Summary: EU Presidency Statement - UN General Assembly Plenary: Progress Achieved in the work of the Peacebuilding Commission (6 February 2007: New York)
Statement on behalf of the European Union, by H.E. Mr. Thomas Matussek, Permanent Representative of Germany, on "Agenda items 47, 113 and 149: Progress achieved in the work of the Peacebuilding Commission", in the Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly, New York
Madam President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Hercegovina, and Serbia, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.
The European Union would like to thank the the President of the General Assembly for organizing this debate, and we would also like to thank the countries of the non-aligned movement who initiated the request for this debate. Today´s meeting follows on the heels of last week´s open debate in the Security Council. It is an opportunity to continue a dialogue between the PBC and its partners in the UN system on way to increase their cooperation. We are confident that the Peacebuilding Commission
as well as the General Assembly and the Security Council will benefit from this dialogue.What is even more important, though, is that the countries on the agenda of the PBC will benefit from these debates, as they will lead to more effective coordination and implementation of peacebuilding strategies.
The European Union sees the establishment of the PBC 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 PBC 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 General Assembly, the Security Council 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.
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