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Mr. President,
Thank you for arranging today’s meeting.
We thank the Ambassador of Croatia, H.E. Mr .Ranko Vilovic, for his briefing and wish him success as Chairman of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) for 2013.
We also thank the Ambassador of Bangladesh, H.E. Mr. Abdulkalam Abdul Momin, and appreciate his stewardship of the PBC in 2012.
Peacebuilding is an integral part of the toolkit at the disposal of the United Nations, for maintenance of international peace and security. Embedding peacebuilding tasks in early phases of a UN intervention fosters stability and prevents relapse.
Last year, the Security Council's thematic meetings and the PBC’s own work led to coherent, efficient and predictable responses by the UN to peacebuilding in the countries emerging from conflict.
The efforts of the Council and the PBC underscored the importance of following three concepts:
One,prioritize targeted areas of post-conflict peacebuilding to focus on Security Sector Reform, rule of law, local capacity-building and economic revitalization;
Two,forge a coherent and seamless response to conflicts by refining the nexus between peacekeeping and peacebuilding, while drawing on comparative advantage of the various UN entities, with a view to ensuring stable transition, consolidation and sustainable peace;
Three, sharpen the emphasis on development aspects, to move post-conflict peacebuilding towards recovery and socio-economic development.
Mr. President,
By virtue of its unique composition, the PBC is well-positioned to advise the Security Council on policy developments, institutional consolidation and country-specific engagements with respect to post-conflict peacebuilding. For the Security Council, the advisory role of the PBC is pertinent both in the context of specific situations and thematic issues.
There is a need to harness PBC’s role in the work of the Security Council, particularly while conceiving peacebuilding mandates.
This January, the Security Council adopted Resolution 2086, which underscored the centrality of the PBC as an advisory and resource-mobilization body for peace building.
The resolution identifies priority areas of peacebuilding in a multidimensional peacekeeping mandates. It clarifies and reinforces the relationships between peacekeeping and peacebuilding. The resolution helps build stronger partnerships for a collective response to challenges of peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding in a post-conflict situation.
While steering Resolution 2086 in the Council, we were guided by our experience as a founding member of the PBC and a leading troop-contributor to UN peacekeeping.
Mr. President,
Since the creation of the PBC in 2006, we have learnt the value of aligning the strategic framework of peacebuilding with respective national priorities and policies. All peacebuilding endeavours should be under complete national ownership and tailored to local requirements.
Gender perspective is very important in Peacebuilding. Lasting peace would remain elusive without improving the conditions of women and other vulnerable segments of society. For long-term economic recovery and social cohesion, women’s access to health, education and entrepreneurship is essential.
We value the work of Country-specific configurations (CSCs) of the PBC. These configurations are taking important initiatives in resource-mobilization through international financial institutions and non-UN sources of funding.
Success of a CSC rests on its ability to fine-tune its contribution as dynamics of a post-conflict situation evolve. We support regular interaction among respective configurations, the Organization Committee of the PBC and the Security Council, for sharing the lessons learnt and promoting coherence.
Post-conflict peacebuilding should instill confidence and provide tangible benefits to the countries on the agenda.
Peacebuilding assistance must be distinct from classical models of development assistance, both in terms of target sectors and conditions attached to funding. As funding for peacebuilding increasingly taps into international financial institutions, we should remain sensitive to the distinction between peacebuilding and development needs.
Engagement of IFIs with peacebuilding does not diminish the importance of the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). The catalytic role of PBF in attracting other sources of funding makes it an essential component of the UN peacebuilding architecture.
Pakistan has been contributing to the PBF. We agree with the apt characterization of contributions to PBF as “investment in peace”. Member States and the Secretariat need to provide the PBF with resources and operational flexibility to make it more efficient.
Besides finances, peacebuilding initiatives require adequate human resources. The Secretary General’s initiative on ‘Civilian Capacities’ is important in identifying expertise to be tailored to the specific needs for post-conflict peacebuilding. The Civcap process should stand up to inter-governmental scrutiny, avoid duplication of roles and must be compliant with UN rules and procedures.
As a member of the Organization Committee of PBC, we reiterate our strong commitment and support to UN peacebuilding endeavors. We share the hope that our collective peacebuilding efforts will benefit conflict-affected people in different parts of the world.
I thank you Mr. President.