Guidelines of the Programme.

1. The present Programme of Work is prepared pursuant to recommendation of the annex to the annual report of the Peacebuilding Commission, which asks the Commission to adopt an annual workplan based on the forward-looking agenda contained in the Commission’s annual report and reflecting the Commission’s country-specific, regional and thematic priorities. It aims to ensure effective implementation of the Commission’s mandate as articulated in A/RES/60/180 and S/RES/1645 (2005); A/RES/70/262 and S/RES/2282(2016); as well as A/RES/75/201 and S/RES/2558 (2020). It also follows the first ambassadorial level formal meeting of the 18^th session of the Commission held on 2 February 2024, where the representatives of the Commission and countries and regions considered by the Commission, presented their priorities for 2024.
2. In 2024, the Commission will build on good practices and lessons learned in carrying forward its activities. Its work will be guided primarily by the mandate as reflected in the twin resolutions and taking into account feedback and requests from the countries and regions who seek the Commission’s support. It will also consider outcomes of the discussions of the members of the Commission of the relevant recommendations contained in the Secretary-General’s report on Our Common Agenda, and the Secretary-General's Policy Brief on "A New Agenda for Peace" as they pertain to the requests received from countries and regions considered by the Commission.
3. Recognizing that peacebuilding is an inherently political process aimed at preventing the outbreak, escalation, recurrence or continuation of conflict, and further recognizing that peacebuilding encompasses a wide range of political, development, and human rights programmes and mechanisms,  the Commission will adopt a demand-driven approach, which in accordance with its mandate and based upon national ownership, requires continuing consultations with the countries and regions who consider sharing their peacebuilding experiences.
4. The Commission will also continue to explore opportunities to strengthening its visibility and showcasing its work as appropriate in accordance with its mandate including in the context of discussions related to the Secretary-General’s Policy Brief on “A New Agenda for Peace”, the Summit of the Future and the Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture in 2025.
5. To further reinforce its work, the Commission will hold working methods meetings, as outlined in the Annex of its annual report, to consider action areas whose implementation can contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of the Commission.

Focus on broadening geographical scope of work.

6. Consultations are ongoing for continuation of engagements on at least 15 different countries in 2024, including Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Norway, Papua New Guinea, , Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Timor-Leste. The focus will range from mobilizing political, financial and technical support for context-specific and nationally owned peacebuilding priorities and projects, to sharing  experiences and lessons learned from peacebuilding trajectories.  Consultations are also ongoing in follow-up to past and new commitments in support of regional peacebuilding activities, including in the Great Lakes region, Gulf of Guinea, Lake Chad Basin, and the Sahel.

All the above and other possible engagements will take into account and contribute to the following principles and commitments as defined in the twin resolutions pertaining to the mandate of the PBC: 

Focus on national ownership and inclusivity.

7. In pursuing country, regional and cross-cutting engagements in accordance with its mandate and based upon national ownership, the Commission will place strong emphasis on delivering results and meeting the needs of the countries who seek its support, with continuous focus on results and impact. Peacebuilding challenges risk reversing gains that the Commission has been supporting in countries and regions under its consideration. The situation calls for recalibrated action and more effective support to peacebuilding and sustaining peace in countries and regions who engage with the Commission. Guided by action-oriented analysis, the Commission will ensure active engagement of all its members in support of countries under its consideration.
8. The Commission will continue to support inclusive approaches in countries and regions under its consideration in support of national peacebuilding initiatives and peace processes at the request of concerned governments and in line with national ownership, including by offering its platform to civil society and private sector representatives and by empowering women and youth peacebuilders from different contexts to share their experiences. It will also build cooperative relationships with academic and scientific communities to receive research, data and information relevant to its mandate.
9. The Commission will continue to support the preparation of national strategies for conflict prevention and peacebuilding and their implementation, both in line with national ownership.

Attention to United Nations coherence and follow up.

10. The Commission will continue to promote integrated, strategic and coherent approaches to peacebuilding in countries and regions under its consideration, noting that peace and security, development and human rights are closely interlinked and mutually reinforcing. The Commission, in line with its mandate, will continue to bring all relevant parts of the United Nations system together, including agencies, funds and programmes, with a focus on its representatives in the field, who are leading United Nations efforts to support national peacebuilding priorities, address conflict risks and enhance the capacity of national institutions. They will be invited to provide follow up and assess impact on the ground of the recommendations and actions points provided by the Commission.
11. The Commission will remain seized of the discussions and recommendations pertaining to resolutions 76/305 and 78/257, and continue to place emphasis on synergy with the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) and will continue to engage on a regular basis with the Peacebuilding Support Office within the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA/PBSO), the PBF Advisory Group and the countries that receive PBF support to ensure that it is informed of the activities of the Fund.

12. The Commission will leverage positive footprints of peacekeepers, where the peacekeeping missions exist, and support the implementation of the peacebuilding dimensions of relevant peacekeeping operations, including during their transition and after their withdrawal, as appropriate.

13. The Commission will engage on preparations and processes for the 2025 review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture.

Effective partnerships.

14. In consultation with countries and regions under its consideration, the Commission will pursue more effective partnerships with regional and subregional organizations with a focus on coherent support to conflict-affected countries and regions, based on shared analysis. In doing so, it will also build on suggestions made during past consultative meetings with the African Union Peace and Security Council. The Commission will organize the annual meeting with the African Union Peace and Security Council and promote cooperation with other regional and sub-regional organizations, as appropriate. The Commission will also consider formalizing the participation of the African Union in its meetings, in line with that of alike institutions.
15. By fostering closer cooperation with all relevant state, local, regional and global organizations, the Commission should ensure a more efficient and coherent approach to peacebuilding. The Commission will also seek to foster closer partnerships with civil society organizations from countries and regions under its consideration, including those at the grassroots level in order to support their participation in peacebuilding and in meetings of the Commission including their role in the implementation of the targets of the PBC Gender Strategy Action Plan and Strategic Action Plan on Youth and Peacebuilding.
16. The Commission will continue to pursue opportunities for stronger engagement with international financial institutions (IFIs), and regional financial institutions including multilateral development banks, to address the peacebuilding needs of countries and regions under its consideration. This effort should be further streamlined by the Commission’s visits to their headquarters and regular engagement of IFIs and regional financial institutions, including multilateral development banks, in the Commission’s discussions. The Commission will continue to support a strengthened UN-World Bank partnership, including building on successful initiatives supported by the UN, the UN Humanitarian-Development-Peacebuilding and Partnership facility (UN-IFI Partnership Facility). The Commission will also consider stronger engagement with the private sector as appropriate, to support peacebuilding initiatives.
17. The Commission will offer its platform for the promotion of South-South and Triangular cooperation in support of peacebuilding and sustaining peace.

Advocacy for peacebuilding financing.

18. The Commission will continue to advocate for adequate, predictable and sustained financing for peacebuilding through voluntary, innovative and assessed contributions. The Commission will also continue to implement General Assembly resolutions 76/305 and 78/257.
19. The Commission will also explore ways to encourage flexible funding for local peacebuilding organizations, including those led by women and youth and continue developing approaches to foster innovative financing for peacebuilding. It recognizes the need to enhance financing to ensure the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and involvement of youth in peacebuilding. Finally, the work of the Commission would benefit from improved awareness of the PBF investments.

Enhanced advisory, bridging and convening role.

20. The Commission will continue to improve the quality and timeliness of its submissions and briefings to principal organs and relevant United Nations entities and peacebuilding fora, providing them with broad peacebuilding perspectives, anchored in substantive and diverse engagements, including to the General Assembly, Security Council and ECOSOC as mandated. The appointment of informal coordinators will facilitate this effort, including by better aligning the Commission’s programme of work to those of the General Assembly and the Security Council as appropriate, and strengthening the Commission’s bridging role with ECOSOC. In relation to its bridging role, the Commission will continue to foster greater coherence in the United Nations system, including between the General Assembly, the Security Council and ECOSOC, and within and across the UN Secretariat, UN peacekeeping operations, special political missions and UN agencies, funds, and programmes. While pursuing this goal, the Commission should also explore innovative formats of work which would enable more outreach and interaction, ensuring that its working methods are most effective, sharing of good practices whilst providing timely advice to the Security Council, upon its request ahead of the renewal or expiration of the missions’ mandates.
21. In resolution A/RES/75/327 the General Assembly acknowledged the importance of the Commission’s advice on “causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa”. As encouraged in the said resolution the Commission will maintain this practice.
22. The Commission will convene informal interactive dialogues with the Security Council, and will submit advice at its request, as appropriate, for consideration. The Commission will  also take action in response to S/RES/2594 (2021) in which the Security Council strongly encourages the Commission to facilitate the development of joint objectives and priorities prior to transitions.
23. The Commission will convene joint events with the Economic and Social Council and will further enhance informal cooperation with the Council, its advisory bodies and the Executive Boards of the Agencies, Funds and Programmes in accordance with its mandate in the areas of peacebuilding and sustaining peace.
24. Moreover, the Commission will continue to leverage its convening role to provide an effective and diverse platform to bring together governments, UN entities, partners and other stakeholders related to peacebuilding on country-specific, regional, or thematic issues.

Emphasis on accountability.

25. The Commission will keep track of its results and good practices and improve the outward communication of these results. The Commission welcomes the compilation by DPPA/PBSO of factual and verified analysis in PBC annual reports and encourages the continuation of this practice.
26. During and after the meetings of the Commission, it will seek to highlight recommendations agreed to by Member States for the way forward and areas for follow-up to the discussions in order to further strengthen its effectiveness.
27. In its meetings, the Commission will mainstream the Women, Peace and Security agenda and the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, including through the implementation of the Commission’s Gender Strategy (2016), Gender Action Plan (2021) and Strategic Action Plan on youth and peacebuilding. The Commission also requests DPPA/PBSO to continue bringing to its attention annual updates on the implementation of its gender strategy and action plan, and its action plan on youth and peacebuilding.

28. Finally, in implementing the 2024 Programme of Work, the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Chairs of country-specific configurations will meet regularly to share updates and discuss challenges that require collective action regarding the respective configurations, with a view to further strengthening coherence in the Peacebuilding Commission.