The United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) is a multi-year standing trust fund for post-conflict peacebuilding, established in 2006 by the
UN Secretary General
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of the Un ...
at the request of the
UN General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
with an initial funding target of $250 million.
The fund was established out of the recognition that among the impediments to successful peacebuilding is the scarcity of resources, most notably financial resources. The fund aims therefore to extend critical support during the early stages of a peace process. Its design embodies several key principals:
*Recognition of national ownership of peace processes
*The need to serve as a ‘catalyst’ to kick-start critical peacebuilding inventions
*To utilize United Nations Agencies, funds and programmes as recipients to support project implementation by national entities
*To operate as a disbursement process at the country level
Since its establishment in October 2006, the Peacebuilding Fund facility has been activated for the two countries currently under consideration by the
Peacebuilding Commission
The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) is a United Nations intergovernmental advisory body of both the General Assembly and the Security Council that supports peace efforts in conflict affected countries. A key addition to the capacity ...
,
Burundi
Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...
and
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
. The secretary-general allocated US$35 million each for these two countries earlier this year.
Burundi
To date, the Peacebuilding Fund approved 12 projects with a total budget of US$26,883,000 in the four priority areas set out in the United Nations-Burundi Government Peacebuilding Fund priority plan, namely governance, the security sector, justice and human rights, and land issues.
Sierra Leone
At present, the Peacebuilding Fund approved 7 projects with a total budget of US$15,982,577 in the priority areas of good governance, security and justice sector reform, youth employment and empowerment, and capacity-building.
Côte d’Ivoire
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
The fund approved emergency funding in the amount of US$700,000 to support the ongoing “Direct Dialogue” between President
and the former armed opposition, the
Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire
The Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire (English: ''New Forces of Ivory Coast''; abbreviated FNCI, FN or FAFN) is a political coalition that was formed in December 2002, in the wake of the first peace accords of the Ivorian Civil War.
Compositio ...
, in
Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...
,
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...
. The funds will help build confidence between ex-belligerents of the Ivorian conflict and contribute to the implementation of the
Ouagadougou Political Agreement
The First Ivorian Civil War was a civil conflict in the Ivory Coast (also known as Côte d'Ivoire) that began with a military rebellion on 19 September 2002 and ended with a peace agreement on 4 March 2007. The conflict pitted the government of ...
, leading to the organization of free and fair elections.
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
The fund approved emergency funding in the amount of US$801,975 to support political dialogue, including a period of mediation by international facilitators, between the government, civil society members, opposition political parties and armed opposition groups.
Governance arrangements
The general assembly guides the operations of the fund and may offer overall policy guidance. Th
Peacebuilding Commissionsupports the development of integrated strategies for post-conflict peacebuilding and recovery and provides strategic advice in relation to countries under its review. Th
Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO)provides overall direction and guidance on programme management and monitoring.
Fund administration
The Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) Office of the
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
(UNDP) serves as the administrative agent and is responsible for fund management, including the receipt of donor contributions, the disbursement of funds, and the submission of consolidated narrative and financial reports.
The advisory group
An independent advisory grouphas been appointed by the secretary-general to provide advice and oversight of the speed and appropriateness of fund allocations and to examine performance and financial reports. In March 2007, the secretary-general announced the composition of the advisory group: 10 eminent persons, from all regions, with significant peacebuilding experience. The advisory group met for the first time on 6 September 2007.
External links
United Nations PeacebuildingUnited Nations Peacebuilding FundMulti-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) Office
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United Nations General Assembly subsidiary organs
United Nations Security Council subsidiary organs
Peace organizations