Report on INAUGURAL meeting of the Peacebuilding Commission
June 23, 2006 UN headquarters New york

The Organizational Committee of the Peace Building Commission (PBC) held its inaugural Meeting on June 23 2006, at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The PBC is an intergovernmental advisory body of the UN, established in December 2005 through joint resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly. The agenda of the inaugural meeting focused on procedural aspects of work, including the adoption of the Committee’s rules of procedure and the election of its chairperson and two vice-chairpersons.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan opened the session with a statement emphasizing the role of the Commission as the first peace-building coordinating body of the UN, and stressing the country-specific mode in which the PBC ought to work. He also noted the importance of national ownership of peacebuilding processes and spoke of the necessity for the PBC to find ways to engage local civil society in the post conflict countries that will be on its agenda.

H.E. Mr. Ismael Abraa Gaspar Martins, the Permanent Representative of Angola, was elected as Chairperson of the Peacebuilding Comission. The two Vice Chair posts were filled by H.E. Mrs. Carmen María Gallardo Hernández, Permanent Representative of El Salvadore and H.E. Mr. Johan L. Lövald, Permanent Representative of Norway.

Upon his election as Chair, Ambassador Gaspar Martins gave a short statement in which he pointed out that the real test of the effectiveness of the Commission will be its capacity to produce lasting peace in the countries that will be on its agenda. Among other things, he noted that the full involvement of women and the youth is critical to Peacebuilding.

Also delivering statements were the presidents of the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, as well as representatives of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

By request of the Security Council, as one of the main recipients of advice from the new Commission, Sierra Leone and Burundi were adopted as the first two countries on the Commission's peacebuilding agenda.

At the closing of the inaugural meeting, the newly-elected chairperson indicated that he would constitute the next meeting of the Organizational Committee of the Commission within a few weeks.

For a UN press release on the event, please click here