Peacebuilding Fund Authorized in General Assembly; Peacebuilding Commission to Meet on Burundi and Sierra Leone
New York, 18 September 2006 – The General Assembly adopted Terms of Reference for the new Peacebuilding Fund on 8 September. The Peacebuilding Fund, established in December 2005 by the Security Council and General Assembly with the same resolutions that established the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), will support the work of the PBC by providing an emergency funding envelope to sustain countries in crisis until sustainable financing packages are delivered.
The Terms of Reference were circulated in a report from the Secretary-General on 22 August following technical consultations with UN bodies, and informal consultations with interested Member States.
The TORs address:
Scope of Peacebuilding Fund: The Fund will support interventions that directly contribute to the country’s stabilization (implementing peace agreements, promoting peaceful resolution of conflicts, preventing recurrence of conflicts, among others) and for which other funding is not available. These interventions would aim to “catalyze” longer-term support from other donors.
Eligibility: Any country under PBC consideration is eligible for support from the Fund. Early in its consideration of a country, the PBC will advise the Secretary-General to consider the country for funding. The Secretary-General also can decide a country is eligible without the PBC having considered it first.
Allocation: The amount of funding will be determined from an analysis of “critical gaps” in peacebuilding, to be conducted by national authorities and UN offices in the country. Alternatively, emergency disbursements can be made up to $1 million after a simplified submission, approved by the head of the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO).
Management: The PBSO will guide the management, while the UN Development Programme will serve as the official fund manager, using its own regulations and procedures. Fees for fund management and program implementation are capped at 11 percent of funds received.
Governance/Advice: The General Assembly will “guide” the Fund’s operation. The PBC may offer additional policy guidance on using the Fund. An independent advisory group of eminent peacebuilders will advise the Secretary-General and provide oversight on Fund allocations.
Oversight: The Fund manager will submit regular reports to the Secretary-General, who will provide an annual report to the General Assembly. External and internal audit procedures of the UN will apply.
Contributions: The initial target is $250 million, to be met through voluntary contributions from UN Member States, intergovernmental organization, the private sector, and other sources. Funds are to be replenished with fundraising drives.
Also, new dates have been set for the PBC’s first country-specific meetings, which were originally scheduled for early September. The meeting on Sierra Leone will be held on 12 October. The meeting on Burundi will be held on 13 October. Both will take place in the ECOSOC Chamber. Ahead of these meetings, the Peacebuilding Support Office will need to designate a Chair for the Sierra Leone meeting. Norway was designated as the Chair for Burundi in July.
The membership in the country-specific meetings include the 31 member states, plus a tentative list of additional members from the country under consideration, engaged countries in the region, engaged regional and sub-regional organizations, financial and troop contributors to the country’s recovery, UN field representatives, and regional and international financial institutions.
In anticipation of the country-specific meetings, some NGOs are calling for agreement on modalities for civil society interaction with the PBC. NGOs are seeking access to meetings, documents, and provisional agendas, as well as the right to submit statements, observe meetings and possibly to participate and speak in the meetings. So far, there has been no announcement about civil society participation or observation at the upcoming meetings in October.
The PBC’s Organizational Committee also is expected to meet soon. The date has not been announced, but it is expected to occur before the country-specific meetings.
Terms of Reference for Peacebuilding Fund in Report from SG
General Assembly Resolution authorizing Terms of Reference
Tentative list of members for country-specific meetings on Burundi and Sierra Leone
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