at the Ambassadorial-level 20th Annual Meeting of the

Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission

29 January 2026, 3:00 P.M., CR2

[As Delivered]

 

Good Afternoon,

Your Excellencies,

Your Excellency Ricklef Beutin, Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear colleagues,

A brief glance at the daily headlines reminds us that peace is not automatic.

It must be actively sustained.

This understanding led to the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission in 2005, through twin resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council.

The aim was straightforward: to sustain international attention on peacebuilding and recovery after conflict.

And to help prevent relapse into violence by supporting nationally-owned and nationally-led efforts.

While Member States must retain ownership of their peacebuilding priorities, the international community has a duty to support those efforts, especially at this time when some are questioning the very foundations of peace.

We all know that peace is hardly ever an easy victory.

It unfortunately takes time.

Sometimes years.

And lasting peace is more than the absence of war.

Peace requires that we do not give in to cynics but instead uphold our collective responsibilities.

To keep on and stay on and to continue, even when we don¡¯t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Responsibilities reaffirmed by Member States in Action 18 of the Pact for the Future, in which they committed to build and sustain peace.

The adoption of the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review last November, through identical resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, seeks to enhance the implementation and impact of peacebuilding efforts, including by strengthening this Commission, the Peacebuilding Commission.

Cooperation between the General Assembly and the Commission is thus critical.

Efforts also need to align with the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ80 reform agenda to improve peacebuilding financing and impact.

While we must streamline overlapping mandates and reduce costs, this must never come at the expense of delivering for humanity.

For peacebuilding to be effective, it requires adequate, predictable, and sustained financing.

Indeed, preventing conflict before it erupts remains the most cost-effective investment we make, especially in these times.

Equally central to strengthening peacebuilding efforts is inclusivity.

It is imperative to ensure that voices too often marginalised are meaningfully included.

In this regard, placing women and young people at the centre of peacebuilding is essential. We learned that 30 years ago and we know that with our Resolution 1325.

This priority was reaffirmed repeatedly during High-level Week, when I had the honour of presiding over the commemorations of the Thirtieth Anniversaries of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the World Programme of Action for Youth.

In both discussions, delegations ¨C you – underscored the indispensable role of women¡¯s leadership and youth engagement in peacebuilding.

The evidence is clear: when women participate in peace processes, the probability of an agreement lasting at least two years increases by 20 per cent.

And the probability of an agreement lasting fifteen years increases by 35 per cent if women are at the negotiation table.

The Commission¡¯s role in advancing the role of women and youth in the peace and security agenda will therefore be of high importance as we move forward in the coming session.

As we seek to better take stock of progress across the full range of the Commission¡¯s work, the report of the nineteenth session offers an important opportunity to reflect on achievements and lessons learned.

It also helps to clarify priorities for the period ahead.

And I look forward to its presentation today.

And I would like to use this opportunity as well to thank the outgoing Chair , Germany, and you personally, Mr. Ambassador Beutin, and the Vice-Chairs, Morocco and Japan, Poland and Brazil, also in your personal capacities for your leadership and your efforts in supporting peace in the past year.

I am confident that the Peacebuilding Commission and the incoming Chair and Vice-Chairs will build on this solid foundation.

And together, we must continue to build, sustain and renew peace in all its dimensions.

Our spirit not only in the Better Together Session of the General Assembly but also within the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ80 reform, knowing that for peace, all 3 pillars have to be interconnected.

Or as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia reminded us ¡°peace is built not only in conference rooms¡­like this¡­but in classrooms where girls learn without fear, in clinics where mothers deliver safely, in markets where young people find dignified work, and in the daily acts of neighbourly coexistence that turn fragile calm into lasting stability.¡±

By this I wish you all the best for the upcoming period.