Peacebuilding Commission Ministerial-level meeting

The meeting, the ministerial meeting of the Peacebuilding Commission is called to order. Ladies and gentlemen, it is with a deep sense of honor that I wish to welcome you to this ministerial meeting under the theme of national ownership and practice, strengthening inclusive state institutions through international peacebuilding support. By meeting today on the margins of the high-level week of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in order to consider the crucial importance of national ownership in the realm of peacebuilding, insofar as a peace that is not rooted in national priorities cannot withstand the test of time. Today's meeting is an important opportunity to consider how international support for peacebuilding can be built on the basis of priorities set out at the national level, can strengthen inclusive and accountable institutions, and support without ever substituting to support member states in the establishment and the sustaining of peace. I wish to thank you for your presence and to welcome our distinguished briefers whose presence honors us. Her Excellency, my sister, Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations; my brother, Musalia Mudavadi, Prime Cabinet Secretary of the Republic of Kenya; His Excellency, the Foreign Minister of Papua Guinea, and of course, Her Excellency, Madame Marie-Laure Akin Olugbade, Principal Vice President of the African Development Bank. Before giving them the floor, I wish to deliver my opening remarks in my capacity as the Chairman of the Peacebuilding Commission. Madam Deputy Secretary-General, Mr. Prime Secretary of the Cabinet of the Republic of Kenya, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Papua New Guinea, Madam Vice President of the African Development Bank, ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor to welcome you today during this ministerial meeting. Twenty years after its inception, the PBC is at a turning point. The Pact for the Future reaffirmed the centrality of peacebuilding within the international peace and security agenda, the 2025 review of the peacebuilding architecture encourages us to transform the lessons learned into operational guidance. Peacebuilding, by its definition, constitutes an initiative that is undertaken over the long term. Peacebuilding requires that our tools evolve to reflect varying contexts, but especially for them to remain rooted in a fundamental conviction, the conviction that a lasting peace cannot be built in the place of states and societies. In this vein, I wish to share with you six considerations that can guide our discussion today. First and foremost, national ownership must never become merely a principle, a rhetorical principle. National ownership must not be boiled down to validation after the fact of programs and agendas designed from abroad. Peace cannot be imported. Peace is built from within. International support can be effective when it addresses national demand and supports priorities set out in an independent manner and strengthens the abilities of a state rather than substituting said state. This includes gradually transitioning from an approach of assistance to that of partnership based upon shared responsibility, respect for sovereignty and preparation from with once missions withdraw, respect for independence of national Second, national ownership is necessarily multidimensional. It is political, first and foremost. States need to be able to set out their own national priorities through inclusive processes, bringing together local authorities, women, youth, and civil society. And they need to be capacities to plan, implement, assess, and be held accountable for policies and financial support. At the financial level, states cannot genuinely steer their peacebuilding strategies if they remain dependent permanently upon ad hoc, unpredictable financing. These three dimensions are inextricably linked. Political ownership without institutional ownership remains a mere ambition and institutional capacity without ownership is also tenuous. So strengthening national institutions represents a direct investment in peace. Legitimate, inclusive, responsible institutions that can prevent to provide services to their citizens represent the best guarantee against relapse into crisis. In this vein, we have set out an integrated approach of the peace, security, development governance nexus, as was stressed by His Majesty the King Mohammed VI in the extraordinary summit during the extraordinary summit of the African Union, which was held last August in Luanda, Morocco has made peace, security, and stability in Africa a strategic choice, a longstanding consistent commitment through its contribution to conflict prevention, to mediation, to peacekeeping, peacebuilding, as well as post-conflict recovery," end of quote. This philosophy guides our efforts in the Central African Republic, where Morocco has the honor of chairing the peacebuilding configuration the country configuration. This has been the case since 2014 by providing support for the priorities that have been set out by the Central African authorities. Fourth consideration, a commission that supports national ownership itself needs to be present more present on the ground for this reason, we propose a greater focus on outside the walls, so to speak, PBC efforts. Peacebuilding cannot be considered in New York alone. There need to be regular sessions organized with countries concerned, which allow the Commission to engage in direct dialogue with governments. local bodies, economic stakeholders, and civil society. And this specifically allows for international decision-making to be brought closer to those who shoulder on a day-to-day basis responsibility for peace. In the same vein, we propose consideration of the feasibility of developing with national authorities a model for national ownership diagnosis. And under no circumstances does this imply an assessment of states and the basis of the yardstick of standards set out from abroad, but rather to identify with the states the necessary capacity in order to shape, steer, absorb, and sustain peacebuilding initiatives. Fifth consideration, national ownership requires true financial predictability. The Peacebuilding Fund remains an important catalyst, but the magnitude and the duration of the needs requires far broader mobilization. The Commission needs to strengthen partnerships with international financial institutions, regional development banks, national development banks, as well as other financial partners, so as to ensure that the financing for peace investments and development, for these to be mutually reinforcing around national priorities. There can be no lasting ownership when priorities when priorities are national, but the means for the achievement of these priorities are unpredictable. Sixth consideration, the value added of the Commission lies in its ability to build bridges, bridges between peace and development, bridges between states and the multilateral system, between national priorities and international resources, but also between the various bodies of the United Nations. Experience in Morocco at the helm of the Central African configuration, demonstrated this specifically through the advice conveyed to the Security Council in close coordination with the Central African authorities ahead of the renewal of MINUSCA's mandate. The PBC can neither substitute for states nor replicate the work of other institutions. Its strength specifically lies in the ability to bring parties together to provide support and to establish conditions for national institutions to take over the reins. After 20 years of experience, ladies and gentlemen, our ambition must not be solely limited to making more of peacebuilding, but rather to achieving better, to doing so better. And there needs to be a focus on peace building as a key pillar for the UN peace architecture with an approach with an emphasis on empowerment, ownership, and transitions that are implemented by national authorities. In this spirit, we, in our capacity as chair of the PBC, will continue to work towards the 2025 review and to strengthen this institution for the advancement of a genuinely national, inclusive, and sustainable peace. Thank you. It is my pleasure, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, to to give the floor to our distinguished high-level speakers, and it is now my pleasure to invite Her Excellency Amina Mohamed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, to deliver her remarks.

Your Excellency, Mr. Nassir Bourita, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates of the Kingdom of Morocco, and our Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. Minister Bourita, thank you for bringing us together and for Morocco's leadership of this commission in these times. Sustaining peace rests to a great extent on trust between people and the state. That if they are wronged, someone will listen. That if their child falls ill, someone will give them the medical care they have a right to. That a dispute over land will be settled in a courtroom rather than by force. That is a social contract, and when it is torn up, conflict is rarely behind it. Keeping it is the first responsibility of any government, and the job of partners like us is to help them keep it well through the institutions that people rely on every day. An agreement can end a war in a day. Peace takes much longer. It grows slowly, as institutions start to work, as services reach people again, as trust is restored. In June, the Secretary General reminded this commission that it was created to nurture the seeds of peace long enough for them to take root. Institutions are those roots, and helping countries grow them is what makes this commission's work between peace and development so valuable. Last year's review of the peace building architecture was very clear about who leads. Countries bear the primary responsibility for preventing conflict and building peace, and the rest of us are there to back the priorities that they set when they ask for our support. We know what happens when that balance is right. Liberia moved from a peacekeeping mission to a peacebuilding strategy of its own, with this Commission alongside it. The Central African Republic, with the Commission's support, restored state authority and held its first local election in decades. Colombia kept the world's attention on the priorities that it set itself and on women, young people, indigenous communities who lived through the conflict. Ownership, as this commission frames it, covers who sets the priorities, whether institutions can deliver on them, and whether the money flows through a country's own systems where citizens can see how it is spent. And crucially, women belong in all three. The research shows that peace agreements last longer when women help shape them. The institutions that come afterwards are no different. A justice system women trust, a police service women are part of to give the social contract meaning for women and girls and make it stronger for everyone. So I would urge every partner here to bring women into the design of our support from the beginning and not as an afterthought, and to put money directly into women's organizations. They are often the ones keeping communities together long before any national strategy is written. Excellencies, national strategies are how countries bring all of this together, and Sao Tome and Principe offer a good example. They developed a national prevention strategy with support from the Peacebuilding Fund and brought it to this Commission, and I congratulate them. Delivering it will take years, and it will need partners who will stay the course. The Peacebuilding Fund is very good at the first step. It moves early. It takes calculated risks while using its funding to get things started. Keeping them going needs patient, long-term finance from our development banks, our financial institutions, and the private sector. I am very pleased that the African Development Bank is with us today and that our partnership with the bank keeps growing. We also need to be able to show what works. The new UN system data commons and the peacebuilding impact hub are helping us to learn from experience and improve what we offer countries. Let me end my remarks by saying this: roots grow slowly. The countries in this room are doing that patient work every day, strengthening courts and police services, getting services back to communities, bringing women and young people into the decisions that shape their future and rebuilding, little by little, the trust between people and the state. They deserve strong partners who show the same patience. The United Nations and the Peacebuilding Support Fund, led by ASG Elizabeth Sverha, intend to be that kind of partner and will be with you every step of the way. I thank you.

I thank the Deputy Secretary-General for her remarks and especially for her personal commitment to peace building and sustaining peace.

I give the floor to my brother, Musalia Mudavadi, First Secretary of Cabinet of the Republic of Kenya. You have the floor, my brother.

Mr. Chair, Madam Deputy Secretary-General, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, I thank His Excellency Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Morocco, for his stewardship of the Peacebuilding Commission, and I commend the peacebuilding support Office for advancing the implementation of the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review resolutions, as well as the successful convening of the inaugural Peacebuilding Week. Kenya welcomed the progress made through the General Assembly resolutions 76/305 and 78/257, which have strengthened the foundation for more predictable financing for prevention and peacebuilding. For Kenya, prevention endures when it is anchored in national institutions informed by communities and aligned with development priorities. International solidarity is most effective when it reinforces national capacity rather than replacing it. Allow me to offer five brief reflections from Kenya's experience and our engagement with the Commission. First, national ownership must be inclusive. Partners add greatest value when they support nationally identified priorities and wide and meaningful participation by women, youth, civil society, and local communities. In Kenya, many durable peace-building gains have grown from communities themselves. International support should strengthen national systems and allow for continuity long after external programs have ended. Second, institution building works best when support is channeled through national systems, not around them. joint analysis, predictable financing, and technical assistance to transfer knowledge and responsibility and confidence to national institutions over time. Kenya's Uyuano Platform for Peace demonstrates this approach by linking community, knowledge, peace committees, and formal state institutions for mediation, dialogue, early warning, and early response. Third, the Peacebuilding Commission has a unique convening role at the intersection of peace, development, and finance. It can bring governments, development partners, financial institutions, and private investors around nationally identified priorities. Kenya, therefore, proposes a peace-building peer learning platform under the commission to facilitate practical exchanges of lessons from nationally led prevention efforts and strengthen the link between peace-building fund investments and wider development financing. Fourth, peacebuilding support delivers the greatest impact when it's demand-driven, flexible, and rooted in national realities. Across regions, experience increasingly shows that peacebuilding is most sustainable when national actors define priorities and international partners align their resources, timelines, and accountability behind those priorities. Finally, partnerships are the channels through which trust is built and grievances are addressed early. Government institutions, civil society, faith-based actors, women, youth, traditional leaders, and development partners must therefore remain central to prevention, For Kenya, this means that locally-led peacebuilding should not be understood merely as the delivery of internationally financed projects by local organizations. Rather, local actors should have a voice, influence, institutional space, and access to resources. Mr. Chair, the future of peacebuilding will not be secured by building more projects around national institutions. It will be secured by strengthening the institutions through which societies prevent conflict, manage difference and build trust. At a time of shrinking resources, the choice before us is not between peace building and development. It is whether development investments will build societies resilient enough to withstand conflict or whether we will continue to meet the far greater cost of responding after crises have already occurred. Kenya believes the measure of our collective success must be practical. We stand ready to work with all partners in support of approaches that place national leadership and local agency at the center. Together, we can ensure that prevention is not only recognized as a priority, but embedded in the institutions, partnerships, and investments that shape our collective efforts to sustain peace. I thank you.

I should like to thank His Excellency Musalia Mudavadi. Kenya's experience in peacebuilding is truly successful, and I think that that can inspire many other countries. I now give the floor to His Excellency Justin Tatchenko, Foreign Minister of Papua New Guinea.

His Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates of the Kingdom of Morocco and Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, distinguished fellow panelists, excellencies and delegates. May I firstly thank the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission for the invitation and leadership shown for this important ministerial meeting on topical agenda deserving focus and sustained high level support for peace that the world so desperately needs in today's challenging landscape. We are pleased to join you all and for the second consecutive year in this meeting to share our national experiences and lessons learned over the years in the quest for peace and security. This clearly demonstrates my country's strong commitment for peace at all levels and for peace by peaceful means. Mr. Chair, Papua New Guinea is the home to over 800 different languages, thousands of tribes and clans, and diverse cultural practices, which is both our strength and our challenge. While this diversity enriches our social fabric, it can also lead to the misunderstandings and tensions amongst various groups. To address this, we are committed to promoting social cohesion by fostering mutual respect, unity, and inclusive governance, ensuring that all communities are heard and represented is essential in turning diversity into the foundation of national strength. Our Bougainville conflict left deep scars. For over a decade, civil war claimed approximately 20,000 lives. But through dialogue, perseverance, and a mutual respect, we chose peace by peaceful means over conflict. Our 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement established a political roadmap under the confines of our country's constitution that witnessed unbroken peace in our country for 25 years. With the support of our development partners, including the United Nations, Peacebuilding Fund since 2015, we supported the Bougainville referendum and are now navigating the post-referendum transition. Our Melanesian Agreement of 2025 for Bougainville peace process amplifies both parties' willingness to engage in peaceful dialogue including on important and challenging issues. Most importantly, Papua New Guinea's peace building and sustaining peace work in Bougainville is driven by the principle of peace through peaceful means. Mr. Chair, another important area for us on prevention and peacebuilding is through our first ever building peace and boosting resilience in Papua New Guinea. National prevention strategy 2025 to 2030. This was launched in September 25 in the presence of the UN Secretary General during his landmark visit to my country. This provides an important framework to address sources of conflict and promote inclusive and peaceful communities across the country. The National Provincial Strategy recognizes that conflict and violence prevention would be possible only through the collective engagement of businesses, churches, community leaders, civil society organizations, youth groups, and women organizations, and the whole of government approach and a whole of society approach and partnership where needed. Mr. Chair, addressing root causes is fundamental for peace and security. Conflicts today are increasingly interconnected with poverty, climate change, displacement, food and energy insecurity, weak institutions, organized crime and competition over natural resources. Where development is absent, grievances can deepen. Where institutions are weak, instability can take root. Where communities are excluded, social cohesion can fracture. And where young people see no economic future, the foundations of peace become fragile. For vulnerable countries, including small island development states, climate change presents another dimension of security and peace building. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, disaster and loss of livelihoods can deepen existing vulnerabilities, increase displacement and place additional pressure on communities and institutions. This is why prevention must remain at the center of our collective approach to peace and security. We must invest in peace before crisis becomes conflicts. We must strengthen institutions before they fail. We must listen to communities before grievances become violence. And we must ensure that young people and women are not simply regarded as beneficiaries of peacebuilding, but as partners and leaders in building peace. Mr. Chair, international partners, including regional level corporations, have an important role to play in peacebuilding. in affected countries. However, external assistance cannot be a suitable for national ownership, sustainable for suitable national ownership. Papua New Guinea also believes that regional organizations and regional approaches deserve greater recognition. The experiences of the Pacific, demonstrate the value of dialogue, consensus, mediation, and locally grounded approaches to resolve differences. Our region has developed its own traditional and mechanisms for maintaining peace and security. They must compliment rather than compete with the global peace and security architecture. The international community is most effective when it supports nationally determined priorities, strengthens national institutions, and helps societies develop their own capacity to prevent and resolve conflict. In this spirit, the Peacebuilding Commission has an important role. in helping the United Nations systems move from a culture of responding to crisis towards a stronger culture of prevention, resilience, and sustained peace. Mr. Chair, let us therefore ensure that peacebuilding is not treated as a afterthought once conflict has occurred. Let us make sure it is an essential part of development, governments, and international cooperation. And let us build a peace-building system that is sufficiently flexible to listen to countries, sufficiently inclusive to hear communities, and sufficiently resourced to turn political commitments into lasting results. Our peacebuilding architecture must therefore be capable of connecting peace, development, human security, and resilience. Papua New Guinea stands ready to work with the United Nations, other member states, regional organizations, and the development partners to advance this shared objective. Because peace is not built in conference rooms alone. It is built in communities. It is built through trust. It is built through inclusion. And ultimately, it is built by the people who believe that their differences can be resolved without violence and that their children deserve a better future. Let us give them that future. And I thank you.

I should like to thank you, Your Excellency, for that contribution to our work, outlining the experience that your country has, and essentially also for emphasizing that the Pacific region deserves as much attention as do other regions throughout the world. I should now like to give the floor to Madame Marie-Laure Akin Olugbade, Principal Vice President of the African Development Bank. The floor is yours, Madame.

Your Excellency, Minister Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates of the Kingdom of Morocco and Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission. Your Excellency, Mrs. Amina Mohamed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. His Excellency, Dr. Moussa Ali Amoudavadi, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs of the Republic of Kenya, His Excellency Mr. Justin Tjokkenko, I'm sorry, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Papua New Guinea, Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is a privilege to join you today on behalf of Dr. Sidi Ould Ta, President of the African Development Bank Group. I wish to thank the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, Your Excellency Nasser Bourita, and the Vice-Chairs for convening this timely discussion. 20 years after the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission, our collective priority must be to translate national ownership into measurable impact. Peace endures when countries lead their own development path, supported by effective institutions, accountable governance, and inclusive participation that enables citizens, including the young people, the women, but also communities, to shape their own future. For the African Development Bank, strong institutions are the foundation of prevention, resilience, and sustainable development. They build trust through transparent governance, effective service delivery, and stronger accountability between citizens and the state. Prevention must therefore be at the center of development finance. Investing earlier in resilience, institutions, and local capacities is not only more effective, it is also more cost efficient. than responding after crises have emerged. And this is why, through the 17th replenishment of the African Development Fund, which is our concessional lending window, the Bank is supporting eight African countries in the preparation of national prevention strategies by 2028. Our partnership with the United Nations Peacebuilding and Peace Support Office And I thank my dear sister, Elizabeth, for the wonderful work that we plan to do together. But also the Peacebuilding Fund, this partnership demonstrates how this approach can work in practice. Let me just share a few examples. In the Central African Republic, and I know, dear Chair, how Central African Republic is dear to your heart. In the Central African Republic, the Peacebuilding Fund and the African Development Bank are jointly supporting durable solutions for displaced populations and refugees while promoting youth entrepreneurship, job creation, and economic inclusion through a co-financed peacebuilding and resilience initiative. Together with the Peacebuilding and Peace Support Office and the Mano River Union Secretariat, the Bank is also co-financing a fragility and resilience assessment with a view to strengthening national and regional responses to cross-border fragility. So we really strongly believe that national ownership must ultimately be visible in people's daily lives, in service delivered, in job created, and also in institutions that citizens can trust. Through the African Development Fund, the bank has already mobilized more than $7 billion to support more than 400 operations which are focused on governance reforms, institutional strengthening, economic inclusion, prevention, recovery, and resilience in countries affected by fragility and conflict. In Liberia, we are supporting the establishment of Africa's first youth entrepreneurship and investment bank, which is expected to support more than 30,000 youth-led businesses and generate more than $125 Similarly, in northern Mozambique, we are supporting the Resilient Investment for Socio-Economic Empowerment, Peace and Security project, which is expected to create, again, more than 24,000 jobs, while supporting social inclusion and peacebuilding in Cabo Delgado. And these are just not abstract outcomes. They are really the practical expression of national ownership, institution translating commitments into livelihood, opportunity, and resilience. In conclusion, your excellencies, let me maybe share three priorities. Number one, we would really like to invite all partners, all stakeholders, to align international support behind inclusive and nationally owned prevention strategies. let's all strengthen national and local institutions rather than bypassing them. Number three, it is important to connect peace-building objectives to sustain development finance, stronger public systems, domestic resource mobilization, and responsible private investment. Because, as you said, Chair, ultimately, peace cannot be imported. It cannot be outsourced. It cannot be imposed. it must be built and sustained by national institution that earn the trust of the citizen. And our collective responsibility is therefore not to lead the countries, but to really enable them to lead themselves. And when national ownership is matched by capable institution and sustained investment, then peace becomes more than aspiration. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Madam Principal Vice President of the African Development Bank. We now move on to the second section of our meeting, where we shall hear from delegations. I have both good and bad news. The good news is that there are 17 speakers who have requested to speak, and this demonstrates how much interest there is in our meeting. And then the less good news is that I have to ask you to stick to three minutes when you speak so that delegations will have an opportunity to take the floor. I will open this by giving the floor to His Excellency, Mauro Vieira, the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Brazil. Mr. Minister, you have the floor, sir.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. Ministers, Excellencies, national ownership is fundamental for sustainable peace. National authorities must be able to define their own priorities, strengthen their institutions and determine their own path towards peace, development and social cohesion. Those priorities should be grounded in a comprehensive understanding of peace, which recognized the inseparable relationship between security and development. Excellencies, sustainable peace cannot be achieved merely by silencing the guns. It requires long-term investment in development, the reduction of inequalities, and the strengthening of social contract. Peace building must therefore address structural causes that generate exclusion, undermine trust, and make societies more vulnerable to violence. National ownership must therefore also be inclusive. Women must play a central role as decision makers and agents of peace. Their participation strengthens the legitimacy, responsiveness, and resilience of national institutions. Excellencies, in 2025, military expenditure exceeded $2.8 trillion, at least 16 times the resources allocated to international development assistance. Every dollar diverted from development weakens our collective capacity to fight hunger, poverty, inequality, and climate change. The consequence falls most heavily on the global south. In this context, sustainable peace and development cannot be achieved without strong and inclusive state institutions. Strong institutions require adequate resources. Excellencies, the Peacebuilding Commission has an essential role in advancing the collective commitment. The implementation of the The 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review should further strengthen PBC's advisory, bridging and convening roles. The improvement of coordination between the discussions in this Commission and the destination of resources under the Peacebuilding Fund should continue. In the same vein, the dialogue between the PBC and international financial institutions should be further developed. Dear friends, although peacebuilding must be nationally led, sustaining peace is a collective responsibility. Brazil is committed to advance this objective. I thank you very much.

I should like to thank His Excellency, the Minister for that address, and I now give the floor to His Excellency Gordon Grilich-Rudman, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Croatia. You have the floor. Thank.

You so much, and the Foreign Minister Borita, my brother Nasser, the Assistant Secretary General, the Draga Spehar, gospodjo Spehar, and all the colleagues and ministers here. Ladies and gentlemen, let me first congratulate Morocco on its leadership of the Peacebuilding Commission this year, and thank you for convening this important discussion. Croatia has been a committed member of the Peacebuilding Commission from the very beginning. We have chaired the Commission twice, most recently in 2023, and today serve as one of its vice-chairs. to them, to them, them of today's meeting. It's very close to Croatia's own experience. For us, national ownership is not just a principle. It is what makes peace sustainable. Allow me to make three brief points. First, lasting peace requires more than ending a conflict. It requires strong institutions, recovery and opportunities for people to rebuild their lives. Croatia's own experience illustrated this. My nation is one example. At one point, more than 1,000 square kilometres of Croatian territory were contaminated by mines. This year, we removed the last mine. This saved lives, returned the land to communities and supported economy recovery. The same applies to the issue of missing persons. We are searching for exactly 1,725 people, and they remain missing since the aggression against our country in 1990s. Finding them remains a humanitarian priority. As co-chair of the Global Alliance for the Missing, Croatia continues to support international efforts to resolve these cases. Second, National ownership must be at the heart of prevention and peacebuilding. Our experience has shown that peace, development, and humanitarian action must go hand in hand. International support is most effective when it strengthens our national institutions and responds to national priorities. Croatia welcomes the Peacebuilding Architecture Review and its stronger focus on prevention and national ownership. National prevention strategies should be integrated into development planning and supported by political commitment and adequate resources. Third, we need stronger partnership and sustained resources. We need better cooperation across the UN system and with regional organizations, international financial institutions and local partners. The aim should be simple, better coordinated support that delivers results where it matters on the ground. Financing is an essential part of this effort. Croatia has supported the Peacebuilding Fund from the start and will continue to do so. We are proud to have provided in contributions and pledges almost half a million US dollars since the establishment. The first Peacebuilding Week in New York this June was a valuable opportunity to bring these efforts together. Croatia was pleased to contribute and to co-organize a side event with the EU and other partners on practical approaches to prevention and peacebuilding. Croatia stands ready to continue sharing its experience and working with all partners to turn our shared commitment into action. If elected to the Security Council for the term 2030-31, Croatia will keep this high on the agenda. Thank you so much.

Thank you, dear Gordon, for your intervention. And now I give the floor to His Excellency, Johann Walter, Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany.

You have the floor, dear Johann.

Thank you so much, dear Chair, dear colleagues, excellencies, dear colleagues. The joint decision by the General Assembly and the Security Council back in 2005 to establish the Peacebuilding Commission has placed peacebuilding at the center of the UN's and its member states' quest for peace and security worldwide. It has established a link between the Security Council and the General Assembly and between national efforts and international peacebuilding support. Looking at the state of the world today, with more and more crises and conflicts worldwide, regional or within states, the work of the PBC is more important than ever. I therefore want to congratulate you, Chair, for choosing this year's theme for our annual ministerial session with a focus on national ownership and how this can be underpinned by international partners. Anchoring national peacebuilding and prevention strategies in last year's Peacebuilding Architecture Review has been a major achievement, and it provides a concrete point of departure for sustainable, nationally owned peacebuilding efforts and shifting the focus from post-conflict to prevention. We know that peacebuilding has been most effective when inclusive and rooted in local realities, driven by national stakeholders and supported by the international community politically as well as financially. We should ensure that also the Peacebuilding Fund's upcoming strategy renewal reflects the need for continued support for the implementation of national strategies. As current Vice Chair and last year's Chair of the PBC, as well as largest donor to the Peacebuilding Fund, we have put a particular emphasis on peacebuilding impact and peace finance. Together with Canada, as a peacebuilding and peace support office, PBPSO, we have just published the third impact study scientifically proving in Guatemala, in Sudan, and in the border region of Mali and Niger that peacebuilding and prevention work. Together with Japan, Norway, and the PBPSO, we hosted the very first Peace Finance Forum in April here in New York, bringing together peace builders both from the public and private sector, including multilateral development banks. And in June, we celebrated the first Peacebuilding Week ever and the 20th anniversary of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund. Let me say, in these 20 years, we have learned and we have proven that it is worth investing in peacebuilding together. Germany will continue to support these efforts. I thank you.

Thank you very much for your intervention, Your Excellency. And now I give the floor to His Excellency Humayun Qubir, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, We thank Morocco for convening this meeting as Peacebuilding Commission Chair. It is an honour for Bangladesh to be elected as Vice-Chair of this session. We are grateful to Member States for reposing their trust and confidence in us for this important responsibility. I also appreciate our fellow Vice-Chairs for their valuable support and cooperation. Over the past two decades, we have witnessed inspiring examples of how local communities, national governments, and UN can work together to prevent violence and build sustainable peace. We believe PBC should continue to build on these experiences and further strengthen such efforts. Mr. Chair, Bangladesh's partnership with UN peacekeeping spans over three decades. Our peacekeepers, including women, have served with professionalism and dedication, earning global respect. This experience has reinforced our commitment to peacebuilding and addressing the root causes of conflict. Currently, under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarik Rahman, our government is committed to promoting inclusive governance, social justice, and equal opportunities. We seek to protect rights, empower women and youth, and foster social cohesion and sustainable peace. The Peacebuilding Commission can help advance these nationally led priorities. Building on these reflections, we offer five proposals First, to strengthen nationally owned, needs-based peacebuilding by linking local industries to global value chains and creating decent jobs for women and youth. Second, to enhance PBC's advisory role to support context-sensitive and sustainable transitions from peacekeeping to peacebuilding. Third, to mainstream women, peace and security and youth, peace and security across the Peacebuilding Commission's efforts, peacebuilding efforts to ensure inclusive and sustainable peace. Fourth, to ensure effective and timely implementation of the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review. And fifth, to mobilize adequate, predictable and sustained financing to support effective peacebuilding and sustaining peace. To conclude, I reiterate Bangladesh's commitment to work closely with all partners to enhance the effectiveness of UN peacebuilding. Let us make peacebuilding a stronger investment in our collective future. I thank you all.

Thank you, Your Excellency. And now I give the floor to His Excellency Mihai Popescu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova. You have the floor, sir.

Mr. Chair, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, I am honored to address this ministerial meeting dedicated to sharing national experiences on strengthening inclusive and resilient state institutions as a foundation for sustaining peace. In a world facing a growing number of conflicts and crises, peace is a prerequisite for sustainable development and the protection of human rights. This makes our commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, international law and international humanitarian law more important than ever. The United Nations peace and security architecture must remain fit for purpose. Its institutions and instruments need to work in greater coherence to prevent conflict, address emerging risks and sustain peace. The ongoing review of the peacebuilding architecture and peace operations provide an important opportunity to further strengthen the effectiveness of this essential pillar of the United Nations. The Republic of Moldova is firmly committed to peace. For more than two decades, we have contributed to the United Nations peacekeeping operations. We actively implement the Women, Peace, and Security agenda and support youth, peace, and security. We are also steadily increasing our contribution to our shared European security, including through humanitarian assistance, border management and efforts to combat illegal migration and transnational organized crime. At the national level, SDG 16, peace, justice and strong institutions remain a fundamental pillar for sustainable development agenda. Despite the complex international environment, and the multiple consequences of Russia's ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, strengthening the rule of law, combating corruption, and ensuring effective, transparent, and inclusive public institutions remain strategic priorities for Moldova. The government has identified efforts to prevent and combat violence, human trafficking, organized crime, ensure equal access to justice, and strengthening civic participation, transparency, and decision making. National ownership is also at the heart of Moldova's efforts to achieve a peaceful and comprehensive settlement of the Transnistrian issue. Our objective remains the reintegration of the country based on full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova within its internationally recognized borders. Sustainable settlement requires the complete and unconditional withdrawal of foreign military forces and munitions illegally stationed on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, in line with the relevant UN General Assembly resolutions from June 2018. At the same time, Moldova continues to pursue practical integration policies aimed at restoring the unity of the country, removing barriers between the two banks of the Dniester River, and improving the lives of people on both sides. We highly value the contribution of the United Nations to our international partners in building trust and social cohesion through support for local peace initiatives, cross-river civil society cooperation, youth peace building, human rights and legal assistance, peace education, efforts to counter disinformation, hate speech, and divisive narratives. Against the backdrop of a volatile geopolitical environment, preserving stability requires sustained investment in resilient institutions, social cohesion, and the capacity to address hybrid threats. For Moldova, international support is most effective when it strengthens national ownership and institutional capacity while responding to the country's specific needs and priorities. We therefore count on the continued engagement of the United Nations and our partners supporting Moldova's peacebuilding and integration efforts. In conclusion, Moldova reaffirms its commitment to contributing to regional and global peace, security and stability, and to strengthening inclusive, resilient institutions in accordance with international law and the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. Thank you.

Thank you, Your Excellency.

And I now give the floor to my dear friend, Petr Machinka, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. Petr, you have the floor.

Is it working? Oh, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair, dear Nasser, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. We spent a great deal of time in this building discussing how to end wars, and rightly so, but perhaps we spent less time asking the question, what comes next? What happens the day after a war ends? Because ending a war and building peace are not the same thing. A ceasefire can stop the fighting. A peace agreement can bring a conflict to an end. But neither by itself can make people trust their state, give young people a reason to see their future at home, or ensure that the next disagreement in society is resolved without violence. And this is where peace building begins. Peace can be supported from abroad. We can help finance it. Sometimes we can even help negotiate it. But as my friend, Nasir Burita, mentioned in his opening remarks, peace cannot be imported. National ownership, therefore, is more than a technical principle of international cooperation. It is also an expression of humility. It reminds us that there are limits to what the international community can do for others. We can help build institutions, but we cannot give them the trust of their people. We can provide resources, but we cannot take responsibility in their place. We can support reconciliation, but we cannot reconcile a society on its behalf. My own country learned something similar after 1989. Others could help us, but nobody could make our transformation happen for us. And functioning institutions alone are not enough. Peace must also offer people a future, jobs, opportunity, the freedom to start a business, to invest, and to build something of their own. because someone who sees no future in their own country will not consider peace a success simply because an agreement has been signed. Perhaps we should measure our own success accordingly, not by how much money we spend, not by how many programs we create, but by what remains after us, stronger institutions, a functioning economy, a society capable of taking responsibility for its own future. We should measure success not by how much assistance we provide, but by how much national capacity we leave behind, because the true success of peacebuilding is not a country in which the international community must remain forever. It is a country that one day no longer needs us. Thank you.

Thank you, dear Peter. The next speaker is Her Excellency Maka Bochorishvili, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia.

Thank you. Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, it's a great pleasure to participate.

In this ministerial meeting of Peacebuilding Commission and to engage in this discussion on national ownership and international peacebuilding support.

More than eight decades after the establishment of UN, peace remains one of our most important collective responsibilities. For Georgia, peace has very special meaning. We have lived with the consequences of war and conflict for decades, and their effects are still deeply felt across our society.

The continued occupation of two regions of Georgia, Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region, by Russian Federation remains a daily reality.

That is why we know.

The price of peace, and we know that peace is the foundation of our development, our prosperity, and our future.

This understanding has guided the policy of the Georgian government, particularly in an increasingly unpredictable security environment.

Russia's war against Ukraine continues, while the Middle East is experiencing another period of grave instability, with developments affecting energy, trade, and the wider security environment. In this context, preserving peace and stability at home is a matter of vital national interest for Georgia.

Our response has been consistent.

We remain committed to the peaceful resolution of the Russia-Georgia conflict, to reconciliation, to engagement with conflict-affected populations. At the same time, we have seen that what becomes possible when a country can preserve stability and concentrate its energy on the future. Georgia has maintained strong economic growth, stability, and reduced poverty and made significant progress in sustainable development. Stability has allowed us to invest in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and connectivity. These are not simply development achievements. They demonstrate what peace makes possible. This is why national ownership and sovereign decision-making matters. International support is essential, but it cannot replace national responsibility.

Sustainable peace requires strong national institutions, decisions rooted in national priorities, and respect for the sovereign.

Rights of each country to determine its own path. It also requires the trust and participation of society. Excellencies, at the same time, when instability is affecting neighboring regions, a more peaceful and predictable South Caucasus would create greater peace for economic development, space for economic development, investment, cooperation, and connectivity.

The recent progress in Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process is important for the two countries and for the region as a whole.

For Georgia, this is particularly important. Our country has been investing in infrastructure and connections that links regions with wider international markets. A more stable South Caucasus can strengthen these opportunities and contribute to economic development of the entire region. We know the cost of conflict and we also know what peace allows us to build. That's why peace remains not only our security priority, but our development priority and our commitment to the future generations.

Thank you.

Thank you, Your Excellency. And now I give the floor to His Excellency Ervin Ibrahimovic, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro.

You have the floor, sir.

Mr. Chair, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. For the last two decades, the UN Peacebuilding Commission has generated transformative impact, aiming and rebuilding peace in conflict areas across the globe. At the same time, we have learned of the importance of strengthening inclusive state institution in affected countries to secure durable result and lasting peace. Dear colleagues, building and sustaining peace is linked to inclusive and responsive state institutions, good governance, rule of law and independent judiciary, effective crisis management, fair delivery of basic services, equal representation, protection and respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Such an approach can build trust and help eliminate deeply rooted forms of exclusion, which often lead to growing hostilities and tensions, and consequently armed conflicts. Strong, resilient and conflict-sensitive institutions are critical to recovery from crisis. Sustaining peace requires their full engagement with both national and local stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector, and continued promotion of the role of women and youth in peace-building process. This whole of society approach is what turns commitment into action and real change on the ground. We are all witnessing the peace building is confronted with increasingly complex challenges, and no single actor can address them alone. While members state bear the primary responsibility for preventing conflict, building peace and address the drivers of violence in their countries. The role of the United Nations regional and sub-regional organizations and institutional financial institutions remains important, especially in providing technical support and expertise tailored to the local needs and priorities of affected countries. Mr. Chair, Montenegro unwavering commitment to the multilateralism. conflict prevention, and peacebuilding remains firm, and we will continue to actively contribute to the UN peacekeeping missions. We understand the value of peace and security, strong institution, and democracy, based on which we have presented our candidature for the Peacebuilding Commission for the period 2030-2031. As the 2025 building architecture review reaffirmed, Peace building succeeds when it is inclusive, naturally owned and supported through strong partnerships. In achieving these goals, you can count on Montenegro's full support. Thank you.

Thank you, Your Excellency.

And I give the floor now to His Excellency Shishir Shingh, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nepal.

Chair, Excellencies. National ownership is the indispensable bedrock of credible, legitimate, and durable peacebuilding. When societies author and steer their own peace process, reconciliation takes deep root. Nepal speaks to this truth from lived historical experience. 20 years ago, the Comprehensive Peace Accord of 2006 transformed a decade-long armed conflict through a uniquely homegrown, nationally owned peace process. It culminated in an inclusive federal democratic constitution. Today, women constitute over one-third of our federal parliament and more than 40% of our elected representatives across local deliberative bodies. Yet, peacebuilding is not a static milestone. It is an evolving, multi-generational covenant. Nepal's post-conflict generation, a dynamic, digitally mobilized youth who did not witness the armed conflict, rightfully demands transparent governance, meritocracy, and responsive institutions. When the Civic JN movement arose on 8th September 2025, our institution demonstrated remarkable resilience. Rather than descending into crisis, our democracy channeled public aspiration through dialogue. Parliamentary election were held smoothly within six months, achieving an orderly, peaceful transition to our newly elected government. This proves that enduring stability requires institution to remain agile and accountable to successive generations. Drawing from our journey, we emphasize three core principles. First, inclusive representation and local ownership are vital. Bringing the state closer to the people makes peace dividends tangible and builds lasting social trust. Second, credible institution for transitional justice, human rights, and the rule of law must be sustained to ensure the reconciliation is firmly anchored in accountability and dignity. Third, international peacebuilding support must remain aligned with national priorities. The UN's targeted assistance in electoral support and arms monitoring succeeded in Nepal precisely because it bolstered national capabilities without imposing external blueprints. In our ancient philosophical tradition, peace is never merely the negative absence of war. It is understood as a cosmic harmony that honors the delicate equilibrium between all living beings, the non-living being environment, the earth, and the wider universe. Let the Peace Building Commission champion this holistic vision where national ownership guides the process, dialogue resolves differences, and international solidarity sustains the shared journey towards universal harmony. Thank you and namaste.

Thank you very much, Your Excellency. And I give the floor now to His Excellency, Sjoerd Schoonesma, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands. You have the floor.

Much.

20 years after its creation, the Peacebuilding Commission still reflects the same ideal. Fragile peace must be protected. Sustainable peace must be built from within.

And today's reality is sobering. More armed conflicts than ever, and conflicts recur more often than ever.

And although the number of people that are living in conflict is increasing, funding for prevention and peacebuilding has been decreasing. And a casual observer might conclude that this body has failed miserably in its mission.

But we all know that that failure lies elsewhere.

What guides our membership of the PBC today are three priorities. And first, my neighbor, my colleague from Nepal, has already said this, national ownership is key.

We want international peacebuilding efforts to align with nationally led prevention.

And peacebuilding strategies, and these have to be inclusive, involving local authorities, women, youth, and civil society, aiming to restore trust and helping to restore the social fabric.

Torn apart by violence. And it needs to include mental health and psychosocial support. We cannot build peace on broken minds.

Second, we need to strengthen institutions. We all know what works, so we have to let it work. Pool funding, predictable financing, and investing in human capital and help strengthen those help strengthen institutions.

And when external actors temporarily substitute national capabilities, there must be a clear exit strategy, especially in conflict-affected countries.

And third, we need a stronger role for the PBC.

The Commission is equipped to bring together political support.

Finances and best practices.

But we should also invite more often international financial institutions and the private sector, because recovery requires economic growth.

And the security of having a job.

Peace building and development financing can reinforce each other and create peace dividends.

Excellencies, the Netherlands is a proud member of this Commission, and to underline that commitment.

Yesterday, Denmark announced a combined pledge to the UN Peacebuilding Fund, the DPPA and UNDP of over 300 million euros for the next five years.

Peacebuilding, conflict prevention and the rule of law should be part of the same integrated strategy. That is in the interest of millions of people living with the effects of conflicts today, and it is ultimately.

In all our own interests.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Your Excellency. And I give the floor now to my brother, His Excellency, Duma Aibari, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uganda.

Uganda commends the excellent leadership of the Kingdom of Morocco for convening this meeting on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly. As my colleagues have already mentioned, national ownership and inclusive governance are key to finding local solutions to domestic conflicts and challenges. When local communities and conflict-affected countries take the lead in creating opportunities vital for building and sustaining peace, they tend to take responsibility for the success of a peace process. Mr. Chair, sustainable peace also requires strengthening regional cooperation between states and the pursuit of harmonized regional policies that enhance mutual exploitation of economic opportunities and resources, facilitating free cross-border movement of goods and services, like we have done in the East African Community, deployment of cross-border infrastructure, and other regional integration projects to nurture community bonds for regional prosperity. Chair, peacebuilding is an investment and requires financing programs that promote and sustain it. We must ensure predictable, demand-driven financing for the implementation of priorities to remain resilient even when external donor funds dry out. We welcome the Peacebuilding Fund's engagement and call for long-term investment rather than fragmented, short-cycle project aid. Chair, as I conclude, Uganda reaffirms its commitment to multilateralism, South-South cooperation, and the central mandate of the Peacebuilding Commission. I thank you. I thank you, Your Excellency.

It is now my pleasure to give the floor to my brother, Tarimoka Chamali Traore, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Burkina Faso.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Burkina Faso would like to congratulate the Kingdom of Morocco on its leadership and for having convened this meeting on national ownership and national support for peacebuilding. For my country, this ownership means a strong leadership of our national government This is at the very heart of the design, follow-up, and assessment of the programs supported by our technical and financial partners. Our national priorities have to steer our actions so that the project does fit into our national realities. And this also means that national and local institutions have to define priorities guide the programs and ensure that the programs will last. So the countries have really to oversee their destiny here. Burkina Faso's experience with the peacebuilding fund is a very rich one. Our independent assessment in 2025 showed real results, not just strengthening local institutions, but also strengthening confidence, trust of people in institutions, and increasing trust in authorities and civil society. We have national participation in the strategic design, and this depends on the way in which we have learned takes root locally and nationally. Here we have three priorities. We want to design things with national and local authors. We want to strengthen in a lasting way our national capacity and ensure that our programs are part of lasting programs. So in other words, we have to see a strengthening of our national capacity rather than replacement, because external aid can help us with support of sincere partners who stand side by side with states in their commitment. Thank you.

I'd like to thank His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Burkina Faso. And I now give the floor to His Excellency Carlos Romero Martinez Alvarado, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Guatemala.

Your Excellencies, Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, Guatemala would like to thank Morocco and its leadership of the PBC for having convened this ministerial meeting to enable us to reflect in a timely way on how we can strengthen national priorities and have international support, therefore. My country fully believes that peace is the cornerstone of sustainable action. We have institutional and national action as inseparable if we are to ensure lasting peace. Political action means that priorities in peacebuilding should arise from inclusive processes of dialogue and participation. And to this end, Guatemala has stated always that lasting peace can only come by aiming at the root causes of conflict with social justice, dialogue, and sustainable political solutions. Institutional ownership means that we have to strengthen state ability in order effectively to meet the needs of people. Here, Guatemala attributes particular importance to strengthening the rule of law by means of protection, ensuring accessible, independent, and effective justice that can breed trust in citizens and lead to social cohesion. Lastly, participation of a financial order must mean that resources are mobilized in a transparent and responsible way in accordance with the national priorities for peace building. We reiterate our commitment to peace building, which has to be based on people led by states and supported by international cooperation that is consistent and respectful of national sovereignty. Thank you.

I thank His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala. And now, I have the pleasure to refer to His Excellency Sirik Modou Njie, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambian Board.

Excellency Chair. Let me begin by conveying my deep appreciation to you for the invitation extended to my delegation to participate in this high level gathering dedicated to making peace building a potent diplomatic and political tool to strengthen partnership for innovation, inclusion, and impact. In endorsing and supporting this initiative as one of the wisest investments the international community can make, the Gambia commends the Kingdom of Morocco for its leadership in forging a shared understanding of how international support can be better aligned with national priorities and in mobilizing sustained political and financial support to peacebuilding. Since 2017, the Gambia, under the visionary leadership of His Excellency President Barrow, has been crucial partner in engaging peace building commission for the consolidation of democratic ethos and governance, respect for human rights, women and youth empowerment, and the promotion of sustainable peace. The partnership has helped us to invest in transitional justice, the rule of law, and security sector reform. Thanks to this support, the government of the Gambia has marked milestones in transitional justice, most notably through the work of our Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission and in providing reparations for victims and survivors of previous regime. The findings of the Truth Commission has benefited us as a people to address one of the deepest root causes of tension in our society. and to directly confront our history. The Gambia needed healing and closure. We still do. So, Excellency Chair, the Gambia's participation in this August gathering is not merely formality. It is an illustration of our recognition. The results of the good collaboration with PBC have been tangible and lasting in redefining the pleasure, the posture, and scope of our democratic aspirations and national projections. As delegations, we did not just come here to share national experiences, but to recommit to international peacebuilding support and to the huge work that remains ahead, the work that focuses on promoting inclusive policies and advocacies that address the root causes of our socio-economic and political fragilities. With this imperative in mind, the Gambia reaffirms its commitment to the enhanced cooperation with PBC in our tireless efforts to sustain peace and to implement the attendant recommendations of our Truth Commission, the TRRC. We remain at a critical juncture in our transitional justice process. We must now prosecute those who bear the greatest responsibilities for committing the most serious crimes. The time to operationalize the Special Prosecutor's Office and the Special Tribunal has come. The Gambia stays dedicated to the vision that our peacebuilding architecture can advance conflict prevention and recovery efforts around the world. We stand ready to continue as a dedicated partner in that work. I thank you for your kind attention.

I thank His Excellency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Gambian Brodough. And now I give the floor to His Excellency, Mohamed Rahman Sowah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone.

Mr. Chair, His Excellencies, distinguished delegates, the delegation of Sierra Leone thanks the Kingdom of Morocco in its capacity as chair of the Peacebuilding Commission for convening this timely ministerial meeting on national ownership and practice, strengthening inclusive state ownership through national peacebuilding support. Australia welcomes the timely discussion on national ownership in practice. We thank the Peacebuilding Commission for convening this ministerial meeting and for keeping attention focused on the central lesson of peacebuilding: lasting peace of peacebuilding. Last piece cannot be imported, prescribed, or sustained from outside. It must be nationally led, locally grounded, inclusive in its design, and supported, not replaced, by international partnerships. Speaking from the perspective of a post-conflict country that benefited from the engagement of the Peacebuilding Commission, Swaziland believes that national ownership is not merely a principle of cooperation. It is a practical requirement for the legitimacy, effectiveness, and sustainability of peacebuilding. It rests, as lightly noted, on political institution and financial ownership. Political institution requires that national authorities retain the sovereign responsibility to define peacebuilding priorities. Institutional ownership requires sustained investment in capable, accountable, and responsive state institutions, including local level. Third, financial ownership is indispensable. Peacebuilding cannot depend definitely on external resources. State must progressively strengthen domestic resources, mobilization, public finance management, transparent peacebuilding, and accountability to citizens. Sierra Leone also recognizes the important contribution of the Peacebuilding Fund. Our experience demonstrated the value of flexible, catalytic, and risk-tolerant financing and the importance of sustainable and flexible peacebuilding support that is nationally owner-responsible to involving contest. The synergy between the peacebuilding and the Peacebuilding Fund has been instrumental in supporting Israel's journey from conflict towards resilience. Lessons from PFB supported country should thus inform a more demand-driven model, one that begins with national priorities, reaches community beyond capital cities, strengthens local institution, and ensure that full and meaningful participation of women and youth. In closing, it is worth noting that the international community's task is not to own national peacebuilding process, but to accompany them with humility, predictability, and respect. When governments, civil society, communities, and international partners work together in genuine partnership, institutions become more inclusive, more accountable, and more capable of responding to the needs of the people they serve. Swahili, therefore, remains committed to advancing this shared agenda. I thank you all for your attention.

I thank the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone. And now I have the floor to -- I have the pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency Benito dos Santos Freitas, or to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Timor-Leste, Ms. Melinda Costa Rangel.

Thank you, Chair, Excellencies, Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates. Our sincere appreciation to the Kingdom of Morocco in its capacity as Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission and to the Vice-Chairs for convening this meeting on national ownership and inclusive institutions. For Timor-Leste, peacebuilding has been a long-term national undertaking. supported by the United Nations. Over the years, we have worked to strengthen institutions and consolidate peace. Our engagement with the Commission, including discussion on a transitional justice and national-led prevention, has allowed us to share some lessons from this journey with others. One lesson is that national ownership requires more than agreement on priorities at the centers. Institution must be able to respond to people's needs across the country. Listening to local authorities, women, young people, and civil society can help make national priorities more inclusive and their implementation more effective. A second lesson concerned the quality of international support. Assistance works best when it is requested, shaped by the national priorities, and coordinated among partners. Joint analysis and sustained technical cooperation can help strengthen the capacity of national institutions to deliver services, manage resources, and uphold the rule of law. This support should enable those institutions to plan, deliver, and account for results so they can increasingly carry out these responsibilities themselves. This is where the Peacebuilding Commission can make a practical contribution. Its convening and advisory roles can bring national authorities, the United Nations, financial institutions, and other partners together around voluntary, nationally owned prevention and peace building strategies. Such cooperation should connect immediate needs with long term development and mobilize financing that strengthen rather than bypasses national systems. Mr. Chair, there is no single path to sustainable peace. Our experience has demonstrated the importance of national ownership, meaningful participation, and international partnership with strengthened institutions and support their long-term development. We believe that sustainable peace is built through shared responsibility, strengthened institutions, and a collective commitment to leave no one behind. We stand ready to work with all partners to turn these principles into lasting peace and progress. I thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Timor-Leste. I now have pleasure to give floor to Her Excellency Ms. Penny Wong, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia.

Thank you very much, Chair, and it's an honour to be able to speak here. 2025 was the most violent year since 1946, and deaths in conflict in that year rose 23 per cent in a single year. A thousand aid workers have been killed in three years, conflict-related sexual violence has more than doubled, and for children in armed conflict, 2025 was the worst year on record. We all know strategic competition is sharpening and countries' choices are being constrained by military power and control of the materials and technologies on which we depend. So if we are serious about building peace, we must be serious about agency. What do we mean by this? Agency is about all countries being able to make their own choices. Being able to determine our own futures, free from threats or coercion. And this is what Australia works towards. Because a world in which countries can exercise their sovereignty is a world that is more peaceful, more stable and more prosperous. Much more so than a world in which only some can make these choices. Colleagues, it would be easy to conclude that the rules have failed, but walking away from them would leave a vacuum. A vacuum is rarely filled by peace. So, we must recommit to the rules, we must recommit to building peace, and we must act together. Australia has launched the world's first policy guidance for effective national prevention strategies to help countries develop their own plans for peace and resilience, tackling the drivers of conflict and fragility from inequality to climate change, and championing the voices too often absent from these rooms. Chair, regional institutions are integral partners in peace, and our region benefits firsthand from ASEAN and also the Pacific Islands Forum. These entities build norms, they set expectations, they prevent escalation, and their innovations belong here. Prevention, Chair, is also central to Australia's campaign for the UN Security Council seat for 2930, and if elected, Our commitment is we will listen with respect, we will partner as equals, and we will work with you to protect what matters most. Yesterday, I convened the 130 signatories of the Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel, more than two-thirds of the United Nations, to drive further action to keep aid workers from harm. Australia is also investing in peace, one of the smartest investments any country can make, and we will provide $5 million to the UN International Financial Institutions Partnership Facility to unlock blended financing for conflict prevention and resilience, building on our multi-year $50 million commitment to the UN Peace Building Fund. Because, as we all know, peace is not built in moments of crises. It is built in the years before. and we cannot afford to wait. I thank you.

I thank Her Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia. And now I have the pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency Ali Omar, State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somalia.

Mr. Chair, Excellencies, distinguished delegates. I thank you, Mr. Chair, for convening this important ministerial meeting. It's a privilege to join a few ministers, distinguished delegates, regional and international partners, and civil society in reflecting on the principles that are central to a sustainable peace, national ownership. For Somalia, national ownership is not an abstract concept. It is something we have come to understand through our own journey. of peace-building institutions, restoring public confidence, and gradually assuming a greater responsibility for our own peace, security, and development. We have not made this journey alone. Somalia remains deeply grateful to the countries and partners that stood with us throughout. Their solidarity, friendship, and continued engagement have been an important part of Somalia's progress, and we value that partnership greatly. At the same time, our experience has taught us that peace is most durable when national institution is led, when communities are heard, and when international support reinforces a direction that is internationally determined. In that spirit, allow me to offer three practical reflections. First, international support should align behind a nationally defined priorities. Every country has its own history, institutions, and political realities. We can and should learn from one another, but there is no single peacebuilding model that can be simply transferred from one context to another. For Somalia, this means setting up our own national direction, taking responsibility for implementation, and working with partners whose political, financial, and technical support helps us advance those priorities more effectively. Second, national ownership must also be inclusive. Strong institutions are built when people see themselves reflected in them, when when women, young people, local communities, traditional elders, civil society, the private sector, and local authorities all have an important role to play in shaping peacebuilding priorities. Citizens that they state in every practical ways, citizens experience the state in every practical ways, through security, through access to justice, through schools, public services and responsive local institutions. That is where the public trust is built and where the national ownership becomes meaningful. Third, international support should leave behind strong national capacity. A useful test is simple. When program ends, is the country stronger? Are institutions more capable? Are national professionals better equipped? our system is more resilient, is the country better able to sustain progress on its own. This should be among the measures of a successful peacebuilding support. The peacebuilding commission can make an important contribution. The peacebuilding commission can make an important contribution by bringing together political development and financial actors around nationally identified priorities and by helping ensure that international support is coherent, complementary, and responsive to the needs of the countries concerned. Mr. Chair, Somalia's experience has given us a confidence in both national leadership and international partnership. We remain grateful to our long-standing friendship, and we welcome new partnership built on the same spirit of mutual respect, trust, and a shared responsibility. We will continue to listen, to learn, to engage constructively, and we will also continue to bring our own experience and judgment and responsibility to the table. The partnership Somalia seeks is one in which national leadership is respected, international support is aligned, and all sides remain accountable for the commitments they have made. Sustainable peace is strongest when it is nationally led internationally supported, anchored in institutions that people trust. Somalia will continue to provide national direction while welcoming the solidarity, expertise, and partnership of all those ready to walk this journey with us in the spirit of a mutual respect and shared purpose. That's for Somalia, is a national ownership, is a practice. I thank you all. Thank you.

I thank His Excellency, Minister, State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somalia. Now, I have pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency, Mr. Toni Kocelj, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, Excellencies, dear colleagues. We all agree that lasting peace is more than the mere absence of war. That's a fact, it requires much, uh, trust between people and institutions, it goes without saying, it requires respect for human rights and justice, it requires inclusive governance and societies that are able to withstand crisis.

National ownership must guide this work. I think we all agree with this.

At the same time, national ownership must be inclusive and that's the key. Peace cannot last unless all segments of society including local authorities, civil society, women, youth, community leaders, minority groups and conflict-affected communities have a meaningful voice in shaping their country's future. The peacebuilding commission has an important role to play. It can bring together national authorities, the UN entities, international financial institutions, regional organizations, civil society, and the private sector around national defined priorities. International support should be designed to strengthen and not to replace national and local institutions. For this reason, adequate, predictable and sustained financing is the key. The Peacebuilding Fund has already demonstrated its catholic value with timely and flexible support for national and local initiatives. Slovenia, in this case, continues to support it through our own multi-annual contribution. We must strengthen the partnership between the Commission and the Fund, that's our opinion, while expanding cooperation with international financial institutions, development banks, and the private sector so that financing better supports national priorities. And it goes without saying that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to peacebuilding. Sustainable peace requires nationally-led and people-centered solutions supported by genuine partnership and sustained international solidarity. A few months ago, we have heard that for every dollar invested in prevention, we save $7 in post-conflict reconstruction. Investment in conflict prevention and peacebuilding is strategic investment in a more secure and sustainable future for all. Last year, Member States, we came together on a set of measures to make peacebuilding and conflict prevention more impactful on the ground, and we recognized the need to strengthen the EU, uh, uh, UN peacebuilding architecture. The Pact for the Future and the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review gave us a direction, and the task before us is now to turn these commitments into action, to make international support more responsive to national needs and better able to prevent crises before they become conflict. And Slovenia will act very responsibly and constructively in this regard.

And thank you very much.

I thank His Excellency, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia. And now, I have the pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency, Mr. Mario Andrisseur, Minister of Defense of Haiti.

Mr. Chairman, Secretary-General, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. Haiti would also like to thank the Kingdom of Morocco and the Peacebuilding Commission for having convened this important meeting on national ownership and the strengthening of inclusive institutions. The current situation in our country reminds us that no sustainable peace can come about without legitimate national institutions which are accountable and able to meet the essential needs of the people. Haiti is still facing a multidimensional crisis with a lack of security, the violence of armed groups, weak institutions, people being displaced, and difficulties in acceding to public services. This situation should not mean that international action replaces national responsibility. What is required is rather solid partnership, sustaining the priorities defined by the authorities in Haiti, and lastingly strengthening the state's abilities. The government in Haiti is fully mobilized to bring a return to security, to strengthening the national police force and the army. to combat impunity and reestablish the authority of the state throughout our land. This is a sine qua non if we are to have the necessary conditions for credible and transparent elections, inclusive ones. Security is an urgent matter, but it cannot be dissociated from development. Peacebuilding in Haiti must also mean that public services can be restored, that justice can be strengthened, that a local government can be strengthened, that there can be economic prospects for young people, and that there be real participation of women, civil society, and local communities. We have to aim at the root causes of violence, that is, poverty, inequality, exclusion, total lack of opportunity. Haiti, therefore, appeals to its partners better to coordinate their assistance, to use in a better way the international institutions in order to avoid fragmentation of effort. or anything that is not consonant with national realities. We have to be flexible, predictable. We have to look at national capacities, strengthen them rather than replace them. The Peacebuilding Commission can play a vital role in bringing together a political, humanitarian, security, financial, and development actors. It can also galvanize international financial institutions to ensure that the funding going to Haiti does take into account its multidimensional vulnerabilities and that it can facilitate the urgent arrival of humanitarian aid to support sustainable development. Haiti states that the most lasting solutions will be designed and steered and implemented by Haitians. We are fully willing to take a shoulder of responsibilities with international partnership that respects our sovereignty, our institutions, and the legitimate aspirations of our people. Thank you very much.

I should like to thank His Excellency the Minister of Defense of Haiti, and I now give the floor to His Excellency Otonio Tete, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Angola.

Mr. Chairman, first and foremost, I wish to extend our congratulations to the Kingdom of Morocco upon its leadership at the helm of the Peacebuilding Commission.

Of this ministerial meeting, national ownership in practice is not an abstract statement. Our journey of national reconciliation, institutional reconstruction, and democratic consolidation after decades of internal conflicts in Angola in itself is a testament to what can be achieved when a state assumes sovereignty, leadership of its own peace process supported by, but never supplanted by international community. 2025 peacebuilding architecture review resolutions are clear. National ownership is the cornerstone of certain peace and subscribes to this vision. And Angola subscribes to this vision and calls for it to be translated into concrete modalities of partnership. External support is welcome, certainly. but when it is driven by national demand, anchored in the sovereign priority of the state and designed to strengthen local capacities, not to bypass them. In this regard, we recognize the three pillars that frame today's debate: political ownership, national ownership, and financial ownership. These three pillars are inseparable. It is not enough for government to set these priorities if the institutions lack the technical and financial capacity to implement them. Likewise, international financing produce lasting results only when it flows through national systems, strengthens accountability to citizens, and is embedded in long-term vision. Angola also underscores the need for truly inclusive national ownership. Peace building that excludes women, youth, local authorities, and civil society is doomed to fail.

We reaffirm our commitment to the principles and to the mandate of the PBC. As you would recall, Angola attributes paramount importance to this body, to which it has been wedded over the course of history as being the first country to preside, to chair over the PBCs at its inception. that, as a result of the reforms initiated in 2005. English.

Generate concrete commitments, and may those commitments translate into actions that people living in fragile societies can truly feel. Thank you very much.

I thank His Excellency, the Minister of External Relations of Angola. And it is now my pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency, Mr. Abdoulaye Diop, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, first and foremost, we wish to extend our congratulations to the Kingdom of Morocco upon its chairmanship of this important body. Lasting solutions to challenges related to peace require international and national efforts to be undertaken in the realms of prevention, of dialogue, inclusion, as well as greater enhancement of governance of communities. For this reason, our government supports and appreciates the significant support being provided by the PBC, which continues to support social cohesion, as well as local governance and conflict prevention, empowerment of women and young people, and community-based reconciliation efforts. We particularly welcome the incisive approach of the PBF, which is in alignment with our government's priorities, which places at the heart of its initiatives direct engagement of communities from targeting to implementation This is a key means for national reconciliation to be achieved, hence the interest our government attributes thereto through various initiatives undertaken to achieve this over the past few years. Our government welcomes the engagement of the PBF in natural resources management, including the question of transhumance in cross-border spaces and areas, prevention of violent extremism. These are concerns where which are being addressed to the great satisfaction of our population. There are new initiatives, which are dedicated to achievement of economic resilience of young people. And this is because we believe that investments in young people represents a direct investment in peace. experience on the ground shows investments in prevention generates results when these investments are anchored in communities and when they are advanced by local actors. Our government continues to believe the investments that have been undertaken remain fully relevant and have demonstrated their relevance and added value. There are national and community-based mechanisms, and abilities of young people and women are contributing. Local government and trust has been restored between the population and institutions. And yet, the gains remain tenuous in nature. They need to be shored up within a security environment where peaceful, harmonious coexistence is being threatened by terrorist groups. And that having been said, in 2026, the second cycle of a peacebuilding and recovery facility is liable to undermine achievements made over the past two years in promising projects. Safeguarding the results that have been achieved, addressing challenges that continue to be faced, and guaranteeing predictable financing necessarily requires a new cycle for peacebuilding programs and initiatives in our country. is necessary insofar as it will allow our country, inter alia, to shore up the gains made to further enhance participation of women and young people, as well as to ensure resilience of communities in the face of threats. So there is also a need for investment stability of the Sahel and West Africa. We firmly believe that peace is based on listening to one another, trust, inclusion, and partnership. We are counting upon your renewed trust for us to continue to achieve progress and to enshrine the gains that have been made for the benefit of the population and for regional stability. Thank you.

I thank His Excellency the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Mali. And I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Khalid Kahn. Secretary of State of Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Cambodia.

Excellency Nazaire Borita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriate and Chair of the Peace Building Commission. Excellency, At the outset, I wish to express Cambodia's deep appreciation to the Kingdom of Morocco for its leadership of the Peacebuilding Commission. We also commend the Commission for its continued effort to support countries affected by conflict in building and sustaining peace, strengthening national institutions, and advancing recovery and sustainable development. Cambodia attached important to the theme of today's meeting. Having emerged from a decade of conflict and national division to achieve peace, stability, and development, Cambodia has learned from its own experience that sustainable peace must be nationally owned and nationally led. At the same time, effective and well-coordinated international support can play an important complementary role in strengthening institutions, supporting reconstructions, and creating the condition for long-term sustainable development. Cambodia wishes to highlight three key points. First, national ownership, reconciliation, and inclusive government are indispensable foundation for lasting peace. Kabulian own experience demonstrate the importance of nationally driven solution tailored to the country particular history and circumstance. The implementation of the win-win policy in the state by in the late 1990s helped bring an end to the of armed conflict through a nationally led process of peaceful integration and reconciliation by providing guarantee for the safe livelihood and property of those joining the peace process and policy help rebuild trust, promote national reconciliation and reintegration and create the condition for stronger state institution and sustained development. Second, International peacebuilding support should be demand-driven, nationally owned, and aligned with national priority. Cambodia's experience underscore that international assistance is most effective when it's experienced underscore that international assistance is most when it's complement rather than substitute for national effort. External partner can provide valuable support through capacity building, technical assistance, and adequate resource, but sustainable result ultimately depend on strong national institution, nationally and strong system. Third, the Peacebuilding Commission should further enhance the diverse experience and comparative strengths of its members as we advance the implementation of the outcome of the 2025 review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture, great exchange of practical experience, expertise and nationally development solution can enhance the Commission advisory, bringing the convening role. In this regard, under the leadership of Samdech Moea Norodom Hounmaneth, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, we continue to champion mine action as an integral component of peace building, post-conflict recovery, and sustainable development. Drawing on our own transformation from a country heavily affected by landmines to one contributing expertise internationally, Cambodia stands ready to share experience and provide technical assistance where appropriate to both regional and global levels. I thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I thank His Excellency, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia. And now, I have the pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency, Mr. Robert Abisog Nomyan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Armenia.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished colleagues. At the outset, I would like to thank the Kingdom of Morocco for organizing this timely discussion of the Peacebuilding Commission. The title of this ministerial meeting contains two key concepts crucial for the success of any peacebuilding process, ownership and inclusivity. Governments bear primary responsibility for building just, peaceful, and inclusive societies. Peacebuilding should be grounded in respect for fundamental human rights and involve society as a whole. Civil society, women's organizations, youth and effective communities as indispensable agents for change. Such participation gives peacebuilding greater legitimacy and helps make political settlements more durable. It is equally important that peacebuilding goes hand in hand with development, good governance and respect for human rights. The government of Armenia pays special attention to empowering women and youth and promoting their meaningful participation in peace-building processes. Armenia's gender policy strategy and national action plan on women, peace, and security envisage advancing women's leadership in all areas of public life, including in border and refugee-hosting communities. Through the Inclusive Livelihood National Framework for Refugees and Host Communities, Armenia, in partnership with UNHCR and other development partners, supports long-term integration, housing, employment, and social services to meet the ongoing needs of refugees while strengthening the resilience of host communities. Excellencies, for Armenia, peace building has a direct regional dimension. The landmark Washington Summit on 8 August last year opened a new chapter for peace, prosperity, and regional cooperation in the South Caucasus. The Government of Armenia is committed to consolidate peace by promoting dialogue between our societies, advancing regional transport connectivity and trade, as well as addressing remaining humanitarian issues. The United Nations, with its Peacebuilding Commission, can play an important role in supporting these efforts, particularly by encouraging people-to-people contacts and confidence-building measures. Armenia stands ready to collaborate with the Peacebuilding Commission, UN specialized agencies, and development partners to support sustained peace in our region.

Thank you very much.

I thank the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. And now I have the pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency Olivier Djepi Nihou, Hungary. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Rwanda.

Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chair, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, thank you for the opportunity to speak and thank you for organizing this important high-level event. I also thank all briefers for their enlightening remarks. At the onset, I would like to highlight that the foundations of peace and stability are increasingly tested by discrimination, exclusion, and mistrust within societies. To address these challenges, it is essential to place national ownership and inclusivity at the heart of our collective efforts for sustainable peace. In Rwanda's perspective, national ownership is not simply a principle of peacebuilding. It is the foundation upon which sustainable peace must be built. For Rwanda, institutions cannot become legitimate and resilient if they are built around solutions that communities do not recognize as their own. International peacebuilding support is most effective when it strengthens state institutions, reinforces local capacity, and enables societies to develop solutions rooted in their own realities. This approach should, however, blend the sovereign leadership with collaborative peacebuilding, using international support to reinforce inclusive state institutions. Experience has demonstrated that sustainable peace takes root when countries assume responsibility for their own future, when institutions earn the confidence of their citizens, and when communities are empowered to shape the solutions that affect their lives. The renewed peacebuilding architecture, the Peacebuilding Commission, and the Peacebuilding Fund have a particularly important responsibility. The Peacebuilding Commission must increasingly become a platform for action and sustain a complement bringing together member states, the UN system, regional organizations, international financial institutions, and development partners around national identity priorities. The PBC's convening role should translate into stronger partnership, predictable follow-up, and sustainable international attention, particularly during transition when peacebuilding gains are not vulnerable. The credibility of the renewed peacebuilding architecture will ultimately be determined by the impact in the lives of people, with the women and young people meaningfully in decisions that shape peace. On the other hand, ownership must also be inclusive. Strong institutions are not only institutions that function, they are institutions that people trust. Women, youth, local communities, and the civil society should have meaningful opportunities to contribute to identifying priorities and shaping solutions. Local authorities, in particular, must be recognized as essential peacebuilding partners because they are often closest to communities and among the first institutions called upon when tensions emerge. Excellencies, rebuilding institutions after conflict requires more than technical capacity. It requires restoring trust between citizens and the state, creating space for participation, strengthening accountability, and ensuring that communities see themselves as partners in building their futures. The PBC engagement should therefore increasingly lead to concrete follow-up, mobilizing partnerships, addressing institutional capacity gaps, and sustaining international attention. This is the promise of national ownership, And that is the standard against which our renewed peacebuilding architecture should be judged. In closing, we emphasize the need to shift and move national ownership from principle to practice and translate the renewed peacebuilding architecture into meaningful change when it matters most, in the institutions, in communities, and lives of the people we are collectively committed to serve. Thank you.

I thank His Excellency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Rwanda. And now I have the pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency, Mr. Muhammad Hassan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We meet today as armed conflicts and humanitarian crises continue to cause immense suffering to civilians around the globe. Peacebuilding must not wait until a conflict breaks out, nor until it is over. It is a constant process by building and sustaining peaceful and inclusive society, resilient communities, and stable economy. This conviction led Malaysia to support the Peacebuilding Commission and join the consensus on the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review, PBAR, resolution. Our commitment, including through the paper we adopted, must translate into tangible improvements in people's lives. In this regard, Malaysia wishes to emphasise three points. Firstly, peacebuilding efforts must be nationally owned, meaningful and inclusive. Malaysia therefore supports nationally owned prevention and peacebuilding strategies, complemented by preventive diplomacy and mediation. Peacebuilding must include the full, equal and safe participation of women. This is the reason Malaysia hosted the 2025 ASEAN Women Peace and Security Summit in Kuala Lumpur. The summit reaffirmed the importance of women leadership in peacebuilding and called for stronger measures to prevent and respond to violence against women. It also advanced the integration of WPS perspectives into emerging security challenges. Secondly, the Peacebuilding Commission's work must translate into coordinated action. Development and peace are mutually reinforcing. Sustainable development can address the underlying conditions that fuel conflict, while stability enables development to take root. Therefore, Malaysia supports stronger cooperation between the Commission and the Economic and Social Council to enhance coherence across development, humanitarian and peacebuilding efforts. This partnership is essential to ensure that international support is responsive to national priorities, mutually reinforcing and capable of delivering greater impact on the ground. Thirdly, peacebuilding must strengthen national capacity and human capital. Through the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme, or MTCP, Malaysia shares development experience and expertise with developing countries, including those emerging from conflicts. Since 1980, Mr. Chairman, more than 38,000 participants from 144 countries have benefited from the MTCP program. Mr. Chair, peace is our collective responsibility. Let us together to nurture and preserve it. The PBA provides us with a roadmap. It is now up to the member states to step up and translate commitments into lasting results. I thank you.

I thank His Excellency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia. And now I have the pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency, Mr. Sibi George, Secretary West of the Ministry of External Affairs of India.

Excellencies, I thank Kingdom of Morocco and the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission for convening this meeting. which reaffirms the centrality of national ownership in the peacebuilding context. As the world's largest democracy and one of the fastest growing major economies, India is striving to become a developed country by 2047. Our nation building is guided by the principle of collective effort for inclusive growth. In a single decade, India has lifted 250 million people out of poverty and built a governance model rooted in transparency, accountability, and equal opportunity for all. Excellencies, allow me to share four elements of our nation building. First, decentralization of power. India has decentralized the decision making to elected village and municipal bodies. Our 1.4 million elected women representatives are driving women-led development and bringing public service delivery and accountability closer to the citizen. Second, human-centric digital public infrastructure. India's digital public infrastructure has transformed public service delivery and brought more than 500 million people into the formal financial system. Welfare benefits now reach citizens directly and transparently, minimizing leakages and further strengthening public trust in our institutions. Third, inclusive development with a focus on women and youth. One-third reservation for women legislators, girls' education and health programs, and vibrant youth-driven startup and sports ecosystem are widening participation and opportunity. Fourth, national leadership and ownership. Institution building and continuous reform efforts are driven by national priorities, not by external compulsion. Excellencies, India's approach to peace building is guided by our civilizational ethos of the world is one family. Through demand-driven partnerships, we have shared our experience in elections, digital governance, and institution building. Additionally, we have extended tens of billions in grants, concessional credit, and capacity building, including through India-UN Development Partnership Fund, with priority for LDCs and SIDS. In an era of unprecedented turmoil and transition, India stands ready to share its experience with other member countries in support of their nationally owned peacebuilding efforts. I thank you.

I thank His Excellency, Secretary West of the Ministry of External Affairs of India. Now, I have the pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency, Mr. Chris Ilmore, Parliamentary and the Secretary of State in the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom.

Excellencies, thank you for convening this important discussion. As we reflect on 20 years of the UN peacebuilding architecture, the United Kingdom welcomes the focus on national ownership, because sustainable peace cannot be imposed from outside. It must be built by the people who will live with it. But national ownership does not mean excluding voices. In fact, peace is more durable when more people help to shape it, and when institutions are responsive, representative and trusted by the communities they serve. The 2025 peacebuilding architecture review provided a clear framework for taking the agenda forward. It was a moment of historic consensus. The task now is to take that consensus into practical action so that success does not remain in these halls but becomes a reality on the ground. We need to reinforce national leadership, strengthen national capacity and respond to locally identified needs. The peacebuilding commission has a unique role to play. It should build on a distinctive strength, supporting inclusive, nationally led peacebuilding efforts, convening partners and delivering targeted advice to the Security Council. We welcome further efforts to strengthen the commission's effectiveness, including through more efficient working methods. Diverse partnerships are also essential. International financial institutions bring scale and long-term investment. Civil society brings local knowledge, access and legitimacy. To sustain peace, we need both. The United Kingdom remains committed to working with partners across the UN system and beyond to strengthen national leadership and help turn the promise of peace into lasting reality. Thank you, Chair.

I thank his excellency the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office of United Kingdom. And now I have pleasure to give floor to Ms. Maria Fatima Manso, Secretary of State of Mozambique.

Your Excellency, Mr. Nasser Borita, Chair of the Peace Building Commission, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, we would like to thank for convening this meeting. Mozambique welcomes the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission, which provides an important opportunity to take stock of the progress achieved and accelerate the implementation of the resolutions adopted under the 2025 review of the peacebuilding architecture. As mentioned here, by our sister, Marie-Laure Akim, Senior Vice President at the African Development Bank. We would like to thank all the stakeholders, especially the United Nations finance institutions, for the support to address the peace-building process engagement in Mozambique. Therefore, we reaffirm that national ownership and leadership remain fundamental to sustainable peace, with member states bearing primary responsibility for conflict prevention, peace building, and addressing the structural drivers of conflict. Mozambique's experience demonstrates the importance of national-led political process, dialogue and consensus building in consolidating peace and strengthening national unity. Building on implementation of Maputo Accord for Peace and National Reconciliation, Mozambique also hosted the peacebuilding initiative in 2024 during its tenure on the United Nations Security Council. On that occasion, a high-level peacebuilding delegation visited Cabo Delgado to assess the security situation and engage with national efforts toward peace and stability. As stated yesterday by His Excellency President Daniel Francisco Chapeu in this address to the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, the security situation in Cabo Delgado is currently stable, although challenges remain. In this context, Mozambique is advancing the inclusive national dialogue A national-owned process aimed to promoting reconciliation, political stability, and inclusive governance through broad consultation and consensus building on constitutional and government reform. We recognize that sustainable peace requires responsible, inclusive, and accountable institutions capable of addressing the needs of citizens and the underlying drivers of conflict. strengthening institutional capacities at national and local levels, ensuring equitable access to public service, justice and security, and promoting the meaningful participation of women, youth and civil society are essential to build social cohesion and a more resilient social contract. In this regard, international support should complement national definite priorities through predictable, coordinated, and demand-driving technical and financial assistance. The Peacebuilding Commission has an important role in mobilizing partnerships, facilitating the exchange of experience, and strengthening cooperation between member states, the United Nations system, regional organization, and international financial institutions. Mozambique reaffirm its commitment to sharing its experience and working with international partners to translate the commitments of the 2025 review into concrete and sustainable peacebuilding outcomes. Thank you for your kind attention.

I thank Her Excellency, Secretary of State of Mozambique. And now I have the pleasure to give floor to His Excellency, Mr. Bader Abdel Atti, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Egyptian Expatriate of Egypt.

Mr. Chair, Your Excellencies, At the outset, I would like to express my thanks to the Kingdom of Morocco for convening this important ministerial meeting. We congratulate it on assuming the chairmanship of the PBC during this year. The 2025 PBC. Architecture Review, which Egypt was honored to facilitate or co-facilitate, was a principle that we long upheld, for national ownership is the cornerstone of preventing conflict and ensuring sustainable peacebuilding. Thus, The international support must proceed from national priorities. It should support national institutions and capabilities and not replace them. In this vein, there are three main priorities. First, We have to move from the concept of national ownership as a political concept to a practical, pragmatic measure through building strong national institutions that are inclusive and resilient. Second, we welcome the. Peacebuilding Architecture Review's conclusion on supporting states based on their request to put and implement voluntary national plans to prevent conflicts and build peace in line with national contexts. Third, the Peacebuilding Commission must undertake its full role as a convening power among all parties, including providing support and financing to implement the priorities defined by countries concerned. Mr. Chair, turning to Africa, we do not start from the beginning. The Africa has already developed its frameworks and special experiences to counter conflicts and ensure prevention and peacebuilding, reconstruction and development in post-conflict context. Therefore, we have to ensure complementarity between implementing the conclusions of the review and the AU review of post-conflict reconstruction to benefit from the AU Center for Reconstruction and Development in post-conflict, which is located in Cairo and supporting capacities. To conclude, Egypt, along with Kenya and the AU and the Peace Building Office, we are all hosting a roundtable on the African leadership that ensures the success of prevention and peacebuilding in the continent. We invite you all to participate to enrich our discussions. I would like to stress that Egypt will continue under the framework of the Aswan Summit for Peace and Stability, which is going to hold its sixth round on the 20th and 21st of November 2026 in the city of Aswan to uphold the agenda of national ownership, prevention, institutions building, and promoting the voice of Africa in putting an international peacebuilding agenda. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Excellency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Egyptian Expatriates of Egypt. And now, I have the pleasure to give the floor to Her Excellency, what is this? Adriana Mira, Secretary of State and Vice Minister of El Salvador.

Ambassador.

Ambassador, we should like to thank you for having convened this meeting at a particularly significant time in order to reassert that peacebuilding must be center stage when it comes to the UN's work. And this, again, in the current reform processes, a more effective organization can strengthen its ability to prevent conflict, support peace, and strengthen the priorities of member states. El Salvador is pleased to be a member of the PBC after having been elected by the General Assembly at the end of 2025. And we have shouldered the commitment to actively contribute to our discussions. We know that if we are truly to move towards sustainable peace, it is vital to have political, technical and financial support. But this support will only be truly effective when it responds to the priorities defined by States themselves, strengthens national capacity and contributes to their being sustainable over time. Here, national ownership must mean solid, inclusive institutions able to meet the needs of people. by means of the real participation of women here and young people, and strengthening all national and local level capacities. El Salvador's experience proves that peacebuilding is a long haul. Overcoming conflict does not mean the end of endeavors. We need continually to strengthen institutions, prevent new forms of violence, and create opportunities for people. On this experience, we are seeking a vision of peacebuilding based in prevention, national leadership, and institutional strengthening. The change that has occurred in my country has been aided by the Fund for Peacebuilding with initiatives linked to the participation of women and young people, strengthening community leaders, preventing violence, and engendering opportunities. And here, we believe it is essential to continue to strengthen complementarity between the and the Fund so that political support can be shown tangibly, sustaining national priorities. For El Salvador, we will continue to deepen cooperation with the Fund. This will make it possible to consolidate progress made and strengthen the necessary national capacity for these to last. We believe it is important that the Commission fully uses its ability to convene bodies in the institutions under the aegis of the United Nations, IFIs, regional development banks, and other partners. Looking at the priorities which are nationally defined, we shall support the work unwavering and continue to work actively in this commission and to promote peacebuilding, listening to all countries, strengthening institutions, and ensuring that international support is real and lasting. Thank you. I.

Have the pleasure to refer the floor to His Excellency Mr. Levent Gumrukocui, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey.

Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, as conflicts, instability, and geopolitical tensions continue to affect countries and communities around the world, the work of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture has become more important than ever. sounds like a cliche, I know, but it's not AI written. And in my mind, it cannot be more true, especially now. And in this regard, of course, the Peacebuilding Commission is the best platform or the key in mobilizing sustained international support and advancing nationally owned pathways towards sustainable peace. And in this regard, we also congratulate Morocco for its assumption of the chairmanship of the Peacebuilding Commission. You have our full support and trust. Dear colleagues, Turkey believes that national ownership should always remain at the heart of international peacebuilding efforts. Prevention and peacebuilding strategies must be voluntary, nationally led, and tailored to the specific circumstances and priorities of each country. Thus, international partners should support and complement, rather than substitute for national efforts. In this context, inclusive and accountable national institutions are fundamental to sustainable peace. Therefore, international assistance should focus on strengthening national capacities while ensuring the meaningful participation of civil society, women and youth. Turkiye's own experience, in fact, demonstrates the value of this approach, because through humanitarian assistance, development cooperation, and capacity building, including projects implemented by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, TICA, Turkiye supports various countries and communities affected by conflict and fragility in line with their needs and their priorities, focusing on their national capacity building efforts. and we have had only positive efforts out of this approach. So in other words, for us, the priority is to support locally, nationally, and regionally owned solutions. Our efforts are also guided by the understanding that peace, development, and resilience are mutually reinforcing, and either one of them cannot be sustained without the other. Excellencies, predictable and sustained financing is also equally important. Peacebuilding and development financing should complement one another and again, they should be aligned with national priorities. The PBC can further contribute through its convening role, bringing together national authorities, the UN system, as well as regional and international financial institutions. Turkey will continue to support a peacebuilding approach that is nationally owned, inclusive, and sustainable, with the strengthening of national capacities at its core. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank His Excellency, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey. And now I have the pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency, Mr. Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Federal Minister of Defense of Pakistan.

Thank you, sir. Mr. Chair, Pakistan thanks Morocco for convening this ministerial meeting on this important subject. The theme of meeting goes to the heart of sustainable peace. National ownership cannot be an afterthought in peace building. It must be a starting point. For Pakistan, national ownership means that countries themselves define their priorities, building the institution required to deliver them, and progressively develop the capacity to mobilize and manage the resources needed to sustain them. International support should reinforce this process, not substitute it. This is also central to Pakistan's concept of a peace continuum. Ending violence is indispensable, but it is not enough. Peace must be consolidated through reconciliation, institution building, economic recovery, and sustainable development. The real dividend of peace are realized when people see that peace has improved their lives, when institutions deliver basic services, justice is accessible, opportunities expand, and confidence between citizens and state is restored. Sir, international peacebuilding support is most effective when it is demand-driven, nationally anchored, and properly sequenced. Capacity building should strengthen national systems and ultimately reduce dependence and external assistance. A one-size-fits-all model cannot work across diverse political and social contexts. The Peacebuilding Commission has an important role in this regard. Its convening and bridging functions can bring together the United Nations, international financial institutions, regional development banks, and other partners around priorities identified by the countries concerned. Financing must follow the same principle. Peacebuilding and development financing should reinforce one another while strengthening national capacity and ownership. The Peacebuilding Fund can continue to play an important catalytic role particularly where timely report can unlock broader and long-term investment. 20 years of experience with peace building architecture has taught us a simple lesson. Lasting peace cannot be imposed from outside. It must be built from within, supported by international partnerships that respect national priorities, and leave behind stronger institutions. Pakistan remains committed to that approach. I thank you.

I thank His Excellency, Federal Minister of Defense of Pakistan. And now I have the pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency, Muhammad Minister of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. At the outset, I would like to thank you for convening this meeting on an important theme on peacebuilding. We appreciate the effort of the chairmanship and members of the Commission, and we welcome the participation of His Excellency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. We welcome the attention paid to the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review, the national and leadership on national and ownership and leadership, uh, and the inclusive state institutions. We, uh, need such institutions that are accountable and resilient to ensure, uh, sustained peace and prevent conflicts. National ownership must be comprehensive and inclusive, where women, youth and civil society can participate, as well as the marginalized communities. They must all participate in decision-making, especially those pertaining to recovery, development and peace. If you want international support to be effective, it has to be based on demand and in response to national priorities. It must promote the capability of state institutions to serve all citizens and replace them. It has to come in coordination with the entire UN system, international and regional organizations. The Peacebuilding Commission has a unique role that would ensure the synergy of such support in line with national priorities, Mr. Chair. The State of Qatar is committed to peacebuilding in line with its 2030 vision and the third strategy that attaches great importance to social cohesion and the participation of women, proceeding from our belief that peace will be promoted through institutions that ingrain participation, opportunities, and inclusiveness. Therefore, our foreign ministry attaches great importance to the peaceful settlement of conflicts. Our mediation provides the environment conducive to sustainable solutions based on dialogue, respect of the concerns of all parties, The State of Qatar over the past years provided more than 7 billion U.S. dollars for humanitarian and development projects in more than 100 countries, particularly those affected by conflicts. This assists in tackling the root causes of instability while promoting the ability of communities and institutions to counter shocks. In this vein, We cannot address national ownership practically without taking a stand on the conditions of the region, especially the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the grave humanitarian consequences of such closure in the region and beyond. We stress that the freedom of navigation in this important strait is a fundamental principle not up for negotiation. Mr. Chair, promoting national institutions requires adequate and sustainable is including from the PBF, the state of Qatar contributed in its budgets in 2023, 2024. The total contributions in the fund reached $1 billion since its establishment. To conclude, Mr. Chair, the State of Qatar reiterates its commitment to work with all partners to promote peace-building efforts that are nationally owned and to build comprehensive state institutions to uphold peace for the current and future generations. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank His Excellency the Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar And now I have the pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency, Mr. Soegijono, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Excellencies, peace building is a long-term investment in sustainable peace. It begins with prevention and continues through recovery and reconciliation.

At every stage.

This building must strengthen national institutions and the fabric of society as the foundation for sustainable peace. Building stronger national institutions starts with dialogues at the grassroots level.

Indonesia's experience in Aceh.

And Maluku demonstrates how sustained and inclusive dialogue between communities can restore trust and preserve national unity. This is precisely why national ownership matters. Peacebuilding works best when it is nationally led and nationally owned. The Peacebuilding Commission was created to support countries along this path by bringing together expertise, political support, and resources, and the PBC can help translate national peacebuilding priorities into sustained and coherent international support. The 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review provides a path toward greater impact on the ground. To deliver on these ambitions, the PBC should step up its effort by providing stronger strategic advice and promoting greater coherence with the work of the General Assembly, Security Council, and ECOSOC. The PBC should also draw on countries' experience, including from the Global South, particularly in reconciliation, institutional building, recovery, and prevention. Data and technology should be better harnessed to inform more targeted and effective responses.

At the same time, stronger partnership with.

Regional organizations, international financial institutions, and other partners can further extend the reach and impact of peacebuilding efforts. By bringing these strengths together to mobilize more innovative, predictable, and timely support, the PBC will have better capacity to address the drivers of conflict and prevent its recurrence. Mr. President, as the world changes, our approach to peacebuilding must also evolve with it. We must build on the lessons we have learned, strengthen partnerships, and keep countries firmly in the driver's seat. Ultimately, peace building succeeds when peace is felt in the everyday lives of our people. And Indonesia will continue to work with Peace Building Commission and all partners to bring us closer in achieving our goal. And I thank you.

I thank His Excellency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia. And now I have the floor, pleasure to give the floor to her Excellency, Ms. Anna Isabel Xavier, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal.

Mr. Chair, Excellencies, conflict prevention, peacebuilding and sustaining peace must remain at the very core of our multilateral efforts. They represent essential investments that save lives, safeguard development gains, and significantly reduce the human, political, and financial costs of armed conflict. The effective implementation of the 2025 review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture is a key priority, one that requires reinforcing nationally led preventive and inclusive approaches. The inaugural United Nations Peacebuilding Week held in June 2026 underscored the undeniable value of nationally owned peacebuilding strategies. The critical question before us today is how to translate the principle of national ownership into concrete and impactful action. In this regard, the partnership between Portugal and Timor-Leste offers valuable insights. Timor-Leste's successful journey from post-conflict recovery to enduring stability was built upon the fundamental pillars of local ownership, institutional trust, and social inclusion. The UN-led transition deliberately invested in Timorese agency, progressively transferring authority while maintaining robust international support. On a bilateral level, Portugal's cooperation directly aligned with Timor's priorities, spanning justice sector reform, public administration modernization, and comprehensive security sector reform. From this joint experience, two overarching principles emerged. First, sustained dialogue. Inclusive dialogue must be cultivated as an enduring, interactive process rather than an episodic mechanism. Second, institutional trust. Building confidence in public institutions must serve as both a primary objective and a benchmark of success in peacebuilding efforts. Excellencies, sustaining peace also requires adequate, predictable and flexible financing. As a multi-year contributor to the Peacebuilding Fund and a bilateral partner to several beneficiary States, Portugal has witnessed the transformative impact of targeted investments in health, education, justice and economic resilience. Yet, greater alignment is needed across the UN system, international financial institutions, regional development banks, and the private sector to ensure development financing directly reinforces nationally defined priorities. Peacebuilding cannot operate in isolation. As an incoming non-permanent member of the Security Council for the 2027-2028 term, Portugal will advocate for an integrated approach across peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and conflict prevention. We are committed to maximizing the advisory role of the Peacebuilding Commission to ensure Council deliberations, particularly on mandates and transitions, are informed by local perspectives and directly reinforce national peace strategy. Portugal stands fully prepared to work alongside the Peacebuilding Commission and all international partners to foster more coherent, adaptive and sustainable responses to global peacebuilding challenges. I thank you.

I thank Her Excellency, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal. now have the floor, the pleasure to give the floor to Her Excellency Ms. Evelyn Bautista, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Honduras.

Your Excellency, distinguished delegates, Honduras would like to express its gratitude to the Kingdom of Morocco and the Vice-Chairs of the PBC for having convened this important dialogue. For Honduras, peace-building is an agenda that is an essential condition, not a sectoral agenda. It's necessary for democratic government, the protection of human rights, and the generation of opportunities for our people. Our experience has proved that international cooperation is more impactful when it strengthens national ability to meet the priorities that each country defines for itself. Since 2018, Honduras has been in an important partnership for peace, with more than $24 million mobilized to strengthen institutions, promote consolidation of peace as we cooperate with the United Nations and move in this direction. Cooperation, however, goes beyond financial resources mobilized. It lies in strengthened institutions, lasting ones, and particularly in the opportunities and living conditions that we manage to change. Looking at the projects, we've managed to change institutions, bring them down to community level, strengthen them, prevent conflict, and improve the participation of groups which in the past have always been excluded. This has left us with a heartfelt conviction: sustainable, lasting peace has to be built before crises arrive. It has to be built by listening, strengthening institutions, creating areas so that communities can participate in those decisions that determine their future. But it's only in this way, with a clear view of the route, the forward, the path forward that we can move. But there are still difficulties. The problems that have beset Honduras have led us to having a state of emergency. looking at the institution dealing with this, 70% of our areas are under a drought alert. And this complicates the already difficult conditions of many poor families who don't have access to food and water in Tela. Honduras calls upon the international community and its partners to mobilize resources that can enable us to meet the immediate needs of the communities affected here. so that we can also strengthen our resilience, our responsibility, and deal in particular with those who are most vulnerable. Honduras states once again it is willing to contribute to the multilateral system by standing for a membership of the PBC for 2027 to 2028. We wish to see an early peace, inclusive, covering our land, person-based, with exchanges of good practice, strengthening cooperation to meet those challenges that can jeopardize the stability and development. Honduras states once again that it is committed to real multilateralism that can produce results, that can mean that cooperation leads to stronger institutions, more resilient communities, better opportunities for future generations. Thank you.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Honduras. Now I have pleasure to give floor to His Excellency, Mr. Kazuhiko Endo. Senior Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from Japan.

I would like to express our appreciation for your leadership in convening today's meeting and steering this year's activities of the Peacebuilding Commission. As we mark the 20th anniversary of the PBC, in a time of rapidly changing political dynamics, across the globe, the UN's peacebuilding efforts are more important than ever.

We must recognize

the critical role of peacebuilding in bridging the gap between humanitarian assistance and sustainable development, especially given the decline in international aid and the closure and scaling down of UN peacekeeping missions. Mr. Chair, to sustain peace, It is critical to strengthen state institutions anchored in inclusiveness and national ownership, with the principle of human security at its core, protecting and empowering every individual. In this regard, Japan has long supported countries such as the Philippines and Colombia, through promoting cooperation and rebuilding trust among stakeholders toward fostering resilient communities that leave no one behind. To effectively support nationally owned peacebuilding and conflict prevention efforts, the PBC's unique convening role has immense potential, bridging together international and national stakeholders, including international financial institutions and civil society. In this sense, the PBC's engagement with countries such as Sao Tome and Principe and Mauritania are good examples of how countries can utilize the PBC's unique value of offering a platform for sustained engagement with stakeholders. Furthermore, I cannot fail to mention the importance of support through the Peacebuilding Fund. As the PBF is reviewing and renewing its strategy, Japan will continue contributing to this process to better support locally led, inclusive and nationally owned peacebuilding efforts in the next strategy period. Mr. Chair, the peacebuilding architecture continues to play an irreplaceable role in supporting inclusive and nationally owned peacebuilding efforts by mobilizing resources and improving effectiveness. Working closely and collectively with partners, Japan will continue contributing to advancing peace across nations. I thank you.

I thank His Excellency, Senior Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Now, I have the pleasure to give the floor to Her Excellency, Honorable Anna Atanu-Spoor, Minister for Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children of Tanzania.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Excellencies, at the outset, allow me to express the profound appreciation of the government of the United Republic of Tanzania to you, Mr. Chairman, and to the Kingdom of Morocco for your distinguished stewardship of the Peacebuilding Commission and for convening this critical ministerial meeting. Tanzania associates itself with statements delivered on behalf of the African Group and Non-Aligned Movement. Excellencies, the United Republic of Tanzania's perspective on national ownership is formed by six decades of nation-building and by our active engagement in supporting peace in our region and beyond. Our founding father, Mwalim Julius Kambarage Nyerere, taught us that unity and peace are not accidents. They are product of deliberate institution building. From the Arusha Declaration to our present development vision 2050, Tanzania has pursued a model where states in the guarantor of conclusion. In practice this, translate into three interlinked dimensions. First, political and constitutional inclusion. We have invested in institutions that manage diversity and promote dialogue. Tanzania is a union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar and is a nation of over 120 ethnic community has demonstrated that inclusive governance, respect for the rule of law, and periodic democratic processes are indispensable for the institutional enlightenment. We are currently depending this through our national reconciliation and political dialogue process, which seeks to strengthen accountability mechanism and access to justice for all. Second, social economic inclusion is a precondition for institutional resilience. Tanzania is firmly of the view that peace building and sustainable development. I'm actually reinforcing. You cannot build resilience institutions on a foundation of inclusion, poverty and the use and input and employment. Our 3rd, 5, fear development plan prioritize investments in human capital, decentralization through local government reform, and empowerment of women and youth as a direct peace-building dividend. An institution that does not deliver services equitably cannot command the trust of its citizens. Third, institutionalization of women, peace, security, and use peace and security agenda. In line with Security Council Resolution 1325, the subsequent resolution, Tanzania has adapted its second national action plan on women, peace, and security. We have moved beyond representation and to ensuring that women are active agents in peace processing, in security sector oversight, and in post-conflict economic recovery. Similarly, our youth constitute over 65% of our population. Their inclusion is not a favor, but strategic imperative for the sustainability of our institution. Excellence, in conclusion, Tanzania reaffirm its full commitment to multilateralism and to the central role of the Peacebuilding Commission as a convening, advisory and bridging platform. We pledge our continued contribution as a troop and police contributing country. and is a nation that has hosted refugees and facilitated peace processing for decades. We are confident that the evaluation today will provide concrete and actionable recommendation for implementation of 2025 review, ensuring that the principle of national ownership moves from the rhetoric to the reality. Tanzania looks forward to continue collaboration with Morocco as chair and with all members of the Commission in our collective endeavor to build inclusive, resilient, and accountable state institution is the true foundation for sustaining peace. Thank you for your kind attention.

I thank Her Excellency, Minister for Community Development, Gender and Children of Tanzania. Excellencies, we still have three speakers, and the interpreters have been kind to stay with us until 1:15 p.m. Beyond that, it will be only in English. So I will accommodate these three last speakers. So the following speaker will be Her Excellency Cecilia Deng Miang, caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of South Sudan, and she will be followed by Liberia, and the last speaker will be Panama. South Sudan, please.

Thank you, Chair, and congratulations for assuming the chairmanship of the Peacebuilding Commission. And I thank ASG Espir for organizing this important meeting that we are having today. For South Sudan's experience, peace has taught us-- peacekeeping has taught us that peace cannot be imported and strong institution cannot be built from outside. International partners can provide resources, expertise, and solidarity, but lasting peace must ultimately be nationally owned and nationally led. I would also just like to highlight three priorities. I know the time is not in our side. First, I would say international support must align with national priorities. Second, we must invest in people and institutions for long term. Third, National ownership must also be inclusive ownership. For South Sudan, this is particularly important as we continue strengthening our national institutions and advancing our political transition. We must also ensure that peace produces visible dividends. Citizens must experience peace through functioning institutions, education, healthcare, livelihood, infrastructure, and greater opportunities. This equally is important when considering transition in the United Nations peacekeeping operations. From the beginning, international engagement should ask, what national capacities are we building? What will remain when the international assistance is reduced or eventually leaves? The true measures of successful peacebuilding should therefore be the strength of institutions and capacities that remain. International support should strengthen national responsibility, not replace it, build national capacity, not dependency, and empower countries and their people to become the permanent custodians of the peace process. For that, South Sudan's national ownership is in practice, and I thank you.

I would like to thank Her Excellency, caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of South Sudan. And now I give the floor to Dr. Ibrahim El-Bakri, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister of Liberia.

Thank you, Chair. Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, Liberia thanks Morocco as chair and the vice chairs, Bangladesh, Brazil, Croatia, and Germany, for convening a ministerial meeting on the theme that goes deep in the heart of what peacebuilding is actually for, not the paperwork of ownership, but its practice. Because, excellencies, ownership that lives only in a strategy document, a results metrics, or a backstake in a conference room is not ownership. It is choreography. Real ownership is noisy, uneven, and felt, in a courtroom that finally sits, in a soldier who salutes a civilian oversight board instead of a warlord, in a peace hut where a rural woman settles a land dispute before it becomes a headline. Liberia raises this not as a theory, but as a lived experience across every pillar this commission has set before us today. On political ownership, two peaceful, competitive transfer of powers between rival parties in 2017 and 2023 were not gifts from outside. They were choices repeatedly made by Liberians who decided the ballot box would settle what the gun once did. On institutional ownership, we have built, brick by brick, the institutional framework for a war and economic crimes code, reformed our police and armed forces, under civilian oversight and subjected ourselves to our own uncomfortable mirror, the deep dive review, because a nation unwilling to audit itself has no standing to ask others to trust it. On financial ownership, we are not asking to be carried. Through Resolution 2719 and predictable financing for regionally-led peace operations, we are asking to be met halfway, so domestic resources Our domestic resource mobilization is not undermined by the arithmetic of unpredictable aid. To the Commission's own guiding questions, yes to joint analysis and pooled financing, yes to the use of country systems, not systems designed elsewhere and shipped in on arrival, and yes to exit strategies. provided there are strategies for institutions to stand, not for partners to leave while a country is still learning to walk. We ask the Commission and the international financial institutions and regional development banks to convene or to stop treating peacebuilding financing and development financing as strangers who nod at each other in the hallway. In Liberia and in every post-conflict state in this room, they are not the same fight. These are very different circumstances. Excellencies, we raise this not to be difficult, but because Liberia was the subject of this Council's attention for far longer than we would have wished, and we do not intend to return to that chapter. Which is why Liberia acknowledges with gratitude that is genuine and not merely protocol, the tireless work of this Commission and of the PBC's Liberia configuration, which is led by Sweden. You have been patient where the world was not. present after the headline moved on and frame in insisting that our gains, hard won and still fragile, are not quietly undone while attention is elsewhere. Our ask to this room is simple. Help us keep providing that ownership. Sorry, help us keep proving that ownership is not a form to be filed, but a promise to be kept. In the life of a market woman in Ganta, A student in Suerdru, a young man in Monrovia, choosing the classroom over a checkpoint. Liberia stands ready as it prepares to assume the presidency of the United Nations Security Council this December to carry this conversation from this chamber to that one. I thank you.

I thank the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liberia. And our meeting must take place in this room immediately. de tout d'abord de remercier la vice-secrétaire générale de l'ONU, madame Amina Mohamed, les distingués ministres et chefs de délégation pour la précision de leur intervention, ainsi que le secrétariat pour l'appui apporté à la présidence marocaine. Nos échanges aujourd'hui ont convergé sur 3 points concrets. Primo, l'appropriation nationale exige des ressources prévisibles et non des engagements de principe. Secundo, Les institutions financières internationales et les banques régionales de développement doivent être associées dès la conception des stratégies de consolidation de la paix et non pas après leur adoption. Tertio, plusieurs délégations ont mis l'accent sur la nécessité d'indicateurs de résultats mesurables pour évaluer l'appui apporté aux pays inscrits à l'ordre du jour de la Commission. La Commission poursuivra l'accompagnement des Nations unies qui construisent la paix chez eux. C'est dans cet esprit que le Royaume du Maroc poursuivra pour sa part ce travail à vos côtés, convaincu qu'une paix voulue par les nations concernées est une paix qui dure. Je voudrais également remercier nos amis les interprètes pour leur coopération. La réunion ministérielle de la Commission de consolidation de la paix est à présent close. Merci infiniment.