peace and sustainable peace promotes development. We have to work on both: peace for development, and development for peace.

Poverty and the struggle over natural resources are the main causes of violent conflict. Poor countries are by far the most vulnerable to civil strife and large scale violence. This is particularly true in countries that depend on mineral resources such as oil, diamonds and gold. Ethnicity and religion are less important in triggering conflicts than is commonly believed.

Violent conflicts have devastating consequences nationally, regionally and internationally. Conflicts cause displacement, high mortality rates, poverty and trauma, and divert resources away from development. Infrastructure is destroyed, institutions are demolished, investments are lost. Economies weaken as leaders invest in skills and equipment that are useful only for fighting. The legacy of these leaders is devastation - certainly not development.

Regionally and globally, conflicts create large numbers of refugees, give new opportunities to those involved in the business of human smuggling and drug trade, open up for illegal exploitation of natural resources, and promote trade in arms, money laundering, corruption and the spread of disease.

The spillover effect from civil war is what gives the international community the moral right to intervene. We cannot leave the parties to fight it out between themselves - we have a duty to intervene and assist in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peace-building.

The international community has frequently demonstrated its capacity to mount massive humanitarian relief operations. These are commendable expressions of solidarity. But they do not address the underlying causes of conflict. And they can divert resources away from long-term sustainable development programmes.

In this area it is worth remembering the old adage about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. If we, the international community, can identify potential conflict situations and intervene before we have a full-scale conflict on our hands, the gains will be much greater than if we just try to apply the band-aid afterwards. This is peace building.

The international community can and should also assist in peace making processes. Norway has been a facilitator in a number of such processes, and I firmly believe it is our responsibility to continue to look for opportunities where we can be of use. I can think of no more satisfying work in our line of business than being able to help pave the way for peace.

But the absence of war does not necessarily equal peace. Getting the parties to the negotiating table is only the first step. Then comes the harder part - consolidation of peace in post conflict situations. This involves promoting social and economic development as well as addressing political and security issues. Here, the international community can help build the necessary competence, capacity, institutions and processes for non-violent conflict resolution. State secretary Olav Kjørven will talk more about this in his address.

Clearly – and unfortunately – we must direct considerable energy, ingenuity and resources towards promoting sustainable and lasting peace. Development cooperation can contribute in many ways: By preventing conflicts, supporting peace negotiations, and alleviating problems in post-conflict situations. Our aim must be to promote sustainable and lasting peace and eliminate the number one threat to sustainable development.

It is a fact that too often too much assistance comes in too fast in post-conflict situations. This is followed by a rapid decline in funds and a vacuum before long-term assistance is initiated. This vacuum is too often filled with violence. Assistance is often negligible during the most critical period. Insufficient and inappropriate follow-up in post conflict situations increase the likelihood that violence will recur. In fact, this happens in approximately 50 percent of the cases.

This is a problem that can be fixed. Norway wants to be a competent and reliable partner: impatient for results, but patient during the time it takes to reach a sustainable peace. We can act quickly and flexibly, but we maintain a long-term perspective.

It is also important to break down the invisible divisions between foreign and development policy. Foreign policy and development cooperation must go hand in hand if we genuinely want to promote sustainable and lasting peace.

We will continue our peace-building efforts in a number of countries, and welcome a closer cooperation with the government of Japan. Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are two areas where we are working together on building a solid and lasting peace. Other challenges remain: In the Sudan, in Ethiopia and Eritrea, in the Middle East and Iraq. I think we agree on the policies we want to pursue - now we must translate them into action.

I wish you every success with the seminar and look forward to expanding the unique and fruitful co-operation on peace-building and development co-operation between Japan and Norway. We have much to offer each other - and we have much to offer the world.

Thank you.