Statement delivered by Ambassador Ranko Vilovic, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Croatia to the United Nations, at the Security Council debate on peacebuilding and institution building.
Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, Mr. Vice Prime-Minister, distinguished colleagues,
First of all let me thank you Mr. President and your team, for successful conduct of the Council's work during this month. At the same time, we would like to commend Bosnia and Herzegovina for selection of this important topic as a subject for open debate. We are confident that under your able guidance and thanks to your wide experience in this field we will have a successful debate and achieve mutual understanding on this important subject.
My delegation has aligned itself with the statement of the EU (to be delivered later on during this debate) which we fully support. However, allow me to take part in this exceptionally relevant and timely debate by adding few short comments in my national capacity.
One of the main purposes of every functioning state should be a prompt, efficient and sustainable delivery of core services to its citizens. Armed conflict annihilates not only this basic function of the state, but, unfortunately, much more precious assets: human lives, health and dignity. It is only natural than, that post conflict recovery starts with emergency relief and humanitarian assistance. At the same time, it would be reasonable, if not necessary, to include into this process, from its very beginning, an appropriate investment into recovery of the social network on which everyday life depends. Genuine and sustainable peace can be achieved only through thorough rebuilding of core national institutions and their functions, as well as their employment on behalf of all social, religious and ethnic groups.
Mr. President,
As we have heard time and again today, national ownership is the key tenet from which all peacebuilding efforts should start and to which all those efforts should ultimately return. Thereby, reliance on, and strengthening of, local capacities, no matter how scarce they might be, is a fundamental precondition for successful peacebuilding. Not only that such an approach introduces a unique perspective otherwise not available to outsiders, but also consolidates necessary national governing structures and policies and opens the way for greater acceptance of a peace-building mission by the local population. It offers a stronger hope that peacebuilding dividend will be distributed amongst the local population, as well as that peacuebuilding efforts will survive long after first signs of possible (and expected) donor fatigue appear.
In this context, Croatia follows with great interest, what we hope will become, a new and widespread practice of incorporating all peacebuilding efforts into a single national strategy instrument encompassing all relevant peacebuilding programmes and activities. Equally so, we believe that on the other side of the equation, the international community, the United Nations and its agencies and all other stakeholders, should attentively follow suit by unifying its own actions under proclaimed agenda, clearly divide their roles and responsibilities and ensure appropriate coherence and coordination in order to deliver as one.
From the very beginning Croatia has strongly supported the establishment of the Senior Advisory Group tasked to undertake a review of international civilian capacity in order to strengthen the availability, the deployability, the coherence and the appropriateness of civilian capacities based on assessment of existing capacities and we are very much looking forward to the upcoming report on this issue.
Mr. President,
We all agree that timely, flexible and predictable funding plays a crucial role in any peacebuilding effort. In that context, Croatia looks forward towards further strengthening of a strategic partnership between the UN and the World Bank and expects with special interest the World Bank Conflict, Security and Development Report 2011.
Croatia is heartened to see that wide cross-regional support for stronger peace-building is steadily increasing, encompassing governments, international organizations and civil society. In that context, we see particular importance in further support to and strengthening of, often feeble, but steadily growing civil society in countries recently emerged from the conflict. Very often precisely civil society is that necessary link between the relevant international stakeholders and the strategy endorsed by the local population that needs to be activated in order for peacebuilding efforts to fully bear its fruit.
Mr. President,
Croatia recognizes and supports the Council's intention to further strengthen coherence between peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding in its work and, in that regard, we particularly welcome the Council's practice of transforming some former peacekeeping missions into integrated peacebuilding missions. This practice perfectly fits into the mandates and activities of other stakeholders in charge of peacebuilding, especially the PBC, and opens the door for further fruitful cooperation between them. In that context, let me add here our hope that the PBC's relevant knowledge and experience regarding specific issues on countries that are on the agendas of both the Security Council and the PBC will find its way to the Council's deliberations.
Mr. President,
Croatia welcomes the Secretary General's detailed overview of the progress achieved in the implementation of his agenda for action set out in his Report on the Peace-Building in the Aftermath of the Conflict recently presented to this Council and, in particular, recommendations contained therein. Equally so, we fully support the Secretary General's report on women's participation in peace-building and his strategic seven point action plan introducing necessary practical suggestions for more active women's engagement in peace-building processes. In this regard, we render our support to the undergoing efforts aimed at mobilization of resources for initiatives that address women's peacebuilding needs, advance gender equality and empower women in peacebuilding contexts.
Finally, let me express once again our appreciation for the excellent Report on the Review of the UN Peace-Building Architecture presented recently by the three co-facilitators which adds substantially to our comprehension of the complex issue of peace-building, opens new avenues for its further exploration and offers many valuable recommendations.
In conclusion, Mr. President, I would like to register our conviction that this new momentum we are witnessing in the field of peacebuilding, as well as many valuable proposals and recommendations that resulted from the regular and periodic reviews of the peacebuilding activities, will not be wasted, but will lead to a new synergy between all relevant actors and will soon yield eagerly awaited results.
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