Stressing Peacebuilding Commission’s Critical Role amid Rise in Conflicts Worldwide, Secretary-General Urges Increased, Innovative Funding to Support Its Work
Amid escalating conflicts, widening geopolitical divisions and deepening climate crisis, the Peacebuilding Commission is “more critical than ever”, said the UN Chief, stressing that the Pact for the Future charts a course to reforming international cooperation by prioritizing prevention, mediation and peacebuilding.
“Now we have the chance to consolidate and expand [the Commission’s] work,” said António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, recognizing its vital advisory role to the Security Council — including in the context of UN mission transitions. He also commended its convening role within the UN and beyond, engaging civil society, the private sector, international and regional organizations and financial institutions.
This year’s Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture offers an opportunity to strengthen the Commission’s role, he said, pointing to his recent report on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, which suggests mobilizing political and financial support for nationally owned peacebuilding and prevention strategies.
On the issue of financing, he said the General Assembly’s approval of assessed contributions to the Peacebuilding Fund marks “an important step”. However, it is still a far cry from the “quantum leap” of $500 million per year that is needed. Emphasizing that “voluntary contributions remain paramount”, he encouraged countries to provide additional support to the Fund. Additionally, given the urgent and expanding needs for peacebuilding support, the Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture shall further examine how to ensure the Fund’s predictability, adequacy and sustainability by exploring innovative financing mechanisms, public-private partnerships and blended funding models.
“We must never waver in our commitment to pursue, achieve and sustain peace,” he stated, noting that the UN’s peacebuilding architecture — in collaboration with UN country teams — is essential to help “translate aspirations into reality”.
Following the Secretary-General’s opening remarks, the Commission adopted the body’s report on its eighteenth session, whose final version will be transmitted to the General Assembly and the Security Council for their respective annual consideration.
Election of Officers for Nineteenth Session
The Commission also elected officers for its nineteenth session by acclamation, including Germany as Chair and Japan, Poland, Brazil and Morocco as Vice-Chairs. Further, it re-elected the following countries to chair the Commission’s country-specific configurations: Morocco, for the Central African Republic; Brazil, for Guinea-Bissau; and Sweden, for Liberia.
Outgoing Commission Chair Highlights 2024 Efforts to Address Peacebuilding Challenges
As outgoing Chair of the Commission’s eighteenth session, the representative of Brazil noted the Commission’s “robust” mandate as a platform for countries seeking assistance for their peacebuilding and conflict-prevention priorities. “Through the [Commission], political, technical and financial support can be mobilized, and real impact on the ground can be achieved,” he said. In that context, he highlighted that the body’s work in 2024 focused on exploring “concrete peacebuilding challenges” and showcasing “what has worked, lessons learned, frustrations and challenges different countries face”.
He added that, during 2024, the Commission also engaged in preparation for the 2025 peacebuilding architecture review. Expressing hope that Member States see such review “as an opportunity that should not be missed”, he urged better synergy between the Commission, the Peacebuilding Support Office and the Peacebuilding Fund. “We should also explore ways to provide adequate institutional support to the [Commission] at all levels,” he said, expressing hope that the Trusteeship Council room may one day be renamed the Peacebuilding Council room.
Pointing out that the Security Council’s permanent members are also permanent Commission members, he expressed hope that those States will participate more in Commission meetings in the future. “With great power comes great responsibility,” he observed.
Incoming Commission Chair Cites Strong Focus in 2025 on National Ownership, Closer Relationship with Peacebuilding Fund and Improving Impact
The representative of Germany, Chair of the Commission’s nineteenth session, noted her intention to continue supporting a strong emphasis on national ownership, the body’s convening power and its “unique bridging role” across the pillars of the United Nations. Also pointing to opportunities to improve the Commission’s coherence and efficacy, she said that she will ensure follow-up with countries after a Commission meeting, work on a closer relationship between the Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund, and make the Fund’s work more visible — “especially with a view to the first-time-ever use of assessed contributions”.
She also detailed her hope to strengthen evidence-based discussion and peer-to-peer learning and consider the question of peacebuilding impact — “to ensure that the work we do here in New York has an impact on people’s lives on the ground”. Work will also be done to build on previous efforts to foster the Commission’s relationship with regional organizations, strengthen coherence within the UN and enhance cooperation with international financial institutions. She added that a close, meaningful exchange with other UN bodies is “key”.
Assistant Secretary-General Says Commission Uniquely Positioned to Offer Platform for Member States
The Assistant Secretary-General of the Peacebuilding Commission said that, in the current context of the proliferation of conflict and violence worldwide, the Commission is “uniquely positioned” to offer a platform for Member States that wish to come to it. She added that 2025 presents new opportunities to strengthen the Commission’s role, including by accompanying countries’ peacebuilding journey.
Incoming Vice Commission Chairs and Chairs of Country-Specific Configurations Share Perspectives
Incoming Vice Chairs for the nineteenth session echoed that sentiment, with the representative of Poland saying 2025 “presents itself as a truly unique and exceptional year”. The Pact for the Future, adopted in 2024, must be made to work “in the best possible way”, he said, particularly in the context of strengthening peacebuilding and conflict prevention.
Morocco’s speaker stressed that the Commission should expand its geographic and thematic scope while upholding the principle of national ownership. Underscoring the need to optimize the Commission’s collaboration with the Council and other UN organs, he called for a comprehensive approach towards sustaining peace by leveraging and utilizing each body’s unique characteristics in a mutually complementary manner.
The representative of Morocco said he will work to promote reconciliation, post-conflict reconstruction, development and inclusive peace processes. As Chair of the Commission’s country-specific configuration for the Central African Republic, he will continue to work to mobilize the necessary resources for organizing upcoming local elections in that country — a “crucial stage for strengthening local governance and legitimacy of the authorities”.
Brazil’s delegate stated: “Our region faces its own peacebuilding and conflict prevention challenges [while] developing solutions.” Noting his country’s readiness to share lessons learned, he said “this exchange is most useful in our common task as peacebuilders”.
The representative of Sweden, Chair of the Commission’s country-specific configuration for Liberia, said that Liberia has made “remarkable gains over the years”. Peaceful elections held in 2023 and the orderly transfer of power in 2024 “were true milestones”, he stressed, noting that the configuration’s focus for 2025 will be consolidating long-term peacebuilding gains in the country. Liberia, he added, “has important experiences and lessons learned” to share with the Commission, including sustaining peace, inclusive development and reconciliation.
Commission Members Stress Need to Invest in Addressing Root Causes of Conflict and Violence
In the ensuing discussion, Commission members underscored the need to invest in addressing the root causes of conflict and violence, adding that the Pact for the Future has gained recognition for conflict prevention as a universally shared responsibility.
“2025 will be a crucial year for peacebuilding,” said the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer. The Council has demonstrated overwhelming support for this agenda by holding two open debates on conflict prevention. “We have collectively recognized that elaborating national prevention strategies, anchored in national ownership, should be an aspiration for all countries,” he stressed. The peacebuilding architecture review is “an opportunity to consolidate these gains” and to further strengthen the Commission as “an institution that can act as a bridge at the UN”, he continued. As the Commission’s biggest donors, the bloc and its member States have matched this political commitment with funding support.
Spotlighting the Commission’s “significant achievements”, Australia’s delegate said it expanded its regional engagement, provided input into the review and facilitated the revised terms of reference for peacebuilding funding. Underlining the need to strengthen the Commission’s engagement with his region, he said it should encourage Member States to present their peacebuilding priorities.
“Although, at times, we may have had divergent views on how peacebuilding should be conducted, we continue to agree on the foundational principles of peacebuilding,” said his counterpart from South Africa. Namely, that it should be nationally owned and led, context-specific and adaptable, and that more can be done to support peacebuilding in post-conflict contexts.
“It is high time to match the ambitions with the capacities,” said Egypt’s delegate, underscoring the need to expand resources and guarantee the Commission’s more structured cooperation with the Council.
Colombia’s representative, noting that the Commission regularly invites her delegation to share his country’s “experience of peace”, said that doing so helps States “better elucidate a horizon of peace in other places”. The legitimacy of the UN and the future of multilateralism “depend on our capacity to tackle complex crises, contribute to peace and security and ensure a better life for our peoples”, she asserted.
The speaker for Bangladesh, noting that the Commission has “always” based its work on national ownership, said that the body should continue supporting local needs and national priorities “by bringing all stakeholders into the discussion”. Further, the Commission should strengthen its advisory role to facilitate the smooth transition of peacekeeping operations, leading to long-lasting peace.
For his part, the Russian Federation’s representative said that the upcoming peacebuilding-architecture review “should not reinvent the wheel but, rather, use existing mechanisms”. He also stressed that the Commission must not focus solely on conflict prevention, losing sight of countries affected by conflict and post-conflict countries. “It is them that need the political and financial support so that crises don’t return,” he said. Also emphasizing the need to avoid duplication of work, he observed: “The strong suit of the UN system is the principle of division of labour between its main organs.”