The stage for the panel was set by the Moderator, Marta Martinelli, Non-resident scholar at Carnegie Europe, who pointed to the very large number of conflicts around the world, where one in seven people experience some kind of conflict. The panellists readily agreed that the media do not give enough attention to conflicts outside of Europe, as well as to those conflicts which do not directly involve the geopolitical interests of Great Powers.

Likewise they agreed that less international attention to conflicts prolongs the frozen status of many of them, allowing for individual great powers to exploit the conflicts for their own interests. Another major point of agreement was that Europe and Africa should both be more self reliant in security matters, but also cooperate more and show greater solidarity.

 

 

Udo Jude Ilo, Senior fellow, Center for Civilians in Conflict and Founding Partner, Thoughts and Mace Advisory, focused on the lack of attention given to conflicts in Africa, which are large and impact many people. He shared the view that this could be because conflicts are prioritised which involve the geopolitical interests of great powers, but also that the conflicts in Africa do not get media attention because there is not enough interest in them. He warned that a lack of European attention to African conflicts open the door for Russia and China, and lead to the EU in losing the diplomatic battle, giving the perception that they value African lives less and do not care enough. He stressed that the world is interconnected, and that conflicts in one continent affect the other, meaning that they should cooperate on security issues and conflict prevention. He called for greater solidarity between Europe and Africa and for more cooperation in order to prevent future crises.

 

 

Thomas Mayr-Harting, Former EEAS Managing Director, former Ambassador of the EU and Austria to the UN in New York, focused on the question of frozen conflicts, which in his view have major political and geopolitical consequences. He explained that unresolved conflicts make Euro-Atlantic integration more difficult, which is in fact a goal of certain internal and external political forces. Related to Africa he touched on the question of unresolved borders, which is especially relevant to Africa due to the artificial colonial borders, warning that when borders are put into question this opens Pandora’s box and often leads to war. He connected this to the conflict in Ukraine, which is connected to the principle of territorial integrity, and should therefore be more interesting to countries outside of Europe, especially those with problems with their borders in the global south. At the end he highlight the importance of international organisations who can act as mediators.

 

 

Yoko Hirose, Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University, highlighted the importance of international attention, as when conflicts do not have it they can often become exacerbated, and frozen conflicts can restart, like the one in the southern Caucasus. As for Japan’s role, she stressed that it responds to humanitarian crises with consistency, giving support in conflict resolution and providing aid. She noted that the media in Japan are sadly less interested in complex conflicts, but that the government nonetheless believes that through cooperation with nations and non state actors around the world, it can support international peace.