Pakistan has called for greater collaboration between the United Nations Security Council and UN Peace-building Commission (PBC) for promoting internal and cross-border ‘reconciliation’ between the parties to conflict in an effort to build peace and stability.
Participating in an Ambassadorial-level Interactive Dialogue between the PBC and the Security Council, Ambassador Munir Akram said the 15-nation Council could take greater advantage of the 31-member Commission’s unique capabilities, derived from its diverse membership comprising, troop contributing countries and finance contributors to help people affected by conflict. The topic of the dialogue was ‘Addressing Root Causes of Conflict while promoting post-pandemic recovery in Africa’. In his comments, the Pakistani envoy said addressing root causes of Africa’s multiple challenges — poverty, political fragility, terrorist attacks, illegal trade of high value natural resources, climate change and a debt crisis as well as containing the coronavirus pandemic should be at the core of peace-building and recovery efforts in the continent. While authorizing a peacekeeping mission to a hotspot around the world, he said the Security Council the could consider allocating a certain percentage of resources, from the budget or from voluntary contributions, for community support projects, as winning hearts and minds of local populations has a vital role in the success of any peace-building effort. Ambassador Akram also proposed allocation of more financial resources toward disarmament, demobilization and reintegration processes and towards creating an environment in which peace processes and sustainable development and financial support could take root. “Economic development should be leveraged to incentivize the warring parties to strive for peace,” he said. The Pakistani envoy underscored the “crucial” need for creation of dynamic channels of communication with the African Union (AU ), as many internal conflicts in Africa are influenced by regional dynamics and may have cross-border implications and spillovers. Therefore, it was absolutely essential that regional actors were involved in the design and implementation of peace-building initiatives to spur a unified response at the national, regional and international levels. He also urged the Council and the Commission to cooperate in enlarging the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) to support development programmes that can build and sustain peace in the concerned African countries.
