Secretary-General Names Senior Advisory Group to Guide

 

Review of International Civilian Capacities

 

The United Nations today announced the selection of the members of the Senior Advisory Group for the Review of International Civilian Capacities.  The Advisory Group, named by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, includes senior figures from a diverse range of backgrounds who couple operational experience in the aftermath of conflict with a deep understanding of the United Nations system and its Member States.  The Group will be chaired by Jean-Marie Guéhenno, former Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations.

“The Secretary-General’s appointment of the Senior Advisory Group signals his deep commitment to strengthening the international response to the challenges that post-conflict countries face in the immediate aftermath of conflict,” said the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, Judy Cheng-Hopkins.  “This esteemed group of experts will help us identify the problems and propose feasible solutions that leverage the resources of the international community,” she added.

Mr. Guéhenno expressed confidence in the process, stating that “this Group, ably assisted by the Peacebuilding Support Office, with the support of Member States, could have a significant impact on the abilities of the international community to provide critical support to countries seeking to achieve a sustainable peace”.

The Review of International Civilian Capacities is a key component of the agenda for action outlined in the Secretary-General’s 2009 Report on Peacebuilding in the Immediate Aftermath of Conflict.  The overall goal of the review is to improve the international response in the aftermath of conflict by strengthening the availability, deployability and appropriateness of civilian capacities for peacebuilding.  These steps are considered crucial to prevent relapse into conflict and lay the foundations for sustainable development.

The review will:  identify changes that can be made within the United Nations to ensure that United Nations capacities can be deployed effectively and efficiently across the United Nations family, and identify what Member State support is needed to that end; develop ideas on how to improve the linkages between the United Nations, regional entities and Member States in order to ensure timely deployment of effective and appropriate civilian expertise in the immediate aftermath of conflict; develop proposals on how best to mobilize and organize specific civilian capacities from the Global South and among women, working with Member States, regional organizations and non-governmental organizations; and develop proposals to ensure that the deployment of civilian experts serves the important goal of building national capacity in post-conflict countries.

The review process will be inclusive and representative.  Member States, regional organizations and civil society groups involved in peacebuilding will be engaged through a series of consultations and events culminating in an International Symposium on Civilian Capacity later this year.

Senior Advisory Group members are Jean-Marie Guéhenno (France), Chair; Arnold Saltzman, Columbia University Professor; Rubem Cesar Fernandez (Brazil), Executive Director of Via Rio; Ameera Haq (Bangladesh), Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT); Bruce Jones (Canada), Director, Center on International Cooperation, New York University; Marjon V. Kamara (Liberia), Liberia’s Ambassador to the United Nations; Carlos Lopez (Guinea-Bissau), Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR); Catherine Pollard (Guyana), Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management; Michael von der Schulenburg (Germany), Executive Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL); and Mitra Vasisht (India), India’s Ambassador to Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti.

For more information on the work of United Nations peacebuilding, please visit http://www.un.org/peace/peacebuilding/pbso.shtml.  For media inquires please contact Allison Cooper, tel.:  1 212 963 2073.

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For information media • not an official record