New York

23 June 2016

Note to Correspondents: Statement adopted by the UN Peacebuilding Commission at its 3rd annual session

The Peacebuilding Commission agreed to take steps to further strengthen its synergies with the General Assembly, Security Council and ECOSOC to foster coherence in the way the UN supports transitions of its involvement in countries moving from violent conflict to sustainable peace, the PBC announced following its 2016 Annual Session in New York on 23 June.
The Commission said that this will be particularly important in connection to the Security Council’s deliberations on the formation, review, drawdown and withdrawal of peacekeeping operations and special political missions.
The Annual Session aimed to further strengthen the Commission as the key intergovernmental advisory organ on sustaining peace and peacebuilding at the United Nations, including on the development of policies. The focus of the Annual Session was on “Transitions as a challenge to consolidating peace and security: The role of the PBC in diplomacy and political accompaniment.”
The Annual Session concluded the following:
Countries in transition from violent conflict to sustainable peace face evolving challenges, which have implications for the configuration of the United Nations’ engagement. These transitions range from United Nations’ own transition from peacemaking and mediation missions to peacekeeping operations (PKOs) or to special political missions (SPMs); from peacekeeping operations to United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs).
The drawdown of peacekeeping missions, in particular, can lead to dramatically reduced support of the international community, including in the areas of political accompaniment, mediation, security and justice. This puts pressure on national capacities, particularly in countries where institutions are still weak and require the support of the international community to sustain peace and strengthen national capacities.
The international community has a crucial role in supporting national authorities achieve nationally identified priorities, in sustaining attention, and in providing political, technical and financial support. Furthermore, and as recognized by the resolutions on sustaining peace adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council on 27 April 2016 (A/RES/70/262 and S/RES/2282 (2016)), it is critical to ensure that such support is provided in a comprehensive manner towards sustaining peace during all stages of conflict.
Members of the Peacebuilding Commission recommit to contributing constructively in this process by providing a timely policy forum for all relevant stakeholders, including Member States, regional organizations, international financial institutions and civil society organizations, to formulate specific strategic and targeted advice to the Security Council, including to assist with longer-term perspective required for sustaining peace, in order to support countries undergoing transitions, including providing political, technical and financial support. Furthermore, countries undergoing transition can benefit from the work of the Commission in view of its role of fostering coherence among the three pillars of the United Nations (peace and security, development and human rights).