Israeli forces continue to employ “lethal war-like tactics” in the West Bank, including airstrikes, with people being killed, injured and displaced, the UN Spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Israeli forces continue to employ “lethal war-like tactics” in the West Bank, including airstrikes, with people being killed, injured and displaced, the UN Spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The UN-led mass polio vaccination campaign entered its second day in central Gaza on Monday with pauses in fighting holding sufficiently for thousands more children to receive their dose, in addition to the 87,000 who received their first round on Sunday, UN agencies said.
Spotlighting crises roiling parts of eastern Africa, the UN deputy chief concluded a regional visit in Adré, Chad, on Friday, calling for global solidarity to tackle famine in Sudan, flooding and mass displacement while ensuring free-flowing aid for millions trapped in war zones and those fleeing for their lives.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres told parliamentarians in Timor-Leste on Friday the world has much to learn from their inspirational struggle for self-rule, 25 years to the day since the historic referendum which paved the way for independence in 2002.
The UN Security Council met in emergency session in New York on the continuing crisis in Gaza and the occupied West Bank on Thursday. Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced agreement had been reached with Israel to allow a mass polio vaccination campaign to get underway through a series of humanitarian pauses beginning on Sunday. UN News app users can follow coverage here.
As the crisis in the West Bank continues to escalate alongside the ongoing war in Gaza, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for an “immediate cessation” of Israeli military operations in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Mr. President,
On Saturday, 24 August, Ukraine marked its 33rd Independence Day.
The day also marked a somber milestone of two and a half years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – launched in blatant violation of the UN Charter and international law.
On this occasion, we reiterate the United Nations’ full commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders.
Over the past 30 months, millions of Ukrainians have witnessed unimaginable death, devastation, and destruction.
According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, since 24 February 2022, 11,662 civilians have been killed - 639 of them children. 24,207 civilians have been injured - 1,577 of them children.
This July was the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine in almost two years: at least 219 civilians were killed and 1,018 injured.
Tragically, these figures only grow, as missiles, shells and drones continue to hit cities, towns and villages across Ukraine daily.
In the past two days, hundreds of missiles and drones reportedly killed at least eleven people and hit energy and other critical civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. Damage was reported in 15 regions, with at least 11 energy facilities affected.
This vast destruction further aggravates the already precarious access to energy and water for millions of people.
Days earlier, on 24 August, amidst escalating fighting in eastern Ukraine, a missile struck a hotel in the town of Kramatorsk, Donetsk region of Ukraine. A Reuters staff member was killed and four journalists injured. Similar attacks on hotels, restaurants, markets and shopping areas in frontline communities have been reported.
We are also concerned about the impact of the spread of fighting on the civilian population on both sides of the Ukraine-Russia border, including in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine, as well as in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions of the Russian Federation.
Following the start of Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region on 6 August, local Russian officials reported at least 12 people killed and 121 others injured. According to local officials, at least 130,000 people have been evacuated from the region. OHCHR has not received additional reports of civilian casualties or related harm and is not able to confirm these reports as it has no access to the Russian Federation and the areas impacted by the fighting.
As the Secretary-General repeatedly underlined, attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are unacceptable, no matter where they occur. These attacks are prohibited by international humanitarian law. They must end immediately.
We urge all sides to act responsibly and ensure the protection of civilians.
Mr. President,
We are alarmed regarding reported incidents around nuclear facilities in Ukraine and Russia.
In August, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported deterioration of the nuclear safety situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
On 17 August, a drone strike hit the road around the site perimeter. On 11 August, significant fire at one of the cooling towers resulted in considerable damage.
The IAEA team has also reported periodic intense military activity near the plant, including sounds of frequent explosions, repetitive heavy machine gun and rifle fire and artillery at various distances from the plant.
Concerns are also rising over nuclear safety and security in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. On 22 August, the Russian Federation informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that remains of a drone were found within the territory of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.
We welcome yesterday’s visit to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and his personal efforts to ensure nuclear safety and security in Russia and Ukraine.
We also commend IAEA’s ongoing monitoring of the situation at all of Ukraine’s nuclear sites, including Europe’s largest plant in Zaporizhzhia.
We continue to call for maximum restraint and vigilance to avoid a nuclear incident, the consequences of which could be catastrophic to the region and the world.
Mr. President,
After a decade of conflict in the east of Ukraine and occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, and following two and a half years of full-scale war, the suffering of the people in Ukraine continues unabated.
Women in Ukraine are facing particular risks. They make up 56 per cent of the 15 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. We are concerned about the reported 40 per cent increase in cases of gender-based violence.
In front-line areas, particularly in the east and south of Ukraine, entire villages and towns have been either partially or completely devastated. According to OHCHR, 546 medical facilities and 1,306 educational facilities have been damaged or destroyed.
As we have previously briefed, humanitarian operations in some areas lack access to people in need.
We remain deeply concerned about the 1.5 million people who we are unable to reach in parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine occupied by the Russian Federation.
Like all others living close to the front line in Ukraine, they require urgent access to health care and medicine, food and clean drinking water.
In accordance with international humanitarian law, it is imperative that impartial humanitarian relief be facilitated for all civilians in need.
The hostilities have displaced millions of Ukrainian people who continue to need our support. Nearly 3.7 million people have been internally displaced within Ukraine. More than 6.6 million Ukrainian refugees have been recorded globally.
This year, together with our partners, the United Nations aims to reach 8.5 million people with life-saving assistance, including through its Winter Response Plan. So far, donors have provided 41 per cent of the $3.1 billion required under the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan. We thank them for their generous contributions.
However, the already dire humanitarian situation is expected to worsen as hostilities show no signs of abating, and the winter approaches.
Mr. President,
We welcome the recent exchanges of Prisoners of war facilitated by the United Arab Emirates and other actors. We encourage the sides to step up these efforts to bring all Prisoners of war home.
However, we express serious concern about the treatment of Prisoners of war held by the Russian Federation. The United Nationals Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has reported that Prisoners of war were subjected to prolonged and routine torture, dire conditions of internment and repeated sexual violence.
Prisoners of war must be treated in accordance with International Humanitarian Law.
Mr. President,
We cannot allow the horrific devastation of this war to become normalized.
Now, more than ever, it is critical for us to speak with one voice to ensure protection of civilians and to step up our urgent efforts towards peace.
Next month, the world leaders will gather for the Summit of the Future to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present, and safeguard the future.
We hope that this Summit will help enhance global collaboration at a time when it is most urgently needed.
And we hope that these efforts will also bring us closer to laying the foundations for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in Ukraine, in line with the UN Charter, international law, and resolutions of the General Assembly.
The United Nations remains ready to support any meaningful efforts to this end.
The World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Wednesday a pause in the movement of its employees in Gaza until further notice following an attack on a team returning from an aid delivery mission on Tuesday evening, just metres from an Israeli-controlled checkpoint.
Amid further raids, airstrikes and settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, warned that the Israeli military’s actions risked further enflaming an “already explosive situation”.
Senior UN officials warned the Security Council on Wednesday that the world cannot afford to lose focus on Syria, as the humanitarian and political crisis continues to wreak havoc on the country more than a decade after civil war erupted.
More than 2,000 nuclear tests have been conducted at over 60 sites around the world since testing began on 16 July 1945, resulting in uninhabitable lands and long-term health problems, Secretary General António Guterres said in his message marking Friday’s International Day to end testing once and for all.
The World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Wednesday a pause in the movement of its employees in Gaza until further notice following an attack on a team returning from an aid delivery mission on Tuesday evening, just metres from an Israeli-controlled checkpoint.
Thirty months into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, human suffering continues to worsen amid alarming reports of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including nuclear facilities, a senior UN political affairs official told the Security Council on Wednesday.
The head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) raised serious concerns on Wednesday about a tanker carrying one million barrels of crude oil that was attacked in the Red Sea.
Around 20 villages in eastern Sudan have reportedly been “destroyed”, with 70 impacted overall, after floodwaters burst through a major dam, according to UN humanitarians – adding to the suffering of communities already devastated by the ongoing war between rival militaries.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned the killing of around 200 people in the Burkinabe town of Barsalogho at the weekend, which left a further 140 injured.
The United Nations has upheld the safety of the polio vaccine that will be administered to more than half a million Palestinian children during an inoculation campaign in Gaza.
The plight of Gaza’s people continues to worsen in the enclave where humanitarian operations are “ongoing where feasible” amid repeated evacuation orders from the Israeli military, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, warned on Tuesday.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned the killing of around 200 people in the Burkinabe town of Barsalogho at the weekend, which left a further 140 injured.
Seventy-five years since the ratification of the Geneva Conventions, a former child soldier-turned foreign minister of Sierra Leone has urged greater international support for the key accords, highlighting their importance in rehabilitating him and tens of thousands of his fellow compatriots following the country’s bitter civil war.
A new update from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reveals that millions of internally displaced families across Yemen are in critical need of more humanitarian assistance.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced on Monday the arrival of 1.2 million doses of vital polio vaccines in Gaza, amid urgent calls for humanitarian pauses to reach hundreds of thousands of at-risk children.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine has condemned deadly Russian missile and drone strikes that began overnight and reportedly targeted 15 regions of the country.
Against the backdrop of another major escalation across the Blue Line dividing southern Lebanon and Israel on Sunday, the UN’s top Middle East envoy said on Sunday “there is no time to lose” for a ceasefire in Gaza and release of all hostages.
“In light of worrying developments across the Blue Line since the early morning, UNSCOL nd UNIFIL call on all to cease fire and refrain from further escalatory action.
A return to the cessation of hostilities, followed by the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, is the only sustainable way forward.
We will continue our contacts to strongly urge for de-escalation.”
***
...
“In light of worrying developments across the Blue Line since the early morning, UNSCOL and UNIFIL call on all to cease fire and refrain from further escalatory action.
A return to the cessation of hostilities, followed by the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, is the only sustainable way forward.
We will continue our contacts to strongly urge for de-escalation.”
...
The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the significant increase in the exchanges of fire across the Blue Line. These actions put both the Lebanese and Israeli populations at risk, as well as threatening regional security and stability.
The Secretary-General calls for immediate de-escalation and on the parties to urgently and immediately return to a cessation of hostilities and fully implement resolution 1701 (2006).
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for...
A Filipino man has been describing the outpouring of emotion as two families on the island of Mindanao settled a 30-year-long feud that escalated from tit-for-tat killings into a dispute involving two factions of a former insurgency movement.
Seven years since the forced mass displacement of Rohingya and other communities from Myanmar’s Rakhine State, the UN Secretary-General has called for an end to the violence and full protection of civilians across the country which is now engulfed in a brutal civil conflict.
A 10-month-old girl paralysed by polio in Gaza has become the first confirmed case of the deadly disease to be detected in the war-ravaged enclave in 25 years.
The Security Council met on Thursday to hear from top officials about the situation on the ground in the Middle East, a region roiling from the ongoing war in Gaza as the conflict enters its 11th month. Council members, along with the ambassadors of Israeli and Palestine, shared their positions during another heated discussion.
UN aid teams have warned that vital chorine supplies that are essential for purifying water are running out and deteriorating in Gaza, while humanitarians condemned new strikes on schools sheltering people displaced by the war.
As the world marks the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief on Thursday, the UN Secretary-General urges a renewed global commitment to ensuring everyone can live free from "fear, stigma, and persecution," regardless of their religion or beliefs.
Mr. President,
I would like to thank the Sierra Leone Presidency of the Security Council for organizing this High-Level Open Debate on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace: The New Agenda for Peace - Addressing Global, Regional and National Aspects of Conflict Prevention.
Peace is the foundational goal of the United Nations. Building and sustaining peace is central to the work of this Council and the Organization.
And yet, the number of conflicts is at a decades-long high, inflicting unimaginable suffering, devastating economies and robbing communities of their future.
As outlined in the Secretary-General’s policy brief on A New Agenda for Peace, prioritizing conflict prevention and peacebuilding can contribute to reversing these trends, provide people affected by violence with opportunities, and reduce the human and economic costs of war.
A New Agenda for Peace provides Member States with a roadmap to achieve this, predicated on rebuilding trust among countries, but also within each one of them, rooted in the principles of universality and solidarity.
This morning, I would like to briefly discuss how we could invest in three key areas outlined in A New Agenda for Peace to advance prevention and peacebuilding, in fulfillment of the Charter goals, focusing on: (1) promoting and supporting, voluntary, inclusive, nationally owned and led prevention and peacebuilding efforts and strengthening national infrastructures for peace; (2) ensuring coherence and a comprehensive approach to prevention and sustaining peace; and (3) strengthening critical partnerships and increasing available resources for prevention and peacebuilding.
(1) On promoting and supporting nationally owned and led, voluntary, inclusive, prevention and peacebuilding efforts and strengthening national infrastructures for peace, I would recall that A New Agenda for Peace proposed a paradigm shift in prevention, based on two core principles: first, the idea that prevention should be universal – that no country is immune from the drivers of conflict and violence. Second, the recognition that our focus should be on national action – and national priorities.
The voluntary development of national strategies by Member States could provide important political impetus to this new approach to prevention. Such strategies could help rally different national stakeholders – governments as well as civil society – around common priorities, helping promote social cohesion and strengthen national infrastructures for peace.
As A New Agenda for Peace outlined, developing and implementing voluntary national prevention strategies and peacebuilding approaches can be important foundations for prevention and sustaining peace more broadly.
In terms of how, while each case must be context-specific, successful examples have prioritized a people-centered approach to governance that focuses on equitable access to services and opportunities, strengthening the rule of law and building strong state institutions that are responsive to people’s needs and aspirations. Effective national infrastructures for peace have entailed the development of institutions, processes and policies, not only at the national but also at local levels, that foster political and social dialogue, enable early warning and early response to conflicts and privilege consultation and consensus-building to resolve differences.
The UN system, with its unique expertise, tools and networks, stands ready to support Member States in their prevention and peacebuilding endeavours.
A New Agenda for Peace underscores national ownership as a guiding principle for effective national prevention and peacebuilding efforts. It also emphasizes the need to include diverse voices, needs and participation of all segments of society, which can help make peace more sustainable.
In the Central African Republic, for example, the Peacebuilding Fund has supported programmes to strengthen women community mediators, helping to prevent conflict and sustain peace at the community level, in support of the country’s broader objectives of peace.
Mr. President,
(2) On ensuring coherence and a comprehensive approach to prevention and sustaining peace, A New Agenda for Peace emphasizes the need to address not only the symptoms, but the root causes of violence and conflict.
The best way to prevent societies from descending into crisis is to ensure that they are resilient through investment in inclusive and sustainable development and inclusive governance.
This is why A New Agenda for Peace calls for accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and for tackling inequality, marginalization and exclusion.
Within the United Nations, the Secretary-General’s 2019 reforms laid the groundwork for a more cohesive development system and peace and security pillar, with peacebuilding entities, such as the Peacebuilding Support Office, helping to more closely link the pillar’s upstream prevention and conflict management and resolution mechanisms to the “structural prevention” work of the UN agencies, funds and programmes. The peacebuilding architecture has created important opportunities for humanitarians, development colleagues and peace actors to work more closely together, in complementarity, leveraging their comparative advantages to contribute to building a sustainable peace.
In promoting a comprehensive approach to prevention and peacebuilding, A New Agenda for Peace has emphasized the necessity of addressing transnational and transboundary threats that can often impact and even derail national prevention efforts, including the adverse effects of climate change, transnational organized crime, and terrorism.
3) On strengthening critical partnerships and making more resources available for prevention and peacebuilding, Partnership with regional and sub-regional actors has continued to grow in importance and in scope, and indeed, the complexity of the conflict landscape requires us to seek and employ all available tools for prevention and peacebuilding.
Regional arrangements are particularly rich in the array of mechanisms and processes available to address prevention and conflict challenges, that can be effectively leveraged when there is sufficient capacity and political will. The regular engagements between this Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC), for example, and a similar partnership between the Peacebuilding Commission and the AUPSC, complemented by increasing joint efforts and mutual support between the Secretariats and the two systems, are promising, and more could be done in terms of concrete follow up to the meetings and tracking the results of these important interactions.
When discussing prevention and peacebuilding, political commitment and the right partnerships are key, but resourcing will also always be central. Funding peacebuilding is what translates commitment and strategies into impact on the ground.
It is worrying to see investments in peace and conflict prevention steadily decreasing while military spending is increasing worldwide. These investments now represent only a fraction of total ODA – 10% for OECD countries in 2023, which is a 15-year record low. At the same time, only last year, research showed that violence cost the world nearly 20 trillion US dollars – that is 13.5 per cent of global GDP.
At the intersection of partnerships and financing, we also need to further explore the relationship between the UN and the IFIs in the context of prevention and peacebuilding. Such partnerships with all major International Financial Institutions, from the World Bank to the regional development banks, are needed to ensure that development investments contribute to lasting peace.
We have come a long way in partnerships with the World Bank. We hope to see a robust replenishment of the International Development Association funds this year, including its fragility envelope, to allow this work to continue. Looking ahead, there are good practices from the UN-World Bank partnership in various conflict and post-conflict settings that could form the basis of a more systematic and strategic partnership.
The expansion of regional Multilateral Development Banks also presents new opportunities for collaboration, with concessional resources in relevant settings that can be targeted to support sustainable peace efforts.
Finally, we need to find more ways for private capital to invest in fragile and conflict-affected settings in a peace-positive manner, and the UN has been making some strides in this direction.
Mr. President,
Prevention and peacebuilding can break the cycle of violence, and lay the foundations to ensure sustainable development is possible for all.
The United Nations, with its unique tools, expertise and networks can play a pivotal role to support prevention and peacebuilding efforts globally. Amidst increasing polarization, strengthening those tools are critical to achieving this mission.
The Peacebuilding Commission has untapped potential to serve as a space for Member States to address structural, long-term efforts to prevent conflict and build peace. Its strong focus on national ownership, as well as its mandate to address issues that lie between peace and development, makes the PBC the ideal body to support national prevention and peacebuilding strategies.
For the PBC’s effectiveness to be enhanced, it is critical for this body to develop a more strategic and systematic relationship with international financial institutions and regional development banks – in order to make financing instruments aligned with national peacebuilding priorities. This would allow the Commission to fulfill its core mandate to help marshal resources for peacebuilding.
There are upcoming milestones that can transform this political vision into tangible action and impact, such as the Pact for the Future, the 2024 Peacebuilding Commission Ministerial-level-meeting, and the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review.
As members of this Council, you have a leading voice in these processes and fora, and in pushing us to move from the “what” of prevention and peacebuilding to the “how” of concrete implementation. I appeal to your leadership to ensure that we collectively seize these opportunities to respond to the challenges ahead.
Thank you.
Mr. President,
I would like to thank the Sierra Leone Presidency of the Security Council for organizing this High-Level Open Debate on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace: The New Agenda for Peace - Addressing Global, Regional and National Aspects of Conflict Prevention.
Peace is the foundational goal of the United Nations. Building and sustaining peace is central to the work of this Council and the Organization.
And yet, the number of conflicts is at a decades-long high, inflicting unimaginable suffering, devastating economies and robbing communities of their future.
As outlined in the Secretary-General’s policy brief on A New Agenda for Peace, prioritizing conflict prevention and peacebuilding can contribute to reversing these trends, provide people affected by violence with opportunities, and reduce the human and economic costs of war.
A New Agenda for Peace provides Member States with a roadmap to achieve this, predicated on rebuilding trust among countries, but also within each one of them, rooted in the principles of universality and solidarity.
This morning, I would like to briefly discuss how we could invest in three key areas outlined in A New Agenda for Peace to advance prevention and peacebuilding, in fulfillment of the Charter goals, focusing on: (1) promoting and supporting, voluntary, inclusive, nationally owned and led prevention and peacebuilding efforts and strengthening national infrastructures for peace; (2) ensuring coherence and a comprehensive approach to prevention and sustaining peace; and (3) strengthening critical partnerships and increasing available resources for prevention and peacebuilding.
(1) On promoting and supporting nationally owned and led, voluntary, inclusive, prevention and peacebuilding efforts and strengthening national infrastructures for peace, I would recall that A New Agenda for Peace proposed a paradigm shift in prevention, based on two core principles: first, the idea that prevention should be universal – that no country is immune from the drivers of conflict and violence. Second, the recognition that our focus should be on national action – and national priorities.
The voluntary development of national strategies by Member States could provide important political impetus to this new approach to prevention. Such strategies could help rally different national stakeholders – governments as well as civil society – around common priorities, helping promote social cohesion and strengthen national infrastructures for peace.
As A New Agenda for Peace outlined, developing and implementing voluntary national prevention strategies and peacebuilding approaches can be important foundations for prevention and sustaining peace more broadly.
In terms of how, while each case must be context-specific, successful examples have prioritized a people-centered approach to governance that focuses on equitable access to services and opportunities, strengthening the rule of law and building strong state institutions that are responsive to people’s needs and aspirations. Effective national infrastructures for peace have entailed the development of institutions, processes and policies, not only at the national but also at local levels, that foster political and social dialogue, enable early warning and early response to conflicts and privilege consultation and consensus-building to resolve differences.
The UN system, with its unique expertise, tools and networks, stands ready to support Member States in their prevention and peacebuilding endeavours.
A New Agenda for Peace underscores national ownership as a guiding principle for effective national prevention and peacebuilding efforts. It also emphasizes the need to include diverse voices, needs and participation of all segments of society, which can help make peace more sustainable.
In the Central African Republic, for example, the Peacebuilding Fund has supported programmes to strengthen women community mediators, helping to prevent conflict and sustain peace at the community level, in support of the country’s broader objectives of peace.
Mr. President,
(2) On ensuring coherence and a comprehensive approach to prevention and sustaining peace, A New Agenda for Peace emphasizes the need to address not only the symptoms, but the root causes of violence and conflict.
The best way to prevent societies from descending into crisis is to ensure that they are resilient through investment in inclusive and sustainable development and inclusive governance.
This is why A New Agenda for Peace calls for accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and for tackling inequality, marginalization and exclusion.
Within the United Nations, the Secretary-General’s 2019 reforms laid the groundwork for a more cohesive development system and peace and security pillar, with peacebuilding entities, such as the Peacebuilding Support Office, helping to more closely link the pillar’s upstream prevention and conflict management and resolution mechanisms to the “structural prevention” work of the UN agencies, funds and programmes. The peacebuilding architecture has created important opportunities for humanitarians, development colleagues and peace actors to work more closely together, in complementarity, leveraging their comparative advantages to contribute to building a sustainable peace.
In promoting a comprehensive approach to prevention and peacebuilding, A New Agenda for Peace has emphasized the necessity of addressing transnational and transboundary threats that can often impact and even derail national prevention efforts, including the adverse effects of climate change, transnational organized crime, and terrorism.
3) On strengthening critical partnerships and making more resources available for prevention and peacebuilding, Partnership with regional and sub-regional actors has continued to grow in importance and in scope, and indeed, the complexity of the conflict landscape requires us to seek and employ all available tools for prevention and peacebuilding.
Regional arrangements are particularly rich in the array of mechanisms and processes available to address prevention and conflict challenges, that can be effectively leveraged when there is sufficient capacity and political will. The regular engagements between this Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC), for example, and a similar partnership between the Peacebuilding Commission and the AUPSC, complemented by increasing joint efforts and mutual support between the Secretariats and the two systems, are promising, and more could be done in terms of concrete follow up to the meetings and tracking the results of these important interactions.
When discussing prevention and peacebuilding, political commitment and the right partnerships are key, but resourcing will also always be central. Funding peacebuilding is what translates commitment and strategies into impact on the ground.
It is worrying to see investments in peace and conflict prevention steadily decreasing while military spending is increasing worldwide. These investments now represent only a fraction of total ODA – 10% for OECD countries in 2023, which is a 15-year record low. At the same time, only last year, research showed that violence cost the world nearly 20 trillion US dollars – that is 13.5 per cent of global GDP.
At the intersection of partnerships and financing, we also need to further explore the relationship between the UN and the IFIs in the context of prevention and peacebuilding. Such partnerships with all major International Financial Institutions, from the World Bank to the regional development banks, are needed to ensure that development investments contribute to lasting peace.
We have come a long way in partnerships with the World Bank. We hope to see a robust replenishment of the International Development Association funds this year, including its fragility envelope, to allow this work to continue. Looking ahead, there are good practices from the UN-World Bank partnership in various conflict and post-conflict settings that could form the basis of a more systematic and strategic partnership.
The expansion of regional Multilateral Development Banks also presents new opportunities for collaboration, with concessional resources in relevant settings that can be targeted to support sustainable peace efforts.
Finally, we need to find more ways for private capital to invest in fragile and conflict-affected settings in a peace-positive manner, and the UN has been making some strides in this direction.
Mr President,
Prevention and peacebuilding can break the cycle of violence, and lay the foundations to ensure sustainable development is possible for all.
The United Nations, with its unique tools, expertise and networks can play a pivotal role to support prevention and peacebuilding efforts globally. Amidst increasing polarization, strengthening those tools are critical to achieving this mission.
The Peacebuilding Commission has untapped potential to serve as a space for Member States to address structural, long-term efforts to prevent conflict and build peace. Its strong focus on national ownership, as well as its mandate to address issues that lie between peace and development, makes the PBC the ideal body to support national prevention and peacebuilding strategies.
For the PBC’s effectiveness to be enhanced, it is critical for this body to develop a more strategic and systematic relationship with international financial institutions and regional development banks – in order to make financing instruments aligned with national peacebuilding priorities. This would allow the Commission to fulfill its core mandate to help marshal resources for peacebuilding.
There are upcoming milestones that can transform this political vision into tangible action and impact, such as the Pact for the Future, the 2024 Peacebuilding Commission Ministerial-level-meeting, and the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review.
As members of this Council, you have a leading voice in these processes and fora, and in pushing us to move from the “what” of prevention and peacebuilding to the “how” of concrete implementation. I appeal to your leadership to ensure that we collectively seize these opportunities to respond to the challenges ahead.
Thank you.
Violence cost the world nearly $20 trillion last year, but investment in peace and conflict prevention has been steadily decreasing, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Wednesday.
“Continuous” Israeli military evacuation orders in Gaza threaten already extremely vulnerable people in the enclave with further forced displacement, raising concerns that vital services could soon be cut off, UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday.