Chair, 

This year, the UN peacebuilding architecture turns 20. In its 20 years of steady improvement, the PBC has served as a linchpin and has done so with remarkable success in such areas as coordinating international support for reconstruction in countries emerging from conflict. We now have a wealth of good practices emanating from the PBC partnership with countries like the Gambia, Timor Leste, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, and the Central African Republic. Given the mounting uncertainties and destabilizing factors in today’s international arena and the unprecedented challenges facing post-conflict reconstruction and development, it is advisable for the PBC to review its past experience and make its work more impactful in line with the realities on the ground, so as to contribute more to the achievement of lasting peace. I wish to make three points. 

First, host country ownership as an overriding principle. History shows that lasting peace and development hinge critically on the host countries themselves. In making peacebuilding effort, the international community must respect sovereignty and ownership, provide targeted assistance aligned with the aspirations of host countries, and support them in exploring development paths suited to their national realities. 

Second, prioritizing development as an essential track of peacebuilding efforts. Peace and development are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. Development or lack thereof remains the biggest challenge facing the majority of countries. Peacebuilding should consistently be guided by development needs and channel resources into some key areas such as poverty reduction, employment, and education to break the cycle of poverty leading to instability, which in turn impoverishes the population, thus laying a solid foundation for eliminating the root causes of conflict and achieving sustainable development. 

Third, enhanced coordination and collaboration as an essential approach. The PPC, under its current mandate, should fully play its bridging, convening, and advisory role and encourage the UN system, other international organizations, and multilateral development institutions to contribute and synergize their respective strengths and provide host countries with tailored services that match their needs. 

The Co-facilitators for the peacebuilding architecture review recently circulated the zero draft of the review resolution. China looks forward to all member states advancing the five yearly review step by step on the basis of consensus and in the spirit of solidarity, collaboration, efficiency, and pragmatism to make the architecture more responsive, all the while trying to get more out of the peacebuilding resources over a longer horizon given the UN’s budgetary constraints for the foreseeable future. General Assembly Resolution 78/257, adopted by consensus, contains requirements on the use and oversight of such resources, which should be implemented fully and effectively. 

Thank you, Chair.