South Africa welcomes the adoption of UN Resolutions on “The Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture”

The General Assembly has adopted a Resolution dated 29 October 2010 on the “Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture”, following the release of the Report by the Co-Facilitators i.e. the South African Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Baso Sangqu, and the Permanent Representatives of Ireland, Ambassador Anne Anderson and Mexico, Ambassador Claude Heller and which was released in July 2010.  The same resolution was adopted simultaneously by the Security Council as Resolution 1947(2010).

The Resolutions call on “all relevant UN actors to take forward, within their mandates and as appropriate, the recommendations of the report with the main aim of further improving the effectiveness of the Peacebuilding Commission” and also “recognizes that the peacebuilding work of the United Nations requires sustained and adequate resources to meet the challenges”.  South Africa is of the view that the United Nations and the international community can no longer conduct business as usual in assisting countries emerging from conflict if it is to successfully avoid relapse. 

In conducting the review the Co-Facilitators conducted extensive consultations in a transparent, all inclusive and credible manner. The consultations included Member States, the World Bank, regional organizations such as the African Union and the European Union, civil society, countries on the PBC agenda and a range of UN agencies.

An invaluable contribution was also made by a high level seminar facilitated by ACCORD and held in Durban, South Africa with wide participation from countries on the agenda of the PBC and potential candidate countries, i.e. Burundi, Liberia, Sierra-Leone, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan.

Among others, the recommendations of the Report include the need to: enhance cooperation between the PBC and the Security Council, the General Assembly and ECOSOC; focus on long-term development; encourage national ownership of peacebuilding processes; strengthen the field versus New York connection and provide sufficient resources for post-conflict peacebuilding. The Security Council must allow for meaningful participation by the PBC in drafting resolutions for countries on its agenda.

These wide-ranging recommendations concern all levels of the peacebuilding architecture, from operations in the field to the composition of the Peacebuilding Support Office, to cooperation with regional organizations such as the African Union.  In general, the review recommends a greater focus on capacity-building in the countries concerned, alongside closer coordination with critical partners such as international financial institutions.

As Chair of the African Union Post Conflict Reconstruction and Development Committee on the Sudan, and guided by the vision of an Africa without conflict, South Africa supports the work of the PBC and looks forward to the successful implementation of the recommendations of the review.

South Africa hopes that all necessary steps will be undertaken by all relevant stakeholders to reinforce the work of the PBC with the long term view to preventing conflict and building sustainable peace in Africa and elsewhere in the world.

For further information, please contact DIRCO’s Chief Director for Public Diplomacy, Mr Saul Kgomotso Molobi, on 082 940 1647/ molobis@dirco.gov.za.

Issued by the Department of international Relations and Cooperation
OR Tambo Building
Soutpansberg Road
RIETONDALE
Pretoria, RSA
0002

30 OCTOBER 2010