Dear Colleagues,
When peacebuilding and sustaining peace are at stake, we must be ready to set aside national priorities and find a common ground, showing that the United Nations is able to listen, to understand the root causes of conflict, and deliver. To restore the circle of trust, we need to fill the gap between societies and the UN bodies entrusted with their peace and security.
The Peacebuilding Commission is at the core of this effort.
We need a Peacebuilding Commission focused on inclusivity, able to engage societies beyond political elites, grounding action in a deep knowledge of affected communities and peoples, promoting the rule of law, as solid and reliable institutions are the backbone of trust within societies.
The Peacebuilding Commission must be ready to address the devastating effects of climate change on peace and security, representing for many the single greatest threat to their wellbeing, security and livelihoods.
We need a Peacebuilding Commission able to tackle the cross-cutting issues of health, gender equality, security and development – a Peacebuilding Commission able to promote peaceful societies, centered on human rights, building on a “peace continuum”.
Dear Colleagues,
Effective cooperation between the Peacebuilding Commission and other UN bodies is essential.
The Peacebuilding Commission must be able to provide added value to the General Assembly, the ECOSOC and the Security Council, which should consider the inputs of the PBC, based on a genuine inclusive approach, as the natural starting point for its decision-making.
A fruitful and longstanding partnership between the Peacebuilding Commission and regional organizations is key to achieve this goal. Italy, in particular, welcomes the permanent invitation sent to the African Union to attend all the meetings of the Peacebuilding Commission.
It is also essential to respect the needs, aspirations and proposals coming from the communities under consideration, regardless of whether they are in line or not with the national agendas of PBC Member Countries.
Communities and peacebuilders, especially the youngest ones, should know that the Peacebuilding Commission will give them a voice and will effectively convey their messages to other UN Bodies. Ensuring women participation to peace processes should remain a collective priority.
To reach this goal, we should expand the role of the Peacebuilding Commission towards geographical and substantive settings. Food security, for its vital implications, must find a central place in the PBC agenda.
Finally, peacebuilding must be able to count on adequate, predictable and sustainable financing. Italy welcomes the decision to dedicate assessed contributions to the Peacebuilding Fund and looks forward for its full implementation, with no delay.
Most of these priorities, as well as the crucial shift towards a conflict prevention approach, are reflected in the just adopted Pact of the Future.
Their implementation and effective integration in the upcoming Peacebuilding Architecture Review will depend on our political will and commitment.
Dear Colleagues,
We need international cooperation, yet we face fragmentation.
Within and outside the Peacebuilding Commission, Italy will continue to work to bridge this increasing, devastating divide to restore trust, to find common ground.
We owe it to the people and the communities that turn to the Peacebuilding Commission for its support.
Thank you.
