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Mr. President,
Pakistan delegation would like to thank you for your participation in today’s open debate and for your important statement. We would also like to express our appreciation for your able stewardship of the Security Council this month.
Mr. President,
In our view, Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding remain the greatest challenges facing the UN today. Peacebuilding is an essential component of conflict management that entails parallel and coordinated efforts on security, political, humanitarian and development fronts.
Time has shown that Peacebuilding remain a complex undertaking, requiring a closer review of ground realities and expectations, as well as extensive consultations. The inputs thus gathered need to be factored in our collective action to forge coherent, efficient and predictable responses to the Peacebuilding needs of the countries emerging from a conflict.
As pointed out by many speakers, the task of Peacebuilding is further complicated by the proven risks of the relapse of the conflict. It is, therefore, important for the international community to pay special attention to stresses and strains on the system, particularly in the immediate aftermath of the conflict - a period marked with both challenges and opportunities.
The challenges of relapse of a conflict can be tackled by a more coordinated assessment and planning for Peacebuilding and Peacekeeping activities; where both processes must be explicitly defined and clearly identified to ensure a coherent approach for a sustainable peace. We must learn to recognize that Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding are specialized disciplines each, yet with cross-cutting themes. These disciplines can work together by exploring pragmatic avenues of partnership through a dynamic interplay between the General Assembly, the Security Council, the ECOSOC, the international financial institutions, the troop contributing countries and the relevant departments of the UN Secretariat.
Early conflict management also offers some unique opportunities. These are the aspirations of the people affected by the conflict, who are determined to seize the opportunity of peace and to turn a new page for a better future. We can build upon these aspirations by giving them full ownership of this process through active engagement in decision making and through investment in national capacity building. At the same time, the international community rightfully expects the local actors to inculcate the required responsibility and values of governance that correspond to the ownership and infuse confidence amongst the partners.
Mr. President,
We understand that there is no silver bullet that could precipitate conditions conducive to implementing Peacebuilding strategies. Such conditions, namely security and political stability, can be attained only if the aim of the collective Peacebuilding endeavour is to win peace and not to earn or impose it. Building such peace would require right prioritization of the targeted areas of development while tapping and harnessing the civilian capacities available locally, before resorting to regional or international expertise. Similarly, some level of understanding to local sensitivities and a degree of flexibility in imposing conditionalities are also essential. Further progress on democracy, gender issues and human rights can only be incremental. Undue emphasis on these issues, especially in the early recovery phase would remain counterproductive.
Peacebuilding efforts rely on predictable and sustained funding and allocation of resources. This would require cooperation and support of the Member States particularly the donors, as well as enhanced collaboration with the International Financial Institutions, who would need to show more operational ingenuity in their assistance programmes. From the point of view of enhancing national ownership and capacity, it will also be important that most of the funding is provided through government channels. In the context of resource allocations, the steady portfolio growth in the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) is indeed gratifying. The efficiency of the Fund will only increase with more transparency.
Mr. President,
Pakistan is committed to the objectives of the UN Peacebuilding. As the largest troop-contributing country, we are cognizant of the importance of this endeavour. We were amongst the pioneers of the concept of a dedicated UN institutional mechanism for Peacebuilding. The UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) is an embodiment of this idea.
The PBC, with its unique composition and specific mandate, holds a pivotal role in the Peacebuilding architecture. We are happy to note that the PBC has made steady progress in the first five years of its existence. For this, the role of the Chair, previous Chairs as well as Chairs of respective Country Specific Configurations is commendable.
As the Member States review the UN Peacebuilding architecture this year, it is important to note that objectives of peacebuilding will be advanced by utilizing the full potential of the PBC, as outlined in GA Resolution 60/180 and also aligning its working with the lessons learnt so far.
For effective responses in the immediate aftermath of conflict, it would make more sense if the PBC is engaged from the outset of the UN’s involvement, particularly where integrated peacekeeping missions are deployed. This would only facilitate more cohesion between the objectives of Peacebuilding and Peacekeeping.
Mr. President,
I would conclude by urging a more sustained focus of the Member States on the Peacebuilding. In this regard, our delegation greatly values your presence in the Council today as well as Japan’s active engagement in Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding processes.
I Thank you.