Statement on the occasion of the adoption of the intergovernmentally negotiated outcome on Financing for Peacebuilding

Mr. President,

For a long time now, we have recognized the existing gap in peacebuilding financing and the need to scale up our investments in peacebuilding and sustaining peace. Peace - the prevention of violent conflict, peacebuilding and sustaining peace are central to the work of the United Nations. Their financing is one of the most critical enablers.

I am proud to have facilitated this intergovernmentally negotiated outcome on Financing for Peacebuilding together with Kenya, and I thank the President of the General Assembly for bestowing upon us the honour to represent him in this process.

Peacebuilding remains a strong priority in Swedish Foreign Policy because we believe in it. Peacebuilding works – it saves lives and is cost-effective. Peacebuilding is an inherently political process, aimed at preventing the outbreak, escalation, recurrence or continuation of conflict. It is a collective endeavor, involving a great number and variety of stakeholders, and bringing together f security, political, economic, social and human rights elements in a coherent and integrated way. The UN Secretary General’s Peacebuilding Fund has established itself as a beacon of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture. Its achievements - through its catalytic, rapid-response and flexible approach - are well recorded.

The consensual adoption of this resolution confirms the international community’s recognition of the need for peacebuilding efforts to have adequate, predictable and sustained financing in order to effectively assist countries to build and sustain peace, and affirms our commitment to consider all options for ensuring such financing, including through voluntary, innovative and assessed funding, and other means of resource mobilization.  

Among other things, this resolution sends a political signal to the 5th Committee of the General Assembly to determine modalities under which assessed contributions could be used to finance the UN Peacebuilding Fund. It notes that the provision of assessed contributions to peacebuilding financing would represent a shared commitment of Member States to peacebuilding and sustaining peace. The Resolution further stresses the importance of multi-year, flexible and risk-tolerant (voluntary) funding commitments to peacebuilding; it encourages enhanced efforts to explore and pilot innovative financing mechanisms; it encourages the UN, Member States and the private sector to take practical steps to strengthen partnerships in support of peacebuilding; it further recognizes the important role of international financial institutions in peacebuilding and sustaining peace and encourages strengthened partnership and strategic cooperation between the UN and IFIs at all levels.

I wish to thank all Member States for their active support and constructive engagement throughout this whole process, in keeping with our intention to have a concise and action-oriented resolution focusing on financing for peacebuilding.

We now look forward to building on this outcome, implement its provisions and continue our efforts towards ensuring adequate, predictable and sustained financing for peacebuilding.

I thank you.