UN open debate: Increased peacebuilding support backed

Pakistani envoy said that addressing the root causes of conflict is extremely important to avoid its recurrence

UNITED NATIONS/ ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has called for strengthening the UN Peacebuilding Commission financially as part of efforts to boost the 31-member body’s peace efforts in countries emerging from conflict. “Strengthened peacebuilding is in the interest of us all,” Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi told the UN Security Council in its open debate on ‘Post-Conflict Peacebuilding: review of the peacebuilding architecture’. “Failure to prioritise (peacebuilding) leads to tragic cycles of relapse into turmoil and conflict,” the Pakistani envoy said. “Addressing the root causes of conflict is extremely important to avoid its recurrence, but this requires long-term commitment and adequate and predictable financing.” The Peacebuilding Commission, an intergovernmental body established in 2005, is tasked with making recommendations on post-conflict recovery, reconstruction and development.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th,  2016.