2022 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development

The Secretary-General of International IDEA, Kevin Casas-Zamora, will moderate the high-level panel "Addressing the climate crisis and protecting the future of democracy" on Monday, 23 May, from 16:00 - 17:15 CEST and will participate in Tuesday 24 May session about "Human security in a turbulent world". These panels are two of the twenty sessions prepared for day one of the 2022 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development hosted by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The 2022 Forum will be held in a hybrid format, with online and in-person sessions at Münchenbryggeriet, Stockholm.

Panel "Addressing the climate crisis and protecting the future of democracy"

The high-level panel will reflect on the climate crisis and the protection of the future of democracy as connected agendas. The outcome of the climate crisis will depend on whether democracies can drastically reduce their carbon footprints in the short-to-medium term, as democracies generate over 50 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. The future of democracy as a credible political system may well be riding on its ability to deal with an existential issue for humankind effectively.

Some of the questions addressed during the panel discussion are: 

• What could be done to enhance the ability of democratic systems to respond to the climate crisis?
• How can the assets democracy brings to the table be leveraged to address climate-related security issues?
• How can the shortcomings that often affect its performance (e.g. short-termism, cumbersome decision-making processes, opportunities for policy capture) be mitigated? 

This high-level panel pays particular attention to how democracies can better listen to and absorb proposals by young civil society actors. It will be preceded by a spotlight talk by a youth environmental defender.

Panel "Human security in a turbulent world"

This session intends to spark a global conversation on a New Generation of Human Security, focusing on the new types of approaches that are needed to respond to compounding human security threats and increasing conflicts across the globe. 

The concept of Human Security was first launched by UNDP’s Human Development Report in 1994, firmly placing people at the heart of the security debate. Today, new interconnected challenges from natural and social systems are interacting with structural development challenges and technological progress to create new and overlapping human security threats, spanning country borders and creating insecurity well beyond fragile settings. Findings from the UNDP 2022 Special Report on Human Security show that a majority of the global population feel worried about violence and affected by high levels of insecurity.  The emerging disconnect between development and security shows blind spots in current approaches and call for a new generation of Human Security policies.

Informed by the 2022 Special Report on Human Security, the panel will focus on policy and governance implications of compounding risks and threats that play out against the backdrop of the Anthropocene context. The panel discussion will facilitate dialogue and cross-sharing of innovative ideas on what institutional and policy innovation may be needed to avoid returning to a human development-with-human insecurity trend post Covid-19.

Guiding questions of the discussion:

• What can a New Generation of Human Security contribute to in the current context of globally interconnected threats and stark volatility?
• The report shows that a majority of the global population feel insecure. What do these widespread fears and anxiety mean for global governance, peace, and development?
• How can we promote more solidarity in support of collective action to restore our planet and rebuild trust?

About the 2022 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development

This year's Forum will combine open high-level policy debates with invitation-only sessions, roundtables, workshops, discussions, fireside chats and spotlight presentations on the theme 'From a Human Security Crisis Towards an Environment of Peace'.

The Forum will explore ways to enable an environment of peace in the face of converging crises. Against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, the Forum will discuss long-term global challenges in the midst of the immediate security crisis. What needs to change within the economy, institutions, governments, organizations, companies and societies to sustain the natural environment, biodiversity and human progress while sustaining peace and security according to the goals set out in Agenda 2030?

The interlinkages between the crises suggest that human security can no longer be guaranteed by tweaking the margins of existing solutions. The 2022 Forum will explore ways to address these converging crises. From grassroots and corporate action to global policy decisions, diverse stakeholders and participants will share solutions, good practices and lessons learned.