GLOBAL PEACE INDEX

That this House looks forward to the forthcoming publication by the Institute of Economics and Peace of the sixth annual Global Peace Index, which measures ongoing domestic and international conflict, safety and security in society and militarisation in 158 countries; notes with concern the continuous decrease in internal peacefulness in the Middle East and North Africa in 2011; further notes that violence cost the world an estimated 5.2 trillion in 2011; welcomes the identification in the Index of areas across which governments and other stakeholders can take action which builds social resilience and enables countries better to withstand severe shocks; and urges the Government to consider this peace dividend when developing domestic and external policy.