On 23 March, SIPRI, the Swedish Government, the Somalian Government and the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), co-organized a side event for the United Nations 2023 Water Conference. The side event was titled ‘Commitments to Accelerate Cooperation on Water, Environment, Climate and Peace’ and was held at the UN Headquarters in New York.
The purpose of the event was to explore how water cooperation can address climate-related security risks, focusing on more effective and relevant approaches. UN Member States, affected by water scarcity, and civil society representatives, discussed barriers to forming commitments to transboundary cooperation for peace and regional stability.
HE Dr Daniel Westlén, Swedish Vice-Minister for Climate and Environment, provided a presentation on the importance of international cooperation and highlighted the value of the SIPRI report Environment of Peace: Security in a New Era of Risk. The side event was built on a High-Level Panel on Climate and Peace organized during the 2022 World Water Week in Stockholm. A similar panel is planned to be held at the 2023 World Water Week later in August to further debate UN Member State’s commitments to cooperation over shared water resources across boundaries and sectors.
A full recording of the event is available here.