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Peacebuilding efforts producing results on the ground, Security Council told

Peacebuilding efforts producing results on the ground, Security Council told

Yukio Takasu, Chairperson of the Peacebuilding Commission
The United Nations peacebuilding arm is making steady progress and has produced concrete results in the four post-conflict countries placed under its direction in the two years since its work started, the Security Council was told in a briefing today.

The United Nations peacebuilding arm is making steady progress and has produced concrete results in the four post-conflict countries placed under its direction in the two years since its work started, the Security Council was told in a briefing today.

In the wake of the 2005 World Summit, the UN set up the 31-member Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), which currently has four countries – Burundi, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau and Central African Republic (CAR) – on its agenda.

Together with the Peacebuilding Fund and Peacebuilding Support Office, the Commission is tasked with marshalling resources from around the world and providing strategic advice to countries emerging from conflict, helping them to avoid the slide back into war and chaos.

Nearly $270 million has been contributed to the Peacebuilding Fund, which is supporting projects in the four countries on the Commission’s agenda as well as 37 schemes in nine post-conflict nations, surpassing its $250 million funding target.

“Maintaining peace and security is an essential prerequisite for successful post-conflict peacebuilding efforts,” Ambassador Yukio Takasu, Chairperson of the Peacebuilding Commission, told the Security Council.

“It’s equally true that durable peace and a sustainable State will never be achieved without good governance, rule of law, respect for human rights, and economic recovery and development,” he added.

Mr. Takasu noted that the Commission was a unique UN organ that addresses all that brings together all stakeholders, formulates integrated strategy, monitors its implementation, garners support and mobilizes resources.

Among the body’s achievements in the last two years, Mr. Takasu highlighted the integrated strategy for building an effective peace in the post-conflict States adopted for Burundi and Sierra Leone, which are now being implemented, as well as the strategy for Guinea-Bissau which was adopted recently. He also spotlighted the field mission that will visit the CAR shortly to prepare the country’s strategy.

He also pointed out that serious efforts have been made to enhance the partnerships with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) in an effort to provide a fully integrated and comprehensive peacebuilding framework for these countries.

Looking to the next year, Mr. Takasu stressed that the Commission needed to produce more tangible results on the ground that would bring about visible benefits and directly impact the people in the countries under consideration.

“To consolidate peace it is essential that people can see and experience signs of the arrival of peace after a ceasefire through positive changes in their livelihoods. We need to elicit support from all stakeholders and mobilize resources not only from traditional partners but also by bringing in new and non-traditional partners.”

Areas such as youth employment, rural private sector, justice and peace need to be addressed so that the countries under the Commission’s consideration can successfully surface from their individual conflicts.

“The PBC must consolidate its achievements and help mobilize resources so it can create a real difference on the ground and meet high expectations.”