Spain’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs mentioned KAICIID as a key tool in maintaining international peace and security at the UN Security Council

On 19 January 2015, at the ‘Inclusive development for the maintenance of international peace and security’ Security council meeting, Spain’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Ignacio Ybanez, stated that the “King Abdullah International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) is a forum to play a role in favor of harmony, tolerance and interfaith dialogue. Spain will make all the efforts needed to make this center deploy its great potential for these purposes.” KAICIID’s role as a means of rebuilding harmony and tolerance addresses the UN Secretary General’s concern of social inclusion, which he mentioned when he opened the meeting, where he said that that “post-conflict societies must prioritize social, economic and political inclusion if they are to have any hope of rebuilding trust between communities."

The day-long meeting had nearly 80 speakers and was chaired by President Michelle Bachelet Jeria of Chile. Chile is currently holding the Security Council presidency for the month of January.  President Bachelet emphasized the role that women and youth have to play in the important task of promoting inclusive development. The conclusions drawn from this meeting were that the UN should approach conflict prevention and enabling sustainable peace through inclusive development, which includes such fora KAICIID, where inclusion of all faiths through dialogue to promote social cohesion and understanding between people is a top priority.

Spain emphasized preventative diplomacy as a tool in international relations, especially at the multilateral level on their twitter account. Spain’s cooperation with the Alliance of Civilizations and with KAICIID are two non-combative means Spain uses to promote dialogue and prevent violence.  The UN coverage on the meeting noted that Spain has been a key player in United Nations mediation and dialogue between cultures. The meeting coverage also noted that inclusiveness is an important aspect to addressing the root causes of a conflict, as without these measures, a ceasefire will not be enough to end the violence.

For more information on this meeting, please visit the UN’s website.