UN Peacebuilding Week: UNGA Debate on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace
Statement delivered by H.E James Larsen Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nations
25 June 2026
President, colleagues,
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
We welcome this debate during the inaugural UN Peacebuilding Week.
Conflict prevention and peacebuilding lie at the very heart of the UN’s purpose.
For two decades, the UN Peacebuilding Architecture has demonstrated its value by supporting nationally owned pathways to peace.
But today, amid rising conflict and compounding global risks, we must use this architecture more strategically, more consistently, and with greater ambition.
To this end, CANZ makes three points:
First, we must make better use of the Peacebuilding Commission.
The Commission is uniquely placed to provide sustained political accompaniment to nationally-led peacebuilding efforts and to keep international attention on at-risk situations.
It brings coherence across the UN system – enabling peace and development actors to work more effectively on the ground.
We welcome its growing engagement with the Security Council and ECOSOC, particularly where this strengthens impact.
The Commission should also be used to systematically advance inclusive peacebuilding, by ensuring that women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples can meaningfully contribute to peace processes.
Second, sustaining peace requires predictable financing.
In 2025, the Peacebuilding Fund supported 48 initiatives across 28 countries – reducing conflict risks, supporting transitions, and advancing nationally led prevention efforts.
From addressing regional conflict dynamics in Papua New Guinea, to reducing vulnerability to gang violence in Haiti, and supporting cross-border initiatives in the Gambia and Senegal, the Fund has shown what targeted, flexible financing can achieve.
But demand continues to outpace resources.
If we are serious about prevention, we must invest in it.
We call on all Member States in a position to do so to increase their support to the Peacebuilding Fund.
Third, we must invest earlier and more deliberately in conflict prevention.
Today’s conflict drivers – climate change, food insecurity, and economic shocks – are accelerating instability, often across borders.
Prevention is the most effective and cost‑efficient response.
The Peacebuilding Commission provides a platform to help countries identify risks early, develop voluntary national prevention strategies to respond more effectively, and mobilise support across the UN system and with regional partners.
Used in this way, the Commission can shift our collective approach from reaction to prevention.
President,
Peacebuilding is not a short-term endeavour. It is a long-term commitment.
If we invest early in prevention – through a stronger Peacebuilding Commission and a fully resourced Peacebuilding Fund – we can shift decisively from reacting to crises to preventing them.
Australia, Canada, and New Zealand stand ready to support this effort.
Thank you.