Statement by H.E. Ambassador ISHIKANE Kimihiro, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations, at the Peacebuilding Commission Organizational Committee’s meeting on the election of the chair and vice-chairs
2021/2/3
(As delivered)
Thank you, Chair.
It has been a great honour and a privilege to serve the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) as its vice-chair along with Colombia under Canada’s chairpersonship.
Before anything else, I would like to commend Canada’s incredible leadership, and of course appreciate excellent work done by ASG Fernandez-Taranco and his team. The PBC acted swiftly, leveraging its flexible working methods in order to tackle the challenges faced by countries and regions affected by conflict and fragility. It mobilized support to help them cope with the human security crisis exacerbated by the pandemic. Important thematic and cross-cutting discussions helped us strengthen partnerships, share information and lessons learned, and compile expertise and knowledge. All of this could not have happened without Canada’s strong leadership. Thank you very much.
Now, I would like to welcome Egypt as the new chair and Canada and Slovakia as the new vice-chairs. We trust your leadership and hope you will continue to develop the good practices and advance the work of this Commission.
Looking ahead, let me touch upon three quick points on the role of the PBC.
First, the PBC Chair’s letter dated 2 July 2020 addressed to the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council regarding the 2020 Peacebuilding Architecture Review showed our strong commitment to advancing important cross-cutting issues.
In particular, this letter reconfirmed the need to explore innovative financing options and identify untapped resources and highlighted the importance of partnership for effective peacebuilding, including with International Financial Institutions (IFIs), regional and subregional organizations, civil society and the private sector, among others.
As also emphasized in the letter, it is essential to help build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at the national and local levels, ranging from security and judicial institutions to those needed for basic service delivery. In order to gain people’s trust and enable countries to address various challenges on their own, institution building is of utmost priority.
Second, by promoting geographically diverse engagement, the PBC can help mobilize global attention to address regional challenges and also facilitate mutual learning across the regions.
Last but not least, ensuring the survival, livelihood and dignity of individuals under the vulnerable situations are the ultimate objective of our endeavor. It is crucial to look at peacebuilding and sustaining peace through a human security lens and promote participation from all segments of society, especially women, youth and marginalized people to our discussions. So as had been put forward by our Canadian colleague, we need to listen to the voice of the people, and I think which is now pretty much facilitated by the advancement of technology.
We hope that the PBC’s engagement this year continues to focus on these important points.
In concluding, let me assure you that Japan will continue to actively and constructively engage in the PBC’s activities.
I thank you.
It has been a great honour and a privilege to serve the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) as its vice-chair along with Colombia under Canada’s chairpersonship.
Before anything else, I would like to commend Canada’s incredible leadership, and of course appreciate excellent work done by ASG Fernandez-Taranco and his team. The PBC acted swiftly, leveraging its flexible working methods in order to tackle the challenges faced by countries and regions affected by conflict and fragility. It mobilized support to help them cope with the human security crisis exacerbated by the pandemic. Important thematic and cross-cutting discussions helped us strengthen partnerships, share information and lessons learned, and compile expertise and knowledge. All of this could not have happened without Canada’s strong leadership. Thank you very much.
Now, I would like to welcome Egypt as the new chair and Canada and Slovakia as the new vice-chairs. We trust your leadership and hope you will continue to develop the good practices and advance the work of this Commission.
Looking ahead, let me touch upon three quick points on the role of the PBC.
First, the PBC Chair’s letter dated 2 July 2020 addressed to the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council regarding the 2020 Peacebuilding Architecture Review showed our strong commitment to advancing important cross-cutting issues.
In particular, this letter reconfirmed the need to explore innovative financing options and identify untapped resources and highlighted the importance of partnership for effective peacebuilding, including with International Financial Institutions (IFIs), regional and subregional organizations, civil society and the private sector, among others.
As also emphasized in the letter, it is essential to help build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at the national and local levels, ranging from security and judicial institutions to those needed for basic service delivery. In order to gain people’s trust and enable countries to address various challenges on their own, institution building is of utmost priority.
Second, by promoting geographically diverse engagement, the PBC can help mobilize global attention to address regional challenges and also facilitate mutual learning across the regions.
Last but not least, ensuring the survival, livelihood and dignity of individuals under the vulnerable situations are the ultimate objective of our endeavor. It is crucial to look at peacebuilding and sustaining peace through a human security lens and promote participation from all segments of society, especially women, youth and marginalized people to our discussions. So as had been put forward by our Canadian colleague, we need to listen to the voice of the people, and I think which is now pretty much facilitated by the advancement of technology.
We hope that the PBC’s engagement this year continues to focus on these important points.
In concluding, let me assure you that Japan will continue to actively and constructively engage in the PBC’s activities.
I thank you.