Mr President,
My delegation very much welcomes your initiative for an open debate in the Security Council on the maintenance of peace and security and post-conflict peacebuilding. The title of the debate reflects some of the most important challenges facing this Council and the United Nations as a whole today.
We know that the absence of war is not the same as a lasting peace. We know that a cease-fire is seldom the end of conflict, but it should hopefully be the beginning of peace. We know from all too many situations how difficult it is to sustain a peace which is kept but not truly built. And we know that finding durable solutions to complex conflicts requires cooperation across institutional boundaries, between organisations and States.
A long term and comprehensive perspective is necessary to solve conflicts and consolidate peace. This perspective is evident in the Secretary-General's report on "The causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa". It is clear that building lasting peace will require solutions that encompass development, democracy, human rights, conflict prevention and resolution, peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance. All these elements are necessary in order to prevent war and to ensure human security. And they are all directly relevant to the responsibility of the Security Council under the Charter.
The Secretary-General plays a crucial role in the peacebuilding efforts of the UN. We welcome the importance which he has attached to the establishment of post-conflict peace-building structures as one way of helping countries recover from conflict. The UN office in Liberia, which I visited last week, is the latest example of such a peace-building presence. We hope that the Secretary-General will consider establishing a UN post-conflict presence also in other situations.
Clearly, the Security Council has a responsibility to ensure that its efforts to prevent conflict and promote peace are followed by measures aimed at preventing the resurgence of conflict and the strengthening of peace, stability and reconciliation. When possible, these long-term aims should be taken into account already at an early stage of the Council's deliberations on a particular crisis or conflict. The Council also has a responsibility to ensure that the transition to the post-conflict phase is as smooth as possible, whether or not that entails decisions to change a UN presence on the ground, or to end an operation mandated by the Council.
The UN role in the peace process in Guatemala is a particularly clear example of post-conflict peacebuilding in action, an effort which involved the Security Council, the General Assembly as well as UN agencies. It is also an example of the value of integrating a peacebuilding perspective in peace agreements themselves.
The mandates of UN peacekeeping operations must include the elements needed to help secure a lasting peace. Multifunctional operations are playing an increasingly important role, as evidenced by the successful efforts of MINURCA in the Central African Republic. We fully agree with the Secretary-General that peacebuilding elements should be explicitly and clearly integrated into the mandates of peacekeeping operations. We encourage the Secretary-General to pursue this approach when making recommendations to the Council on new peacekeeping operations. We hope that when planning for a possible peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, such an integrated approach will be considered. That is a conflict where there can be little doubt that a lasting solution will require comprehensive and long-term efforts by the international community.
Even when post conflict peacebuilding elements are not included in the original mandate of a peacekeeping operation, recommendations concerning the transitional period and the post-conflict phase should be included in the decision on the final drawdown of the operation. Multifunctional elements with the aim of ensuring sustainable peace and security can of course also be added during the conduct of an operation, for instance at the time of mandate extensions.
Post-conflict peacebuilding efforts may include demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration into society of former combatants. Special attention is often called for to address the plight of child soldiers. Other important peacebuilding elements are the transformation of armed movements into civilian parties and support for the restructuring of police and armed forces. Experience also shows the importance of strengthening the judicial system, demining, reconciliation and confidence building measures, as well as international support for elections.
We also attach particular importance to efforts to deal with refugees and other displaced persons in the post-conflict phase. The concentration of such groups in temporary settlements has obvious implications for the stability of the host country or area, and the repatriation and return of refugees and displaced persons is not always a smooth process.
I began by speaking of challenges. One of the most difficult is perhaps that of ensuring coherence, coordination and dialogue between the bodies of the UN system and other actors involved in post-conflict efforts. We strongly welcome the continued development of the Strategic Framework that within the UN. We firmly support the idea of the Strategic Framework as a tool enabling the UN to respond to crisis situations in a comprehensive, coherent and effective manner.
From the perspective of the Security Council, it is obviously important that there not be a vacuum in a transition between operations mandated by the Council and other peacebuilding efforts. For example, we could foresee cases where Council members and troop contributions would benefit from meeting with the Secretariat, UN agencies and Bretton Woods institutions specifically to discuss a transition from one kind of UN presence to another.
We have a responsibility not to close an operation unless we have a clear view of the road ahead and know that what has been invested to bring about peace will be followed up and maintained.
Today's open debate is proof in itself of the importance of post-conflict peacebuilding in the work of the Security Council. I hope that it will prove possible to follow-up today's discussion, both in decisions related to specific conflicts before the Council and as a thematic issue of key importance. My delegation would be prepared to work with other members of the Council on such a formal follow-up.
Thank you, Mr President.