Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06USUNNEWYORK1335
2006-07-10 17:23:00
CONFIDENTIAL
USUN New York
Cable title:  

PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION: FIRST MEETING

Tags:  AF EAID PREL UNSC KPKO KCRS 
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VZCZCXYZ0016
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #1335/01 1911723
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 101723Z JUL 06
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9543
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 0663
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0695
RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN 0187
RUEHFN/AMEMBASSY FREETOWN 0642
RUEHLU/AMEMBASSY LUANDA 0068
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 0654
RUEHSN/AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR 0102
C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 001335 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2016
TAGS: AF EAID PREL UNSC KPKO KCRS
SUBJECT: PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION: FIRST MEETING

REF: USUN 1229

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN R. BOLTON, REASONS: 1.5(b) (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 001335

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2016
TAGS: AF EAID PREL UNSC KPKO KCRS
SUBJECT: PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION: FIRST MEETING

REF: USUN 1229

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN R. BOLTON, REASONS: 1.5(b) (d)


1. (U) SUMMARY. UN officials, international financial
representatives and 31 member states inaugurated the
Peacebuilding Commission on June 23. The Angolan permrep
took the chair, and announced the selection by consensus of
Norway and El Salvador as vice chairs. Each will lead
country-specific meetings that are initially expected
(although still not confirmed) to focus on Sierra Leone and
Burundi, which the Security Council requested. Speakers
emphasized that the success of this innovative body would
depend upon the cohesion and results orientation of the
country groups, as well as implementation of their
recommendations on the ground. Engagement of the country
under consideration, including country ownership and a
country's commitment to rebuilding its own institutions, were
paramount. Speakers also underscored the central role of the
Security Council, reflecting hard-fought principles that
Ambassador Bolton had secured in lengthy negotiations. End
Summary.

ANGOLA TAKES THE CHAIR
--------------


2. (C) Following introductory remarks by Secretary General
Kofi Annan, Angolan Ambassador Ismael Gaspar Martins gaveled
to order the first, ceremonial meeting of the Peacebuilding
Commission (PBC). There was a quiet relief that Egypt's
attempt to wrest control of the PBC had just barely been
foiled (reftel). Expectations, for the moment, ran high
among UN officials, the 31 PBC member states, representatives
of international financial institutions, the press and civil
society (NGO) representatives. After months of bickering and
negotiating over PBC reporting lines, equitable geographic
representation, membership rotational plans and rules of
procedure, among other issues, the first meeting had finally
begun. The Angolan ambassador said, "As a representative of
a country which is in the process of overcoming the negative
consequences of many years of conflict, and from a continent
with the largest number of countries in post-conflict

situations, this choice is a symbolic recognition of the
purposes for which our leaders decided to establish the
Peacebuilding Commission."


3. (SBU) Angola then announced that PBC members had chosen
by consensus Norway and El Salvador to serve as vice chairs.
The chair and vice chairs will serve one-year terms,
according to provisional rules of procedure. El Salvador's
permrep Mrs. Carmen Maria Gallardo Hernandez immediately
announced her intention to infuse a gender perspective into
the work of the PBC. Angola said that members had agreed to
select Sierra Leone and Burundi as country focus groups at
the first business meeting of the Organizational Committee.
In an early indication of possible procedural difficulties,
however, the chair unexpectedly declined to confirm their
selection. USUN later learned that a Secretariat official
had (inappropriately) advised the chair to delay this
announcement until after the PBC held its first full business
meeting, thus delaying a decision that PBC member states and
the Security Council had agreed upon. Ambassador Gaspar
Martins urged international donors to contribute to the
voluntary Peacebuilding Fund. (Later that day, India
announced a contribution of $2 million.) Several speakers
hailed the appointment of Carolyn McAskie, former SRSG to
Burundi (Canadian),as the Assistant Secretary General of a
small Peacebuilding Support Office.


4. (U) SYG Annan referred to the PBC as "a unique
intergovernmental body" that "is the first specifically
devoted to peacebuilding." He said the "core task" of the
PBC is "to build effective public institutions within
constitutional frameworks and the rule of law." He defined a
limited and non-bureaucratic role for the Peacebuilding
Support Office, specifically to provide information and
analysis and to ensure that recommendations of the PBC are
translated into concrete action at the country level. Annan
added that however well-intentioned outsiders may be, they
"cannot substitute for the knowledge and will of the people
of the country concerned."

SUCCESS DEPENDS ON COUNTRY OWNERSHIP
--------------


5. (U) President of the General Assembly Jan Eliasson
underscored this emphasis on country-level responsibility,
which has reemerged gradually but consistently in the course
of an arduous and elaborate negotiating process. In the
complex interplay among 191 member states, there were no
shortcuts to establish an innovative institution with
multiple membership sources, a multifaceted coordination
mandate, and crosscutting institutional reporting lines. Yet
the PBC itself will need to be lean and efficient in order to
make cogent, timely recommendations. "It is in the
country-specific settings that the work of the Peacebuilding
Commission ultimately will be judged," Eliasson said. SYG
Annan expressed the hope that the PBC would focus its work on
national situations and that national authorities would
participate actively in country meetings.


6. (U) The World Bank was represented by Vice President
James Adams. In Africa since the 1990's, he said some six
million people have lost their lives and 15 million have been
displaced. The destruction of physical infrastructure, loss
of institutional capacity and social capital have amounted to
an average loss 2.2% in annual growth per conflict.
"Conflict brings appalling human suffering and loss," he
said. "Conflict and state fragility produce a vicious cycle."
From the World Bank's experience in working with countries
emerging from conflict, Adams emphasized that progress needs
to be driven from within. He pledged that the World Bank
would be an active partner to the PBC. An IMF representative
also emphasized the central need for country ownership. On
behalf of the Security Council Presidency, Danish Foreign
Minister Stig Moller stated, "The primary responsibility for
building a nation lies with the national or transitional
authorities of the individual country. Without the strong
cooperation of the country on the agenda, the efforts of the
Peacebuilding Commission risk failure."

THE SECURITY COUNCIL IS PIVOTAL
--------------


7. (U) In an unusual nod to the central role of the Security
Council, PGA Eliasson noted the importance of close
coordination between peacekeeping and peacebuilding, which he
said are both essential for reconstruction and
rehabilitation. FM Moller reminded that the main purpose of
the PBC is to provide advice to the Security Council, "in
particular when there is a UN mandated peacekeeping mission
on the ground or underway, as stated in the resolution."
Moller added that the SC would use PBC advice in its own
deliberations and when reviewing the mandates of peacekeeping
operations. A letter from the SC President requesting that
Burundi and Sierra Leone be put on the first business agenda
circulated as the second official document of the PBC. These
country groups are expected to be formally adopted at the
first meeting of the Organizational Committee, Angola said.


8. (C) COMMENT. The swift, pivotal request by the
President of the Security Council to establish the first two
PBC country groups was a deft jump-start, institutionalizing
a core concept that the United States particularly sought.
It is unfortunate that the PBC Chair did not follow through
more decisively and that authorization of these two country
groups has still not been confirmed in the absence of a
follow-up OC meeting. Throughout negotiations to establish
the PBC, Ambassador Bolton argued repeatedly, with strong
interagency and legal support, for a core SC-PBC linkage.
Effective peacebuilding will depend upon close coordination
of peacekeeping operations and reconstruction programs on the
ground. This formerly controversial assumption has gained
increasing currency as the PBC has emerged.


9. (C) COMMENT CONTINUATION. While most PBC members say
they are now committed to making the PBC work pragmatically
and transparently, significant challenges lie ahead. For
example, some countries and Secretariat staff continue to
advocate for a heavier architecture for the Organizational
Committee, including establishment of a traditional "bureau"
reflecting geographic equities. As rules of procedure
continue to evolve, we will advocate for a light OC structure
that transfers action to the (hopefully) less formal country
meetings. The role of NGOs has yet to be determined. Terms
of reference for the administration of the voluntary
Peacebuilding Fund, which the Secretariat drafted, are
notably turgid and will require revision by member states.
International financial institutions (IFIs) will participate
in the PBC without compromising their own governing

arrangements. Nevertheless, questions have already arisen
about whether the IFIs will need to join consensus in order
for a country group to make a decision. Strong leadership of
the country groups will be essential to avoid endless
discourse and concur on recommendations from among the
various participants. The U.S. will need to continue to play
a proactive role in order to help shape procedures and
discussions. We will seek the Department's guidance to
identify a variety of stakeholders to participate in
country-specific meetings, anticipating that USAID, among
others, may bring particular expertise. End Comment.


9. (U) The current member state composition of the PBC
follows:

Seven members from the Security Council including China,
Denmark, France, the Russian Federation, U.K., Tanzania and
the U.S.

Seven members elected by the Economic and Social Council,
including Angola, Belgium, Brazil, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia,
Poland and Sri Lanka.

Five top providers of assessed and voluntary contributions to
UN budgets, funds and programs, including Germany, Italy,
Japan, The Netherlands, and Norway.

Five top providers of troops and civilian police to UN
peacekeeping operations, including Bangladesh, Ghana, India,
Nigeria and Pakistan.

Seven members elected by the General Assembly, including
Burundi, Chile, Croatia, Egypt, El Salvador, Fiji and
Jamaica.






BOLTON