Statement by Ambassador Sahebzada A. Khan Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan at the Annual Debate of the General Assembly on Report of the Peace-building Commission and the Peace-building Fund (April 16, 2015)

Mr. President,

We commend Ambassador Patriota of Brazil, former Chair, and Ambassador Skoog of Sweden, current Chair of the Peace-building Commission, for their statements and contribution to the work of the Commission. We would also like to place on record our appreciation for the dedicated support provided by the PBSO for our work.

The Report before us provides a useful overview of the work of the Peace-building Commission during its 8th Session. It also recommends an actionable agenda going forward.

Pakistan welcomes the Report’s focus on the three key functions – advocacy and sustaining attention; resource mobilization; and forging coherence.

Mr. President,

Peacebuilding is an enabler of sustainable peace and development in conflict and post-conflict situations. Consequently, rationale for the Peace-building Commission remains valid and strong. The question is whether we have exploited the full potential of this unique body.

One of the primary purposes of undertaking activities related to peace-building is producing tangible results on ground. Improvement in lives of the ordinary people affected by conflict is a time-tested yard stick that we can and do use to evaluate this important work.

Pakistan has seen the results of the work undertaken by the Peace-building Commission first hand – both as a member of the Commission and as one of the top troop contributors to some of the countries where much of this work takes place. Based on our experience, we can safely say that strengthening the peace-building architecture and advancing the peace-building agenda are not only important but imperative.

Peace-building, we feel, works best as a continuum – from conflict prevention to peacekeeping to post-conflict. Peacekeepers, as early peace-builders, help lay the foundations of durable peace. Today, the bulk of peacekeeping resources is deployed in multidimensional missions. Resolution 2086 adopted during Pakistan’s Presidency of the Security Council in January 2013 was a landmark in this regard. It reinforced the strategic attention to peacekeeping and peacebuilding.

Mr. President,

Review of the peace-building architecture, to which we have all collectively contributed and continue to engage, should produce recommendations to further improve our work in the three key functions: advocacy and sustaining attention; resource mobilization; and forging coherence. This work, guided by direct feedback from countries on the agenda of the Commission, would, in essence, be based on lessons learnt.

A major advantage of the Peace-building Commission is its ability to directly engage with the countries concerned in all stages of its work. It works on the basis of national ownership and a committed international partnership. These principles would stand us in good stead through the review.

Mr. President,

We appreciate the Commission’s work in the aftermath of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra-Leone. It was marked by flexibility and adaptability. The Commission was able to quickly focus on the urgent demands of the situation. With improvement of the situation in these countries, we hope that the Commission would be able to revert to its core functions.

Mr. President,

Peace-building is a complex exercise. Work of the PBC has political, development, security and humanitarian dimensions. Resource mobilization is a central part of this endeavour. While international support remains critical, it is also important to mobilize internal resources in parallel. This would make the exercise sustainable.

Report of the Secretary General on the Peace-building Fund notes that in 2014 the Fund has achieved its target. It also focuses on strategies tobetter tap into internal funding mechanisms. We look forward to further development of these strategies.

The importance being given to resource mobilization during the upcoming Annual Session of the PBC, with focused discussions on "Predictable financing for Peace-building: Breaking the silos", is timely and welcome.

Mr. President,

The Peace-building Commission has made significant progress over the years. Considerable challenges, however, still remain. Recent setbacks in some African countries have shown that the risk of relapse remains real and that more needs to be done to address the root causes. We should continue to work towards avoiding this eventuality.

I thank you.