VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0458/01 1422258
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 212258Z MAY 08
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4314
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNUNP/UNPBC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000458 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN SOCI UNSC UN
SUBJECT: SECURITY COUNCIL DEBATES POST-CONFLICT 
PEACEBUILDING 
 
¶1. SUMMARY:  With a May 20 open debate on post-conflict 
peacebuilding led by UK Foreign Minister David Miliband, the 
UK used their Security Council Presidency to launch a 
re-examination of UN support for post-conflict countries. 
Common themes in statements by Council members included: 1) 
support for an enhanced Special Representative of the 
Secretary General (SRSG) role in ensuring that all UN country 
team entities contribute to restoring and maintaining 
stability; 2) the need for quicker deployment of civilian 
expertise and financial resources in the immediate 
post-conflict period; 3) establishment of a permanent, 
standing body of civilian peacebuilding practitioners, 
particularly for Rule of Law issues; 4) endorsement of the UN 
Peacebuilding Commission's role in coordinating international 
support; and 5) the need for continuity in addressing threats 
to stability from immediate post-conflict through 
peacekeeping operations and their later drawdown. END SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  As part of their May Security Council Presidency, the UK 
organized a Security Council thematic debate on May 20 to 
discuss post-conflict peacebuilding. The morning session 
featured a short statement by SYG Ban Ki-moon prior to his 
departure to Burma and presentations from Sierra Leone FM 
Zainab Bangura, World Bank Senior Vice President Marwan 
Muasher, and former UN Special Representative Lakhdar 
Brahimi. Security Council member statements followed.  Over 
fifty other UN members were scheduled also scheduled to 
deliver statements in the afternoon.  A preceding UN concept 
paper framed the debate by proposing that the UN should move 
to address three post-conflict "gaps:"  leadership on the 
ground, deployable civilian capacity, and more rapid and 
flexible funding for the immediate aftermath of conflict. 
 
¶3.  Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon  called for a strengthened 
SRSG with adequate resources who could quickly convene UN 
entities across the UN system, rally donors, and bring in 
civilian peacebuilding experts.  Ban Ki-moon advocated a 
common start-up fund to expedite a quick UN response and 
suggested that the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) should 
play a role in immediate post-conflict situations by 
convening the international community to support the 
government and other national actors.  Sierra Leone FM 
Bangura's presentation focused on respect for national 
sovereignity and government-defined strategies as well as 
regional peacebuilding initiatives.  World Bank SVP Muasher 
noted that "fragile states" are a growing proportion of the 
World Bank's work.  He called for enhanced research on 
post-conflict issues, more attention to tracking and scaling 
up assistance, and support for the PBC's integrated 
strategies approach to the countries on its agenda. 
 
¶4.  Brahimi's intervention centered on lessons learned from 
Afghanistan.  Brahimi cautioned against building up UN 
staffing and infrastucture in the field before addressing 
host government needs. He complained about the 13 percent 
overhead charge levied by the UN on its Multi-Donor Trust 
Funds (MDTF), stating that even after considerable 
experience, UN MDTFs were still not well-used by donors.  As 
in the example of Afghanistan, he noted that local expertise 
was usually available, if the UN and donors were willing to 
work harder to incorporate local nationals into their 
operations. 
 
¶5.  Security Council member statements generally touched on 
common themes: 
 
--  Agreement that the SRSG leadership role should be 
strengthened through provision of adequate resources and 
training.  Many states called for more Security Council 
attention to establishing UN Integrated Missions through 
Council mandates. 
--  UN programs, particularly peacekeeping operations, would 
benefit from a permanent UN mechanism, perhaps along the 
lines of the recently established DPKO police roster, that 
could expedite the deployment of civilian peacebuilding 
experts alongside troops in peacekeeping operations.  Several 
states, notably Latin American countries and Spain, called 
for a permanent, standing corps of civilian experts, 
particularly judges and law enforcement personnel. 
-- Consensus that international assistance and a tangible 
"peace dividend" needed to be delivered immediately after 
signing of a peace agreement rather than the year or more 
that delivery of significant international assistance 
normally takes at present.  While the UK had proposed a 
dedicated "Early Recovery" Fund for this, there seemed to be 
little support and several speakers instead called for 
revising the Peacebuilding Fund's Terms of Reference to allow 
it to better address this "funding gap." 
-- While most speakers  endorsed the Peacebuilding Commission 
as an important new UN institution for promoting an 
comprehensive approach to enhancing stability and mobilizing 
 
 
international support, several speakers spoke to the PBC's 
continued difficulty in overcoming procedural problems in 
delivery of concrete value-added on the ground.  France, the 
US, and the Russian Federation noted a need for the PBC to 
strengthen its working methods. 
 
¶6. While the debate focused on post-conflict situations, UK 
FM Miliband said that collective international efforts should 
also apply to major humanitarian crises.  He and Netherlands 
FM Verhagen took the occasion to call on the Burmese 
government to expand international assistance entering the 
country. 
 
¶7. COMMENT:  With over seventy registered speakers, the open 
debate topic seemed to have generated significant interest. 
Several G-77 speakers challenged a central role for the 
Security Council in debating peacebuilding, variously 
asserting that peacebuilding as a multi-faceted topic 
properly belonged in the Peacebuilding Commission, General 
Assembly proper, and the General Assembly Special Committee 
on Peacekeeping Operations.  An accompanying PRST will call 
for a SYG report on enhancing the UN's response to 
post-conflict peacebuilding.  The report will likely contain 
specific recommendations on how the UN should handle the 
provision of early recovery international assistance as well 
as the UN utilization of deployable civilian peacebuilding 
experts made available from UN member states.  Privately, UK 
mission staff acknowledge that there is little consensus yet 
within or without the UN on concrete policy recommendations 
to strengthen the UN's role in promoting stability in 
post-conflict countries.  END COMMENT 
Khalilzad