• Warmly welcome the Secretary-General’s Report on peace-building. Need now to see urgency in implementing its recommendations. Look forward to the Secretary-General’s continued engagement and commitment to this agenda. The EU stands ready to actively support the agenda for change in all relevant inter-governmental fora as well as at the country level.
• Fully support the emphasis given in the report, and by this panel, to national ownership. Peacebuilding needs to start immediately after a peace agreement is signed in order to support national authorities rapidly provide security, stimulate economic recovery, restore rule of law, revamp basic services and other key peacebuilding priorities.
• Support the report’s recommendation on the need for effective and accountable senior UN leadership on the ground with strong support in order to mobilise international actors behind a prioritised early strategy in support of national efforts before more detailed longer-term planning is undertaken. Important now to put the measures in place to deliver this. EU is committed to engage in these efforts and to support the leader on the ground.
• It also requires the rapid deployment of civilian experts in order to help meet the immediate capacity building needs of the country concerned. In this regard, look forward to the proposed review on how the UN and international community can help broaden and deepen the pool of civilian experts, particularly from countries in the region and from the South.
• Support the report’s emphasis on gaining greater clarity on roles and responsibilities both within the UN and between the UN and World Bank for core peacebuilding sectors. Essential that those designated as lead agencies make the appropriate investments in order to provide timely and predictable support.
• Welcome the report’s recognition of the need for a faster and more flexible early role for the Peacebuilding Fund, the importance of effective Multi-donor Trust Funds (MDTFs), and improvements in donor practises to make funding faster and more flexible. EU is committed to a timely conclusion of the DAC discussions that should generate and support donor and agency reforms to achieve this.
• Underline the important role of the Peacebuilding Commission in providing advice, stimulating coordination, mobilising resources and maintaining the international spotlight on countries emerging from conflict. Important that we build on its achievements so far. Also appropriate for the PBC to be consulted on reviews of progress made in implementing the report’s recommendations.
• Questions.- As we are now moving into an implementation phase, we’d be interested to hear more about next steps, in particular with regard to assigning roles and responsibilities for individual peacebuilding sectors?- (Toby/Georg as RC/HC) We know that you have huge tasks with limited resources and support, both financial and human. It would be useful to understand which two or three capacities you lack the most, in your offices, in order to work even more effectively- (Cote d’Ivoire/Sudan as host governments) This report covers a very large agenda. It is not a menu and the reforms covered are indeed interlinked but, in your view, which are the most crucial needs in the report that need to be focused on first of all?