STOCKHOLM, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The joint United Nations-World Bank report Pathways for Peace, launched here on Wednesday, showed that violent conflicts around the world lead to heavy financial losses, and pointed out approaches to prevent them.
Apart from causing immense human suffering, violent conflicts also lead to great financial losses, the report shows. It also claims that engaging in conflict-prevention measures could mean saving between 5 and 70 billion U.S. dollars per year.
Pathways for Peace is the first joint study from the UN and the World Bank focusing on conflict prevention. The report pointed out several causes behind worldwide violent conflicts such as denying individuals the possibility to influence a society's direction or their right to access natural resources, or to security and justice.
"Development policies and programs must be a core part of preventive efforts; when risks are high or building up, inclusive solutions through dialogue, adapted macroeconomic policies, institutional reform, and redistributive policies are required," according to the report.
The report stressed that inclusion is key, and preventive action needs to adopt a more people-centered approach that includes mainstreaming citizen engagement. Meanwhile, enhancing the participation of women and youth in decision making, as well as long-term policies to address the aspirations of women and young people, are fundamental to sustaining peace.
