Thank you Chair, and a big thank you to the briefers for their insightful presentations.
Let me begin by commending Colombia for continuously engaging with the PBC and for sharing lessons learned from its inclusive national and territorial peacebuilding and prevention efforts.
It is very valuable that the Commission once again has found the opportunity to visit Colombia.
As a guarantor country for the 2016 peace accord, Norway reiterates the fundamental importance of protecting the architecture of the agreement and ensuring its implementation.
Continued progress in the implementation of the peace agreement hinges on effective peacebuilding and conflict prevention efforts to ensure that there is no backsliding into conflict.
The forthcoming restorative sentences of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace will be scrutinized by all parties involved.
The legitimacy and legacy of the peace accord largely depend upon these sentences being issued in a timely manner and in a way that is consistent with the spirit of the accord.
Chair,
The Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Peace in Colombia and the UN Peacebuilding Fund continue to be vital mechanisms for financing peacebuilding and prevention efforts in Colombia.
It is imperative that Member States continue to ensure sustainable and predictable funding for those mechanisms, as peace is still vulnerable.
The UN Country Team and the Verification Mission, in partnership with Government as well international, national and local NGOs and civil society organizations, are also vitally important as implementers of peacebuilding activities on the ground.
Chair,
The full, equal and meaningful inclusion of women, and of ethnic communities, in all efforts for peace is, as always, a prerequisite for sustainability and stability.
We thank the Colombian Government for their strong commitment to peacebuilding efforts, and for their continued participation at the highest level in the PBC demonstrates its genuine wish to achieve lasting peace. You can count on Norway’s continued support in this endeavor.
Finally, I would like to rise on question;
Given Colombia’s complex and evolving conflict dynamics, how can we best make sure that peacebuilding strategies remain both adaptive and locally relevant, while we at the same time align with the long time national agenda for peace?
Thank you.