EU Presidency Statement - UN Security Council: Open Debate on Post-Conflict Peacebuilding

Summary: EU Presidency Statement - UN Security Council: Open Debate on Post-Conflict Peacebuilding (31 January 2007: New York)

Statement on behalf of the European Union, by H.E. Mr. Thomas Matussek, Permanent Representative of Germany, on "Post-Conflict Peacebuilding" in the Open Debate of the Security Council, New York

Mr President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania and Serbia, and the EFTA country Iceland, member of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

The European Union would like to thank the Russian Federation, as Presidency of the Security Council, for organizing this very timely debate on the work of the Peacebuilding Commission following the first two rounds of country-specific meetings.

The European Union sees the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission as a key achievement of the UN reform process. Together with the Peacebuilding Support Office and the Peacebuilding Fund, it forms the core of the UN´s new peacebuilding architecture. As a flexible instrument, the Peacebuilding Commission is "learning by doing". In our view, members should be willing to work creatively within the given framework.

From its inception, the European Union has supported the concept of the Commission: A body that will ensure an integrated approach to peacebuilding, taking into account the links between security, development, human rights and the rule of law. This very much corresponds with the European Union's comprehensive approach to conflict prevention, development and peacebuilding. Over the years, the European Union has developed and used an array of instruments. They include political and development-related tools as well as conflict prevention and crisis management mechanisms.

The European Union, the Member States of the European Union and the European Community engage in peacebuilding activities worldwide -- in Africa and Asia as well as in the Middle East, Europe, Central Asia and Latin America. European member states and the European Community fund and implement projects in all areas of peacebuilding. To mention a few important areas: demobilization and reintegration, security sector reform, good governance, reconciliation efforts, children- and gender-related post-conflict assistance, trade-related measures and reconstruction operations. The European Union is committed to actively supporting the work of the Peacebuilding Commission on the basis of its experience, resources and worldwide operability.

The Peacebuilding Commission has got off to a good start. After only two sets of country-specific meetings it has identified areas of priority action for the two countries under consideration. The Commission also established a dialogue among governments concerned, the UN system, institutional donors, regional actors and members of the Peacebuilding Commission. Now, the recommendations of the Commission must be implemented in the countries concerned and within the institutional framework of the UN. Here, the Commission also needs the support of the Security Council, General Assembly and ECOSOC. And dialogue must be broadened out in the countries concerned to include national civil society, the private sector and other relevant parties.

One year after its establishment, the Commission will also have to make decisions as to its strategic goals. If the Commission is to add value to peacebuilding efforts worldwide, and particularly in the countries themselves, it will have to be ambitious. It will have to be more than the tools we already have: more than a mere coordination mechanism and more than a donors' conference. Promoting the development of a viable peacebuilding strategy which has broad ownership is where the Peacebuilding Commission can really add value.

The European Union would like to contribute to the discussion among PBC members on structuring the future work of the Commission and its interaction with other actors. In doing so, we draw on our own experience in coordinating EU programmes as well as on the experience in the first country-specific meetings.

• The Commission has defined general areas of priority for each country under consideration. It will now be useful to further prioritize within these areas, in consultation with the countries concerned, UN country teams, donors, civil society and the private sector.

• Defining priorities necessarily means making a selection among a huge number of possible areas of engagement. The Peacebuilding Commission should focus on the following: areas that have a direct and traceable link to the causes of conflict, areas in which instruments of "classical" development are not available or functional and areas where coordination and integration are especially needed. All peacebuilding initiatives in the field should be linked to existing strategies and programmes to avoid duplication of efforts.

• We want the Commission to be able to work coherently, continuously and in a result-oriented way. To achieve this, the Commission should focus on activities in the field. It should enhance cooperation with all relevant actors, including donors and non-state actors. It should make use of regular informal meetings in between formal meetings and find a way to capture and condense "lessons learned" from its work.

• The Security Council has started to discuss its relation to the PBC: how to intensify communication between the Council and the PBC, and how best to achieve implementation of advice from the PBC. A similar dialogue is getting under way between the PBC and the General Assembly with the upcoming open debate in the GA. The European Union welcomes these efforts and also recognises the contribution ECOSOC can make.

• There are many ways to enhance cooperation between the PBC and Security Council, GA and ECOSOC. Regular Meetings between the PBC Chairs and the presidents of these bodies would be one possibility. Invitations for the Chairs and the chairs of country-specific meetings to brief these bodies would be another.

The European Union remains committed to working on integrated peacebuilding strategies with the PBC and with the countries concerned. We are determined to make this key project of UN reform a success and to make its impact felt positively in the regions where the Peacebuilding Commission is engaged.

* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

Ref: PRES07-006EN
EU source: EU Presidency
UN forum: Security Council
Date: 31/1/2007

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