Statement by H. E. Ambassador OSUGA Takeshi, Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations, General Assembly Joint Debate on Report of Peacebuilding Commission [item 31], Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace [item 34], Report of the Secretary-General on the Peacebuilding Fund [item 116]

2021/7/29
(As delivered)
Madame President,
 
I thank you for convening this meeting to discuss the important task for the United Nations, that of peacebuilding and sustaining peace, including the work of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) and Peacebuilding Fund (PBF).
 
I wish to begin by expressing my deep appreciation to the former Canadian Chair of the PBC, under the able leadership of Ambassador Marc-Andre Blanchard and Ambassador Bob Rae, for having effectively navigated the PBC through the unprecedented constraints caused by COVID-19. We are also thankful to this year's PBC Chair, Ambassador Mohamed Edrees of Egypt, for guiding us under his equally able leadership. We also appreciate the Peacebuilding Support Office for facilitating our work.
 
I would like to highlight four points that Japan deems important for the PBC to further strengthen its status as the prime multilateral forum focusing on peacebuilding and sustaining peace.
 
First, the PBC should continue to leverage its unique advisory, bridging and convening roles to facilitate cooperation and coordination among key actors within and outside the UN system. Japan highly evaluates that the PBC has actively provided advice to the Security Council on cross-cutting, regional and country issues, including on the occasion of mandate renewals.
 
Second, we must keep in mind that the ultimate objective of our endeavor is to make post-conflict and conflict prone countries stand on their own feet. This means governments, both national and local, are capacitated to ensure human security; namely, the survival, livelihood and dignity of all individuals within their jurisdictions, leaving no one behind. To this end, we must engage all segments of society, especially women, youth and marginalized populations, in peacebuilding efforts. The PBC should continue to incorporate the perspectives of various actors on the ground.
 
Third, we must maintain focus on critical cross-cutting issues, in particular, financing and institution-building. These two must go hand in hand. Sound institutions are indispensable for self-reliant governance, including efficient, effective and responsible management of financial resources. As the PBC prepares for next year's high-level meeting on financing in the General Assembly, we may consider convening a PBC meeting to discuss the important linkage between financing and institution-building, possibly inviting representatives from the international financial institutions.
 
Fourth, we must ensure geographical diversity in our work, sharing best practices and lessons learned in different regions. We saw successes to this end, for example, in engagements with Pacific Islands States and various sub-regions in Africa as well as in meetings on cross-cutting issues. This good practice should continue.
 
Madame President,
 
Please allow me to share also Japan's views on PBF and on how it could appeal its relevance to the potential applicants to the Fund as well as to the donor community who are eager to see how much it can actually deliver and make difference on the ground. In short, it is most important for the PBF to take on the areas where it can clearly add value compared to other funding tools within and outside the UN system.
 
First, supporting cross-border and regional approaches are among the areas where the PBF can demonstrate its comparative advantage. For example, the PBF supported a project in the Kyrgyz-Tajikistan border area which contributed to building trust among communities and to mitigating risks related to natural resources management. Japan welcomes that the PBF’s support to cross-border and regional projects has increased during the past year and hopes that the best practices among them will be shared with the PBC.
 
Second, filling the financial gap in transition settings. With its flexibility and the unique status overlooking conflict prone situations, the PBF is best positioned to contribute to realizing smooth transition and addressing peace, humanitarian and development nexus. We encourage the PBF to explain more about the constructive role it plays in supporting transition settings, not just in financial terms but with concrete cases on the ground, with a view to nurture further support to the Fund.
 
In this relation, we appreciate the PBSO's efforts to provide regular monitoring and evaluation of the PBF's activities. We expect the ongoing efforts to strengthen the designing and learning phases in the PBF programme cycle will be shared as appropriate with the Member States.
 
In conclusion, we believe the 2020 Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture gave us an important opportunity to take stock of achievements and challenges. It also created momentum to further advance the agenda of peacebuilding and sustaining peace in the United Nations and beyond. Japan will remain fully committed to actively contribute to this important agenda.
 
Thank you.