Peacebuilding

Improving the capacity of the UN to address post-conflict peacebuilding challenges is critical to helping fragile and conflict-affected states achieve sustainable peace, work towards longer-term development, and avoid relapses into conflict.  We see effective peacebuilding as integral to safeguarding and promoting the human rights of those living in such states.

The UK pursues its peacebuilding goals through the United Nations.  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon is committed to delivering peacebuilding across the UN, ensuring that peacebuilding work is not only focused on the UN Peacebuilding Commission but relevant to all UN actors, both in New York and in the field.  In December, the UK helped to secure a UN Security Council Presidential Statement on peacebuilding.  This recognised the importance of national ownership and partnerships in peacebuilding processes, stressed the need for more coordinated, coherent and integrated peacebuilding efforts, and called on the UN, national governments and regional organisations to broaden and deepen the pool of civilian expertise available to carry out peacebuilding in the aftermath of conflict.

The timely and effective delivery of civilian expertise is crucial to sustainable peacebuilding.  The UK continues to fund the work of the UN team tasked to improve international ability to deliver civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict.  Much has been achieved since this process began in 2011.  A global focal point for the Rule of Law has been established in the UN in order to delineate more clearly roles and responsibilities across the UN system.  In September, the UN also launched “CAPMATCH”, an innovative online tool for linking demand for post-conflict support with available expertise from governments, inter-government and non-government organisations.

In 2011, we committed £55 million over four years to the UN Peacebuilding Fund.  The purpose of the fund is to strengthen international support for post-conflict states and prevent them from relapsing into violence, filling the gaps where other funding mechanisms cannot help.