Dear Editor,
The United Nations has warned that some twenty million people face the risk of starvation and possible death in countries such as Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria. This, according to the United Nations, is the worst humanitarian crisis since 1945 and resulted mainly from conflicts and political instability.
This is indeed a sad situation. UNICEF estimates that some 1.5 million children face imminent death from preventable causes in the four countries identified above. These statistics are most disturbing, especially when seen against the background of the billions of dollars that are spent on the military by the bigger powers. The United States has only recently increased military spending by nine per cent which has the potential to result in another arms race between the USA and other rival nations such as China and Russia.
The United Nations needs as a matter of grave urgency to convene a peace summit involving all global leaders aimed at diffusing global tension and conflicts which have claimed millions of lives including those of women and children.
There is a dialectical relationship between peace and development. There can be no development without peace and no peace without development as the situation in the Middle East and some countries in Africa have demonstrated. The resources that are spent on conflicts and war could be better spent on human development. It is a shame on humanity as a whole that so many people die from poverty, hunger and preventable diseases when billions are spent on weapons of mass destruction.
Our leaders need to wake up to the reality of the man-made humanitarian crisis facing a growing number of countries which could be averted if the interests of humanity are placed before profits for the military industrial complex and power hungry politicians who seem prepared to sacrifice millions of people in order to satisfy their selfish ends.
What is badly needed is an architecture of peace and reconciliation at a regional and global level to serve as a buffer against those who may wish to subvert the democratic will of the people by resorting to violence and terror.
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally
