Thank you, Chair, for convening this second, annual interactive dialogue on the PBF.
I also thank ASG Spehar for her briefing and DRC and Sierra Leone for sharing their own experiences with the PBF.
As a long-standing contributor to the Fund, Norway strongly supports PBPSO’s strategic leadership and management of the Fund, including of the assessed contributions.
This dialogue should contribute to constructive, strategic-level reflections that can help the Fund respond to evolving peacebuilding needs. And we should provide discretion to the PBPSO to manage the fund, including project-level decisions.
With this in mind, let me share three reflections.
First, on PBF priorities.
Prioritization should be guided by shared conflict risk analysis , national ownership, meaningful localization, and the catalytic potential of investments.
Experience shows that the Fund is most effective when it enables integrated responses, supporting national authorities by bringing together UN entities and civil society partners in support of shared peacebuilding priorities.
At the same time, restrained resources require a clear, strategic focus.
Programming should remain firmly anchored in peacebuilding objectives by addressing drivers of conflict and strengthening conditions for sustainable peace.
Second, on the PBF strategy review.
It is essential to preserve its universal mandate and remain responsive to peacebuilding needs globally, including where the UN already supports national peace processes.
The Fund should also maintain a balance between immediate needs and longer-term peacebuilding efforts.
In this regard, we strongly support the introduction of assessed contributions, which help provide more predictable financing in critical contexts, including in transitions where gains are fragile.
Meanwhile, allowing flexibility to allocate these resources where the needs are greatest, remains crucial.
Third, on the Peacebuilding and Peace Support Office
Norway strongly supports the UN80 reforms and sees clear benefits in integrating in-mission expertise on justice and corrections, DDR, and SSR within PBPSO.
We hope that the Office, in its partnerships, can become an anchor for integrated, system-wide UN activities across the peace continuum, making available the wide repertoire of UN tools to support national peacebuilding priorities.
To conclude, we are many in this room that support efforts to ensure coherent and strategically aligned peacebuilding efforts by the Fund at the national level.
In this regard, what are the enablers and the obstacles we need to address to improve integrated approaches, including through partnerships with the IFIs and MDBs, and the inclusion of the civil society, across the UN, including the UN Country Teams?
Thank you