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High-level meeting ends with pledges of $29 million to UN Peacebuilding Fund

High-level meeting ends with pledges of $29 million to UN Peacebuilding Fund

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The United Nations efforts to augment peace and stability in countries emerging from conflict has received a boost, with Member States pledging $29 million for the business plan of the UN Peacebuilding Fund.

The pledges were made at the inaugural High-Level stakeholders meeting in New York, which ended yesterday, and provided an opportunity to review the Fund’s achievements and discuss how best to strengthen its role in peacebuilding.

A total of 33 Member States spoke at the meeting, commending the Fund as a fast, relevant and catalytic resource. They also endorsed the importance of the Fund and pledged further support.

The Fund, established by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in October 2006 following a request from the General Assembly and the Security Council is a global fund designed to support post-conflict peacebuilding initiatives. It seeks to support peacebuilding efforts in up to 20 countries in areas such as security sector reform, rule of law, national dialogue, support to women and civil society, and economic revitalization.

As of October 2010, the Fund has extended its reach to 18 countries, working with 15 recipient organisations which are implementing 150 projects. One of those 18 countries is Sierra Leone, which has received almost $38 million from the Fund since March 2007.

For the Fund’s business plan, pledges and receipts this year amount to $53 million from 21 Member States, of which $29 million was newly pledged during the meeting. Other major donors, while expressing continuing support for the Fund, told Thursday’s meeting that they hope to finalise their contributions in coming months.

“Our goal now is to raise, allocate and spend $100 million per year for the next three-year period, from 2011 to 2013. This is an ambitious but feasible target, consistent with the trend line of our first years of experience,” said the Secretary-General, in his remarks to the meeting.

At the time of the Fund’s establishment in 2006, the Security Council and General Assembly requested Member States to provide $250 million for Fund. A total of 46 Member States, together with the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and private donors, exceeded that limit and have contributed nearly $350 million to the Fund, giving it one of the broadest donor bases of any Trust Fund administered by the United Nations.