Mr. President,

Last week, world leaders renewed their commitment to promote a culture of prevention of armed conflict as a means of effectively addressing the interconnected security and development challenges of our time. They also pledged to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations for the prevention of armed conflict. And they decided to establish a Peace-Building Commission that will play a key role in preventing the recurrence of armed conflict.

Civil society made a significant impact on the process leading to the Summit. Last June's hearings marked a new and welcome step forward in UN-civil society relations. So did the Conference on the role of Civil Society in Prevention and Peace-Building, held in New York last July, where 500 representatives from civil society around the world gathered to adopt an Action Agenda

My message to you today is simple: civil society's role in conflict prevention needs to be fully recognized. Both the United Nations and regional organizations have to do more to tap into civil society's comparative advantages, namely a strong local presence and experience. Local ownership and participation are essential for the success of peace processes, be it conflict prevention, peace-making and peace-building. Dialogue, transparency and accountability must remain a priority.

Civil society is often far out in front of us in identifying new threats and concerns. This is certainly one of its most important roles. Civil society organizations are also indispensable in “track-two” and “people to people” diplomacy, which is often integral to successful official diplomacy and post-conflict political and reconciliation processes. At times, they can reach parties on the ground that governments or the United Nations cannot reach.

Civil society organizations can also complement the UN's work by offering valuable analysis originating from the field, by forging partnerships to implement UN decisions, by increasing the sustainability of UN operations and by creating networks to advocate for peace-building. For all these reasons, civil society organizations would have an important role to play in the deliberations of the Peace-Building Commission.

The 2005 World Summit produced some remarkable commitments from Member States. However, for these words to be turned into action, and for prevention and peace-building strategies to become more effective, all actors –civil society, governments, international financial institutions, regional organizations and civil society need to work together as partners. I am committed to doing my part, and urge you all to do yours.

Thank you very much.