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Security Council Open Debate:“Post-Conflict Peacebuilding: Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture”

Tuesday, 23 February 2016
Presenter: 
Ambassador Lourdes Yparraguirre
Location: 
New York

Preventing conflicts and building peace – and sustaining that peace long after the fighting has stopped – are two of the biggest challenges for the international community and this world body to date.

 

For decades, the United Nations has focused much of its resources on peacekeeping and while its track record on this field is mixed with both successes and failures, many lessons have already been learned on how to do the UN’s firefighting role better.

 

There is a lot of work to do, however, on the conflict prevention and post-conflict peacebuilding components that are key to real and lasting peace.

 

The Philippines welcomes and supports the ongoing comprehensive review of the peacebuilding architecture aimed at strengthening the existing architecture and ensuring that it reaches its full potential.

 

The current review should be mindful of new realities, of the changing nature of contemporary armed conflicts. The Philippines supports the recommendations of the Advisory Group of Experts (The Challenge of Sustaining Peace) on the primacy of prevention, mediation and political solutions.

 

We support proposals towards building coherence in delivering sustainable peace in the UN system, through the roles of the Security Council, the Peacebuilding Commission, the UN Secretariat, ECOSOC, the Human Rights Council, and international financial institutions.

 

It is highly regrettable that with armed conflicts raging in many parts of the world – of various causes and in different stages, and with many recurring – the world still lacks the wherewithal to prevent and overcome conflicts and sustain the peace.

 

We still see an urgent need to inform and educate the world of the huge amount of work to be done once the guns are silenced and the transition from war to development is started.

 

There is a need to appreciate that peacebuilding requires the involvement of not just a country, of not just a group of international actors, of not just the UN; but the commitment of the whole world to make it work.

 

We also need to address the misperception that peacebuilding can only begin when conflict ends. It is important to stress that the road to lasting peace is not achieved in a rigid, linear and sequential manner. The UN peacebuilding architecture should result in an infrastructure that will support the society until it is strong enough to stand on its own.

 

Development is the linchpin for any peacebuilding initiative. Development is vital in preventing conflict and development is as vital in sustaining the peace. The fact that development and peacebuilding are interconnected cannot be overemphasized.

 

Mr. President,

 

Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the Moro Islamic liberation Front (MILF) in March 2014, the Philippine Government has an ongoing peacebuilding process in Mindanao and is working on passing legislation that would grant autonomy to several provinces in Mindanao. The Bangsamoro Basic Law, once passed by the Philippine Congress, is envisioned to implement concrete initiatives linking peace and security, development and human rights.

 

All stakeholders remains firmly on the peace track and no one is backing out of the peace process.

 

A comprehensive normalization track is being put in place involving the decommissioning of MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, socio-economic interventions in communities affected by the decades-long conflict, interim security arrangements, the reform and strengthening of the police force in the Bangsamoro, addressing transitional justice issues, and confidence-building components. The seeds of development have been planted and socio-economic projects for the transformation of MILF camps into productive communities are continuing.

 

it is also worth mentioning that the Bangsamoro Basic Law carries concrete gender-sensitive provisions, recognizing that women in conflict and post-conflict situations are to be protected, empowered, and should play a decisive role in peace and security mechanisms and processes. The Comprehensive peace Agreement with the Bangsamoro is historic not only because it signalled the end of a long-standing war in Southern Philippines but also because it is the first agreement of its kind in the world to bear the signature of a woman as Chief Negotiator – Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer.  Following the signing of this peace agreement, a woman was tasked to co-chair the Joint Normalization Committee and 3 of 4 transition commissions are chaired by women.

 

While we recognize that we, the Filipino people, are the drivers and the owners of the peace process, we acknowledge the overwhelming support of the international community that is as crucial throughout this process. The Bangsamoro Peace Agreement is also supported by a UN joint programme that aims to reduce barriers to acceptance of the agreement among key actors in the affected communities. The Peacebuilding Fund helps in stimulating discussions and promoting advocacy on the draft legislation on the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

 

What we have learned from the Southern Philippines’ experience is that peace is a long and arduous process. It will not come overnight. There will be pitfalls and challenges along the way. What is crucial is that all parties remain resolutely on track.

 

Thank you.

23 February 2016

 

Preventing conflicts and building peace – and sustaining that peace long after the fighting has stopped – are two of the biggest challenges for the international community and this world body to date.

 

For decades, the United Nations has focused much of its resources on peacekeeping and while its track record on this field is mixed with both successes and failures, many lessons have already been learned on how to do the UN’s firefighting role better.

 

There is a lot of work to do, however, on the conflict prevention and post-conflict peacebuilding components that are key to real and lasting peace.

 

The Philippines welcomes and supports the ongoing comprehensive review of the peacebuilding architecture aimed at strengthening the existing architecture and ensuring that it reaches its full potential.

 

The current review should be mindful of new realities, of the changing nature of contemporary armed conflicts. The Philippines supports the recommendations of the Advisory Group of Experts (The Challenge of Sustaining Peace) on the primacy of prevention, mediation and political solutions.

 

We support proposals towards building coherence in delivering sustainable peace in the UN system, through the roles of the Security Council, the Peacebuilding Commission, the UN Secretariat, ECOSOC, the Human Rights Council, and international financial institutions.

 

It is highly regrettable that with armed conflicts raging in many parts of the world – of various causes and in different stages, and with many recurring – the world still lacks the wherewithal to prevent and overcome conflicts and sustain the peace.

 

We still see an urgent need to inform and educate the world of the huge amount of work to be done once the guns are silenced and the transition from war to development is started.

 

There is a need to appreciate that peacebuilding requires the involvement of not just a country, of not just a group of international actors, of not just the UN; but the commitment of the whole world to make it work.

 

We also need to address the misperception that peacebuilding can only begin when conflict ends. It is important to stress that the road to lasting peace is not achieved in a rigid, linear and sequential manner. The UN peacebuilding architecture should result in an infrastructure that will support the society until it is strong enough to stand on its own.

 

Development is the linchpin for any peacebuilding initiative. Development is vital in preventing conflict and development is as vital in sustaining the peace. The fact that development and peacebuilding are interconnected cannot be overemphasized.

 

Mr. President,

 

Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the Moro Islamic liberation Front (MILF) in March 2014, the Philippine Government has an ongoing peacebuilding process in Mindanao and is working on passing legislation that would grant autonomy to several provinces in Mindanao. The Bangsamoro Basic Law, once passed by the Philippine Congress, is envisioned to implement concrete initiatives linking peace and security, development and human rights.

 

All stakeholders remains firmly on the peace track and no one is backing out of the peace process.

 

A comprehensive normalization track is being put in place involving the decommissioning of MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, socio-economic interventions in communities affected by the decades-long conflict, interim security arrangements, the reform and strengthening of the police force in the Bangsamoro, addressing transitional justice issues, and confidence-building components. The seeds of development have been planted and socio-economic projects for the transformation of MILF camps into productive communities are continuing.

 

it is also worth mentioning that the Bangsamoro Basic Law carries concrete gender-sensitive provisions, recognizing that women in conflict and post-conflict situations are to be protected, empowered, and should play a decisive role in peace and security mechanisms and processes. The Comprehensive peace Agreement with the Bangsamoro is historic not only because it signalled the end of a long-standing war in Southern Philippines but also because it is the first agreement of its kind in the world to bear the signature of a woman as Chief Negotiator – Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer.  Following the signing of this peace agreement, a woman was tasked to co-chair the Joint Normalization Committee and 3 of 4 transition commissions are chaired by women.

 

While we recognize that we, the Filipino people, are the drivers and the owners of the peace process, we acknowledge the overwhelming support of the international community that is as crucial throughout this process. The Bangsamoro Peace Agreement is also supported by a UN joint programme that aims to reduce barriers to acceptance of the agreement among key actors in the affected communities. The Peacebuilding Fund helps in stimulating discussions and promoting advocacy on the draft legislation on the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

 

What we have learned from the Southern Philippines’ experience is that peace is a long and arduous process. It will not come overnight. There will be pitfalls and challenges along the way. What is crucial is that all parties remain resolutely on track.

 

Thank you.