VZCZCXRO8552
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBZ RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHDU RUEHFL RUEHGI
RUEHIK RUEHJO RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHNP RUEHPA
RUEHPOD RUEHRN RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHTRO RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUCNDT #0728/01 2091936
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 281936Z JUL 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6993
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNUNP/UNPBC COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 USUN NEW YORK 000728 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNSC KPKO
SUBJECT: SECURITY COUNCIL OPEN DEBATE ON PEACEBUILDING 
 
¶1. SUMMARY.  At a July 22 debate on peacebuilding in 
the immediate aftermath of conflict, 42 speakers from 
the Security Council, Secretariat, major troop and 
police contributors and major donors stressed the 
importance of national responsibility for peacebuilding 
efforts and the need for early engagement by the UN to 
develop national capacities in countries that are 
emerging from conflict.  SYG Ban Ki-moon emphasized 
five elements he called central to peacebuilding 
success: national ownership, international support, 
coherence among UN entities and with key international 
partners, a common implementation strategy based on 
realistic priorities, and predictable and credible 
delivery of peacebuilding assistance.  All speakers 
echoed these priorities.  In a Presidential Statement 
(PRST) read at the end of the session, the Council 
requested the SYG to intensify efforts to ensure 
coherence among the UN's peacemaking, peacekeeping, 
peacebuilding and development efforts and invited him 
to report to the Council again in 12 months on progress 
achieved.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------ 
The Secretary-General's Agenda 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. The Security Council on July 22 held a day-long open 
debate to discuss the Secretary General's report on 
peacebuilding in the immediate aftermath of conflict, 
in which the SYG set out an agenda for improving the 
UN's peacebuilding efforts.  Ugandan Foreign Minister 
Sam Kutesa framed the debate by saying that the Council 
needed to consider how the UN and the international 
community (IC) could be more effective in their support 
to countries emerging from conflict.  Without peace, 
there could be no development, he said, but without 
development, there could not be enduring peace.  Kutesa 
called for the development of peacebuilding initiatives 
simultaneous with peacekeeping operations, rather than 
sequentially.  He said key country-specific priorities 
should be identified in each case and that 
peacebuilding efforts should be nationally-owned, 
internationally supported and UN coordinated.  He also 
emphasized the importance of flexible and adequate 
funding and he called on the UN to strengthen its 
strategic cooperation with the World Bank and other 
international financial institutions (IFIs). 
 
¶3. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Council that 
the objective of peacebuilding operations is to achieve 
sustainable peace by establishing security and safety, 
restoring basic human services, supporting governmental 
functioning, strengthening the rule of law, providing 
support for the political process, and stimulating 
economic revitalization and development.  Ban 
emphasized five elements he believed to be central to 
peacebuilding success: 
 
-- National Ownership.  Ban said the UN and IC should 
play a catalytic and supporting role, but not a primary 
role; 
 
-- International Leadership.  Member states expect the 
UN to lead international efforts.  Ban said he would 
create a "senior-level mechanism" to ensure the right 
leadership and support mechanisms were in place; 
 
-- Coherence.  This applies not only among UN entities 
and key international partners, but also applies to 
efforts at mediation, peacekeeping and development; 
 
-- Common Strategy.  It is important, he said, to align 
efforts behind a shared approach with realistic 
priorities; 
 
-- Predictable and Credible Delivery.  Ban called on 
Member States to ensure that the IC had sufficient 
international capacity to respond rapidly to the most 
urgent peacebuilding needs. 
 
¶4. Ban said that the agenda outlined in his report 
focused on peacebuilding within the first two post- 
conflict years, since the threats to peace are greatest 
during this period, while the opportunities to set 
positive cycles in motion are also strong during this 
period.  In order to mobilize peacebuilding resources 
more quickly, the SYG called for a rapidly deployable 
pool of diverse civilian expertise, and ready sources 
of funds that would allow for faster distribution.  Ban 
also called for improving the UNs partnership with key 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000728  002 OF 004 
 
 
financial actors and donors, notably the World Bank. 
He encouraged the Security Council to consider 
peacebuilding needs when designing or revising mission 
mandates. 
 
--------------------------------- 
PBC, UNDP and World Bank Weigh In 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶5. Chairperson of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) 
Heraldo Munoz said the PBC endorsed the SYG's 
recommendations.  Munoz recognized national ownership 
as an important element, but said that without strong 
capacity building efforts, national ownership would be 
an "abstract concept".  It was necessary, he said, for 
capacity building efforts to have strategic coherence 
and predictable international support.  He called upon 
the Security Council to seek advice from the PBC more 
proactively in order to mainstream peacebuilding into 
peacekeeping activities.  Munoz called for recruitment 
of civilian experts, especially from the global south. 
He also called for flexible, rapid and predictable 
funding. 
 
¶6. Jordan Ryan, Director for Crisis Prevention and 
Recovery at the UN Development Program (UNDP), called 
for integrating peacebuilding activities into 
peacekeeping operations and emphasized the role of 
multi-donor mechanisms to peacebuilding success.  He 
suggested that peacebuilding efforts should draw on the 
available UN presence on the ground instead of 
beginning operations from scratch.  He agreed with the 
SYG's focus on stronger and more coherent leadership 
teams on the ground.  Ryan highlighted the need to give 
special attention to women and youth, and noted that 
UNDP had deployed senior gender advisors consistent 
with resolutions 1325 and 1820. 
 
¶7. World Bank Director for Fragile and Conflict- 
Affected Countries Alistair McKechnie acknowledged 
that international peacebuilding efforts have not 
always been effective.  He welcomed the findings of the 
SYG's report, particularly highlighting the tension 
between a need for speed in responses to fragile 
situations.  He emphasized the importance of a coherent 
strategy that takes into account national priorities, 
which, he said, are not always the same as 
international priorities.  The IC often places emphasis 
on "institution building and sustainable development," 
while the highest priorities in the partner countries 
are often "personal security, justice and ending 
impunity."  In light of the fact that everything seems 
to be a priority, he suggested that five principles 
should be used to set priorities:  receiving input from 
the subject country; demonstrating some amount of 
tangible short-term progress; strengthening the 
legitimate authority of the state; facilitating and 
enabling governance mechanisms; and planning an exit 
strategy.  Alongside national ownership of 
peacebuilding initiatives, McKechnie stressed the 
importance of international coordination led by the 
Secretary General, which is "centered and anchored in 
the field at the country level." 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
U.S. And Other Council Members Call for Coherence, 
Accountability 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶8. Ambassador DiCarlo said that the overarching 
objective of peacebuilding efforts should be to assist 
local authorities to develop the capacity to manage 
their own transition to recovery, including restoring 
basic governance, promoting economic revitalization, 
and ensuring security.  She urged the Secretary-General 
to follow-through on efforts to create greater 
coherence in UN efforts and to strengthen the 
accountability of senior UN leaders.  She stressed the 
need for rapid deployment, flexible funding, and the 
development of peacebuilding initiatives alongside 
peacekeeping operations.  DiCarlo also underscored the 
essential contribution of women to post-conflict 
recovery efforts and the need to develop civilian 
capacity, with an emphasis on southern capacity, to 
assist international efforts to develop sustainable 
peace. 
 
¶9. Most Security Council members echoed the same points 
in their interventions, emphasizing the importance of 
swift action following conflict (usually within a two- 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000728  003 OF 004 
 
 
year timeframe); and the need to ensure security, 
restore basic services, support functions of the state, 
and promote economic revitalization.  Most speakers 
also reaffirmed their commitment to working with the UN 
and other international actors, notably the World Bank, 
to improve the success of future peacebuilding 
initiatives.  Speakers also stressed the need to 
improve speedy access to funding mechanisms for 
peacebuilding. 
 
¶10. The U.K. said it was important to clarify the roles 
and responsibilities of the UN and the World Bank in 
peacebuilding.  France placed special emphasis on the 
importance of indentifying country-specific priorities. 
China stressed the need to respect the political, 
cultural, religious, and legal systems of countries in 
which peacebuilding teams are deployed.  Russia 
emphasized that the SYG's proposals to create rosters 
of civilian standby teams at the UN level should 
include assessment of the financial implications. 
Russia also emphasized the "primary role" of the PBC in 
peacebuilding, including coordination of efforts, 
mobilization of resources and monitoring progress. 
 
¶11. Among other Council members, Japan stressed the 
need for peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations to 
be pursued simultaneously, not sequentially. Austria 
emphasized the importance of building on existing 
national capacities when launching peacebuilding 
efforts.  Burkina Faso said that it was a "crucial 
duty" of the international community to respond to 
needs to develop the security sector, provide basic 
social services, reestablishing state authority and 
developing the economy.  Mexico, Croatia, and Viet Nam 
all reinforced the importance of the Peacebuilding 
Commission and highlighted the importance of 
establishing clearly defined, country-specific 
priorities, and greater risk-tolerant funding. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Burundi Looks for 'Marshall Plan' 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶12. Of non-Council participants, South Africa stressed 
the interdependence of UN efforts in post-conflict 
countries, and said that the efforts of the 
Peacebuilding Commission should be "synergized" with 
the Post-Conflict Needs Assessment undertaken by the UN 
Development Group.  The Central African Republic 
commented on its own peacebuilding efforts, saying that 
UN assistance had helped it to demobilize ex-combatants 
and to free children from armed groups.  Somalia argued 
for an increase in international capacity building for 
the Somali government, since one-third of Somalia was 
still unstable.  Burundi, recalling its own work with 
the Peacebuilding Commission, said that a promise of a 
"Marshall Plan" for Burundi had not materialized, and 
criticized continuing delays in the disbursement of 
funds. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Lack of International Capacity, Need for Pragmatism 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶13. Egypt emphasized the importance of coherent 
international capacity building efforts, which should 
not impose administrative burdens on local actors and 
should not substitute for the government in exercising 
its functions and responsibilities.  New Zealand called 
for a build-up of civilian stand-by capacity to assist 
in peacebuilding efforts and for the reform of UN 
management systems, citing the "stark and depressing" 
examples of a slow pace of deployment for the African 
Union-UN Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and the UN 
Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad 
(MINURCAT) peacekeeping missions.  India asserted that 
not all peace processes and agreements address the 
underlying causes of conflict and that not all local 
actors are "untarnished" by the conflict, but 
nevertheless, peacebuilding efforts needed to act 
"pragmatically with actors and circumstances as we find 
them, not as we would wish them to be." 
 
-------------------------- 
EU Seeks Strong Leadership 
-------------------------- 
 
¶14. Speaking on behalf of the European Union, the 
Swedish Permrep stressed the importance of "effective 
and accountable UN leadership on the ground," which 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000728  004 OF 004 
 
 
should be empowered to lead the immediate international 
efforts.  He also encouraged the SYG to carry out plans 
to develop and expand rapidly deployable civilian 
capacities, and said the pool of experts should be 
drawn particularly from the affected regions and from 
the global South, and from among women.  Sweden also 
said that the Security Council should more proactively 
seek and consider the Peacebuilding Commission's 
advice, and that the role of the Peacebuilding Support 
Office in the Office of the SYG should be more clearly 
defined. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Germany, Brazil Discuss National Ownership 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶15. Germany's Permrep acknowledged the importance of 
national ownership, but said also that often there is 
not sufficient national capacity to fully enable a 
country to exercise its ownership.  Brazil's Permrep 
also remarked on the frequent lack of capacity on the 
part of governments to exercise national ownership, but 
stressed that "there is no shortcut".  Country 
ownership brings enormous challenges, he said, but the 
IC "should spare no effort to strengthen local capacity 
so that the country concerned can tread its own path." 
 
------------------------------------- 
Coherence in Security Council Debates 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶16. Speaking to the issue of coherence in UN efforts, 
the Swiss Permrep pointed out that within a period of a 
few months, the Secretary-General had issued one report 
on mediation, one report on peacebuilding, and a "New 
Horizons" non-paper on peacekeeping, among other 
papers.  He suggested that the SYG should consider 
issuing an "overarching note" that would "highlight 
their complementarity" and provide an overview of the 
financial instruments available to carry out their 
various goals. 
 
¶17. A full text of the SYG's report and a full 
transcript of the Council debate can be found on the 
Security Council page of the UN website at www.un.org 
RICE