Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Nigerian Foreign Minister Ibrahim Gambari will co-chair a new commission focusing on conflict-affected states, the cyber-economy, and climate change, The Hague Institute for Global Justice and The Stimson Center announced today. The new initiative — the Commission on Global Security, Justice, & Governance — will release a comprehensive set of recommendations in the summer of 2015 in advance of the United Nations’ 70th anniversary summit next September.
The Commission’s Co-Chairs expressed their commitment to this initiative, noting: “The analysis and recommendations of the Commission will challenge world leaders and civil society to grapple in new ways with 21st century threats at the intersection of security and justice, from genocide prevention and the Responsibility to Protect to cross-border economic shocks and population displacement caused by environmental degradation. We are delighted to serve as the Commission’s Co-Chairs.”
Other Commissioners serving are Haifa Al Kaylani (Founder Chairman of The Arab International Women’s Forum); Celso Amorim (Minister of Defense and former Minister of Foreign Relations of Brazil); Lloyd Axworthy (former Foreign Minister of Canada); Igor Ivanov (former Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation); Yoriko Kawaguchi (former Foreign and Environment Minister of Japan); Jane Holl Lute (former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security and U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support); Asha-Rose Migiro (Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs of Tanzania and former UN Deputy Secretary-General); José Antonio Ocampo (former Finance Minister of Colombia and UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs); Shyam Saran (former Foreign Secretary and Chief Climate Change Negotiator of India); Michael Schaefer (BMW Foundation Chairman and former German Ambassador to China); Jozias van Aartsen(former Foreign Minister of The Netherlands and Mayor of The Hague); Erna Witoelar (Founder of the Indonesian Environmental Forum and former Minister of Human Settlements and Regional Development); and Wu Jianmin (Executive Vice Chairman of the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy).
“Finding better mechanisms to prevent and resolve armed conflicts, address the human security impacts of climate change, and prevent future cross-border economic shocks requires bold and innovative approaches to global leadership,” said Abiodun Williams, President of The Hague Institute for Global Justice. “Viewing these challenges through the lens of global security and justice lends greater urgency to governance reform and engages state and non-state actors worldwide in new and meaningful ways.”
The Commission will pay particular attention to reforms designed to prevent and manage violent conflicts, protect the global ecosystem and associated livelihoods, and secure the rights of people and states. The project will hold more than 20 discussions with key international stakeholders around the globe to inform the final recommendations. Leading scholars from around the world have authored 25 background papers in support of the Commission.
“The Commission will tackle some of the biggest challenges facing global governance,” said Ellen Laipson, President of The Stimson Center. “We look forward to their recommendations informing and improving the U.N.’s and other global institutions’ approaches to some of the major challenges of our time.”
The Commission on Global Security, Justice & Governance is a project of The Hague Institute and The Stimson Center.