02 September 2010
























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Update on Peacebuilding Commission After One Year

New York, 12 February 2007 – On 31 January the work of the Peacebuilding Commission was reviewed for the first time by the Security Council and a week later on 5 February by the General Assembly, also for the first time. The meetings took place a little over one year since the Commission was established and could be seen as a step towards a more integrated institutional approach to peacebuilding in the United Nations. The PBC itself has been working to finalize work plans for peacebuilding activities in its two countries of specific concern, Burundi and Sierra Leone. 

PBC’s First Year of Work Reviewed by the Security Council

After one year of functioning without a specific definition of the relationship between the Security Council (SC) and the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), the SC has adopted a more proactive role with the Commission, signaled by the convention of informal consultations and an open debate on the current status of the PBC.

The discussion over the body to which the PBC should report (Security Council, ECOSOC or General Assembly) created much disagreement during the founding months of the Commission.  It was eventually decided that the PBC would serve as an “advisory subsidiary organ” to both the SC and GA and that the GA would have overall responsibility for the PBC’s work.

The Security Council delayed reviewing the work of the PBC during its first year.  This was both to allow the PBC to develop its own working methods before tasking it with country-specific situations (besides the work with Burundi and Sierra Leone), and also in recognition of the decision (in its founding resolution) that review of the Commission is a task for the GA. 

Thus, January’s day-long meeting on post-conflict peacebuilding in the Security Council marked the Council’s first update on the work of the PBC.  Council members were given the opportunity to express their opinions on the progress made. The meeting was convened by representatives from the first two countries on the Commission’s agenda, Burundi and Sierra Leone, as well as the PBC’s own chairs for each country.

The Chairman of the PBC’s Organizational Committee, Ismael A. Gaspar Martins (Angola) introduced the member states to the complexity of peacebuilding and highlighted the recent staffing of the Peacebuilding Support Office as a positive development. Carolyn McAskie, Assistant Secretary-General in the Peacebuilding Support Office, supported this statement and mentioned that staffing was almost complete.

On the peacebuilding progress in Burundi, Johan Ludvik Lovald (Norway), Chair of the December country-specific meetings on Burundi emphasized the continuous need for international support.  He stressed that the situation in the country remained fragile and highlighted that the Commission’s engagement with Burundi is stepping into a new phase which hopefully soon will result in a final work plan. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had announced last week the allocation of $35 million for this work in Burundi from the new Peacebuilding Fund. Donors (which primarily consist of members of the PBC itself; Norway is the top donor country) have, to date, contributed to more than $140 million out of the $250 million to the Fund. The World Bank mentioned that it will participate more actively in the work in the PBC in the future, as it originally intended and committed to in the SC Resolution 1645 (SC resolution establishing the PBC).

The Burundi delegation requested a donor’s roundtable on 14 March and asked Commission members to assist with preparations for the conference.   

Frank Majoor (Netherlands), Chair of the PBC country-specific meeting on Sierra Leone, commented on a national steering committee set up to bring together stakeholders in the Sierra Leone peacebuilding process.  Government, UN, and civil society representatives, as well as donors, will use the committee to relate to the work of the PBC and the Peacebuilding Fund.  He also said that no official announcement had been made yet regarding the amount of resources from the Fund to be allocated to Sierra Leone, but he said that a larger amount than the prior suggestion of $25 million could now be expected.  

Other member states registered their expectations of the PBC, as follows:

  • Italy presented various recommendations for the PBC and donors: to outline a clear sequence of future actions; to increase civil society involvement; to develop objective criteria for phasing out country involvement; and to monitor the progress of implementation through a system of weekly benchmarks.

  • The representative from Ghana suggested that the PBC incorporate a gender dimension into its mandate.

  • Argentina recommended a calendar identifying short, medium, and long-term objectives.

  • Many delegations drew attention to the relationship between the PBC and other UN bodies.  Italy recommended that the Secretary-General base new mandates for and reviews of existing peacekeeping missions on advice from the PBC.  The United Kingdom suggested that the PBC could provide early warnings on specific countries with a high risk of falling back to conflict.  Japan recommended the provision of timely reports to the Security Council as well as the convening of regular meetings between the president of the Council and the PBC Chairs. Slovakia suggested that the Commission establish working groups to elaborate on specific aspects of peacebuilding in country-specific meetings, e.g. the rule of law.        

According to the president of the Security Council, Peter Burian (Slovakia), a general concern in the Council was that the Commission focus on its core mandate of providing recommendations to post-conflict states in danger of falling back into conflict, as well as reporting to the Security Council about specific country situations.

Speakers included the president of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Dalius Cekuolis (Lithuania), representatives from the World Bank and IMF to the UN, all members from the Security Council, as well as Chili, El Salvador, Senegal, Japan, Canada (on behalf of Australia and New Zealand), Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Croatia, Brazil, Guatemala, Uruguay, Egypt, Argentina and Afghanistan.

For a detailed summary of all statements please visit the UN Department of Public Information’s Press Release issued 6 February 2007.

PBC’s First Year of Work Reviewed by the General Assembly

The General Assembly convened a meeting on 5 February 2007 to give the broader UN membership a chance to contribute to the first review of progress by the Peacebuilding Commission. General Assembly President Sheika Haya Rashed Al Khalifa (Bahrain) introduced the day-long meeting by encouraging member states to deliver on their pledges to assist the work of the Commission and emphasized that all member states share a collective responsibility to see that the new peacebuilding architecture will develop as envisioned by world leaders at the 2005 World Summit. The president also urged member states to help countries emerging from conflict strengthen their institutional capacities.  Finally, she highlighted the large gap between the Peacebuilding Fund’s target amount – what it needs in order to allocate proper financial assistance to countries transitioning from recovery ($250 million) - and the amount of contributions at present (approximately $140 million): “I will personally write a number of potential donors to encourage them to contribute the Peacebuilding Fund so that the funding target is met” she said. She emphasized, however, that this immediate need for catalyst funds should not supercede the importance of longer-term support for post-conflict countries.

On the mandate of the Commission, the EU expressed concern over duplication of efforts, emphasizing that the PBC should not be just another donor body.  Panama noted the importance of keeping a flexible mandate in order to avoid excessive bureaucratic processes.

As with the debate in the Security Council, the attitude in the GA was generally positive towards the progress of the PBC.  Delegations urged pro-active steps in order to realize the Commission’s aims.

Several members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) warned against substituting the present meeting in the GA and the recent one in the Security Council, for the PBC’s annual report and subsequent review to the GA. The PBC’s annual report for this year is expected within the 61st Session. 

Jamaica, speaking on behalf of NAM, pointed to the lack of finalized Rules of Procedure and working methods, as well as the need for a timetable for country-specific meetings.  He also urged the Commission to take a more proactive approach by engaging missions on the ground instead of relying solely on meetings in New York.  A representative for Canada, Australia, and New Zealand responded to NAM’s emphasis on procedural matters by stating that the work of the Commission needed to be of substantial, as opposed to administrative, character, and encouraged member states to allow the Commission to take a flexible and action-oriented approach to peacebuilding.

Finally, several delegations stressed the need to strengthen the relationship between the Commission and other UN organs, particularly the Security Council, GA and ECOSOC.  In response to Japan’s suggestion in the Security Council meeting on 31 January, the president of the SC and Chairs of the PBC meet on a regular basis, EU suggested expanding the meetings to include the president of ECOSOC.  Pakistan requested clarification on the allocation of responsibilities between the four organs in order to avoid duplication of work, and Mexico suggested that all PBC meetings be open to all UN Member States. The president of ECOSOC assured delegations that ECOSOC would support the work of the Commission collectively and through its members, and he highlighted the Commission as a constructive tool for promoting sound policies on sustainable development, human rights and poverty eradication.     

Click here for the President of the General Assembly’s introductory statement to the meeting in the GA on the PBC

Click here for the President of ECOSOC’s statement in the GA meeting on the PBC  

Click here for the statement by the Chairman of the PBC’s Organizational Committee on first year

Next Steps on Country-Specific Activities

The PBC met last week to finalize work plans for the country-specific activities in Burundi and Sierra Leone.  The resulting documents should offer more clarity on carrying out the work in each country and establishing expected outcomes. 

No dates have been set yet for the next round of country-specific meetings on Burundi and Sierra Leone; they are expected to take place before the end of April. While no formal discussions have taken place on adding new countries to the PBC’s agenda, Timor-Leste, Haiti, the Republic of Congo, and Guinea-Bissau are potential new country situations, according to Security Council Report.

The PBC’s mechanisms for interaction with civil society, such as civil society contributions to country-specific meetings, have not been established yet.

Joint UN-government committees for each country-specific situation were created in early 2007.

Click here for a letter by Johan L. Lovald and Frank Majoor, Chairs of Country-Specific Meetings on Burundi and Sierra Leone, to all members of the Commission, outlining the agenda for February’s meetings and work plans for both countries for January to July.

For civil society perspectives on the role of the PBC in Sierra Leone, please see the report of the Centre for Conflict Resolution in Johannesburg, South Africa, on their two-day consultation meeting.

New Members of the Commission

The Security Council elected Panama and South Africa to replace Denmark and Tanzania on the Peacebuilding Commission, as their terms on the Council ended in December 2006.  Elections of other PBC members will take place in June.  For a description of the election procedure, see the January 2007 Security Council Report update on the PBC. 

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