YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS.  In the past 10 years, the international community had spent $233 billion on humanitarian response, peacekeeping and hosting refugees, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said presenting his report on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace to the General Assembly, Armenpress reports citing the UN website.

The UN chief called on countries to pass to a new approach for the strategy of countering conflicts which envisages steps taken on time on preventing crisis situations.

“If the financial cost is unsustainable, the human cost is unbearable,” he maintained. “Instead of responding to crises, we need to invest far more in prevention. Prevention works, saves lives and is cost-effective.”

Mr. Guterres called the Peacebuilding Fund “a critical tool” to achieve this, urging all able to do so, increase the Fund’s resources to $500 million annually.

English –translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan