Statement by
Mrs. Adiyatwidi Adiwoso Asmady
Deputy Permanent Representative
Under Agenda Items: 47, 113 & 149
At the General Assembly Plenary Meeting
To discuss the progress achieved in the work of the
Peacebuilding Commission (PBC)

New York, Feb 6, 2007

Madam President,

Allow me to join others by thanking you for convening this very important Meeting. The issues before us are profound. My delegation is hopeful that our deliberations will lead to enhancing our collective support for the Peacebuilding Commission, in the exercise of its crucial mandate.

Indonesia associates itself with the statements made by the distinguished representatives of Jamaica on behalf of NAM, as well that of Slovakia, in his capacity as the President of the Security Council for the month of February.

Before the institution of the PBC, there was an acute need for a single forum that could facilitate an effective interplay between the relevant international and national actors on how to best address the requirements of the post-conflict situations, and prevent them from relapsing into conflict. This critical gap in the international support system was highlighted by our leaders when they called for the creation of the PBC at the 2005 World Summit.

The Commission still passes through the teething stage, but the expectations from it are high. It is therefore, our common responsibility that we nurture the Commission, and full support is extended from the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the ECOSOC.

Rather than judging the performance of the PBC at this stage, we believe that we need to lay out some practical ways through which the Commission can be supported further in performing its tasks. The General Assembly and the Security Council, will have an opportunity to comprehensively assess the work of the Commission when its Report is presented.

Madam President,

For PBC to be effective, it should translate into meaningful and beneficial actions for the people concerned. One of the fundamental requirements of the Commission is to play a central role, with its recommendations for the coordination of relevant international and national entities, in leveraging their comparative advantages. A truly inclusive and coordinated approach will systematically synergise the peacebuilding efforts at both the national and international levels.

The coordination between the pertinent institutions, including the UN bodies, needs to be enhanced. It has been the experience that at times, it is not done in a systematic way with the involvement of all related parties, and their requisite commitment to follow through.

In this regard, we like to underline that by carrying out coordination, the work of the PBC should neither create further complexity for the existing processes nor lead to micro-managing the activities being carried out in the countries concerned. The priorities setting in the post-conflict recovery phase should be established by the national governments under consideration. The national ownership is paramount.

A coherent, organised, and yet flexible, international support mechanism through the Commission, would facilitate better access and response for the countries in need with improved results.

Madam President,

The other core function of the Commission is to marshal resources towards the post-conflict requirements. The role of PBC in bringing together, and elucidating support from the pertinent international and national entities in this regard becomes even more important when the conflict countries are no longer in the international media headlines. The backing of the global community in this connection is very important.

It is very important that the international community work with the national authorities in the post-conflict countries, with particular attention to assist them for building the institutional capacities in their priority sectors. The focus should be on developing an economic model and peace that are sustainable.

Considering the multidimensional nature of the occurrence of conflicts, it is imperative that the PBC take a comprehensive approach when proposing integrated peacebuilding strategies.

In this context, the ECOSOC has an important role to play, particularly with the technical capabilities of its various functional and regional commissions, and other subsidiary bodies. There needs to be regular interaction between the PBC and the ECOSOC where relevant lessons learned and best practices can be shared.

The ECOSOC may wish to take up the topic of ‘post-conflict recovery’ as its theme at the Annual Ministerial Reviews in the future. We believe that our common goal should be to mobilise the whole institutional machinery of the UN to promote an across the board approach that addresses the difficult issues in post-conflict situations.

The positive role of the relevant stakeholders is crucial to the successful transition from the post-conflict phase to the normal process of sustainable development. The civil society, NGOs, including the women organisations, should also play a constructive role in the post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Madam President,

The last two Country Meetings on Burundi and Sierra Leone have shown a greater action-orientation. We note that the Work Plans for both countries have been presented recently for consideration. Along with the development of integrated peacebuilding strategies with the full involvement of the respective governments of Burundi and Sierra Leone, it is critical that the PBC also monitor the progress on other key elements contained in the Chair Summaries of the Country Meetings such as the disbursement of funding envelopes. There need to be more frequent meetings of the Commission in a structured manner.

We regard the work of both Organisational Committee and Country Specific configurations as seminal. The success in one aids the other. It is incumbent upon us that we support both. However, the Organisational Committee has a broader purview. A properly empowered and robust Committee will serve to strengthen the work of the Commission as a whole. There also needs to be a closer working relationship between the PBC and the PBSO for greater coherence and effectiveness.

As a member of the PBC, we stand ready, to shoulder our responsibility to contribute, in generating more concrete and practical outcomes of the Commission.

Thank you,