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The recent PBC retreat, which was organized with the generous support of the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation, focused on three interconnected priorities that feature prominently in the Commission’s 2022 programme of work: (i) ensuring results on the ground; (ii) communicating these more widely; and (iii) enhancing the Commission’s advisory role.?

Allow me to share a few observations and present relevant DPPA/PBSO action in each of these areas.?

First, delivering concrete results to the countries that seek to engage with the Commission is a primary motivating factor for those countries interaction with the PBC. This has increased the expectations of those countries for timely and meaningful follow-up to the PBC’s meetings, visits, and other types of engagement.?

• For example, during the retreat we heard requests for the full operationalization of CAR’s Special Criminal Court; recalibrated support to Burkina Faso with a focus on national reconciliation; and greater assistance in the Sahel region, given persisting challenges. These complemented earlier requests made during the preparation of the 2022 Programme of Work for specific financial or technical assistance in areas such as DDR processes, transitional justice and human rights and support to good governance and basic services delivery during transitions.?
• In order to hold ourselves collectively accountable [as Secretariat and Member States] accountable for PBC commitments and to follow up on requests received, as appropriate, we in DPPA, in collaboration with relevant colleagues and partners, will continue to record and bring such information to your attention. We will also aim to track the overall situation in the countries and regions considered by the Commission as well as the impact of the Commission’s contributions in terms of helping to address remaining peacebuilding challenges, in complementarity with the PBF. This includes seeking regular feedback from the countries that engage with the PBC, through tools such as the annual DPPA/PBSO survey.
• Related to these concrete requests, I think it is reasonable for the Commission to consider seriously (i) how much it can promise and deliver in response to such requests, (ii) what could be directed to other entities for their support, and (iii) whether any requests could be responded to through other means, such as trilateral or south-south cooperation from among the PBC membership?
• We also heard during the retreat that a large percentage of the UN’s peacebuilding work is conducted in operational settings that are not yet considered by the PBC. Some of you pointed to the fact that, increasingly, peacekeeping missions are mandated to carry out peacebuilding tasks in extremely volatile and geopolitically complex situations and suggested that the PBC could do more in those settings. ?This is in line with the Secretary-General’s vision for an expanded scope of the Commission’s work, as articulated in his report on Our Common Agenda.
• Delivering on this ambitious objective will require close consultation and collaboration with the countries concerned, including raising awareness about the work of the Commission and dispelling misconceptions that can exist about its role.?
• Despite various demands, there appears to consensus among the countries that engage with the PBC that its primary value-add is its status as a UN intergovernmental body that involves a range of significant actors in peacebuilding from both North and South. It is the premier institution, globally, that offers both potential political leverage and broad-based legitimacy in peacebuilding issues. Traditionally, the Commission has been identified as a diplomatic forum designed to advocate for greater international attention to a country’s or a regions’ peacebuilding priorities, to foster coherence within the UN system on peacebuilding work and among a broader base of actors such as regional organizations and international financial institutions. ?These objectives are important and still hold, but recently, the promotion of inclusive approaches to peacebuilding has been added to the Commission’s objectives, which has broadened its reach and its potential effectiveness. In its substantive engagements, the Commission increasingly considers diverse perspectives from a wide variety of local actors, including civil society and private sector representatives, focusing particularly on women and youth.?
• You can count on DPPA/PBSO to continue collecting and analysing data in all of these areas of the Commission’s intended impact, including through annual updates on the implementation of the PBC gender strategy action plan and its strategic plan for youth and peacebuilding and to continue bringing to your attention trends and suggestions for further progress.

Second, we heard during the retreat about the need to make the work of the PBC more visible, including through closer collaboration with the Department of Global Communications.?

• As USG Fleming reminded us, the secret to a successful communications strategy is a ‘quality product’ that works. In the PBC context, with support from DPPA and the rest of the UN system, the Commission’s ability to meet the peacebuilding needs that are being brought to its attention is, therefore, the basis for a meaningful communications approach.?
• Allow me however to share a few initiatives that DPPA/PBSO has already taken to improve the visibility of your work. We have increased our social media presence, with regular announcements on the Commission’s engagements. This includes social media campaigns – for example in celebration of the 15th and the 16th anniversaries of the PBC. We also include highlights of the Commission’s work in the weekly DPPA newsletter and arrange regular interviews with those who interact with and benefit from the Commission with DPPA’s monthly online magazine [Politically Speaking] and other UN news outlets to highlight the work of the Commission and its collaboration with different stakeholders. This includes interviews that aim to amplify the voices of women and young peacebuilders who brief the Commission – in line with the Commission’s gender and youth action plans. If you have not already done so, please subscribe to DPPA news and DPPA’s Politically Speaking. We have also established a PBC communications focal points group with whom we share regularly the Commission’s public information products. We have also deepened collaboration with UN public information officers in the field to ensure local dissemination of PBC press releases. Finally, we are currently taking into account this body of work as we finalize the DPPA/PBSO’s communications strategy, which commits our Office to ensure enhanced communications support to the work of the Commission.?
• Enhancing the visibility of the work of the PBC is, of course, a collective responsibility, and in this respect, we also look forward to supporting Member States’ related follow-up actions. I recall the suggestion from the retreat that the Commission consider making a formal request for communications support to the Department of Global Communications at the UN Secretariat.

Third, during the retreat, we took stock of the tremendous progress in the Commission’s advisory role since its inception, while also noticing areas in need of improvement.?

• The record number of advice/submissions to UN bodies and external fora in 2021, a trend that continues in 2022, demonstrates the interest in and potential for the Commission’s inputs and contributions to be solicited and taken into consideration by other entities. During the last year, for example, the PBC has intensified its advocacy in support of adequate financing for peacebuilding and provided timely and useful input to the General Assembly ahead of the latter’s deliberations on the topic.?
• I am convinced that the ongoing debate among PBC members about the content of the Commission’s advice to the Council is a healthy manifestation of the important process of expansion of the Commission’s scope of work. The Commission’s expanding, flexible agenda offers enormous opportunities to build consensus around key peacebuilding priorities and to deliver results where they are needed the most. ?
• During the retreat, some of you mentioned concrete action points, including regular meetings with the informal coordinators of PBC relations with the General Assembly, the Security Council, and ECOSOC. Others underscored the need to further improve the Commission’s working methods. Indeed, since the 2016 resolutions on peacebuilding and sustaining peace, and as prescribed in the twin resolutions, the PBC has been regularly reviewing its working methods and rules of procedure with a view to remaining flexible and fit for purpose to address new challenges. This is indeed key in order to ensure that the Commission can remain up to the task in an ever-changing and increasing challenging peacebuilding context. DPPA/PBSO is committed to supporting this process and other Member State-led initiatives that aim to improve the Commission’s advisory role.?

Thank you.?
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