DIRECTOR-GENERAL LAUNCHES INITIATIVE ENTITLED “OUR COMMON PEACEBUILDING CHALLENGE–THE CONTRIBUTION OF INTERNATIONAL GENEVA”

Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), on 25 October launched an initiative entitled “Our Common Peacebuilding Challenge – the Contribution of International Geneva”. The official presentation of the project took place at an Expert Meeting hosted by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) on the theme of “The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission and International Geneva”.

“Geneva benefits from the presence of a wide variety of stakeholders – including Government representatives, members of the wider United Nations family, other intergovernmental organizations and a vibrant civil society – all with essential know-how that, when combined, can make a significant contribution to enhancing the international community’s post-conflict peacebuilding work. This project will bring together all these actors for continuous discussion of the different dimension of the peacebuilding challenge. The initiative will harness the wide-ranging experience and intellectual insights of “International Geneva” and put these at the disposal of the broader international community as a practical contribution to strengthening our collective post-conflict peacebuilding capacities”, the Director-General said in his introduction of the project.

Mr. Ordzhonikidze explained that the project will not only tap into the wealth of knowledge of “International Geneva, but will engage these Geneva-based actors with other experts to develop synergies and stimulate novel approaches to the common peacebuilding challenge”. He added that the analysis and proposals generated by the engagement are intended to serve as an intellectual resource to the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Support Office to apply, as appropriate, in their activities. Outcomes of the debates will also be distributed widely to Governments, international organizations and civil society actors. “I firmly believe that the integration of the collective knowledge of “International Geneva” into the work of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Support Office would help support their efforts and in this way help towards enhancing the international community’s post-conflict peacebuilding response for the benefit of vulnerable states in transition from conflict to sustainable peace”, the Director-General concluded.

The initiative takes place within the framework of UNOG’s ongoing partnershipbuilding efforts in support of the work of the United Nations. UNOG will provide an organizational umbrella for the project, which will be developed in collaboration with partners from different regions. An opening symposium will be held in winter 2007 and will be followed up with high-level workshops and roundtables in different locations, each focusing on a particular aspect of the peacebuilding task with an emphasis on cross-cutting themes. The initiative is conceived as a dynamic, continuously evolving process of engagement across thematic and institutional boundaries. The project is therefore open-ended and the outcomes of each individual meeting within the process will be taken into account in the planning and organization of subsequent ones.
For more information on “Our Common Peacebuilding Challenge – the Contribution of International Geneva”, contact the Office of the Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva, tel: +41-22-917-1321.