EU Statement – UN Security Council: Peacebuilding & Sustaining Peace

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EU Statement - UN Security Council: Peacebuilding & Sustaining Peace

24.01.2023 Press and information team of the Delegation to the UN in New York

26 January 2023, New York - Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States by H.E. Ambassador Olof Skoog at the UN Security Council Open debate on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace: Investment in people to enhance resilience against complex challenges

- Written statement -

Mr President,

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the European Union and its member states.

The Candidate Countries North Macedonia^*, Montenegro^*, Serbia^*, Albania^*, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina^*, the potential candidate country Georgia, as well as Andorra align themselves with this statement.

We want to thank the Japanese presidency for convening this open debate on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace. The topic is all the more relevant in light of the Secretary General's "New Agenda for Peace", which we strongly support. With global conflict on the rise and one quarter of the world's population living in conflict-affected areas, it is time to put conflict prevention and peacebuilding front and centre of our priorities.

First of all, the Security Council, with its primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, must fulfil the highest standards of conduct, by upholding international law, including international human rights law and humanitarian law. For permanent members, this means refraining from using the veto when there is a risk of mass atrocity crimes, and not abusing veto power when they are party to a conflict. Implementing the French-Mexican initiative to suspend the use of the veto in cases of mass atrocities would be a welcome step.

We welcome the landmark UNGA Resolution 76/262, creating a "Standing mandate for a General Assembly debate when a veto is cast in the Security Council", adopted on 26 April 2022, which may well have long-term effects in the relationship between the General Assembly and the Security Council.

Second, the Security Council must adopt a conflict prevention and peacebuilding lens to all its work. This includes for the Council to stand behind the Secretary General and his special representatives, mediators and envoys who act on his behalf to promote peace in the field. The unanimous support of the Security Council for the often sensitive and complex tasks undertaken by these representatives, are key to their success.

It is also essential to strengthen the linkages between the Peacebuilding Commission and the Security Council, in order to make full use of the PBC's unique advisory and bridging roles. The PBC is particularly well placed for the promotion of common analyses amongst the growing number of integrated UN missions and to inform and guide transitions of both peacekeeping and special political missions. It is essential that this practice is further reinforced and systematically informed by the work of Transition Specialists, Peace and Development and Environmental Advisers as well as Resident Coordinators.

It would also be welcome to hold informal interactive dialogues, at the expert-level, in advance of Security Council's meetings or visits, in situations where the Council may require the advice of the Commission. These joint reflections could also be useful in developing guidance for the Peacebuilding Commission when it prepares written submissions for the Council's consideration.

The Security Council also has a range of other tools at its disposal to better address emerging threats and risk multipliers. A good example is the Climate and Security Mechanism, which brings together the conflict prevention and early warning expertise of DPO and DPPA with the climate change mitigation and adaptation expertise of UNDP and UNEP. The establishment of the Informal Expert Group of Members of the Security Council on Climate and Security is also an important example of a tool that helps the Council react to emerging threats and risk multipliers such as climate change.

Third, as the concept note for this debate points out, the wider UN system must adopt a holistic approach and invest in people and resilient institutions that can better withstand conflict and build sustaining peace. The Peacebuilding Fund plays a key role in supporting coordinated efforts across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. The EU and its Member States provide more than 60% of the funding to the PBF, but there is clearly still a considerable gap in funding for peacebuilding. In this regard, we welcome the adoption of UNGA Resolution on Financing for Peacebuilding last September, facilitated by Kenya and Sweden. We look forward to the continuation of the Fifth Committee's consideration of assessed contributions for the PBF.

Mr President,

A couple of weeks ago, the Secretary General reported that 11,000 schools remain closed across the Sahel due to violence, and that 40 million children in that region are out of school. In Afghanistan, which Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohamed visited earlier this week, girls are banned from attending secondary school and university. Education is a fundamental human right and the foundation of resilient, peaceful and sustainable societies. We have put education at the very heart of the post-pandemic recovery, almost doubling our global spending on education to over 6 billion for the period 2021-2027.

We also know that a more gender-equal state is also more peaceful and inclusive. Building resilience and effective institutions therefore means removing all barriers to gender equality and women's empowerment. It means investing in women and girls and ensuring their full, equal and meaningful participation in all parts of society. In conflict settings, it also means ensuring that women are full, equal and meaningful participants in peace, security and peacebuilding processes and operations. Similarly, it is important to promote the meaningful participation of youth in all conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts.

Finally, Mr President, the EU wants to seize the potential vested in the New Agenda for Peace, while also maintaining focus on the ambitious objectives we already collectively set forth in 2030 agenda. A New Agenda for Peace is a welcome opportunity to reinvigorate the UN's longstanding commitment to timely, coordinated and sustained conflict prevention.

It is also essential that the universality and indivisibility of Human Rights, a rules-based international order founded on the UN Charter, and the value of multilateralism - as an effective and sustainable way to address challenges to global peace and security - are at the core of the New Agenda for Peace.

I can assure you of the European Union's continued support to conflict prevention, peacebuilding and sustaining peace. We will continue to work to strengthen these aspects of the Security Council's work and of the UN system more broadly.

Thank you.

*North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.