UN PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION AMBASSADORIAL-LEVEL MEETING WITH THE EIGHTH ADVISORY GROUP OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL’S PEACEBUILDING FUND
STATEMENT BY H.E. JAMES LARSEN, AMBASSADOR AND PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF AUSTRALIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
15 January 2025
Thank you Chair for convening today’s meeting.
Thank you also to Ambassador Kamau, Ambassador Mouctar and the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Spehar for your presentations.
Australia is extremely pleased to join the UN Peacebuilding Commission and we look forward to working with you all in promoting our collective efforts to build and sustain peace.
We welcome the opportunity to engage with the PBF’s Eighth Advisory Group.
I wish to make three key points:
First, we need to strengthen the relationship between the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) and the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC).
We look forward to the inaugural PBF-PBC interactive dialogue later this year.
This will be an important platform for PBC members and peacebuilding actors to provide input into the strategic direction of the Fund.
The PBC should also make greater use of its platform to spotlight the work of the PBF.
Sharing lessons learned from the field would add additional perspective to the PBC’s work, including its advice to the Security Council, and can encourage greater engagement by international and regional financial institutions.
Secondly, as we all know, it's an ongoing challenge to ensure adequate, predictable and sustained financing for peacebuilding.
We very much welcome the use of assessed contributions by the PBF commencing this year, and hope to see this increased to the Secretary-General’s recommendation of USD 100 million dollars over time.
As voluntary contributions remain the primary source of funding, we also recognise the need to broaden and diversify the financing base for peacebuilding.
We hope the PBC can lend greater support to this goal.
For its part, Australia is committed to continuing our practice of multi-year funding agreements to the PBF, and we encourage other donors to do the same.
Finally, we welcome a focus in the PBF’s extended strategy on supporting countries interested in pursuing national prevention strategies.
The PBC provides a complementary platform where member states can signal their interest in developing a national prevention strategy, in partnership with the Peacebuilding Fund.
Australia is collaborating with the New York University Centre for International Cooperation to develop guidelines for national prevention plans.
We are keen to work closely with the PBF, PBC and all interested member states on this important project.
Colleagues,
We all know the PBF is a valuable tool for peacebuilding, with its unique ability to make quick decisions, flexibility support governments and local communities, convene across the full UN system, and help fill the gap between conflict and broader development assistance.
That's why Australia has increased our annual voluntary contribution to AUD15 million dollars per year in 2025.
We again urge other donors to support this critical tool.
Thank you.