Peacebuilding
Expected Council Action
In April, the Council is expected to receive a briefing by Ambassadors Abulkalam Abdul Momen (Bangladesh) and Ranko Vilović (Croatia), the former and current Chairs of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) on the sixth annual report of the PBC (A/67/715-S/2013/63), covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2012. A representative of the PBC Working Group on Lessons Learned may also brief.
Planned for the next day is an interactive dialogue with the chairs of the PBC’s six country-specific configurations (Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone). No outcome is expected.
Key Recent Developments
On 12 July 2012, the Council held an open debate to discuss the previous annual report of 30 January 2012 (S/2012/70), chaired by María Angela Holguín, the foreign minister of Colombia (which held the Council presidency that month). The debate included briefings by the Secretary-General; the then-PBC Chair Ambassador Abdulkalam Abdul Momen (Bangladesh); and former PBC Chair Ambassador Eugène-Richard Gasana (Rwanda). An interactive dialogue with the chairs of the country-specific configurations followed the briefing on the next day.
Following the open debate on post-conflict peacebuilding on 20 December 2012 during which the Council discussed the Secretary-General’s report on peacebuilding in the aftermath of conflict (S/2012/746), a presidential statement was issued (S/PRST/2012/29). The statement reiterated the Council’s support for the PBC and expressed its willingness to “make use of its advisory, advocacy and resource mobilisation role”. It also emphasised the PBC’s role in supporting the transition of UN missions in PBC-agenda countries.
On 21 February, Vilović addressed the annual formal briefing to the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, during which he emphasised the importance of including peacebuilding in the mandates of peacekeeping operations.
The PBC country configuration chairs had been invited to speak when the Council discussed the first three annual reports, however more recently this practice appears to have been dropped.
Recent Developments in Country-Specific Configurations of the PBC
On 14-16 January, the Burundi configuration visited Burundi, following which the chair, Ambassador Paul Seger (Switzerland), and the Special Representative and head of the UN Office in Burundi, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, briefed the Council on 24 January (S/PV.6909).
On 5 February, the chair of the Guinea-Bissau configuration, Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti (Brazil), briefed the Council alongside Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs (S/PV.6915). Viotti noted the continued suspension of projects under the Peacebuilding Fund since the 12 April 2012 coup.
A PBC delegation comprising members of the Liberia and Sierra Leone configurations engaged in a joint visit to both countries on 11-20 February. Led by configuration chairs for Liberia and Sierra Leone, Ambassadors Staffan Tillander (Sweden) and Guillermo Rishchynski (Canada), respectively, the visit reviewed the commonalities of the two countries’ experiences in peacebuilding, as well as highlighted the importance of strengthening collaboration with other countries on the PBC’s agenda in the region. The UN missions in both countries are undergoing a transition, and the visit highlighted the important role the PBC can play in their drawdown. The visit also looked at cooperation with regional partners. Tillander briefed the Council on 25 March alongside Karin Landgren, Special Representative in Liberia (S/PV.6941). Rishchynski briefed the Council on 13 March alongside Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen, the Executive Representative of the Secretary-General in Sierra Leone (S/PV.6933).
The chair of the Guinea configuration, Ambassador Sylvie Lucas (Luxembourg), visited Guinea on 17-19 February. Her visit focused on preparations for the second review of the Statement of Mutual Commitments, support for the upcoming legislative elections and the third poverty reduction strategy paper. It also reviewed links between development and peacebuilding efforts, as well as the role of the PBC in resource mobilisation.
Consultations have been underway to identify a new chair for the CAR configuration since the resignation of Ambassador Jan Grauls (Belgium) on 1 June 2012. In the interim, Vilović has assumed the chairmanship.
Key Issues
A key issue for the Council is being able to take advantage of the PBC’s added value (both actual and potential), in particular its role in the drawdown of UN missions.
A related issue for the Council, with respect to the situations on both bodies’ agendas, is taking full advantage of the country-specific expertise of the chairs of the PBC country configurations.
Options
One option is for the Council to discuss the annual report and take no action.
A second option is for the Council to issue a presidential statement:
- welcoming the report and encouraging progress and concrete initiatives that would strengthen the PBC’s role in peacebuilding in countries on both bodies’ agendas; and
- calling for a discussion with the PBC Working Group on Lessons Learned, chairs of country-specific configurations and representatives of UN missions on reviewing past experience and looking toward future collaboration.
Council and Wider Dynamics
Ongoing instability in countries on the PBC’s agenda—such as CAR and Guinea-Bissau—may result in Council members showing more interest in the work of the PBC than in the past. Positive and tangible results in PBC initiatives, such as the role it is playing in the drawdown of the UN Mission in Liberia and the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone, may also prompt renewed support for, and interest in, its work.
No Council member is penholder on peacebuilding. The issue tends to be a discretionary item on which the Council president holds the pen.
| Security Council Presidential Statements | |
| 20 December 2012 S/PRST/2012/29 | Emphasised the importance of inclusivity in national peacebuilding processes. |
| Secretary-General’s Reports | |
| 8 October 2012 S/2012/746 | This was the Secretary-General’s recent report on peacebuilding in the aftermath of conflict. |
| Security Council Meeting Records | |
| 25 March 2013 S/PV.6941 | This was a briefing on the situation in Liberia by Landgren and Tillander. |
| 13 March 2013 S/PV.6933 | This was a briefing by Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen, Executive Representative of the Secretary-General and head of UNIPSIL |
| 5 February 2013 S/PV.6915 | This meeting was on developments in Guinea-Bissau and on the activities of UNIOGBIS. |
| 24 January 2013 S/PV.6909 | This was the first briefing by Special Representative Onanga-Anyanga on developments and the Secretary-General’s BNUB report, and by Paul Seger, the Chair of the PBC’s country-specific configuration for Burundi. |
| 20 December 2012 S/PV.6897 | This was an open debate on post-conflict peacebuilding in which the Secretary-General and Bangladesh, as chair of the PBC, briefed. |
| 12 July 2012 S/PV.6805 | The Council held an open debate to discuss the fifth annual report of the PBC. |
| 12 July 2012 S/PV.6805 (Resumption 1) | This was the resumption of an open debate to discuss the fifth annual report of the PBC. |
| Peacebuilding Commission Documents | |
| 29 January 2013 S/2013/63 | This was the sixth annual PBC report. |
| 30 January 2012 S/2012/70 | This was the PBC’s fifth annual report. |
