Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my honour and pleasure to address this high-level meeting on financing for peacebuilding.

I thank the President of the General Assembly for convening us on this important issue.

Achieving and sustaining peace is the foundational goal of the United Nations, and central to all our work.

As the Secretary-General has often stressed, this task has become more important, but also more complex, as conflicts proliferate and become more intertwined.

We are facing multiple, compounding risks, including new and ongoing conflicts, the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and threats posed by emerging technologies.

The number of violent conflicts is at the highest level since 1945 with terrible human consequences, seen in record levels of forced displacement and global humanitarian needs.  

Peacebuilding is the responsibility of the entire UN system — as was recognized in the landmark 2015 resolutions on the peacebuilding architecture.

Our unique approach seeks to build a foundation for peaceful societies through addressing root causes and drivers of conflict.

By way of examples, in the Central African Republic, the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund is supporting the implementation of the 2019 Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation, through improved violence prevention efforts in Bambari. It is doing this work in partnership with the International Organization for Migration  and women’s civil society organizations, and through the provision of mental health and psychosocial support with the UN Development Programme  and UN Women. 

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Kasai province where our peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, is drawing down, the Peacebuilding Fund has suppprted efforts to reintegrate nearly 500 ex-combatants. 

The Fund supports initiatives that address climate security, for example, in the Pacific region where the Fund is assisting island nations jointly to assess and respond to shared climate risks.

It is also building efforts to support peaceful processes during election cycles. This year, the PBF is poised to fund projects in seven initiatives that look at youth and women’s participation in elections, the use of social media, the prevention of hate speech, and the establishment of early warning systems to ensure that democratic competition is non-violent. 

Excellencies,

While these examples focus on the Peacebuilding Fund, today’s meeting aims to cover the broad spectrum of peacebuilding efforts undertaken by a wide range of actors, including Governments and national stakeholders, the entire UN system – from special political missions to peacekeeping operations and UN Country Teams – as well as civil society and the private sector.

These activities require a broad array of financing mechanisms and sources, including domestic resources, voluntary and assessed contributions from Member States, and innovative partnerships.

Since 2018, the Secretary-General’s reports have presented many and various options for increasing, restructuring and better prioritizing funding dedicated to United Nations peacebuilding activities, for the consideration of Member States.

Overall, some progress has been made.

Voluntary contributions to the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund have increased. The Fund invested $195 million in 2021.

But progress is insufficient.

Allocation targets have been cut for the past three years because of a lack of funding. We are significantly below the Secretary-General’s target of  a “quantum leap” to $500 million per year.

The Fund also remains wholly dependent on voluntary contributions from a small number of donors.

In contrast, the needs in the areas of prevention and peacebuilding continue to increase.  Demand for support consistently outpaces resources.

While resources are not the only issue when it comes to prevention and peacebuilding, financing is a critical enabler.

And the money is there.

Figures released earlier this week showed that global military expenditure reached an all-time high last year, passing $2 trillion for the first time.

Countries that can afford record investments in weapons can afford to increase their investments in preventing and resolving conflict and building peace. 

Excellencies,

This meeting is not only about the quantity of resources. It is also about their quality, continuity and focus.

Let me highlight a few key proposals, around which we encourage Member States to make concrete commitments.

First, investing at least 20 per cent of Official Development Assistance in peacebuilding in conflict-affected countries. If all donors reallocated ODA towards peacebuilding, it would mean an increased peacebuilding investment of $3 billion.

Second, at least recommitting to, yet preferably exceeding the target of at least 15 per cent of investments dedicated to address women’s specific needs, advance gender equality or empower women. Women are proven amplifiers and enablers of peacebuilding initiatives.

Third, committing to invest in prevention, peacebuilding and sustaining peace to young people to increase their meaningful participation in political and peace processes in line with the Youth,

Peace and Security agenda.

Fourth, increasing support for local peacebuilding efforts, including  community-based and civil society organizations.

Fifth, making multi-year donor funding commitments to improve planning and predictability.

Sixth, ensuring flexible and risk-tolerant funding to allow for adaptations or reallocations when circumstances change.
Seventh, supporting the proposal of the Secretary-General for appropriating $100 million in assessed contributions to finance the Peacebuilding Fund when it is considered by the Fifth Committee in its May session.

Eighth, following the end of a peacekeeping mission, voluntarily committing the equivalent of 15 per cent of the annual budget to supporting peacebuilding activities for two years, to mitigate the ‘financial cliff’ faced by local communities, and sustain peace gains.

Finally, Member States are encouraged to explore innovative mechanisms to finance peacebuilding, including through blending public and private financial resources, and establishing partnerships with the private sector, which has a huge role and interest in creating conditions for peace.

Excellencies,

Member States decided that this meeting would produce “action-oriented outcomes.”

We really count on you to meet that objective and lay the foundation for financing that is adequate, predictable and sustainable. This is also an important tenet of the Secretary-General’s report on  “Our Common Agenda” and part of its follow-up.

The costs of conflict are unsustainable.

We have to  invest much more in prevention and in peacebuilding, which will also be a key component of the New Agenda for Peace, as envisioned in the report.

Today is an opportunity to get serious about the essential, targeted work of building peace.

We urge you to seize it.

Thank you.