UNA Warwick & District: Middle East conflicts, impact on Europe and prospects for world peace

Guest Speaker:  Mr Vijay Mehta 

Chair - Uniting for Peace and founding trustee, Fortune Forum Charity

Mr Mehta is an author of several books and has been mentioned as a long-standing activist for peace by the Sunday Times. His book 'Exporting Europe’s Peace' is being published this year. He is an author of 'The Economics of Killing: How the West Fuels Wars and Poverty in the Developing World' and is a campaigner on Europe for peace.

Vijay's address to the Warwick District UN Association will highlight how the European Union's peace - building institutions which have successfully kept Europe peaceful for 70 years - could be applied to the Middle East and North Africa region conflicts. Can the United Nations, in partnership with the EU, be key players in bringing peace and reconciliation to this war-ravaged region of the world?

The entire region across Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to Afghanistan and Pakistan is ablaze with multiple wars and terrorism, inflicting death and destruction, economic and political chaos, and great suffering for millions. The Shia-Sunni conflict between Iran and Arab states, the involvement of USA, UK, France and Russia in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and other states, and the rise of radical Islamist Jihadism, have made the whole region a volatile background for proxy wars and melting pot for extremism and the rise of ISIL, Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

The wider implications of these conflicts have impacted Europe with the migrant and refugee crisis, racism, and resurgent populist nationalism, resulting in worsening economic and security situation. Many peace processes and negotiations have been tried for decades without any success. 

Please do come along and bring a friend.