Statement delivered at the PBC on peacebuilding and A New Agenda for Peace

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Excellencies, Co-Chairs,

It is a great honour to be here today, at what marks Denmark’s first ambassadorial level meeting of the Peacebuilding Commission.

The Peacebuilding Commission is a body of integral importance for international peace and security, where we jointly work to operationalize the twin resolutions on sustaining peace, engaging on critical prevention and peacebuilding needs. The value of this body comes in part from the emphasis placed on countries and regions affected by conflict and crises setting the agenda and formulating national, regional and local peacebuilding priorities. Denmark looks forward to contributing to this important work, working alongside everyone in this room, as part of a community of Member States committed to supporting countries and regions in building long-term sustainable peace.

As strong a strong supporter of Agenda 2030 and the progress achieved through the SDG-framework, we welcome the ambition of developing A New Agenda for Peace - as a key opportunity to reinforce this work by asking: How can multilateral institutions better address the daunting conflict prevention and peacebuilding needs we will face in decades to come?

Exellencies,

We know that climate disruptions and the triple planetary crisis increasingly will challenge delicate balances; we know that human rights are under pressure globally; and we know that threats from cross-border terrorism are growing.

The task before us is enormous. We must create stronger coherence between what we know is the challenge and the things we collectively do on the ground. In the Danish perspective, A New Agenda for Peace has the potential to become a valuable tool in fulfilling this goal.

Let me highlight three important areas where we must do more – and do things differently.

First, we must advocate for and implement ambitious conflict prevention strategies. To this end, conflict prevention capacities need to be strengthened across the UN. We also need to better understand and operationalize the close relationship between conflict prevention  and our work to protect and promote human rights - as they are both the end and the means to a more just and peaceful world.

What do we mean when we talk about ambitious prevention strategies? By ambitious, we mean cross-cutting, integrated and reflective of all the information available, including the perspectives of affected persons and groups. Let me give you an example. The challenges from climate change often interact with and exacerbate conflict dynamics. Consequently, we need to update our prevention strategies so they are climate sensitive. Climate sensitivity must be reflected in national prevention strategies, as well as in our common conflict analysis, across UN bodies and their peacebuilding partners.

Perhaps today we can also discuss the Secretary-General’s proposal to expand the role of this commission in the prevention agenda. Particularly, he has called for the PBC to address “more geographical and substantive settings, including the cross-cutting issues of security, climate change, health, gender equality, development and human rights from a prevention perspective.” Denmark believes that this commission should take on this challenge in its meetings and activities.

Second, the PBC should encourage integration across the three pillars of the UN. Regular consultation of the PBC with ECOSOC, regional organisations and the Security Council as well as the Human Rights Council are paramount to ensuring the impact of our coordinated efforts. By applying the Leave No One Behind principle and the HDP-nexus approach to ensure more strategic approaches across humanitarian, development and peacebuilding actors, a New Agenda for Peace should provide accessible, comprehensive and whole-of-society guidance towards peaceful societies.

Finally, le nerf de la guerre: Denmark stands with the community of strong advocates for adequate, predictable and sustained and predictable financing  for the UN-system. Peacebuilding is no exception. We need to look to international and regional financial institutions, civil society and the private sector – to diversify the donor base and to create new modalities for financing based on tangible target results. To this end, we must further strengthen the collaboration between the PBC and the PBF.

In conclusion, we wish for A New Agenda for Peace to become the hallmark of informed and ambitious conflict prevention, based on inclusive processes and adequate funding.

Thank you