S/PV.8243 Security Council

In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the following briefers to participate in this meeting: His Excellency Mr. Dan Neculăescu, State Secretary for Regional Affairs and Multilateral Global Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, as Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission; and His Excellency Mr. Smail Chergui, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2018/43, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on peacebuilding and sustaining peace, and document S/2018/325, which contains a letter dated 9 April 2018 from the Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, transmitting a concept note on the item under consideration. I wish to warmly welcome the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. António Guterres, and give him the floor.

I thank you, Mr. President, for convening today’s briefing on peacebuilding and sustaining peace — key aspects of the work of the Security Council and the entire United Nations system. (spoke in English) Peacebuilding and sustaining peace are first and foremost about enhancing our strategic coherence to support the efforts of national Governments and their people to prevent the outbreak, escalation, continuation and recurrence of conflict. The Council can contribute in several ways. I thank the Council for taking this opportunity to take a long-term view of peace and security challenges. Peacebuilding and sustaining peace require strong partnerships beyond the United Nations in support of nationally owned solutions. We need a broad and inclusive approach to such partnerships, while working closely with host country authorities, regional and subregional organizations, international financial institutions, including the World Bank and other multilateral donors, the business community, civil society and local actors. I am pleased to see Mr. Chergui, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union, which is our most relevant partner in the area of peace and security in the world, with which we have exemplary cooperation. The Peacebuilding Commission can bring far greater strategic coherence to international efforts, by providing a platform for complementarity and partnership across the pillars of the United Nations. It also brings national and local voices to the table. The Security Council has already benefited from the Commission’s support, including in the Sahel. I urge it to build on that example to achieve greater operational and policy coherence in other contexts and situations. Sustaining peace requires support for inclusivity, in particular of those who are frequently marginalized and excluded. That means women and girls, the elderly, the young, people with disabilities and minorities of all kinds. Women’s empowerment through meaningful participation is a proven way to deepen the effectiveness and sustainability of peacebuilding. The Council has the means to ensure greater inclusion and success by more consistently applying its own robust agenda on women and peace and security. Earlier this week in the Chamber, members heard at first-hand about the important role young people can play in sustaining peace (see S/PV.8241). Young women and men are key peacebuilders. We must work with them and for them far more effectively. Most critically, building and sustaining peace requires addressing the roots of conflicts and crises, which often lie in poverty, exclusion, inequality, discrimination and serious violations of human rights. The human and financial cost of focusing our efforts on responding to crises is unsustainable. I have been outspoken in my support for prevention — the foundation of building and sustaining peace. Investment in prevention pays off in human lives, financial savings and development gains. Sustainable, inclusive development, deeply rooted in respect for all human rights  — economic, social, cultural, civil and political  — is not only an end in itself, but it is also the world’s best preventive tool against violent conflict and instability. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is our common global blueprint to tackle those root causes and create more peaceful, stable and resilient societies, founded on fair globalization. The reinforcement of the Peacebuilding Support Office will enable it to play a stronger role in connecting our efforts on peace and security with our work to support sustainable development. My peace and security reform proposal includes a 50 per cent increase in regular posts in the Peacebuilding Support Office at no extra cost, based on gains in efficiency in other areas. At the same time, my envoys and the United Nations special political missions are dedicated to facilitating political processes, mediating and preventing the eruption of open conflict. The High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation will build on the expertise of skilled diplomats and strengthen our relationships with regional organizations, non-governmental groups and others engaged in that critical activity for peace. United Nations peacekeepers have a particularly critical role to play on the front lines of our efforts. We owe them an enormous debt for their service and sacrifice. The twin resolutions of 2016 (General Assembly resolution 70/262 and Security Council resolution 2282 (2016)) recognize and welcome the contributions of United Nations peacekeeping operations. Their overriding objective is to create the space for a political process. They have a vital role in containing violence and protecting civilians while giving political solutions time to take hold. In order to create peacekeeping operations that are fit for the challenges we face, I launched the Action for Peacekeeping initiative in the Chamber last month. Action for Peacekeeping will refocus United Nations peacekeeping in three key areas. It aims to set realistic expectations for our operations, make them stronger and safer and mobilize more support, both for political solutions and for well-structured, well-equipped and well-trained forces and their mission. We need peace operations that are better able to respond to the specific needs and contexts of the countries where they operate, adapt to evolving conditions on the ground and leave when their job is done. Key conditions for success will be clear and defined with more focused mandates, a long-term view and adequate exit strategies. Smarter investment in peacebuilding and sustaining peace should reduce the costs of peacekeeping. That in turn will enable us to provide more support so that our peacekeeping and political missions can fulfil their mandates more effectively. (spoke in French) My report on peacebuilding and sustaining peace (S/2018/43) outlines several options to increase, restructure and better prioritize funding dedicated to United Nations peacebuilding activities, for the consideration of Member States. These options include assessed and voluntary contributions and innovative financing. The Peacebuilding Fund is a key instrument to drive coherence across all our peacebuilding activities and partnerships, and a catalyst for others to take action. I reiterate my call for a quantum leap in Member State support for the essential work of the Fund and look forward to further discussion on those options. I look forward to the adoption of a General Assembly resolution following up on my report and outlining our joint path ahead. The past two days have seen rich and engaging discussions on how we build and sustain peace, ranging from mediation to conflict resolution, to peacekeeping and support for effective and accountable institutions. We can build on our success. I believe that Côte d’Ivoire was our most recent success story. I take this opportunity to extend my sincere condolences to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Côte d’Ivoire on the death of our great friend and colleague, Ambassador Bernard Tanoh-Boutchoue, who always played an extremely positive and important role in the Council. Now it is time for action.

I thank the Secretary-General for his briefing. I now give the floor to Mr. Neculăescu. Mr. Neculăescu: I wish to thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to brief the Security Council at today’s important meeting and for providing a concept note (S/2018/325, annex) that captures key priorities for peacebuilding and sustaining peace. I also wish to thank the Secretary-General for his report on peacebuilding and sustaining peace (S/2018/43). I welcome his emphasis on the importance of enhancing the coherence and the effectiveness of the United Nations system, while respecting existing mandates in supporting Member State-led efforts to build and sustain peace, and on the significance of partnerships across the United Nations system and with other relevant key partners and stakeholders. I thank him for providing options for adequate resourcing of peacebuilding activities. The resolutions to be adopted by General Assembly and the Security Council are important steps that demonstrate the commitment of Member States to peacebuilding and sustaining peace. The resolutions will provide opportunities for Member States to discuss the recommendations and options contained in the Secretary-General’s report on peacebuilding and sustaining peace and enable the continuation of our discussions about how we can better support countries in their efforts to build and sustain peace. In that connection, I reaffirm the readiness of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) to provide a forum for those discussions in the follow-up to the high-level meeting and ahead of the envisaged 2020 review. Two years ago, the General Assembly and Security Council adopted by consensus twin resolutions (Security Council resolution 2282 (2016) and General Assembly resolution 70/262) on the review of the peacebuilding architecture. The resolutions reiterated the commitment of Member States to supporting countries at all stages of conflict. They emphasized that sustaining peace requires coherence, sustained engagement and coordination between the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, consistent with their mandates as set out in the Charter of the United Nations. They also contained a crucial message for the work of the United Nations that an integrated and coherent approach of all relevant actors, within and outside the United Nations, is critical to sustaining country-led peacebuilding and peace efforts. I am pleased to see that the same message represents the foundation of the report of the Secretary-General, as well as an important aspect of today’s meeting. One of the main objectives of the Peacebuilding Commission is to help strengthen its bridging role, especially including as a forum for all relevant stakeholders, and to enhance partnerships with actors beyond the United Nations, such as regional organizations, international financial institutions, civil society, including women’s and youth groups, and, where relevant, the private sector. Allow me to reflect on a few regional and country-specific situations where the Commission has supported more coherence in the work of the United Nations. First, I will speak on the Sahel. In response to presidential statement of S/PRST/2017/2, adopted in January 2017, which emphasized the importance of the convening role of the PBC in peacebuilding efforts, the Commission has worked, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), to mobilize deeper commitment and partnership among the United Nations, the countries of Sahel and other international and regional partners to advance the implementation of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel. Since the adoption of the presidential statement, the PBC has convened a number of meetings, including a joint event with the Economic and Social Council, which brought together the countries of the Sahel, the United Nations and key partners to discuss the challenges facing the region and efforts within the United Nations system to enhance coordination in the implementation of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel. In S/PRST/2018/3, adopted in January, the Security Council reiterated the convening role of the PBC in support of UNOWAS. With its ability to go beyond country-specific discussions and focus on cross-border and regional issues, with the consent of the countries concerned, and with its capacity to convene national authorities, regional organizations, international financial institutions, civil society and other relevant partners, the PBC is playing an important role in promoting an integrated, strategic and coherent approach to peacebuilding and sustaining peace in that important region. Secondly, I will turn to Liberia. The resolutions on the review of the peacebuilding architecture, several presidential statements of the Security Council and the report of the Secretary-General on peacebuilding and sustaining peace all recognize the important role the PBC plays in advising the Security Council, upon its request, during the formation, review and drawdown of peacekeeping operations and special political mission mandates. In the case of Liberia, where the long-standing peacekeeping mission came to an end only a few weeks ago, the PBC actively assisted national authorities and engaged with civil society, the United Nations leadership on the ground and relevant partners to support the development of a national peacebuilding plan. The Commission also convened meetings to discuss preparations for the elections and the United Nations transition, including hearing from the United Nations system on capacity resource mapping to support national peacebuilding needs. The PBC stands ready to continue fostering international support to Liberia that is sustained and coordinated, including in the country’s development of a national development plan that fully integrates peacebuilding priorities. That is a true example of PBC support to building and sustaining peace in practice. Thirdly, I will now address The Gambia. Since last year, the Commission has convened several meetings, the latest of which was held the day before yesterday with the participation of the President of The Gambia. Our discussions focused on assisting the country, upon its request, at a critical time of its transition. It brought together senior officials of the Gambian Government, Member States, relevant parts of the United Nations system, international financial institutions and civil society, with a view to enhancing cooperation. Those brief examples show how the Peacebuilding Commission, serving as a bridge between the three relevant principal organs of the United Nations and through its important convening role, not only fosters coherence at the intergovernmental level but, ultimately, also supports the United Nations in being more valuable, strategic and effective in the field, where it matters. Since we are marking the second anniversary of the adoption of the resolutions on the review of the peacebuilding architecture, allow me to raise one final point on how the PBC has been working towards more flexible and effective working methods. Besides the important work long being done by the existing country- specific configurations for Burundi, the Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone, over the past two years the Commission — always acting in consultation with and upon the request of the countries concerned  — has considered situations spanning from Burkina Faso to Colombia, Burundi to Kyrgyzstan and Liberia to Sri Lanka. The Commission has strengthened its focus on regional and subregional situations and on thematic issues, such as financing for peacebuilding and institution-building. It has built stronger links with key partners, such as the African Union and the World Bank. It has also strengthened its synergies with the Peacebuilding Fund. I look forward to further improving the work of the Commission and its advisory role to the Security Council.

I thank Mr. Neculăescu for his informative briefing. I now give the floor to Mr. Chergui. Mr. Chergui: First of all, I would like to commend the Peruvian presidency for convening this timely and very important meeting on peacebuilding and sustaining peace. The presence of the honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs, as well as the high-level participation bears witness to the importance of the meeting, in addition to the Council’s commitment to advancing the agenda of sustaining peace. I also wish to express our gratitude for the kind invitation extended to me to share the perspective of the African Union on that strategic discussion in view of our growing partnership with the United Nations. In that regard, it gives me great pleasure and honour to speak in the presence of the Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres, to whom I would like to reiterate our recognition, as well as our strong support for his inspiring and tireless efforts to promote peace and stability in Africa, in close partnership with the African Union. Only one week ago, I had the opportunity to brief the Council on one of the most visible parts of that strategic partnership, illustrated by the recent successful field mission that I undertook, jointly with my friend, Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, respectively to the Sudan and the Central African Republic. I thank the Secretary-General for his support. Let me start by recalling that the very idea of peacebuilding and sustaining peace is strongly grounded in the long-enshrined principle that peace cannot be achieved without development, and vice-versa, and that neither peace nor development can thrive without human rights and good governance. It is indeed that firm conviction that underpins the African Union’s approach to fulfilling its central mandate to achieve a peaceful and prosperous Africa. In line with the provisions of its Constitutive Act and the Protocol relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council, the African Union has, over the past decade, assumed greater responsibilities on conflict prevention, management, resolution and post-conflict reconstruction and development. In the area of peacebuilding, the implementation of the African Union Policy on Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development has progressively enabled the Commission to take concrete actions to consolidate peace and prevent relapse into violence. At the core of the African Union’s interventions is the need to build sustainable resilience with a view to enhancing structural transformation, thereby preventing relapse. In short, the African Union’s approach to peacebuilding has preventive and stabilization dimensions. Therefore, our engagement has been geared towards developing and implementing quick-impact and peace-strengthening projects in areas of deployment of African Union peace support operations, and through the African Union liaison offices. To date, the Commission has provided support to the Central African Republic, Liberia, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, the Lake Chad basin, the Sahelo-Saharan region and Somalia in a broad range of areas, including the strengthening of human rights institutions, the scaling-up of health facilities, capacitating educational institutions, and security sector reform, as well as rule of law reforms. Currently, the African Union is in the process of deploying technical advisers to support the security sector reform as well as transitional justice processes in The Gambia. That is being done in furtherance of a Peace and Security Council decision that mandated the Commission to provide support to The Gambia, following a request by the new authorities of the country. Going forward, the African Union plans to scale up its stabilization efforts on the continent. Our objective is to manage transitions from initial stabilization, which often carries a heavy military footprint, to long-term peacebuilding, focusing on reconstruction, revitalization of public service institutions, and short- to medium-term socioeconomic and political development. In the Lake Chad basin, the African Union and the Lake Chad Basin Commission are now in the process of finalizing a strategy that will rationalize the various initiatives aimed at stabilizing the areas affected by Boko Haram’s activities. In the same vein, we are in the process of strengthening our stabilization efforts in Somalia within the framework of the African Union Mission in Somalia, and in the Sudan through the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur, respectively. The recent relapses of several post-conflict countries into violence and instability highlight the need to do more to address, in a coherent manner, the structures, attitudes and processes that perpetuate conflict and instability. In that regard, allow me to share some of the critical lessons learned, on which today’s meeting can build to enhance our joint efforts towards achieving sustainable peace in Africa. First, there is an urgent need to strengthen our cooperation in the area of prevention. Conflict prevention remains the most cost-effective tool, yet it is the least resourced. The African Union has developed a continental structural conflict prevention framework that allows its Member States to engage in a voluntary process with the Commission to enhance their capacity to identify vulnerabilities to conflict at the very early stage and, on this basis, work out a mitigation strategy. With the support of the African Union Commission, Ghana has just finalized its report as the first country to volunteer for the exercise. I believe that this mechanism could present an additional opportunity for cooperation between the African Union and the United Nations, in the light of the joint framework signed last year. Secondly, there is a need to shift from the current top-down approach to a more people-centred paradigm with a specific focus on peace dividends, especially for women and youth. That entails in particular incorporating local perspectives and empowering marginalized communities. It also requires taking into consideration the regional dimension and the transnational nature of conflicts in Africa. The African Union has already started incorporating this dimension in its joint efforts with the different regional mechanisms. Thirdly, the importance of establishing close cooperation and working relationships among national, regional and international actors cannot be overemphasized. In that context, given that Africa remains the major regional focus of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture, the partnership between the African Union and the United Nations is crucial. The African Union, through its post-conflict reconstruction and development, and the United Nations, through its peacebuilding architecture, have much to learn from each other’s approaches and experiences, and from seeking greater cooperation and collaboration. The recently signed Joint United Nations-African Union Framework for an Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security and the subsequent memorandum of understanding between the African Union Commission and the Peacebuilding Support Office provide a solid framework to strengthen cooperation in support of peacebuilding and sustaining peace efforts in Africa. We welcome the commitment of the Secretary-General to consolidate and further promote our partnership in this area, as outlined in his recent report on peacebuilding and sustaining peace (S/2018/43). Fourthly, throughout the sustaining peace process, our collective endeavours will amount to little if there is no corresponding effort to mobilize adequate resources for the implementation of the defined priorities. No significant progress can be made without adequate financial resources and technical assistance to support concerned countries in sustaining peace. The main challenges that post-conflict reconstruction and development implementation has been facing are related to the amount of resources and expertise it demands and the high-level political and diplomatic engagement it requires to be successful. As Council members already know, the African Union continues to make considerable efforts to assume greater responsibility for funding its peace activities. The progress achieved over the past 24 months in the operationalization of the Peace Fund, which has already received two-thirds of the planned contribution for 2018, serves as a demonstration of the African Union’s commitment. It should be recalled that the Peace Fund is organized around three windows. The first should fund preventive diplomacy and mediation, the second should fund institutional capacity, and the third should fund peace support operations. It is our hope that the ongoing efforts of the African Union will help to convince the Security Council to respond positively to Africa’s demands in this regard. Those demands are all the more legitimate because sustainable funding for peace efforts in Africa should not be considered only as an African priority, but also as an international strategic imperative to respond to the complex and interconnected nature of threats to international peace and security. That brings me to the end of my briefing. I wish to conclude by stressing again the strategic importance of the African Union-United Nations partnership. The challenging and increasingly complex situations on the ground emphasize the need to enhance and to properly calibrate our concerted efforts to achieve sustainable peace in Africa.

I thank Mr. Chergui for his informative briefing. I shall now make a statement in my capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru. I wish to extend a welcome to the high authorities present here and to thank Secretary-General António Guterres; the Secretary of State for Strategic Affairs of Romania, Mr. Dan Neculăescu, in his capacity as Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission; and Mr. Smaїl Chergui, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union, for their important briefings. Peru has convened this meeting because of the importance it attaches to the promotion of the sustainable peace approach with a view to preventing and resolving conflicts with greater coherence, efficiency and effectiveness; addressing their root causes in an integral manner; and strengthening the institutional framework required to do so. In that regard, we are also pleased to have been able to provide a draft resolution for the Council with content considerably identical to that to be adopted by the General Assembly (A/72/L.49). We consider it very important that both main bodies remain committed and coordinated in the promotion of this agenda item. The priority that we accord to sustaining peace has also been reflected in the Security Council’s high visibility under the presidency of Peru for the month of April and its agenda, which included the topic of women and peace and security (see S/PV.8234) and the convening of the Council’s first open debate (see (S/PV.8241) this past Monday on youth, peace and security, concerning which we have been working on a draft resolution together with Sweden. We believe that the participation of women and young people is key to contributing to a shared, peaceful, inclusive and sustainable vision of the future. Peru, which chairs the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter- terrorism, is promoting more effective responses to that scourge through greater cooperation and coordination aimed at severing its links with organized crime. We believe that the concept of sustaining peace and its focus on the root causes of conflicts is consistent with our own experience in achieving peace and consolidating democracy following the period of violence and instability created by terrorist groups in our country. Peru was able to overcome that tumultuous period thanks to a broad national consensus on national policy related to security, development and human rights. We underscore that there are no one-size-fits- all models or recipes for achieving sustainable peace and that every country must find its own way under international law and with the commensurate support of the United Nations and the international community. However, as our times are characterized by deep-seated global interdependence, we need to work together to confront shared challenges and vulnerabilities that can potentially degenerate into threats to international peace and security. I am referring to climate change, desertification, increasing inequality, corruption, the threat of an arms race and violent extremism, which leads to terrorism, among other phenomena of a global scale and transnational nature. We see as obvious the causal link between such phenomena and the tragic proliferation of violent conflicts and humanitarian crises, which have significantly expanded the Council’s agenda in recent years. In response, we deem it crucial to strengthen multilateralism as it relates to the concept of sustaining peace as an overall goal and a continuous process focused on prevention. There is much that the United Nations and the Security Council can and must do to support Member States in their work to build and strengthen capacities in order to confront the serious challenges of today. We therefore welcome the Council’s cooperation with the Peacebuilding Commission and convey our support for the restructuring of the Organization’s peace and security pillar, initiated by the Secretary-General, with the ultimate goal of contributing to sustaining peace. In addition, we believe that the Council must adopt a more systemic approach to conflict prevention, based on timely risk assessments and management plans that the Secretary-General and the various United Nations system agencies and programmes must be able to provide. That is a long-standing demand. We recall that, in 1991, in his last annual report (A/46/1), former Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar highlighted the importance of preventive diplomacy and, consequently, the need for early-warning mechanisms able to provide the Council with reliable information for its timely consideration. Furthermore, we must encourage greater synergies linking peace operations deployed by the Council with agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations development system in countries affected by conflicts and humanitarian crises, as well as with regional and subregional organizations, neighbouring and donor countries and financial institutions. It is crucial to step up cooperation with all relevant actors on the ground. We underscore the important role of the African Union, which has accomplished outstanding work in various countries affected by conflict, and the need to continue bolstering its diverse efforts in sustaining peace. Sustainable peace must be the ultimate goal of Security Council missions, and the degree to which they adhere to and fulfil their mandates must be judged in terms of the actual capacities of the country in which they operate to move from a conflict situation to one guided by the rule of law and the precepts of sustainable development. In that regard, we highlight the need to adopt, on a case-by-case basis where appropriate, exit strategies for peacekeeping operations, in cooperation with the respective United Nations country teams, with the aim of ensuring a coherent and orderly transition of the Organization’s activities to support sustaining peace on the ground. We believe that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Sustainable Development Goal 16, dedicated to the promotion of peaceful societies with inclusive and accountable institutions, provides an appropriate universal normative framework for the United Nations system to support national efforts to consolidate and maintain peace. In conclusion, I affirm that Peru  — a country committed to multilateralism, international law and the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes — will continue to actively work to promote those concepts and see them reflected in more coherent, efficient and effective action taken by the Organization and the Council. I now resume my functions as President of the Council. I now call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden.

I begin by thanking you, Sir, and the Peruvian presidency for hosting today’s meeting and the Secretary-General for his statement. He knows that he has our full support. Let me also thank our briefers: Mr. Dan Neculăescu, State Secretary for Regional Affairs and Multilateral Global Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, as Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, and Mr. Smaïl Chergui, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the members of the Security Council for their participation in the Secretary-General’s retreat at the estate of Dag Hammarskjöld at Backåkra this past weekend and thank them for taking the trouble to come. Today’s date, 25 April, is a special day as we commemorate the Carnation Revolution, which ended dictatorship in Portugal and colonial rule in many Lusophone countries. It set Portugal on the path to European integration, together with Spain and Greece. Indeed, that example, which inspired a generation of Europeans, including me, compels us to reflect on the fabric of sustaining peace. Fostering the same commitment to sustain peace that inspired European leaders following two devastating world wars could hardly be more urgent. In 2016, more countries were affected by conflict than at any time in almost 30 years. The types of security challenges facing the world have become more complex and are often interrelated. Once ignited, such conflicts can take years to quench, thereby requiring investments in peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, resilience, peacebuilding and development  — not to mention the cost in human lives and human potential. That, if anything, provides a strong incentive for us to increase investments in prevention. Can we afford not to prevent conflicts? The Secretary-General has made sustaining peace the overarching purpose of the reforms of the United Nations system, and his follow-up report to the resolutions of 2016 offers a clear road map (S/2018/43). Now we must take action. Let me briefly outline today three core commitments that are needed to operationalize the sustaining peace agenda. First, we must boost equality and inclusive national ownership. Multidimensional poverty, abuses and violations of human rights and growing inequality are challenges increasingly influencing the situations that appear on the Council’s agenda. Addressing exclusion and structural discrimination is therefore critical for prevention. Importantly, no peace is sustainable, just or legitimate if it shuts out half the population. The full and effective participation of women in peace and security is core Council business — not for the sake of women, but for the sake of peace and security. Gender equality benefits everyone. Similarly, violations and abuses of human rights erode trust within societies and are root causes of conflict. Human rights are not optional extras. Building inclusive societies requires States to abide by their obligations under international law and to respect, protect and promote all human rights — civil, political, economic, social and cultural. Secondly, we must improve our ability to consider early warnings and commit to preventive action. Within the Council we must establish a practice of early discussions on situations at risk of escalating into violent conflict, as we have heard examples of before in this Chamber, with a view to preventing them from emerging. There are a number of tools at our disposal that would allow us to engage in early action. Those include the Peacebuilding Commission, the Ad Hoc Working Group of the Security Council on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa and the many informal meeting formats at the Council’s disposal. We must utilize them. We need independent, authoritative and candid advice from the Secretary-General based on comprehensive analysis. That includes analysis on emerging threats, such as climate change, which is still propelling so many ongoing problems and conflicts, as well as new threats, to improve our collective understanding, strategic planning and response. Thirdly, we must target drivers of conflict through collaborative action. If conflicts have multiple drivers, then no single action alone can prevent them. Cross-pillar cooperation and a system-wide approach are essential. That means going beyond sharing individual country plans to being jointly accountable for delivering on a common goal. It means true collaboration that delivers enhanced synergies and leads to results that are greater than the sum of the individual parts. Furthermore, as we have heard already, we must enhance our partnerships with regional and subregional organizations. They are the eyes and the ears on the ground. They understand their neighbours, and can intervene when we cannot. The Peacebuilding Commission is a vehicle for collaborative action and partnerships. It is uniquely placed to convene international actors for coordinated and strategic responses for sustaining peace. We can unlock the full potential of the Commission through more informal and frequent interactions between the Council and the Commission. The catalytic role played by the Peacebuilding Fund has been extremely useful, and Sweden is therefore doubling its support to the Fund. In conclusion, preventing violent conflict is a Charter obligation. The sustaining peace approach allows us to improve the Council’s ability to do its part in delivering on that responsibility. Today, we as Member States must play our part by mustering political will and wholeheartedly supporting the Secretary-General and his vision of putting conflict prevention at the centre of the Organization.

I now call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Côte d’Ivoire.

As this is the first time I take the floor before the Security Council since the sudden passing away of our compatriot and friend and Council members’ colleague, Ambassador Bernard Tanoh-Boutchoue, Permanent Representative of Côte d’Ivoire to the United Nations, I would like to convey to members the gratitude of the President of the Republic, His Excellency Mr. Alassane Ouattara, and that of the people and the Government of Côte d’Ivoire for the sincere solidarity extended to our country by the Security Council, as well as for the Council’s tribute to the deceased and for all the tokens of friendship that they continue to extend to his family and to our country. Allow me to congratulate your country, Mr. President, the Republic of Peru, on assuming the presidency of the Security Council for the month of April, and to thank you, Sir, for joining me in this debate on peacebuilding and sustaining peace. I would like to thank those who spoke before me  — the Secretary- General, the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union — for their contributions to the matter at hand. Peacebuilding and sustaining peace is of great concern to my country. We have embarked upon an innovative and ambitious sustaining peace process, namely, since the closure of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI). The end of the post-election crisis, in 2011, heralded a period of fragile peace in Côte d’Ivoire, and it was urgent to bolster that peace in order to preclude any relapse into violence and to definitively turn the page on instability. The work and support of our development partners, as well as the direct support of the United Nations to the Government, have been decisive. Indeed, the pooling of national and international efforts led to the implementation of a Peacebuilding Priority Action Plan for 2011-2014 and 2015-2017, which benefited from financing totalling $30 million. The Plan is focused on several axes, including: the restoration of State authority and community safety, support for national reconciliation, social cohesion and conflict risk mitigation, and support for the identification of vulnerable people. The Plan has revealed greater needs, which have required an unprecedented commitment by our Government in order to sustainably strengthen peace and to reassure Ivorians about the new direction in which their country is moving. The support of our partners has allowed us to keep sight of the fact that only a peacebuilding process based on national ownership and State leadership is sustainable, owing to consensus and national ownership that it inspires. For my country, the State is the cornerstone to peacebuilding and sustainability. In that connection, President Alassane Ouattara, during the post-election crisis, under the circumstances that all Council members observed, set out to preserve the State apparatus in order, once the conflict had ended, to rebuild and strengthen peace, as we are seeing today. My country has chosen its own path towards sustainably establishing peace. We emphasize economic development and the building of an efficient economy capable of offering opportunities to ex-combatants so they will lay down their weapons and in order to reduce poverty and inequalities, create jobs for young people and provide the State with the resources needed to finance crisis exit strategies. The dramatic recovery of Côte d’Ivoire’s economy, in the aftermath of the post-election crisis, has fostered the emergence of a robust State, which has fully taken part in post-conflict normalization efforts and peacebuilding. Thanks to the clear political will of President Ouattara, the State of Côte d’Ivoire has been engaged financially and on a scale rarely seen on the continent in the implementation and success of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and security sector reform, the strengthening of social cohesion and national reconciliation and post-conflict rebuilding efforts, As I mentioned before the Council in June 2017 (see S/PV.7957), UNOCI left behind a stable and peaceful country with a resilient economy and credible and reliable institutions, which has made it possible to resolve the major problems related to nationality and rural property, which were causes of the crisis, and enabled us to definitively establish democracy and good governance in public life. Drawing on lessons from our recent history, under the Constitution of the Third Republic President Alassane Ouattara has successfully undertaken an in-depth reorganization of political life and the political space so that the elections do not inevitably lead to conflict. The debate that brings us together today two years after the adoption of resolution 2282 (2016) reflects the importance that we collectively attach to the outcome of the reform on peacebuilding and sustaining peace in order to better support countries in post-conflict situations and to prevent them from returning to a state of belligerency. It is important to mention that sustaining peace should be a concern shared by all countries, including those at peace. Countries emerging from crisis have significant expectations of the Organization. We must continue to act as a guarantor for the deployment of development partners in the early stages of post-conflict reconstruction. In that regard, the example of my country can set out some principles. Since peacebuilding and sustaining peace depend on the post-conflict state of the institutions of a country, the action of our Organization and other partners should be either to strengthen the State when it exists or to rebuild it when it has collapsed. Any action taken by the international community as a substitute for the State will remain superficial and lead to a peace that is disastrously dependent and reliant. In order to be effective on the ground, our Organization must demonstrate great consistency and intervene as a single entity. To that end, it must stop the fragmentation of its resources and its actions observed in several post- conflict scenarios. It must therefore make decisive progress on its vision of delivering as one United Nations. In addition, Member States and development partners must mobilize the necessary resources for the United Nations as part of financing the peacebuilding and sustaining peace activity of the Peacebuilding Fund. Based on the lessons from its own experience, my country supports the reform of the peace and security pillar proposed by Secretary-General António Guterres, which outlines a more effective peacebuilding architecture. Côte d’Ivoire calls on developed countries, multilateral partners and the private sector to mobilize the resources necessary to finance development and the Peacebuilding Fund so that the United Nations can assist countries in post-crisis situations more effectively. It is also important to emphasize the role of preventive diplomacy and, in particular, the importance of early warning mechanisms to peacebuilding and sustaining peace and to encourage our Organization to pay them greater attention. I hope that the next review of the peacebuilding architecture, in 2020, will allow us to revitalize all the structures involved in that task and to strengthen the synergy of our actions in that area.

The work to build peace is never completed. Peace is built before, during and long after conflict. It takes effort every day. Sustaining peace means sustained commitment here at the United Nations and at home, in Member States. We therefore welcome the report of the Secretary- General (S/2018/43) and thank him for his leadership on this issue. The high-level event of the General Assembly has again underscored that sustaining peace represents the common ground of the efforts of the United Nations and of Member States. That is an important step forward. However, we must continue to give our full support to its implementation. That is why we pursue such objectives at the national level. Conflict prevention is the cornerstone of both our new Government’s integrated international security strategy and our aid and trade policies. It is the focus of our Security Council membership this year, and it was the focus of our previous membership in 1999-2000. Some years ago, the Kingdom of the Netherlands decided to contribute to the International Security Assistance Force and the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali because sustained stability is not only in the interest of the Afghan and Malian people but also contributes to stability in Europe. There are no quick fixes. Prevention requires us to understand and to address the root causes of conflict. To do that, first, we must respect fundamental human rights, the rule of law and human dignity as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace. The interrelationship between human rights, development and security has never been so evident in certain country situations before the Security Council. Secondly, we must implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the best universally agreed strategy for sustaining peace. For example, the Netherlands has joined the pathfinders for the SDG 16+ movement to better promote the worldwide implementation of Goal 16 — the goal of peaceful, just and inclusive societies and interconnected SDGs. Thirdly, we must promote inclusive negotiations and political processes. In March, we highlighted the good direction undertaken by Afghanistan with the inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process. It saddens me that path was darkened again last weekend with the horrific attack on an election registration office in Kabul, in which at least 57 people died. Situations of increasing risk must be brought to the attention of the Security Council in a timely manner. The Council can improve its role to maintain international peace and security by preventing violence from escalating. The Council must also keep a long- term focus on the impact of mandated tasks to achieve stability and peace. We are a consistent supporter of an integrated approach towards peacekeeping, peacebuilding and prevention. That is why we provide concrete support to peacekeeping operations, the Peacebuilding Fund and the United Nations capacities for prevention and peacebuilding. As Prime Minister Rutte stated in his intervention in the open debate in March (see S/PV.8218), we need to deliver on the primacy of the political process for long-term conflict resolution. In that regard, I welcome the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping initiative. It is an integrated approach that also relates to solving root causes through political solutions and to implementing peace agreements. All too often we have learned the risks of relapse the hard way. The Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), which Romania currently chairs, is fundamental to making cross-pillar and coherent approaches to peacebuilding a reality. We need to strengthen our cooperation. The Security Council and the PBC must complement each other in preparing for the transition of peacekeeping operations. We need to build on the convening role of the PBC because it can provide the Security Council with the perspectives of the varous stakeholders and advice on socioeconomic and long-term development challenges. As has been mentioned before, Liberia represents a successful example. The United Nations Mission in Liberia helped the country to build capacity for maintaining law and order. It also used so-called soft tools, such as public-service radio broadcasts, to emphasize the promotion of peace and national reconciliation. The transition is managed in close cooperation with the PBC. Such stories tell us that the Security Council has all the tools necessary to prevent conflict and to sustain peace. However, without our political will, the only result is an irresponsible standstill. The bloody conflict in Syria shows us the consequences of the Council’s lack of action. The United Nations system and we, the Member States, must play the role that people expect from us. To conclude, achieving peace and sustaining it always take much longer than we think. However, we have no choice but never to give up trying, hoping and supporting people to make the choice for peace and against violence.

Allow me to start by thanking the Secretary-General, State Secretary Neculăescu and Commissioner Chergui for their briefings. As I remember saying in Addis Ababa last September at the Security Council’s joint meeting with the African Union Peace and Security Council, our relationship is vital and we must continue to strengthen it if we are to have success. It is particularly good to see Commissioner Chergui in the Chamber today. The United Kingdom shares the briefers’ alarm at the scale and complexity of violent conflict today. The costs are mounting, whether they are measured in lost lives, displaced families, human rights violations, extreme poverty or peacekeeping and humanitarian budgets. Our motivations to prevent further conflict and to sustain peace must be greater than ever. I agree very much with the Secretary-General on the importance of human rights in this context, both, of course, as a warning or trigger of conflict, but not only that: we believe that activity on human rights at national and local levels can be an important contribution in and of itself to stability and conflict prevention. The United Kingdom very much welcomes Secretary-General Guterres’s vision for peacebuilding and sustaining peace, and particularly the renewed focus on conflict prevention set out in his report (S/2018/43). We also fully endorse the understanding that supporting countries to sustain peace should be a shared priority across the whole United Nations system, from peace and security to development and human rights. Many of our own Ministries and Governments have come to this conclusion. The Government of the United Kingdom has decided that over half of our development spending will be in conflict and fragile States, as there lies the greatest challenge in reducing poverty today. That does not, as some might be concerned, mean that the respective mandates of different parts of the United Nations are under threat. In that regard, we welcome the fact that both the General Assembly and the Security Council will adopt draft resolutions committing to further implementation of the sustaining peace vision agreed in 2016. The United Kingdom has identified three priorities for future work. First, we want to see a stronger partnership for peace developed between the United Nations and the World Bank. Their combined vision, expertise and global presence are essential to ensure that multilateral investments in development tackle the drivers of conflict. Secondly, we want to see more effective preventive diplomacy by the United Nations, in particular addressing underlying causes. We all know the critical role that political agreements play and the openings they create for peacebuilding. I very much endorse the Secretary-General’s words on the importance of women’s participation in such negotiations. We know from the research done that peace negotiations are 35 per cent more likely to be sustained for at least 15 years if women are involved in them. Our third priority is ensuring smoother peacekeeping mission transitions from mission to non-mission settings. I will say a few words more about that in a moment. Right from the moment that we decide to deploy peacekeepers, we should be thinking about their exit. While recognizing that fragile contexts will always be prone to risk, we on the Security Council need a clear vision of what a sufficiently stable end- state looks like. The Secretariat has a key role to play in that regard, through generating deeper analyses and mission-implementation plans with clear benchmarks towards achieving that end-state. These steps should then focus resources and allow the Council to track progress. This approach is being tested at the moment, of course, in Haiti. The United Nations development system needs to be stepping up sooner in mission settings. We welcome the Secretary- General’s suggestion to link development- system frameworks with mission assessments. As the Peacebuilding Fund has sought to encourage in Mali, peacekeepers and United Nations country teams need to work to the same script, the same deadlines and the same objectives. Funds, programmes and agencies must be ready to tackle conflict rather than simply work around it. Mapping capabilities to do so, as was done in Liberia, should ensure we are all better prepared to fill gaps when a mission leaves. The Secretary-General stressed the importance of enhancing coherence to support efforts by national Governments, and not everything is up to the United Nations. When politically inclusive, national ownership is what makes transition processes effective and resilient. We must always consider how missions implement their hand-overs to national institutions and actors. Côte d’Ivoire’s experience demonstrates the impact this can have when done well. I think the salutary lessons Minister Amon-Tanoh put forward were important for us all, in particular about ensuring that the United Nations does not take on the functions of Government and prevent Governments from being able to carry out their own tasks. The development of a shared peacebuilding plan could help pull the mission, the United Nations country team, donors, the host Government and other national stakeholders together through and beyond a transition. That the United States, Sweden and Liberia worked together so effectively to develop a peacebuilding plan demonstrates the valuable role that the Peacebuilding Commission can have, and that is why the United Kingdom has been one of the largest and longest- standing donors to the Peacebuilding Fund. Finally, we need to be creative about what the residual United Nations country team presence looks like. The creation of an enhanced Resident Coordinator’s Office in Liberia is a very promising initiative, and it reflects the recognition in the report of the Secretary- General that the United Nations development system needs enhanced capacities to support countries at risk of conflict. Transitions from mission settings are just one dimension of what is a larger agenda for sustaining peace, but, given that one of the most significant predictors of future conflict is past conflict, we must get them right. As daunting as solving the recurrent challenges to transitions may be, we do have good examples of innovative and effective action to draw on for our inspiration. With the Secretary-General’s report on sustaining peace and peacebuilding, we have a plan for making change happen. There should therefore be nothing stopping us in the Security Council from making change happen.

I would like to begin by thanking the Secretary-General for his important briefing and for his exemplary commitment to sustainable peace. I would also like to thank the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, Mr. Dan Neculăescu, and the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security, Mr. Smail Chergui, for their particularly enlightening briefings. As the French Minister of State stressed yesterday in the General Assembly, recent years have seen significant progress within the United Nations in terms of dealing with crises and in the United Nations approach to them (see A/72/PV.84). We are a long way from the days when the United Nations was involved in crises only through peacekeeping operations. The entire conflict cycle is taken into account today, in a pr evention-maintenance-peacebuilding continuum. The crisis situations to which the Security Council must respond have changed in nature and are increasingly asymmetrical, transnational and multidimensional. Many conflicts and civil wars are rooted in development and governance fragilities, the very same that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development seeks to address. We must therefore adopt a cross-cutting and integrated approach that over time combines security, humanitarian, political and development actions, human rights promotion and the fight against climate change and environmental degradation, by bringing together all partners in a common approach. In that context, what role should the Security Council play? I see three main roles for the Council. First, the Council must strengthen its preventive action. The United Nations was born out of the objective of prevention. For too long, this aspect has been neglected. The Security Council must be in a better position to anticipate crisis risks through an early-warning system, so as to improve the Council’s collective ability to act in advance of crises. Otherwise, we will be forced to manage crises, at a much higher human and financial cost. The first steps taken by the Secretary-General are in the right direction  — for instance, the setting up of the High-level Advisory Board on Mediation and a rethinking of communication on the concept of prevention as a useful tool before and after conflicts. France fully supports the Secretary-General’s initiatives in that regard. Regional organizations have an essential role to play. That was the case of the Economic Community of West African States in the Gambia, for example, with success, as President Barrow showed yesterday (see A/72/PV.83). The same should also be the case in Burundi, where, unfortunately, the East African Community’s mediation work is being hampered by the Government’s refusal to engage in a constructive dialogue with the opposition and international partners. We must also enable the most vulnerable countries to develop their own capacities, so that they are able to deal upstream with the fragilities that fuel crises — by combating climate change and environmental degradation; by fighting unemployment, particularly among young people; by remedying the lack of public services and public infrastructure; by establishing inclusive governance and effective, accountable and accessible institutions; by promoting a judicial system that gives everyone, without discrimination, access to quality justice; by ensuring respect for human rights; and by reducing tensions over natural resources. To ensure lasting peace, we must ensure that no one is left behind, as per our commitment under Agenda 2030. Secondly, when prevention fails and the spiral of violence sets in, it is our responsibility to stop the escalation and to intervene. That is what France has done at the request of its partners in Mali and the Central African Republic. In that context, peacekeeping operations remain a central tool of the Security Council to promote the return to peace. France will remain committed  — with strength, consistency and conviction  — to supporting peacekeeping operations. It is because these operations are inseparable from the original ambitions of the United Nations that our collective credibility depends on them and the reform work initiated by the Secretary-General must be fully supported. For peacekeeping operations to be effective, the Council must ensure that they have well-calibrated mandates that are part of a clear political strategy, with defined priorities and timetables. France is committed to that goal in the drafting of mandates, in particular on peacekeeping operations for which it is a penholder, in close coordination with troop-contributing countries. That requirement is all the more important in the case of multidimensional mandates, which, in addition to their need to adapt to particularly complex conflicts, must also build a bridge between peacekeeping and peacebuilding by promoting the treatment of the root causes of crises. Finally, the Security Council must ensure a successful transition from peacekeeping operations to peacebuilding and sustainability. That approach was pursued in Côte d’Ivoire, working closely with the Ivorian authorities to enable a gradual withdrawal of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire. The presence of Côte d’Ivoire in the Security Council today is an undeniable symbol of that success. More recently, in Liberia, the peacebuilding plan developed with the support of the Peacebuilding Commission also facilitated a successful transition. The Commission demonstrated the invaluable support it can provide to the Security Council through its expertise and its role in facilitating coordination and exchange among all of its partners. France fully supports strengthening the Peacebuilding Support Office and bolstering the Peacebuilding Fund, which must be able to preserve what makes it most valuable, that is, its flexibility and ability to react. As a token of its commitment, France contributed to the Fund last year after several years of not doing so. We have also decided to focus our development assistance to fragile countries and countries emerging from conflict. A French fund for resilience and peace has raised up to €100 million a year to that end, and will see its resources double by 2020. It is therefore a significant commitment for my country. While the demand for conflict prevention and the links between peace and development have become apparent, it is now up to the international community  — that is to say all of us  — to translate this determination into action for lasting peace. Ensuring lasting peace requires an effective peace and security architecture, a development system adapted to new challenges and based on an Organization with renewed management — a United Nations capable of facing the challenges of the twenty-first century. These three reforms go hand in hand; we cannot consider them separately. The Secretary-General can count on France’s determined support in this endeavour. France will contribute actively to the debates for the effective implementation of lasting peace in a constructive spirit. It will continue to pursue a firm policy in this area, whether on the ground or as part of its responsibilities at the United Nations, in order to take  — with the Members of the United Nations — multilateral action in the service of peace and security.

We welcome the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru, Mr. Néstor Popolizio Bardales. We also welcome the report (S/2018/43) presented by Secretary-General António Guterres, and the briefings by Mr. Dan Neculăescu, in his capacity as Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, and Mr. Smail Chergui, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union. We also thank the Peruvian presidency for convening this meeting, which allows us to address a key issue for international peace and security, namely, peacebuilding and sustainable peace. The term “peacebuilding” was first used in the 1992 report entield An Agenda for Peace, by former Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who defined it as, “action to identify and support structures which will tend to strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid a relapse into conflict.” (S/24111, para. 21) Peacebuilding was required in order to overcome the effects of war and consolidate peace processes. That is how began one of the most important and central tasks of the Organization: strengthening States in post- conflict situations. There is no doubt that the international scene is not static; it is undergoing considerable change. Persistent threats to international peace and security from terrorist groups, transnational crime and armed groups have served to highlight the need to strengthen and improve prevention mechanisms. The consolidation of regional and subregional partnerships, for example, is a crucial tool within the framework of the ownership and responsibility of its members, to appropriately address challenges to security and the rule of law. We have insisted that sustainable peace be pursued through political tools to find negotiated political solutions. We believe that dialogue implies learning, requires reflection and the recognition of differences, but also of points of agreement. It also facilitates recovery from a crisis and can prevent the escalation of violence, as long as the priorities and needs of the parties involved are taken into account. As a State that defends multilateralism and the peaceful means of conflict resolution, Bolivia is aware of the challenges facing the international community. We insistently call for peace through the use of multilateral mechanisms, in strict accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. Bolivia emphasizes that a preventive approach is essential within the framework of an in-depth study of the situation on a case-by-case basis. Sharing early- warning information on potential conflicts; developing conflict prevention mechanisms; coordinating joint and mutually supportive actions throughout the different stages of conflict response and management are all essential tasks. As we mentioned, cooperation with regional and subregional organizations in conflict prevention is crucial. The exchange of information with bodies such as the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and the Community of Central African States on their views of the reality on the ground contributes to reaching a better understanding of crises and to finding a unified approach to their resolution by considering the needs of each region on the basis of comparative advantages. In that connection, we appreciate the contribution of the Secretariat and the African Union Commission to the establishment of a joint working framework. We have repeatedly stated that peacebuilding is closely connected to the important links between good practices, the strengthening of interactive dialogues and coordination among the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Peacebuilding Commission. This in turn should make it possible for complementarity between peace and security initiatives, as well as national ownership and inclusiveness at all levels, to play a vital role in building a strategic partnership aimed at ensuring efficiency and flexibility, with the single goal of achieving sustainable peace. Likewise, in the context of peacebuilding, it is imperative to implement the women and peace and security agenda, under resolution 1325 (2000). We must reaffirm, ensure and promote the participation of women not only in peace processes, giving them an active role in the areas of prevention, mediation and dialogue, with a view to finding solutions based on conditions of equality, but also in post-conflict reconstruction, by means of their economic, social and cultural reintegration. It is also important to take into account the issues of the protection of young people; non-stigmatization; and the inclusion of youth in peace processes. We agree that there can be no development without peace, or peace without development. It is imperative that the members of the international community as a whole pool and redouble their efforts, with a view to enhancing synergies between peacekeeping and peacebuilding activities as required, in the context of their respective competencies. In addition, all of this must take place in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. By way of conclusion, let me say that to break the vicious circle of war, the structural causes of conflicts must be addressed. Interventionist practices and regime-change policies, inter alia, have led to collateral damage and, consequently, chaos, terrorism and militarization, with the regrettable results that are still being experienced today.

Your Excellency, Minister for Foreign Affairs, we welcome you as you preside over this important meeting which you have organized. It underscores the importance of peacebuilding and peacekeeping, and reflects the principles, objectives and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations. I wish also to thank the delegation of Peru for the good preparation of the concept note (S/2018/325, annex), which stresses the importance of peacebuilding and peacekeeping through advancing and promoting the efforts made by various organs of the United Nations to ensure their effectiveness, particularly peacekeeping operations. We are meeting today for these lofty ends which reflect the objectives, purposes and principles of the Charter. I wish also to take this opportunity to thank the Secretary-General; His Excellency the Foreign Minister of Romania, whose country is chairing the Peacebuilding Commission; and the Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union for their valuable briefings at the beginning of this meeting. It is vital, when speaking of building and maintaining peace, to highlight the importance of the role played by the Peacebuilding Commission in making and sustaining peace. We all are aware that the Security Council’s task is to maintain international peace and security. However, the Council usually does not act until tensions have escalated and become violent conflicts that are tantamount to a threat to international peace and security. This takes place at a very advanced stage of conflicts and when solutions become difficult, complex and very costly. The role of the Peacebuilding Commission, however, according to its mandate under resolution 1645 (2005), is to undertake a number of activities, such as doing surveys and submitting reports on the socioeconomic and political situation of the countries under consideration, as well as dealing with early-warning, quick-response, good offices and diplomatic solutions. It is therefore a forum that deals with various socioeconomic and political issues and cooperates with the Security Council on security- political issues. We therefore believe in the importance of promoting the role of the Commission in reaching the desired goals. We are firmly convinced that the Security Council has at its disposal the tools necessary to shoulder its responsibilities, as stated in Chapters VI, VII and VIII of the Charter, in responding to the traditional and renewed challenges facing our contemporary world. The most important of these tools is preventive diplomacy, in addition to the important and fundamental role of the Secretary-General in bringing matters to the attention of the Security Council, as set out in article 99 of the Charter. The Secretary-General has made great efforts to reform the peace and security pillar of the Secretariat. It is a very important step that leads to the strengthening of the Secretariat and which is supported by the State of Kuwait. We look forward to the adoption of the twin draft resolutions on this issue by the General Assembly and the Security Council. This would ensure continued efforts and the monitoring and assessment of the progress made by Member States and the United Nations for the promotion of building peace and sustaining peace. This would also make the United Nations more transparent, effective, accountable and capable of shouldering its duties and responsibilities. While we believe in the importance of this issue, which is closely linked to keeping peace and security, we express our full conviction that these efforts must be reflected on the ground by all parties concerned with building and maintaining peace. The topic of peacebuilding and sustaining peace should not be limited to thematic issues. Continuous follow-up of this topic will effectively contribute to its implementation. The State of Kuwait supports and encourages the mediation efforts and all other efforts made to ensure the peaceful resolution of conflict, as well as to help build national and regional capacities with a view to bringing about peace, stability and development and promoting human rights, especially in areas of tension or conflict. We would like to stress once again the firm belief of the State of Kuwait that development and human rights are closely linked to security, and that all peoples, through enjoying their social, civil, economic and political rights, can eradicate the root causes of conflict throughout the world. We would highlight the Secretary-General’s focus on strengthening the main pillars of the United Nations, namely to ensure security, peace, development and human rights, leading to sustained peace. This undoubtedly requires full coherent and coordination efforts on the part of the relevant organs in order to respond to all crises that threaten international peace and security.

China welcomes Peru’s initiative to convene today’s high- level open meeting. We welcome your presence here in New York, Foreign Minister Popolizio Bardales, and thank you for presiding over today’s meeting. As the key organ of the United Nations responsible for peace and security, the Security Council bears primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Council should therefore play an important role in strengthening the work of the United Nations in the areas of peacebuilding and sustaining peace. To that end, I wish to emphasize the following points. First, we must push for political solutions to the hotspot issues that exist in various regions. The Security Council and the international community should, on the basis of respect for the sovereignty of the countries concerned, actively support those countries in promoting the process of achieving peace in keeping with their specific situation; promote national reconciliation; continue to de-escalate the situation; seek to resolve such hotspot issues; and effectively prevent a relapse into conflict by creating conditions conducive to peacebuilding. Secondly, the relevant United Nations agencies, in their peacebuilding efforts, should have a strong focus and clearly identified priorities. The United Nations should respect the will and ownership of post-conflict countries when providing constructive support and assistance based on their needs on the ground and strictly carry out its work in accordance with mandates. Thirdly, we must ensure that the advisory role of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) to the Security Council is fully undertaken. The PBC, which is jointly mandated by the General Assembly and the Security Council, has the advantage of integrating the political, security and development aspects. We welcome a greater role for the PBC as it provides useful and valuable recommendations to the Security Council. Fourthly, we must ensure a smooth transition between peacekeeping operations and peacebuilding. It is imperative that, once the desired objectives for peacekeeping operations have been largely achieved, peacebuilding should follow suit in a timely manner to prevent the countries concerned from returning to conflict. In the later stages of peacekeeping operations, there should be plans for peacebuilding efforts after the withdrawal of such operations. If their mandates already include peacebuilding-related elements, peacekeeping operations should ensure a smooth transition of related functions. The United Nations peacebuilding architecture is mandated by the General Assembly and the Security Council. China stands ready to actively assist the Security Council to play its role in building peace and fulfilling its Charter responsibilities to maintain international peace and security.

I would like to welcome His Excellency Mr. Néstor Popolizio Bardales to New York. I congratulate you, Sir, on Peru’s presidency of the Security Council and on convening today’s important meeting, which enables us to share our views about the implications of the report of the Secretary-General on peacebuilding and sustaining peace (S/2018/43) on the work of the Council. I would also like to thank Secretary-General António Guterres; State Secretary for Regional Affairs and Multilateral Global Affairs in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Romania, as Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, Mr. Dan Neculăescu; and the Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union, Mr. Smail Chergui, for their briefings on the status of the review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 70/262 and resolution 2282 (2016). Global peacekeeping efforts must be redesigned in order to respond to twenty-first century conflicts and address their root causes. The complexity and protracted nature of current conflicts, as well as their links to violent extremism, terrorism and organized crime, make it essential to invest in revamping the United Nations architecture in order to support countries’ peacebuilding efforts. In that regard, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea thanks Secretary-General Guterres for his efforts to ensure the political and operational coherence of plans to improve leadership, accountability and the ability of the United Nations to support that important agenda. We agree in particular that investing in inclusive and sustainable global development is the best tool for preventing violent conflicts. For that reason, we welcome the efforts of the Secretary-General to ensure the implementation of United Nations development system reform. As the Secretary-General states in his report, peacebuilding is above all the responsibility of Member States. We therefore welcome the efforts and unique role of the Peacebuilding Commission in support of such processes throughout the world, in particular the African Solidarity Initiative, the Joint United Nations- African Union Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security and the memorandum of understanding between the African Union Commission and the Peacebuilding Support Office, while promoting gender equality and always respecting the principle of national sovereignty. According to the report under consideration today, investing in conflict prevention could save conflict- afflicted countries and the international community between $5 billion and $70 billion per year. The efforts of the Secretary-General in the areas of development, management reform and the review of the United Nations architecture are constrained by a decrease in official development assistance to $41 billion, and, by extension, a lower percentage earmarked for peacebuilding in conflict-afflicted countries. Conflict- affected countries, in which more than half of the world’s abject poor live, contributed $153 billion to the global economy in 2016. Equatorial Guinea would like to voice its concern about the implications of that capital flight for some of the world’s poorest countries and communities, which are affected by conflicts and extreme poverty. I would like to encourage the disbursement of the funds required to boost South-South and triangular cooperation, diversify the sources of resources and promote partnerships to ensure predictable funding for peacebuilding efforts, in particular the Peacebuilding Fund. Equatorial Guinea welcomes presidential statement S/PRST/2017/27 and proposes that it be used to support the reform of the peacebuilding architecture. We also proposes that the statement be used to support the important advisory role of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Support Office and that the relevant United Nations bodies conduct an in-depth study into the practical implications of proposals for the purpose of prioritizing the use of existing funds. In that regard, I would like to reiterate the support of Equatorial Guinea for substantive dialogue on the implementation of the twin resolutions and the proposals outlined in the report of the Secretary- General, which are above and beyond the briefings to which we are restricted. Investing in peacebuilding and sustainable development is the most effective way to prevent and end the root causes of conflicts and achieve peace and security for all. In conclusion, for the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, its Government and Head of State, His Excellency Mr. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, peace has no price. It must continue to be cultivated despite the external adversities that may threaten it at times. It is that sustainable peace, with which Equatorial Guinea and its people live, that has enabled every corner of our country to achieve economic, social and political development, through the implementation of our Horizon 2020 agenda, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Let me begin by thanking the Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres; the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, Mr. Dan Neculăescu; and the Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union, Mr. Smail Chergui, for their very informative briefings. I would also like to congratulate the Peruvian presidency for convening today’s briefing, which addresses one of the most crucial elements of our work here at the Security Council. For over 70 years since the founding of the United Nations, building sustainable peace has been the holy grail of the international community. We have worked very hard to find it and fulfil the dreams of so many, but, so far, to no avail. There have always been new challenges and obstacles, such as conflicts, asymmetrical attacks and violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. In order to tackle them, we should deploy a broad spectrum of activities within the competences of all three pillars: peace and security, development and human rights. They are all interlinked and mutually reinforcing. Long-term peace and security cannot be ensured without addressing development and human rights. If connected, they are stronger and more effective. That is why I would like to focus the attention of the Council on those issues. First, on the peace and security pillar, eacebuilding and sustainable peace are a fundamental condition for development. To that end, the United Nations should comprehensively address conflicts through the use of all available instruments — from prevention, through peace settlement and peacekeeping to comprehensive post-conflict restoration. We should all underline the importance of peacekeeping in the wider and complex process of sustaining peace. It should be the priority of international community to make all the available tools coherent and effectively interlinked. Peacebuilding and sustaining peace are strongly linked to the means of the peaceful settlement of conflicts enshrined in Chapter VI of the Charter of the United Nations. Any peacebuilding action will succeed only if potential conflicts are countered at their roots. The international community cannot forget that prevention is a key of peacebuilding and its mention in the Charter should be taken seriously, as a powerful tool in our hands. Secondly, let me turn to the pillar of development. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, wherein we pledged to leave no one behind, create conditions for inclusive and sustainable development and provide the best way to prevent crises and conflicts in today’s world. In that regard, we appreciate the latest report (S/2018/43) of the Secretary-General on peacebuilding and sustaining peace. Cooperation among all stakeholders, including Governments, civil society, academia and the business community, is of the utmost importance. That means that we have to be prepared for new forms of partnership and turn ideas into action, the dividends of which should extend to all actors involved. It is therefore crucial to align the core business of the private sector with the strategic goals of the international community. Only such an approach will give us a chance for a peacebuilding process to bring about the expected results. Thirdly, with regard to human rights, there is no successful peace process without full respect for human rights. Respect for human rights also means social cohesion. Every member of a society has the right to be equal and secure. Its absence in many parts of the world creates a source of instability. Youth also have their place within the human rights pillar. Young people in many parts of the world experience great frustration and desperation, which are factors of destabilization. Fostering the participation of youth is crucial for the effective implementation of the peacebuilding and sustaining peace agenda. Poland therefore fully supports resolution 2250 (2015), on youth, peace and security. Equally important is the empowerment of women. Women’s meaningful participation in all aspects of peace and security is critical to the effectiveness of the agreements reached. Poland remains committed to the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), on women and peace and security, in political and institutional dimensions. For Poland  — the country that initiated the negotiations on the Convention on the Rights of the Child  — a question of crucial importance is that of the rights of children in peace processes, including their protection from all forms of violence, negligent treatment and exploitation, including sexual abuse. We strongly support the need for rehabilitation and reintegration measures for former child combatants and their meaningful participation in peacebuilding efforts. I would here like to commend the important work of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and her Office. In conclusion, let me reiterate the statement made yesterday (see S/PV.8241) by Mr. Jacek Czaputowicz, the Polish Minister for Foreign Affairs, that Poland is ready to engage actively in the peacebuilding and sustaining peace efforts of the United Nations and of the Secretary-General and the international community at large.

Let me start by congratulating you, Foreign Minister Néstor Popolizio Bardales, and Peru on your successful presidency of the Security Council this month, as well as to commend Lima’s initiative to organize this timely briefing on peacebuilding and sustaining peace. My delegation expresses appreciation to the Secretary-General’s determined effort to strengthen the United Nations peace and security pillar, and offers our full support in that endeavour. We also thank the Romanian State Secretary, Mr. Dan Neculăescu, and the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security, Mr. Smail Chergui, for their substantive briefings. Kazakhstan believes that early warning, preventive diplomacy, mediation and peacekeeping are interdependent and complimentary components of a comprehensive, integrated strategy in which peacebuilding and sustaining peace should be an integral element running through the entire cycle. Investments in sustaining peace should begin early to avoid conflict. Without it, such stability can be uncertain, fragile and vulnerable to new shocks. We could not but agree with the Secretary-General’s observation that instead of responding to crises, we need to invest far more in prevention. Prevention works, saves lives and is cost- effective. Since gaining its independence, 27 years ago, Kazakhstan has been at the forefront of preventive diplomacy, conflict prevention and confidence-building measures, which are the core principles of our foreign policy. That is not a political declaration, but rather the working methods of my country. We have existing mechanisms that demonstrate how we have carried out those principles in real life. An outstanding example of that has been the initiative of my President to create the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, which has been successfully functioning in our region for the past 10 years, as well as the foundation of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia, which today is comprised of 26 countries from far beyond Central Asia, over a wide geographic space from Cairo to Beijing, engaging the nations in measures to ensure peace and stability in Asia through dialogue and trust-building. We strive to use all possible venues and platforms, including the United Nations, to prevent threats and maintain peace. We therefore consider Kazakhstan’s election as a non-permanent member of the Security Council as a high responsibility, as well as a symbol of trust from the United Nations States Members in our country and its peace-loving policy, initiatives and proposals for strengthening the role of the United Nations in ensuring peace and security. In the context of the overall efforts for peacebuilding and sustaining peace, Kazakhstan is currently promoting an initiative of a three-fold strategy to address today’s conflicts and sustaining peace, which are the security and development nexus, a regional approach and the United Nations Delivering as One. That is a simple, pragmatic and workable formula based on our national experience, as well as the experience we have gained in the Council through interactions with different interlocutors during several Security Council visits to various countries and regions, including the regions of Lake Chad and the Sahel, Haiti and Colombia, and Afghanistan in January during our presidency. In addition, it is complementary to the efforts undertaken by the Secretary-General in his reforms of the peace and security architecture, the development system and management. That strategy may be seen as a combined policy of implementing three of the Secretary- General’s reforms and will help to solve problems on the ground globally. None of the three approaches is new to the United Nations system; however, in our view, a combination of them could create a universal model to address conflicts and sustain peace that can be replicated in different parts of the world suffering from local conflicts. We need to create a new United Nations paradigm for addressing and preventing conflicts. The importance of the three-fold strategy was recognized by the Security Council when it adopted presidential statement S/PRST/2018/1 on 18 January. It is our aim to introduce this strategy to the wider United Nations membership. In that regard, we call on the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Support Office to use their venues to explore the efficiency of this strategy. Indeed, it has a cross-pillar bridging and convening role, as well as the ability to bring together diverse actors, including Member States, host Governments, the United Nations system, international financial institutions and regional and subregional organizations, as well as civil society and academia. Kazakhstan is of the firm view that it is a time to actively engage in the reform of peacebuilding and sustaining peace systems in order to bring more efficiency and better coordination to our efforts to build a safer world. Kazakhstan has been contributing to this process financially and otherwise — locally, regionally and globally  — and will continue to do so in future because there is no alternative if we wish, for ourselves and the next generation, to live in peace and prosperity.

I thank the Peruvian presidency for calling for and presiding over this important briefing on peacebuilding and sustaining peace. I would also like to thank the Secretary-General, Mr. Neculăescu and Mr. Chergui for their briefings. Virtually every conflict-affected country considered by the Security Council has struggled with consolidating peace in the aftermath of conflict. The United Nations has often struggled to find and apply the right tools to prevent crises and break cycles of conflict. The United States believes in the admirable goals of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture, as established. Towards that end, we are optimistic that the General Assembly’s endorsement of the Secretary- General’s proposal to integrate the Peacebuilding Support Office into the Department of Political Affairs will help break down existing institutional silos that prevent us from using all the tools we have to prevent conflict and maintain global peace and security. Structural change alone will not ensure the success of peacebuilding. Changes in the way the United Nations thinks are necessary in order to ensure sustainable peace. We encourage the Secretary-General to follow through on many of the good ideas and commitments in the report on peacebuilding and sustaining peace (S/2018/43). That includes integrated strategic frameworks and the United Nations development assistance frameworks and greater in-country cross- pillar cooperation, such as among the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, global focal point for police, justice and corrections, and the Joint UNDP-Department of Political Affairs Programme on Building National Capacities for Conflict Prevention and its Peace and Development Advisers. We must do more to get in front of and head off the drivers and underlying causes of conflict. We also urge the Peacebuilding Support Office to provide greater information on peacebuilding and sustaining peace best practices for the Peacebuilding Commission and Member States to draw from when they are working to prevent conflict and sustain peace. The United States, however, does not support suggestions to repurpose, reprogramme or tie a percentage of peacekeeping budget funds to peacebuilding. We encourage countries to provide voluntary funding to the Peacebuilding Fund. Access to assessed funding is not a panacea for all problems, and it will not fix the fundamental obstacles to effective peacebuilding, namely, the lack of coherence and coordination across existing programmes and the lack of political will to integrate conflict prevention and the promotion of human rights at the country level and across the United Nations. One area where we would like to see better integration of peacebuilding resources is in enabling sustainable exit strategies for United Nations peace operations, including plans for a viable transition from peacekeeping to peacebuilding. We have emphasized the importance of sustainable exit strategies for peacekeeping missions and noted that peacekeeping cannot be a substitute for political solutions. Better integration of peacebuilding strategies into the exit strategies of peacekeeping missions can help enable sustainable political transitions. The Security Council did precisely that when it mandated that the United Nations to devise a peacebuilding plan for Liberia in preparation for the closure of the mission there. The United Nations devised that plan in close coordination with the Government of Liberia and with the participation of civil society. The result was something that all parties could support and something of which we should all be proud. The Liberian Government committed to working with the peacekeeping mission, the United Nations country team, local stakeholders and international partners to implement the steps laid out in this first-of-its-kind plan to sustain peace in the years to come. That should be the best-practice model for similar transitions in future. We know that every situation is different. As we have seen in Haiti, for instance, United Nations police can play an essential role in ensuring viable exit strategies. A critical aspect of achieving mission exit strategies is better integration of the police into all aspects of mission planning and ensuring that the United Nations Police Division is empowered to properly assess, plan, deploy, manage and support peace operations. Even more critical is the inclusion of civil society actors in peacebuilding planning, including women and youth leaders, human rights activists, experts in transitional justice and others. Only when all voices in a society are heard and human rights and human dignity are respected can effective and lasting transitions to peace occur. Equally important to sustaining peace and peacebuilding are partnerships with the World Bank and other international financial institutions, as well as the role of the private sector. Addressing socioeconomic challenges is an extremely important element of peacebuilding and requires greater engagement with multiple stakeholders. Governments must hold up their side of the deal, cooperating with United Nations agencies and, most importantly, demonstrating the political will to build and sustain peace. That political will must include the protection and promotion of human rights and commitments to building just and equitable governing structures. While we are far from resolving many of the conflicts facing the world today, we are optimistic that the Secretary-General’s focus on United Nations reform and on peacebuilding and sustaining peace will yield good results. The United States looks forward to continuing to work with all members of the Security Council and the General Assembly to that end.

I am pleased to welcome the eminent participants to this important discussion, preparations for which took a number of years. We thank the Secretary-General for finding the time to participate personally in this discussion. We further thank the Peruvian presidency for the initiative of convening today’s meeting. Today, on the second day of deliberations in the General Assembly, those present here already have a view as to how Member States envisage the way ahead in the important work of the United Nations in building and sustaining peace. It is well known that those who do not recall the past cannot count on a dignified future. For that reason, I wish to turn to the very sources of peacebuilding to recall how it began and the noble goals set forth by the General Assembly and the Security Council when they established these avenues of work. Thirteen years ago, through General Assembly resolution 60/180 and Security Council resolution 1645 (2005), two United Nations Charter bodies established the Peacebuilding Commission to deliver assistance to countries in the post-conflict period. The main aim of this decision was to help set countries on the path to development and recovery as expeditiously as possible. The Commission was instructed to deliver assistance in crafting peacebuilding strategies for host States on the basis of their priorities, to bring together the key stakeholders within and beyond the United Nations, and to coordinate their efforts. Ten years later, the identical General Assembly resolution 70/262 and Security Council resolution 2282 (2016) specified the goals of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC). Above all, States agreed on defining the concept of sustaining peace to help them understand differences among tasks implemented at the national and international levels to achieve sustainable solutions. For States, this is a matter of national ownership in defining and implementing peacebuilding strategies, the importance of considering public opinion and the need to prevent the emergence, escalation, perpetuation and recurrence of conflicts, and to eliminate their root causes. To that end, it is important that the task of sustaining peace lie not only with Governments, but equally with all national stakeholders. While international assistance in the area of sustaining peace plays a supporting role, the same term has a slightly different meaning at the United Nations. It implies that such support must be based on the experience of all bodies of the Organization and that attention must be accorded from the very outset and at all stages of conflict. In that regard, every United Nations body must act strictly within its mandate. Since the adoption of the twin resolutions two years ago at the United Nations, there has been ongoing debate on exactly how activities in this area should change. Secretary-General António Guterres has made an important contribution to the discussion with his recent thematic report (S/2018/43). His proposals and recommendations will undoubtedly provide a basis for further discussion among Member States to strengthen the effectiveness and capacity of the United Nations in the area of peacebuilding support. I will not pre-empt our statement to be delivered at the General Assembly tomorrow. I will note only the main points. First, peacebuilding and sustaining peace are inextricably linked. With the introduction of the new term, traditional peacebuilding must not be relegated to the back burner. On the contrary, as the work of the PBC demonstrates, it is becoming ever more necessary. We are therefore sceptical about the idea of positioning sustaining peace as a new central task. Secondly, conflict prevention is an independent domain. Its principles are enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and United Nations resolutions. The primary role in that respect is also played by States themselves within their national territories. It is they that determine whether or not they need international support and what form it should take. Thirdly, by definition, one-size-fits-all approaches and reliable universal crises indicators do not exist. Every case requires an individual approach, a unique solution and, most importantly, a State’s consent to be provided with international support. That also applies to human rights issues, which are often artificially politicized to influence sovereign domestic political processes. It is interference in the internal affairs of others under the pretext of the protection and promotion of human rights that has led to most of today’s bloody conflicts. There are many examples of such situations and, unfortunately, many of them are to be found in States neighbouring the Russian Federation. Fourthly, the main task of resident coordinators should be to step up the reliability and effectiveness of State institutions without duplicating or supplanting their work. Monitoring less-than-obvious indicators instead of helping to resolve urgent issues is fraught with the risk of reducing, not increasing, effectiveness. Fifthly, concerning theoretical linkages connecting human rights, development, peace and security, it is important to understand that each of those areas should be addressed by specialized bodies in full adherence to their current mandates. Whether or not certain issues are discussed in the Security Council should not determine their importance to the international community. The Security Council will soon adopt a draft resolution identical to that agreed by the General Assembly. We support the core message of those documents that Member States closely follow issues concerning peace and intend to continue to discuss them. We appreciate the Secretary-General’s contribution to that discussion and hope that the procedural consensus on procedural resolutions will be properly interpreted. Peacebuilding and sustaining peace are far too multidimensional in nature to operate on what is largely an artificial consensus. Much work remains to be done in the future, in the course of which United Nations Member States and bodies should learn to better understand and consider one another’s priorities. We believe that the primary goal and purpose of peacebuilding, sustaining peace and the United Nations as a whole are to help States build their own capacities so that they can dispense with international assistance and ultimately begin helping those that continue to require such assistance.

Let me begin by thanking the Peruvian presidency for organizing this important high-level briefing. We are pleased to see you, Mr. Minister, presiding over this meeting. I would like to express our appreciation to the Secretary-General for his comprehensive report (S/2018/43) two years after the twin resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council (General Assembly resolution 70/262 and resolution 2282 (2016)) on the review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture were adopted. We thank him for his presentation of the report, which outlines how he intends to implement the new approach to sustaining peace. We also thank the State Secretary for Regional Affairs and Multilateral Global Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, as Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission. We are indeed very pleased to see Commissioner Chergui among us, and his presence here today signifies the need to forge necessary partnerships with regional organizations in addressing the challenges of sustaining peace. We draw satisfaction from the fact that cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union (AU) is currently at the highest level that it has ever been. Commissioner Chergui rightfully paid tribute to the Secretary-General for the role that he has been playing in strengthening that partnership between the United Nations and the AU. We, of course, look forward in the same spirit to further strengthening cooperation between the Security Council and the Peace and Security Council of the African Union. The timing of this high-level meeting could not be any more appropriate in the light of the unprecedented challenges facing the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security. All indications are that we are passing through a period characterized by increasing geopolitical tensions. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is now becoming a major threat. Terrorism and violent extremism also remain a grave danger to international peace and security. Cybercrime and the possibility of the disruption of critical infrastructure are becoming an almost realized nightmare. The spread of small arms and light weapons and the increasing activities of transnational organized criminals continue to foment instability around the world. The impact of that on Africa is cause for great concern. Nevertheless, we are encouraged by the ongoing reform process that the Secretary-General is undertaking to make the Organization fit for purpose in responding to current security challenges. In view of the enormous peace and security challenges we face today, prioritizing conflict prevention is not really an option. The concept of sustaining peace is also perfectly aligned with that important priority, and it has certainly brought about a new paradigm shift in the manner in which we should deal with peace and security issues. It is hence encouraging to note that the proposed reform of the United Nations peace and security pillar has prioritized prevention and sustaining peace as its overarching goal. That is very critical, in our view, as it provides the necessary framework to coordinate a coherent response in addressing root causes and violence across various stages of conflict. We believe that the reform outcome will allow the United Nations to develop an integrated capability to comprehensively tackle contemporary security challenges, including, among other ways, by reducing duplicative structures and overlapping mandates; ensuring greater transparency and accountability; and improved planning and budgetary process. We feel that this would ultimately strengthen the Organization’s ability to deliver effective and efficient operational support in the field, including in complex security terrains where peacekeeping and special political missions are deployed. That is why we welcome the latest report of the Secretary-General on the review of the peacebuilding architecture and his recommendations contained therein. It has been emphasized time and again that peace and security, development and human rights are inextricably linked, and therefore closer collaboration among various United Nations organs and other stakeholders is required for building peaceful and inclusive societies. As rightly stressed in the latest report, addressing institutional fragmentation and ensuring policy and operational coherence across the entire United Nations system is also essential to ensure that conflict prevention and sustaining peace are placed at the heart of the Organization’s work and activities. However, we have to realize that we cannot achieve that without fully utilizing the potential role of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), particularly its convening, bridging and advisory roles with principal and relevant organs of the United Nations. We therefore need to scale up the PBC’s contribution along that line, and continuous focus and engagement are needed to ensure that the Commission continues to promote an integrated, strategic and coherent approach. In that regard, we are encouraged to note the recent comprehensive advice of the PBC to the Security Council on a number of regional and country- specific issues. We are also encouraged to note that the Secretary-General has underscored in his reform proposal the hinge role of the Peacebuilding Support Office in linking the peace and security pillar with development and humanitarian efforts. We believe that the United Nations cannot address the myriad international security challenges alone. In order to achieve the end goal of sustaining peace, there is a need to enhance partnerships with various stakeholders, including with regional and subregional organizations, international financial institutions, national Governments and various civil society and private organizations across the whole spectrum of conflict cycles, including prevention, peacekeeping and special political missions, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. For instance, the African Union’s peacebuilding efforts in Africa in line with the implementation of the AU post-conflict reconstruction and development policy framework, as well as the African Solidarity Initiative, certainly complements the work of the PBC. We hope the Joint United Nations-African Union Framework for an Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security will be instrumental in further strengthening the cooperation between the United Nations and the AU in peacebuilding and sustaining peace in Africa. We also welcome the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the PBC and the Economic Community of West African States, which provides a framework for cooperation and partnership in peacebuilding. Ultimately, sustaining peace is of course a national endeavour, and the national ownership and inclusivity of all stakeholders, including the Government, the private sector and civil society, is key to achieving the objective of sustaining peace. What is really required of the United Nations and international partners is to help build national and local capacities for sustaining peace. That has to be very well explained and understood by all so as to avoid any misunderstanding. Building the necessary confidence among Member States is absolutely important to facilitate the implementation and operationalization of this new approach to peacebuilding and sustaining peace. Finally, we believe there is a need for a change of mindset, without which no amount of structural adjustments and innovations can help us achieve the ultimate objective of making peace and security sustainable and avert what otherwise could be a calamity of immeasurable consequences. That should not be considered as too difficult or complex to achieve, for a good start can be made by summoning our earlier commitment to multilateralism, without which the creation of the United Nations would have been inconceivable, and reining in the short-sighted and undisciplined pursuit of national interest, in which the rationale for the United Nations is anchored and which the Second World War made a lesson to be ignored only at our peril. This, no doubt, is a period when much wisdom is needed in relations among States.