Secretary-General Appoints Members of Seventh Peacebuilding Fund Advisory Group

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed today the members of the sixth Advisory Group of the Peacebuilding Fund.

In accordance with the terms of reference of the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund adopted by the General Assembly, the Secretary-General appoints ten eminent individuals for a term of two years, taking into consideration gender and regional balance.  Candidates are nominated by Member States.

The Secretary-General appointed the following:

Emmanuel Asante, former Chairperson, National Peace Council, Ghana;

Jingye Cheng, Ambassador (ret.), China;

Kjersti Dale, Director, International Development CARE, Norway;

Mohamed Edrees, Ambassador (ret.), Egypt;

Lise Filiatrault, Ambassador (ret.), Canada;

Macharia Kamau, Principal Secretary, Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kenya;

Sara Pantuliano, Chief Executive, Overseas Development Institute, United Kingdom;

Stéphane Rey, Ambassador-designate of Switzerland to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, Switzerland;

Marriët Schuurman, Director, Stability and Humanitarian Aid, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands;

Almut Wieland-Karimi, Executive Director, Center for International Peace Operations, Germany.

Conflict and political turbulence around the globe illustrate that peacebuilding cannot be put on hold while the world grapples with the pandemic.  Violent conflicts are on the rise, fragilities are growing due to the ongoing health and financial effects of COVID-19, and other risks, including a global food security crisis, have expanded.

Consolidating opportunities to build peace is an important task for the international community.  The Peacebuilding Fund is designed to support programming that needs to be started quickly and flexibly where requested.  The Fund is the Organization’s financial instrument of first resort to sustain peace in countries or situations at risk or affected by violent conflict.  The Peacebuilding Fund’s Strategy 2020-24, the most ambitious strategy for the Fund yet, aims to invest $1.5 billion over a five-year period in peacebuilding.  The Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs continues to be committed to working together with its partners to further strengthen peacebuilding.

From 2006 to 2021, the Fund allocated nearly $1.67 billion to 65 recipient countries.  In 2021, amid deteriorating political and security conditions, and against the backdrop of the continuing pandemic, the Fund scaled up its commitments and approved a record-high investment of $195 million in 32 countries.

The Secretary-General expresses his gratitude to the members of the Sixth Advisory Group who ended their tenure in March 2022 for their advice and support, which has strengthened the impact of the Fund globally.