VZCZCXRO6482
PP RUEHTRO
DE RUEHC #0796/01 3280016
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 240011Z NOV 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 8777
INFO UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 120796 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNSC KPKO BY CT PU SL
SUBJECT: NOVEMBER 25, 2009-UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY DATE ON THE 
REPORT OF PBC ON ITS ANNUAL REPORT ON PEACEBUILDING 
COMMISSION TALKING POINTS 
 
¶1. This is an action request.  USUN should draw from the 
talking points in paragraph 2 below, as appropriate, during 
the UN General Assembly debate on the Annual Report of the 
Peacebuilding Commission (PBC). 
 
¶2. Begin talking points: 
 
-- We thank Ambassador Munoz for his dedication to the 
Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) during his tenure as Chair. 
 
-- The United States welcomes the third annual Report of the 
PBC and appreciates this opportunity to reflect on both past 
achievements and future challenges as we near the five-year 
anniversary of the establishment of the Commission. 
 
-- Mr. President, the United States was an early supporter of 
the Peacebuilding Commission. In 2005, we looked at a 15-year 
track record of international response to armed conflict and 
saw major gaps. We saw a rate of relapse into conflict that 
was unacceptably high. We saw peace processes at risk not 
only because of the inherent fragility of post-conflict 
transitions but also because many of our diplomatic, 
security, humanitarian and development tools were not fit for 
their purposes or were sometimes even at cross-purposes. We 
saw development jeopardized across the board. When one-third 
of people living in extreme poverty are from 
conflict-affected states, we knew we were doing something 
wrong. 
 
-- We saw this as unacceptable. We were also convinced it was 
remediable. And the Peacebuilding Commission had the 
potential, we believed, to be a crucial new instrument to 
help us change course. 
 
-- Mr. President, the PBC is still a young institution trying 
to deliver on these expectations. The United States 
appreciates the PBC,s growing track record - including its 
efforts to institute more flexible methods of work, its 
success in mobilizing resources from traditional and 
non-traditional donors, its commitment to nationally-driven 
peacebuilding strategies, and its facilitating coordination 
among all stakeholders in order to have concrete impact. 
 
-- The third annual report documents notable achievements. In 
Burundi, the Commission added its voice to regional 
institutions and others in helping create conditions for the 
resumption of the political process.  In Sierra Leone, the 
PBC has helped broaden the donor base.  In Guinea-Bissau, the 
PBC supported the organization of legislative elections and 
helped secure crucial funding.  In the Central African 
Republic, the PBC supported the National Dialogue, and is 
helping to enhance prospects for disarmament, demobilization, 
and reintegration. 
 
-- We also welcome the revised Terms of Reference of the 
Peacebuilding Fund which gives the Fund the potential to be a 
much more responsive mechanism to meet urgent needs. 
 
-- Mr. President, as we approach the PBC,s five-year mark, 
we now have the opportunity to take stock and look to the 
PBC,s future. We believe the PBC has the potential to be an 
instrument for mobilizing our best, collective efforts and 
helping us focus on the most pressing requirements: helping 
governments restart critical services, generating jobs and 
reviving economies, restoring the rule of law, reforming the 
security sector, tackling crime and trans-border causes of 
instability, putting an end to sexual and gender-based 
violence. Whether in the PBC or not, these issues are among 
the highest on the U.S. agenda at the United Nations, and we 
see an urgent need to strengthen ways of working together to 
address them successfully. 
 
-- The United States is committed to a serious, ambitious 
review. We believe we need to approach the process with open 
minds and a practical commitment to frank dialogue about the 
PBC,s value added and what is required to strengthen its 
role and impact. This includes looking candidly at our 
performance in the Security Council where, as we noted last 
July, we need to do more to take earlier account of the 
peacebuilding components of peace processes. 
 
-- In the last twenty years, there has been tremendous 
learning and experience in this field that the review will 
need to tap.  The review should engage key stakeholders, 
especially regional organizations and actors, international 
financial institutions and development banks, troop and 
 
STATE 00120796  002 OF 002 
 
SUBJECT: NOVEMBER 25, 2009-UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY DATE ON THE 
REPORT OF PBC ON ITS ANNUAL REPORT ON PEACEBUILDING 
COMMISSION TALKING POIN 
police contributing countries, donors, the private sector and 
civil society. It will of course need to draw on the insights 
of members of the PBC, especially its country-specific 
configurations. We will additionally look to the 
Secretary-General,s leadership to mobilize ideas and 
expertise from across the UN system. 
 
-- Most of all, the review should be informed by the views 
and experiences of post-conflict countries, both on and off 
of the PBC,s agenda - whether the PBC adds value to them is 
really the ultimate barometer of success. 
 
-- Mr. President, we wish to make two final observations. 
 
-- We want to stress the importance of timely follow-up to 
the Secretary-General,s report on Peacebuilding in the 
Immediate Aftermath of Conflict.  We look forward to progress 
in the clarification of key peacebuilding roles and 
responsibilities which will enable the UN system to build 
clear centers of excellence in critical areas. We also 
welcome steady progress in the effort to meet the "civilian 
capacity gap," with particular attention to mobilizing talent 
and expertise from developing countries.  In this regard, we 
see value in deeper reflection on the links between 
integrated peacebuilding missions, civilian components of 
peacekeeping operations, and related activities of UN 
agencies in order to ensure that core civilian functions are 
fulfilled in the most effective way. 
 
-- We also want to underscore the value we see in working to 
forge greater coherence between the UN,s peacemaking, 
peacekeeping, and peacebuilding efforts. Throughout this 
year, we have engaged in a deepening conversation about how 
to strengthen peacekeeping. As we look to future 
deliberations, both on peacekeeping and the PBC review, we 
see an opportunity to forge a closer and more dynamic link 
between these interrelated efforts 
 
-- Mr. President, the PBC was created because of gaps in 
international response that left too many countries 
vulnerable to the relapse of violence. The PBC has helped 
shrink those gaps, but many remain. The challenge to us all 
today is to redouble our efforts to close them. 
 
Thank you. 
 
End talking points. 
CLINTON