Discurso do Representante Permanente, Embaixador Ronaldo Costa Filho, em debate aberto do Conselho de Segurança sobre Construção e Manutenção da Paz - 3 de maio de 2023 (texto em inglês)
Statement by Brazil in the Security Council open debate on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace
May 3rd, 2023
Mister President,
I would like to thank Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya and his team for the competent and efficient leadership of the Council in April. I would also like to welcome you, Mister President, and the Swiss mission, to the presidency this month, and pledge our full support to assist you.
Let me also welcome High Commissioner Volker Türk, Ms. Cynthia Chigwenya and Professor Funmi Olonisakin to this open debate and thank them for their insightful presentations.
I am particularly grateful to your delegation, Mister President, for the attention given to peacebuilding from the very outset of your presidency, beginning with a request for the advice of the Peacebuilding Commission on this debate on a topic of utmost importance such as trust. Our discussion today provides another opportunity for further reflection on peacebuilding and on the collaboration between this Council and the Commission.
As I have underscored a number of times, the exchanges between the two organs are very much welcome, and could, in fact, happen more often. Furthermore, this cooperation is necessary, essential even, in order to achieve sustainable peace vis-à-vis the complexity of the challenges before us.
We must take the trust between the two organs to a higher level because it rings somewhat hollow for us to prescribe strengh and trust to the outside world when we seem unable to strenghen trust between bodies within the UN itself. One relevant example in that sense is the issue of transitions.
Despite the difficulties in marking the precise moment when peacekeeping should evolve into peacebuilding, the PBC can and should take primary responsibility in overseeing the process of transition from conflict to development. This would allow the Security Council to dedicate its attention and resources to situations of effective threats to or breaches of international peace and security. This would let the PBC fulfil its role as envisioned when it was created.
This collaboration can only prosper, however, if the Council regards the Commission as a full partner, which it trusts, values and works alongside in a constructive way.
The Council’s endeavours to promote trust in peacebuilding processes should also rely on close cooperation and greater participation of sub-regional organisations. Their legitimacy, first-hand knowledge and cultural understanding of the root causes and contentious issues of conflicts are important assets in setting the conditions conducive to dialogue and sustainable peace. Stronger partnerships with International Financial Institutions are equally relevant in the quest to mobilise resources.
The Council must support inclusivity in peacebuilding processes. We believe that participation of all stakeholders, particularly local leadership and women, in these endeavours is essential to their success. Exclusion and marginalisation undermine trust and lead to resentment, which can jeopardise peace initiatives altogether.
We cannot be successful in building up trust without taking into account the views and interests of all the relevant parties. This should be a guiding principle in the Council’s approach to conflict resolution and peace promotion, including in the Council’s own deliberations, where different actors and points of views must be heard and understood. Moreover, it lays a solid foundation for a genuine dialogue that generates sympathy, trust and eventually peace. President Filipe Nyusi’s testimony last March about the peace process in Mozambique was very eloquent in that regard.
Mister President,
My delegation believes it is imperative to seize this opportunity to also reflect on the issue of trust within the Council. Divisions among member States have widened significantly. This has had a spillover on the whole agenda of the Council.
The failure of this Council to address pressing peace and security issues lead to the erosion of trust among its members and erodes its credibility. In this respect efforts to expand the tasks of this Council to areas already under consideration in other fora does nothing to enhance trust or boost credibility
We believe the best way to rebuild that trust and render the Council more effective is by improving its representativeness and transparency, which can only be achieved through a comprehensive reform. This must be an essential element of the New Agenda for Peace.
Trust is also maintained when we all play by the same agreed rules. The UN Charter and International Law remain the legal basis for our action. It is on each one of us to renew our commitment to those principles and norms aiming at promoting a trustworthy and balanced multipolar order.
Finally, Mister President, I would like to thank High Commissioner Volker Türk for highlighting the importance of the respect of human rights in strenghening trust. Let me just underscore that this must include not only civil and political rights, but also economic, social and cultural rights, built within and among countries if this trust is to be sustainable.
Thank you very much, Mister President.