Cablegate: November 25, 2009-Un General Assembly Date On The

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DE RUEHC #0796/01 3280016
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FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 8777
INFO UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 120796

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL UNSC KPKO BY CT PU SL
SUBJECT: NOVEMBER 25, 2009-UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY DATE ON THE
REPORT OF PBC ON ITS ANNUAL REPORT ON PEACEBUILDING
COMMISSION TALKING POINTS

1. This is an action request. USUN should draw from the
talking points in paragraph 2 below, as appropriate, during
the UN General Assembly debate on the Annual Report of the
Peacebuilding Commission (PBC).

2. Begin talking points:

-- We thank Ambassador Munoz for his dedication to the
Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) during his tenure as Chair.

-- The United States welcomes the third annual Report of the
PBC and appreciates this opportunity to reflect on both past
achievements and future challenges as we near the five-year
anniversary of the establishment of the Commission.

-- Mr. President, the United States was an early supporter of
the Peacebuilding Commission. In 2005, we looked at a 15-year
track record of international response to armed conflict and
saw major gaps. We saw a rate of relapse into conflict that
was unacceptably high. We saw peace processes at risk not
only because of the inherent fragility of post-conflict
transitions but also because many of our diplomatic,
security, humanitarian and development tools were not fit for
their purposes or were sometimes even at cross-purposes. We
saw development jeopardized across the board. When one-third
of people living in extreme poverty are from
conflict-affected states, we knew we were doing something
wrong.

-- We saw this as unacceptable. We were also convinced it was
remediable. And the Peacebuilding Commission had the
potential, we believed, to be a crucial new instrument to
help us change course.

-- Mr. President, the PBC is still a young institution trying
to deliver on these expectations. The United States
appreciates the PBC,s growing track record - including its
efforts to institute more flexible methods of work, its
success in mobilizing resources from traditional and
non-traditional donors, its commitment to nationally-driven
peacebuilding strategies, and its facilitating coordination
among all stakeholders in order to have concrete impact.

-- The third annual report documents notable achievements. In
Burundi, the Commission added its voice to regional
institutions and others in helping create conditions for the
resumption of the political process. In Sierra Leone, the
PBC has helped broaden the donor base. In Guinea-Bissau, the
PBC supported the organization of legislative elections and
helped secure crucial funding. In the Central African
Republic, the PBC supported the National Dialogue, and is
helping to enhance prospects for disarmament, demobilization,
and reintegration.

-- We also welcome the revised Terms of Reference of the
Peacebuilding Fund which gives the Fund the potential to be a
much more responsive mechanism to meet urgent needs.

-- Mr. President, as we approach the PBC,s five-year mark,
we now have the opportunity to take stock and look to the
PBC,s future. We believe the PBC has the potential to be an
instrument for mobilizing our best, collective efforts and
helping us focus on the most pressing requirements: helping
governments restart critical services, generating jobs and
reviving economies, restoring the rule of law, reforming the
security sector, tackling crime and trans-border causes of
instability, putting an end to sexual and gender-based
violence. Whether in the PBC or not, these issues are among
the highest on the U.S. agenda at the United Nations, and we
see an urgent need to strengthen ways of working together to
address them successfully.

-- The United States is committed to a serious, ambitious
review. We believe we need to approach the process with open
minds and a practical commitment to frank dialogue about the
PBC,s value added and what is required to strengthen its
role and impact. This includes looking candidly at our
performance in the Security Council where, as we noted last
July, we need to do more to take earlier account of the
peacebuilding components of peace processes.

-- In the last twenty years, there has been tremendous
learning and experience in this field that the review will
need to tap. The review should engage key stakeholders,
especially regional organizations and actors, international
financial institutions and development banks, troop and

STATE 00120796 002 OF 002

SUBJECT: NOVEMBER 25, 2009-UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY DATE ON THE
REPORT OF PBC ON ITS ANNUAL REPORT ON PEACEBUILDING
COMMISSION TALKING POIN
police contributing countries, donors, the private sector and
civil society. It will of course need to draw on the insights
of members of the PBC, especially its country-specific
configurations. We will additionally look to the
Secretary-General,s leadership to mobilize ideas and
expertise from across the UN system.

-- Most of all, the review should be informed by the views
and experiences of post-conflict countries, both on and off
of the PBC,s agenda - whether the PBC adds value to them is
really the ultimate barometer of success.

-- Mr. President, we wish to make two final observations.

-- We want to stress the importance of timely follow-up to
the Secretary-General,s report on Peacebuilding in the
Immediate Aftermath of Conflict. We look forward to progress
in the clarification of key peacebuilding roles and
responsibilities which will enable the UN system to build
clear centers of excellence in critical areas. We also
welcome steady progress in the effort to meet the "civilian
capacity gap," with particular attention to mobilizing talent
and expertise from developing countries. In this regard, we
see value in deeper reflection on the links between
integrated peacebuilding missions, civilian components of
peacekeeping operations, and related activities of UN
agencies in order to ensure that core civilian functions are
fulfilled in the most effective way.

-- We also want to underscore the value we see in working to
forge greater coherence between the UN,s peacemaking,
peacekeeping, and peacebuilding efforts. Throughout this
year, we have engaged in a deepening conversation about how
to strengthen peacekeeping. As we look to future
deliberations, both on peacekeeping and the PBC review, we
see an opportunity to forge a closer and more dynamic link
between these interrelated efforts

-- Mr. President, the PBC was created because of gaps in
international response that left too many countries
vulnerable to the relapse of violence. The PBC has helped
shrink those gaps, but many remain. The challenge to us all
today is to redouble our efforts to close them.

Thank you.

End talking points.
CLINTON

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