CONFERENCE ON PEACEBUILDING HELD IN GENEVA

More than 150 representatives of Governments, United Nations entities, regional and sub-regional organizations and civil society have taken part at the Palais des Nations in a conference entitled “Our Common Peacebuilding Challenge: the contribution of International Geneva”.

The first of its kind in Geneva, the one-day event, which was held on 6 November, was hosted jointly by the United Nations Office at Geneva and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. The purpose was to develop a greater engagement between the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission and key stakeholders located away from United Nations Headquarters.

Opening the event, the Director-General of UNOG, Sergei A. Ordzhonikidze, underscored Geneva’s vast peacebuilding experience. He noted that peacebuilding required the international community to pool this know-how and work towards a shared vision, drawing on respective strengths. Geneva should be an integral part of those efforts, he said.

“Each of the two countries currently under consideration by the Peacebuilding Commission has identified four priority areas, such as employment creation, good governance, the rule of law, democracy consolidation and security sector reform – all areas where the international community in Geneva has strong, often field-based, expertise”, Mr. Ordzhonikidze observed. He emphasized UNOG’s readiness to help bring the different stakeholders together to facilitate the critical knowledge-sharing and establishment of contacts.

During the morning session, Ambassador Yukio Takasu, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations in New York, and Assistant Secretary-General Carolyn McAskie, Head of the Peacebuilding Support Office, provided their perspectives on the progress achieved by the Commission in the first year, and on the political, institutional and operational challenges they were facing. The afternoon showcased the capacity and expertise of Geneva-based actors in this field, with a presentation by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy of the findings and conclusions of its comprehensive survey of Geneva-based institutions involved in peacebuilding. Another panel focused on the issue of transition from humanitarian assistance to longer-term development.

The conference helped to strengthen mutual appreciation of the activities and challenges of organizations based in New York and Geneva involved in peacebuilding. There was a common understanding among participants that the Commission’s achievements during its first year were significant but that its continued impact would be determined by sustained political commitment from all Member States and allocation of adequate resources. Success would also be conditioned by the Peacebuilding Commission’s ability to draw on the views, knowledge and expertise of a multitude of stakeholders, including Geneva-based organizations, regional organizations, civil society organizations in countries under its consideration and the private sector. Practical recommendations included the development of networks of peacebuilding stakeholders and the establishment of communities of practice, as well as skills enhancement for peacebuilding professionals. Implementation of such recommendations could be facilitated in Geneva.

In conclusion, the Director-General highlighted a number of interesting ideas springing from the discussions, including holding meetings such as the one held today on a regular basis, rotating sessions of the Peacebuilding Commission between New York and Geneva, and organizing similar meetings of civil society in Geneva. He also underlined that the Commission should work with regional organizations, where appropriate, to enhance their contribution to peacebuilding.


For use of the information media; not an official record

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