CCCPA--in cooperation with the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (UNPBC)-- organized a virtual high-level panel titled “Financing for Peacebuilding in Peacekeeping and Transition Contexts”, on 28 October 2021.

The Permanent Representative of Egypt to the UN and the Chair of the UNPBC, Ambassador Ossama Abdel-Khalek, opened the debate by emphasizing that financing for peacebuilding is one of the key priorities of the Egyptian presidency of the Peacebuilding Commission, stating that “it is the persisting challenge facing enhancing the effectiveness of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture, especially in light of COVID-19 repercussions, and with resources being redirected towards economic recovery.” Ambassador Abdel-Khalek added that achieving predictable and sustained financing will remain elusive as long as there are barriers to peacebuilding activities accessing assessed contributions.

In a recorded message, H.E. Abdulla Shahid, President of the UN General Assembly, called on member states to scale up their financial support to peacebuilding financing, especially in priority countries where UN peacekeeping missions are shutting down. He stated that “often the closure of a UN mission within a country coincides with reduced and irregular aid flows, which jeopardizes their ability to take long-term peace and security into their own hands.”

In his opening remarks, Mr. Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, highlighted that while there have been considerable milestones achieved with regards to the UN peacebuilding architecture, financing for peacebuilding remains the biggest challenge. He noted that this is particularly evident in settings where missions are drawing down. In that vein, he called for increased contributions to support national peacebuilding priorities and to streamline them into recovery efforts to build back better and stronger in the post-COVID-19 world.

CCCPA’s Director-General and Executive Director of the Aswan Forum, Ambassador Ahmed Abdel-Latif, mentioned that the high-level panel comes in the context of preparation for the third edition of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development. He indicated that it also comes in the context of a series of activities and meetings organized by the Center which aim at operationalizing the Cairo Roadmap for Enhancing the Performance of Peacekeeping Operations: From Mandate to Exit which was endorsed last year by the African Union as a common African position, bearing in mind that strengthening the contribution of peacekeeping operations to peacebuilding efforts in Africa is one of the Roadmap’s priorities.

The panel discussion was informed by a Working Paper on “Financing for Peacebuilding in Peace Operations and Transitions Contexts”, commissioned by CCCPA. The paper takes stock of existing gaps in the peacebuilding financing eco-system and provides actionable recommendations for various peacebuilding funding streams.

The panel discussion--moderated by Ambassador Mai Khalil, Egypt’s Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for UN Affairs--witnessed the participation of a number of distinguished speakers from the UN and international and regional financial institutions, including Franck Bousquet, Deputy Director, International Monetary Fund; and Dr. Yero Baldeh, Director, Transition States Coordination Office, African Development Bank Group; in addition to representatives from the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS).

During the panel, representatives of permanent missions to the UN and participants from research institutions, discussed the efforts exerted by the UN and its partners to increase resources and financing for peacebuilding since the adoption of the twin resolutions on sustaining peace in 2016 by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council.

The panel put forward a number of suggestions and recommendations for funding peacebuilding programs and activities in peacekeeping and transition contexts, which will feed into the PBC’s annual session on peacebuilding finance. The outcomes of this year’s session will inform the PBC’s consultation to the General Assembly for the high-level meeting on financing for peacebuilding, scheduled to take place next year.

The event comes as part of the project on “Enhancing Peace, Security, and Stability in Africa”, funded by the Government of Japan, through the UNDP, and co-funded by the African Development Bank.