Statement
by
H.E. Mrs. Mirjana Mladineo, Ambassador
Permanent Representative of the Republic of Croatia to the UN
at a plenary meeting of the General Assembly
on the progress achieved in the work of the Peacebuilding Commission
Madam President,
At the outset, let me say that peace building is a multidimensional and a cross-cutting multilayered process. Therefore, I would like to thank you, Madam President, for organizing this meeting at the General Assembly and the countries of the Non-aligned Movement who have encouraged this debate. General Assembly, being the only main body of the United Nations with universal membership, is the place to discuss the work of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) in fulfilling its mandate. In this context drawing from the in-depth experience of the General Assembly full membership is of crucial importance.
I would also like to say that Croatia aligns itself with the statement by Germany on behalf of the European Union. Croatia has been elected to the PBC from among those countries who have considerable peacekeeping and peace building experience, in particular on the beneficiary side. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to repeat some issues that I have already stated in other United Nations fora.
Madam President,
It is important to always bear in mind that the PBC has been established by both the General Assembly and the Security Council resolutions in order to fill a gap in the peace building area of the UN system. Croatia has strongly supported this effort as, in our view, the improvement in this respect is much needed. For the first time the United Nations have a mechanism ensuring that countries emerging from conflict have a better chance for sustainable peace. In this regard, the establishment of the PBC is truly historic.
For the peace building process to be successful and effective there must be a national consensus and a political commitment of the government in question. However, there should be a sustainable international support for this effort. By working together, the government and the international community need to create a conducive environment for democracy, good governance, human rights and rule of law. Involvement of the General Assembly with its constant focus on these issues is of the utmost importance.
The international community needs also to empower the government in question to be able to establish, operationalize and carry out the sustainable development strategy. This strategy should include not only short-term development goals, but also long-term ones, such as education for all, access to health and social services as well as gender equality perspective. The government has to take full responsibility of this strategy and its implementation. At the same time, there must be a full coordination and alignment of all international programs with the strategy, including those of bilateral donors.
The PBC must ensure that this international and national link is strong and coordinated. Therefore, it is important to work further on consolidation and rounding-up of its practices. We must learn by doing. We must establish working methods as we deem pragmatic and necessary. We should not become encumbered by heavy rules and restrictions. Our work has to be modeled according to what would be the best for the good results on the ground in each and every case. This means that we must remain focused on the situation in countries currently on the PBC agenda.
Madam President,
Later this year, PBC is requested to submit a report to the General Assembly. At that point we should all take into account that the PBC has been in existence for only one year. It is a body that has been established to promote new practices in the work of the UN. We believe that ultimately value-added role of the PBC will be measured by its impact on the ground. Croatia, as its member, is fully prepared to contribute to the best results.
Thank you, Madam President.
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