New York: Europe and the Arabs
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed the need to work without hesitation to seek and sustain peace. He warned of the spread of conflicts, divisions and the "predicament" facing the world. According to the UN News Bulletin, a copy of which we received this Friday morning,
In his speech before the nineteenth session of the Organizational Committee of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission yesterday, Thursday, Guterres stressed that the peacebuilding architecture constitutes essential tools to help translate aspirations into tangible reality. This architecture consists of the Commission, the Peacebuilding Support Office and the Peacebuilding Fund, and works in cooperation with United Nations country teams.
The UN Secretary-General warned that "our world is in trouble. We are witnessing the spread of conflicts and the widening of geopolitical divisions. We are facing a worsening climate crisis and a widening gap in inequality." He added that all this and more "makes the work of the Peacebuilding Commission more important than ever."
The Peacebuilding Commission is an intergovernmental advisory body that supports peace efforts in countries affected by conflicts. The Commission is composed of 31 Member States elected by the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. Its membership includes the countries that make the largest financial contributions to the United Nations system and the countries that contribute the largest troops to it.
The Charter for the Future and the Peacebuilding Commission
The Secretary-General commended the work of the Commission and its vital advisory role to the Security Council, and its important role in convening meetings within and outside the United Nations, and engaging civil society, the private sector, international and regional organizations and financial institutions.
“We now have the opportunity to strengthen and expand this work,” Guterres said, referring to the Charter for the Future, which charts a course for reforming international cooperation, including by prioritizing prevention, mediation and peacebuilding, and calls for strengthening the Peacebuilding Commission.
He touched on his recent report on peacebuilding and sustaining peace, which offers concrete suggestions on turning points where the Commission can help catalyze national efforts.
He encouraged the Commission to draw on its rich experience to guide deliberations in the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council, with actionable recommendations to strengthen the peacebuilding architecture and transform people’s lives.
The UN Secretary-General spoke about financing, noting that the General Assembly’s approval of assessed contributions to the Peacebuilding Fund was an important step, “but still far from the $500 million a year needed.” Guterres expressed confidence that the review of the peacebuilding architecture would further examine how to ensure predictability, adequacy and sustainability of resources for the Fund, including by exploring innovative financing mechanisms, public-private partnerships and blended financing models.