Statement at the UNSC Arria Meeting on Transitioning from Conflict and Fragility
Statement
22 December 2022Thank you to the Kenyan delegation for organising this meeting, which we were delighted to co-sponsor. It’s a really important and substantive issue as you said earlier. Thank you also to our briefers for their insightful presentations.
We are facing multiple, compounding crises. Conflict is raging across the globe, exacerbated by climate change, hunger, and geopolitical and socioeconomic upheavals.
In Afghanistan, Haiti, Ukraine, and across the Sahel, the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa, peacebuilding and prospects for sustaining peace remain elusive.
Moving from conflict to sustainable development is never a straight line. Effective and inclusive transitions are essential for sustaining peace.
Therefore Ireland was pleased to have led the negotiations of UN Security Council Resolution 2594, the first standalone resolution on UN Transitions.
This is a landmark Resolution. Centred on the Protections of Civilians, it strengthens the UN’s ability to ensure that peacekeepers’ hard won gains are maintained and sustained. We must now ensure that the principles unanimously agreed in Resolution 2594 are implemented.
A triple nexus approach is fundamental to any transition towards peace. Ireland recognizes the Peacebuilding Support Office, UN Peacebuilding Fund, and Peacebuilding Commission as the “hinge” around which the international community should organise its conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts, including operationalising a nexus approach.
The Women, Peace and Security Agenda remains key to ensuring sustainable and peaceful transitions. We also reiterate the need for meaningful inclusion of youth, and civil society throughout these processes.
The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals are central to sustaining peace as previously said. 2023 will see an unprecedented investment in Ireland’s overseas development programme. Our Overseas Development Assistance will rise to €1.2 billion, an increase of 17 per cent on 2022.
This strong and sustained commitment to global solidarity will enable us to deliver an effective response to a series of crises facing the most vulnerable people in the world, as a result of conflict, hunger and climate change.
The SDGs are at the heart of our approach. Their three dimensions of sustainable development – social, economic, and environmental – can have a transformative impact on stability. A human rights based approach to achieving the SDGs is also key to contribute to conflict prevention and peacebuilding.
However, we urgently need to step up financing for peacebuilding. Ireland calls on member states to support the ongoing negotiations on assessed contributions to the Peacebuilding Fund. For our part, we arepleased to increase our voluntary contribution to the Fund by 20 per cent in 2023, to €3 million.
Addressing the root causes and drivers of conflict is essential. Multidimensional poverty, and multidimensional vulnerability are some of the key challenges facing populations across the globe, including in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
SDG 16 is important here. Achieving this Goal can promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
Ireland is a long-standing supporter of the UN Development System reform process. International Financial Institutions and Financing for Development have an important role to play in leveraging support for financing sustainable development.
We also reiterate the importance of the UN Resident Coordinator System and urge all stakeholders to support this vital function. Particularly in conflict settings, the Resident Coordinator plays a key role in crisis prevention and response. The Resident Coordinator’s integration role and convening powers are fundamental and should continue to be strengthened.
As we prepare to conclude our term on the Security Council, we will continue to prioritise sustaining peace and sustainable development.
We are very pleased that the President of the General Assembly has entrusted Ireland to co-facilitate the negotiations of next year’s critical SDG Summit’s Political Declaration, alongside Qatar. This is a crucial opportunity to recapture lost momentum for the 2030 Agenda.
Thank you, Mr Chair.