National Statement at the High-level Meeting of Meeting on Financing for Peacebuilding

Mr President,

Sweden aligns itself with the statement of the European Union, the joint statement delivered by Egypt and the statement of the Feminist Foreign Policy+ Group delivered by the Netherlands.

Mr President,

We are living in a time vulnerable to multiple risks of fragility. The COVID-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented global challenge, acutely impacting the most vulnerable and marginalised. Even before the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and the war’s global effects on food supplies and fuel prices, we saw increased risks of fragility, compounded by geopolitical tensions, rising inequality, democratic backsliding, climate change and political and socioeconomic grievances. Today, the world is facing the highest number of violent conflicts since 1945.

In this context, we must not let our attention be diverted from other long-term global challenges.  For a long time now, we have recognized the need to scale up our investments in peacebuilding and sustaining peace. In his ‘Our Common Agenda’ report, the UN Secretary-General calls for greater investments in prevention. Sweden supports this call. Investments in prevention and preparedness pay for themselves many times over in the human and financial costs that are spared. This is a time to redouble our efforts to enhance both the quantity and quality of financing for peacebuilding.

We need more and better financing but also strengthened cooperation between donors, within the UN and between the UN and IFI’s. Using our joint resources effectively and strategically is even more important now when needs risk increasing and resources may become scarcer. This is the core of our joint Good Peacebuilding Financing initiative, in which Sweden and a group of key donors have come together on commitments and suggestions, on how to improve both our own efforts, but also encourage an even closer collaboration between key actors, including the UN, World Bank and the IMF. The conclusions from this work have now been presented to the UN Secretary-General, the President of the World Bank Group and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, including with commitments on behalf of a group of donors. We look forward to taking these commitments forward with a broader group of countries.

Mr President,

Since its creation, the PBF has established itself as a beacon of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture. Through engagement with an innovative design and catalytic approach, it has made a real difference. The PBF has contributed to greater UN coherence and collaboration. We are also impressed by how the Fund has integrated a gender and climate perspective in its work, and encourage further efforts to strengthen financing of local initiatives, including women peacebuilders and youth in peacebuilding.  We not only need to invest in peacebuilding, we need to invest in peacebuilding that is gender-responsive.

Sweden is one of the largest contributors to the Peacebuilding Fund. This year, we made our first multi-annual contribution, recognizing that flexibility and foreseeability is key for the long-term endeavour that is peacebuilding. Sweden remains committed to continue to be a strong voluntary donor, at the same time, we note that the PBF remains largely dependent on a few donors and we echo calls to broaden and diversify the Fund’s donor base.

Voluntary contributions have shown to be insufficient against growing peacebuilding needs, and we recognize that assessed contributions would offer a crucial addition to adequate and predictable financing. We encourage the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly to consider the modalities for assessed contributions. 

While we recognize the centrality of the PBF, we want to emphasize that UN’s funds and agencies are doing imperative work to tackle drivers of conflict, and to support fragile contexts throughout the peace continuum. Sweden supports further integration of peacebuilding efforts into the UN system applying a Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus approach. Sweden’s support to the UNDP-DPPA Joint Programme is a reflection of this commitment. Furthermore, Sweden is pleased to have supported the UN Transitions Project from the start. Through flexible and predictable core funding, the UN System will be better equipped to face global challenges and deliver on the 2030 Agenda. 

Mr President,

We believe that this High-Level Meeting could not be more timely. There is momentum, to move from words to action, to recommit to make peace our main priority and put to prevention at the centre of our efforts. We know that this requires adequate, predictable and sustained financing. Let us not forget that it was us – the Member States – who asked for this meeting through the Twin Resolutions on the Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture adopted by consensus by the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly in 2020.

Sweden joins the call for an action-oriented outcome of this High-Level Meeting in the form of a negotiated resolution so that we can translate our discussions to concrete commitments towards achieving adequate, predictable and sustained financing for peacebuilding.

I thank you.