Development and security (Project Ploughshares organizes discussions on demilitarization).

Because the human security agenda combines the goals of demilitarization and human development, the often separate programs of the peace and development communities would benefit from closer cooperation. These were the key conclusions to emerge from two December roundtable consultations in Toronto and Winnipeg attended by representatives from national and regional development, peace, church, and other organizations at the invitation of Project Ploughshares.

Both consultations heard from Bethuel Kiplagat, a former Kenyan diplomat and church leader who currently serves as a special conciliation envoy in a Ploughshares-sponsored Track II diplomacy project on Sudan. By detailing challenges in the Horn of Africa, Mr. Kiplagat provided the participants with compelling examples of the development and demilitarization linkages described in a roundtable briefing document. Following small group critique and discussion, the interest in using human security analysis to combine the demilitarization and development agendas was generally endorsed by the consultation participants. They offered suggestions to improve the briefing document and to develop common policy and programs to reach out to Canadian public and political bodies.

As documented in Project Ploughshares' annual Armed Conflicts Report, most armed conflicts occur within states as a result of the failure of state structures to meet basic human development needs. While the destructive impact of war on human development is understood, less so is the conflict that arises out of chronic underdevelopment or the cycle that leads from war to impoverishment to war. Project Ploughshares, as part of a program to more fully explore the relationship between underdevelopment and armed conflict, will draw on the roundtable consultations to develop resources aimed at engaging Canadians in these issues. The resources include workshop materials for high school, university, and church settings and interactive materials available on Project Ploughshares' website. For more information contact the Ploughshares office.