EU Statement – UN General Assembly: Joint debate on the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund

EU Statement - UN General Assembly: Joint debate on the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund

2 September 2025, New York - Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States by H.E. Ambassador Hedda Samson, Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, at the General Assembly 90th Plenary meeting: Joint debate on Report of the Peacebuilding Commission - Item 29; Peacebuilding and sustaining peace - Item 61; Report of the Secretary-General on the Peacebuilding Fund - Item 112

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Chair,

Thank you for convening today's debate. The Candidate Countries Türkiye, North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Albania*, Bosnia and Herzegovina* and Georgia, themselves with this statement.

Last year's Summit of the Future recalled our global political commitment to sustaining peace, with the Pact providing solid guidance for further action.

This year, we have the opportunity to participate in several major reform processes in the field of peace and security, allowing us to design a peace and security architecture that meets today's multifaceted challenges. The UN80 initiative, as well as the comprehensive review of UN peace operations and the Peacebuilding Architecture Review, are our vehicles for shaping the UN's peace agenda.
The UN Peacebuilding Architecture must effectively support national, regional and local stakeholders with context-specific measures, adapted to local dynamics. The ongoing Peacebuilding Architecture Review (PBAR) should remain a well-targeted, ambitious endeavour, with tangible outcomes at country level - where it matters most, addressing the needs of the most vulnerable.

Notably, the interaction between the PBC and the UNSC intensified over recent years, bolstering the PBC's advisory role, and increasing the frequency of briefings by the PBC Chair to the Security Council.
Prevention must be at the core of peacebuilding efforts. Investing in conflict prevention saves human lives and fosters development. To support this, the EU has developed a robust early warning and conflict analysis methodology that enhances our ability for timely action before conflicts escalate.

On the 25th anniversary of the Women, Peace and Security agenda and the 10th anniversary of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, we recall that the Peacebuilding Commission, through its gender strategy and strategic action plans, is well placed to play a leading role in advancing our common commitments.
We also know that while financing conflict prevention is cost effective, peacebuilding suffers disproportionally from an overall funding gap. The P in the HDP (humanitarian-development-peace)-nexus is all too often forgotten or ignored.

As such, we need to look at innovative and efficient ways of working and of financing. The UN Secretary General's Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) has proven to be a useful instrument in supporting coordinated efforts across the humanitarian development-peace nexus.

The EU and its member states have, for our part, provided over EUR 630 million USD to the PBF. The EU is maintaining our annual EUR 3 million PBF contribution and reinforcing our support to mediation, including through a EUR 3 million partnership with the UN on Insider Mediation (2023-2026) and a EUR 1 million contribution to the UN's Stand-By Team of Mediation Experts in 2025.

Besides the EU itself, eleven of our member states figure among the 20 top donors of the Peacebuilding Fund. We were pleased to take part in the 7th annual Strategic Dialogue on the PBF hosted by Germany this July, which focused on some of the questions present at today's debate.

One clear takeaway is the need to communicate more and better on the positive impact of peacebuilding and what peacebuilding means. The PBF's added value lies in its convening power and catalytic capacity, which should be further leveraged, by reinforcing its partnerships at the local level and with regional organisations, but also reaching out to private sector and IFIs where relevant.

In the context of the overall liquidity crisis, it is essential to clearly delineate the scope of our actions and avoid overlaps. Enhanced synergies and cooperation -rather than competition- among UN agencies, funds and programmes, alongside improved coordination at local level, in theatres where a number of donors are present, are key to maximise the impact of our collective peacebuilding efforts.

In conclusion, the UN can count on the EU's steadfast continued support for peacebuilding and sustaining peace.

Thank you.