Migiro spotlights crucial role of Peacebuilding Fund in consolidating stability

Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today stressed the central role played by the multimillion dollar Peacebuilding Fund in helping countries emerging from conflict from sliding back into war.

“The UN’s own experiences show that roughly half of all countries that emerge from war lapse back into violence within five years,” Ms. Migiro told the Peacebuilding Fund Advisory Group, which held its first-ever meeting at UN Headquarters. “The new peacebuilding structures are designed to address this dismal reality, and to more effectively support countries in the transition from war to lasting peace.”

The Fund, which was launched last year, is a multi-year standing trust fund that has an initial funding target of $250 million and so far has collected deposits worth $143.8 million from donor countries.

It has approved grants of more than $46 million to 19 projects in Burundi and Sierra Leone, the two countries currently under consideration by the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), and also $700,000 in emergency funding to support dialogue between opposing forces in divided Côte d’Ivoire.

Ms. Migiro pointed out that the Fund can support nations not being considered by the Commission and also disburse resources in emergency situations.

However, she noted that the Fund alone cannot solve all problems faced by post-conflict nations and ensure peace and stability. “That is why the Fund is intended as a catalyst – to ‘kick-start’ critical peacebuilding interventions – such as the reintegration of demobilized soldiers, or critical security sector reform initiatives. Long-term funding must still come from multilateral and bilateral supporters,” she stressed.