Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07USUNNEWYORK75
2007-01-31 14:24:00
UNCLASSIFIED
USUN New York
Cable title:  

UNSC/PBC: CONSULTATIONS ON THE PEACEBUILDING

Tags:  PREL ECON UNSC KPKO 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0011
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0075/01 0311424
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 311424Z JAN 07
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1232
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000075 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ECON UNSC KPKO
SUBJECT: UNSC/PBC: CONSULTATIONS ON THE PEACEBUILDING
COMMISSION, JANUARY 23

REF: STATE 8026

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000075

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ECON UNSC KPKO
SUBJECT: UNSC/PBC: CONSULTATIONS ON THE PEACEBUILDING
COMMISSION, JANUARY 23

REF: STATE 8026


1. (U) Summary. The Security Council held closed
consultations on the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) on
Tuesday, January 23, in advance of the January 31 open
debate. The Russians, as Council President for January,
sought to use the Council's engagement this month to exert
leadership over a body that is widely understood to be adrift
in its first year. While the discussion in the Council was
largely constructive, though almost uniformly critical of the
performance of the PBC to date, the debate outside the
Council still appears fixed on the question of competing
authority over the PBC. In response to the Security
Council's efforts, the NAM requested a PBC Organizational
Committee meeting (held January 30) and a General Assembly
debate on the same subject (scheduled for February 6). As a
signal of continued Council interest in the subject, the
Slovaks have suggested another round of PBC consultations on
February 26. End Summary.


2. (U) In Council consultations on January 23, A/SYG Carolyn
McAskie briefed members on the work of the PBC and the
Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO),the Secretariat office
formed to support the PBC's work. She noted that the PBC's
link to the Council was critical and the PBC was "still
looking at how best to express that link." She said the
strength of the PBC was its ability to bring together all
relevant bodies in the peacebuilding process. The PBC would
meet its mandate of marshaling resources for peacebuilding if
it were able to "inform" appropriate donor fora of specific
needs but not, "dissolve into another donor forum" itself.


3. (U) European members of the Council, including the UK and
France, called for a much more dynamic and aggressive PBC,
particularly in-country. The UK suggested that the PBC needs
to set specific goals for the next six months, including the
establishment of annual workplans for the countries
identified, the creation of in-country mechanisms for
consultations, and agreement on new countries to consider.
Belgium argued that the Council needed to "empower" the PBC
by tasking it to provide specific advice on the countries
currently under consideration (Burundi and Sierra Leone) and
then responding to that advice in the formation of relevant

Council mandates. Italy argued that the PBC needed to bring
in the private sector.


4. (U) China argued that the PBC must not spread itself too
thin without first "establishing the brand" through some
concrete and tangible success in the first two countries
concerned. China called for a narrow focus on concrete,
specific work that strengthens the "lead role" of the country
under consideration. Russia argued that the PBC should serve
to strengthen the coordination mechanisms that already exist
within the UN system, and not undermine them.


5. (U) South Africa's Dumisani Kumalo argued that the PBC had
"lost its way" and continues to mean different things to
different people. "We are worried, as Africans," he said,
"as there is a limit to what the Security Council and
peacekeepers can do." The objective of the PBC was to help
countries stand on their own "after the peacekeepers leave."
The PBC should not become about disbursements, as "it will
never have the resources of the World Bank or the UNDP." The
PBC could help fill this gap if it coordinated integrated
strategies that "made a difference on the ground."


6. (U) Other delegations agreed that the PBC had gotten off
to a difficult start. Panama noted that the PBC's
complicated format and "turf struggles" within the UN system
had hindered the body's ability to get down to work. Congo
said that it was clear the Security Council was "unsure" how
to use the PBC, and called on the PBC to focus on development
issues. Only Indonesia offered praise for the PBC's
country-specific meetings to date.


7. (U) Ambassador Wolff drew from reftel points to emphasize
U.S. support for the PBC as a means to fill a gap in the UN
system between the work of the Security Council and
longer-term efforts to build stability in post-conflict
societies. "So far, the PBC has not yet met this challenge."
Wolff called for specific, concrete results from the PBC on
the two countries already on its agenda. We need to approach
the work of the PBC with discipline and focus, so that it
effectively acts to coordinate work already being done by a
wide variety of stakeholders but does not duplicate or
complicate their efforts.


8. (U) On Thursday, January 22, the French hosted a meeting
for the ten members of the Security Council who currently sit
on the PBC. A/SYG McAskie told Council Members that she had
gotten some criticism from other delegations for appearing
before the Security Council (presumably before consulting


directly with the PBC). She noted her readiness to defend
herself on this account, given the SC's direct role in
creating the PBC, but said that it reflected a continuing
argument among the broader membership over control of the
PBC. The NAM and G-77 are concerned about the Security
Council's intensified efforts to engage on peacebuilding
efforts (though only Indonesia expressed similar concerns in
the Council consultations, and South Africa argued strongly
for a robust link between the PBC and the Council).
WOLFF