Baku-APA. The UN Security Council on Thursday reaffirmed that "sustainable peace requires an integrated approach," and welcomed initiatives by post-conflict countries to reduce poverty, deter conflict and provide better conditions for their populations, APA reports.
The 15-nation UN body, in a presidential statement adopted here after an open debate on peacebuilding in post-conflict countries, said: "The Security Council reaffirms that sustainable peace requires an integrated approach based on coherence among political, security, development, human rights, including gender equality, rule of law and justice activities."
"In this regard, the Council stresses the importance of the rule of law as one of the key elements of peacebuilding, emphasizing that courts must provide justice and equal protection under the law for all citizens and recognizing the need for enhanced efforts aimed at capacity building in justice and security institutions, especially in the police, prosecutorial, judicial and corrections sectors," the statement said.
For the United Nations, peacebuilding refers to efforts to assist countries and regions in their transition from war to peace, including activities and programs to support and strengthen these transitions.
A peacebuilding process normally begins with the signing of a peace agreement by former warring parties and a United Nations role in facilitating its implementation.
"The Security Council reaffirms that national ownership and national responsibility are key to establishing sustainable peace and reaffirms also the primary responsibility of national authorities in identifying their priorities and strategies for post-conflict peacebuilding," the statement said.
"The Security Council emphasizes the importance of inclusivity in advancing national peacebuilding processes and objectives in order to ensure that the needs of all segments of society are taken into account," it said. "The Council calls on the United Nations to support national efforts to include relevant national actors in peacebuilding activities and processes."
"The Security Council welcomes initiatives by post-conflict countries to reduce poverty, deter conflict, and provide better conditions to their populations and underlines that the primary responsibility for successful peacebuilding lies with governments and relevant national actors, including civil society, in countries emerging from conflict and that the United Nations can play a critical role in support of national reconciliation, security sector reform, demobilization, disarmament and reintegration, restoring the rule of law and national institutions, revitalizing the economy, and providing basic services and other key peacebuilding efforts in post-conflict countries," it added.
The United Nations has made progress in its efforts to assist countries during the critical period after a conflict has ended, but challenges remain, as witnessed by the number of countries that have relapses in recent years, UN Secretary-general Ban Ki- moon told the Security Council earlier on Thursday.
"Despite the strides we have made, major peacebuilding challenges remain," Ban said at the Council debate.
"Many countries continue to experience instability years after the end of armed conflict, with high levels of relapse into violence. Ninety percent of the conflicts between 2000 and 2009 occurred in countries that had previously experienced civil war," he noted.
The cornerstone of the UN's peacebuilding architecture is the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), which was set up in 2005 to help struggling states avoid slipping back into war and chaos by providing strategic advice and harnessing expertise and financing from around the world to aid with recovery projects.
The UN commission currently has six post-conflict countries on its agenda -- Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- and its efforts are supported by the Peacebuilding Support Office.
Countries can also avail themselves of financial assistance from the Peacebuilding Fund to jump-start rebuilding projects.
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