Building partnerships for peace in South-east Asia

EVEN in today's relatively peaceful world, violence and corruption issues remain rampant - with significant detrimental impacts on the global socio-economic environment. Statistics published last year by the Vision of Humanity revealed that the global costs of violence and bribery amounted respectively to US$14.5 trillion and between US$ 1.5 trillion to US$3 trillion - or an equivalent of 10.6 per cent and 2 per cent of global gross domestic product respectively.

Without the foundations of peace, effective laws and a safe society, sustainable development will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. Indeed, one of the most fundamental pillars of the 17 United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that came into force on Jan 1, 2016 is SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, which aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

Yet, four years later, progress remains scant. South-east Asia, in particular, according to UN findings, regressed on SDG 16 last year; the region experienced an increasing number of deaths from multiple internal conflicts and increasing military expenditures.