The future role of the UN peacebuilding architecture

The UN Peacebuilding Commission and its associated bodies (commonly referred to as the UN peacebuilding architecture, or PBA) were established in 2005 in order to “address the special needs of countries emerging from conflict towards recovery, reintegration and reconstruction and to assist them in laying the foundation for sustainable development”.

During 2010, the UN will review the performance of the PBA to date, including the question of whether it has achieved its mandated objectives. This is the backdrop for a project lead by Professor Roland Paris (Centre for International Policy Studies (CIPS) , University of Ottawa), which has sought to stimulate fresh thinking about the UN’s role in peacebuilding.

The nine resulting essays examine the possible future role of the PBA from various perspectives, and emphasize the need for more ambitious targets over the next five years. In particular, calls are made for increased awareness of the possible tension between concerns in the immediate aftermath of conflict and the building of a sustainable peace; the link between global security and the lack of economic and social investment; the private sector-peacebuilding relationship; the conceptualization of and emphasis on local ownership; and the specific implications for sustainable peace in Africa.
Moreover, it is argued that there is a need for developing the UN peacebuilding concept and operational model and for significantly stepping-up efforts to improve system-wide coherence. While the focus should be on realistic possibilities, the PBA will have to play new roles – in terms of mandate, resources, procedures, and partnerships – and adopt a ‘multi-tiered approach’, if it is not to remain a marginal actor in an already overcrowded peacebuilding field.

The project was co-organized by the Centre for International Policy Studies (CIPS) at the University of Ottawa and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) , with the support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York , the Norwegian Peacebuilding Centre , and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade .

The papers were presented to the peacebuilding community in New York on the 9th of February at a seminar at the Canadian Permanent Mission to the UN.

Papers:
Aning, Kwesi and Ernest Lartey: Establishing the Future State of the Peacebuilding Commission: Perspectives on Africa
The paper discusses the strategic role of the Peacebuilding Commission as a vital component in the attainment of the new peacebuilding vision and architecture and examines its potential implications for sustainable peace in Africa.

de Coning, Cedric: Clarity, Coherence and Context: Three Priorities for Sustainable Peacebuilding
This paper will focus on three challenges that should inform the 2010 Review of the UN Peacebuilding Commission, namely: (1) developing the UN peacebuilding concept and operational model; (2) significantly stepping-up efforts to improve system-wide coherence; and (3) seriously implementing the principle of local ownership.

All the nine essays are available here