13 March 2018: The permanent representatives of Bangladesh and Lithuania will lead negotiations on a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on peacebuilding and sustaining peace. The resulting text is expected to be adopted by Member States at a high-level event in April 2018.

UNGA President Miroslav Lajcak announced the co-facilitators’ appointment following a briefing by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on his January 2018 report on ‘Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace’ (A/72/707- S/2018/43). The report builds on the proposed reforms for the UN peace and security architecture, and specifies targeted changes. At the briefing on 6 March, Guterres said:

• some of the proposed changes are pending Member States’ approval, while he is undertaking others under his own authority;
• sustainable and inclusive development is an end in itself, but also a means to preventing conflict;
• gender equality and women’s empowerment need to be at the center of all sustaining peace efforts, including by ensuring that women occupy leadership positions in mechanisms for conflict resolution;
• the Peacebuilding Fund is a critical tool, and should have its resources increased to US$500 million annually; and
• the UN is exploring the possibility of innovative financing solutions.

Audra Plepyte, Permanent Representative of Lithuania, and Masud Bin Momen, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh, will serve as co-facilitators to lead the intergovernmental consultations on a draft resolution to be adopted by the UNGA during the High-level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, convening on 24-25 April 2018. The event will include an opening segment, a high-level plenary meeting for Member States to deliver statements, and four interactive dialogues on the topics of: Sustainable Financing for Peace; Strengthening the United Nations Work on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace in the Field; Strategic Partnerships with the United Nations in the Field for Peace; and UN Comprehensive and Integrated Approach to Peace.

According to the President’s webpage for the meeting, it will engage participants from government, civil society, including women’s groups and representatives of youth, the private sector, regional and sub-regional organizations and academia in discussing ways to “support sustaining peace in practice.” [UNGA President’s Letter] [SDG Knowledge Hub story on UN Secretary-General’s briefing]