Archive / Other publications
The Peacebuilding Commission
19/07/2005 By Enrique Yturiaga
This commentary reflects some of the most important issues concerning the creation of a Peacebuilding Commission from the standpoint of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, including where it will be established (institutionally-speaking), its principal functions, funding sources and peacebuilding models and strategies.
Before presenting some thoughts on the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) proposed by the Secretary-General in his report, “In Larger Freedom”, I would like to highlight a couple of preliminary ideas:
Firstly, the creation of a commission of these characteristics is a novelty for the United Nations, given that it is a body that would be built from the bottom-up, that is, beginning with field experience and in turn moving towards its institutional establishment.
The PBC would be the combination of a theoretical proposal, which has already been around for a few years, and the logical evolution of the concept of development within the United Nations after decades of development aid activities by the various specialized UN agencies.
Secondly, it is worth pointing out that the PBC has been eclipsed by the Security Council in the general debate on UN reform. In my opinion, this is positive because it makes the creation of a well-defined and coherent PBC project possible, as all negotiation experiences at the UN show that the more a text is negotiated, the less it resembles the original plan.
I think we will all agree that the PBC will only be effective if it receives a clear and precise mandate.
Download the full version of this publication, available in English (92 kB)
Spanish (98 kB)
To read or listen to the comments of our experts in the media about this and other topics, please visit our Press section.
Keywords
Aid policy Peacekeeping UNRelated publications
Bio author: Enrique Yturiaga
BA in Law by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Diploma in European Studies (Communitarian Law) by the European Studies Institute in Strasbourg. Since the end of 2004, he is Sub-director General for Technical International Organs at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
