Statement by the Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador João Genésio de Almeida Filho, during the Security Council Open Debate on Peace and Security in Africa: Capacity-building for sustaining peace - August 8ht, 2022

Thank you, Madame / Mister President.

Let me begin by thanking China for organizing this open debate and for the commitment to keep the collaboration between the Security Council and the Peacebuilding Commission as a central topic of our agenda.

I also thank Ambassador Adeoye, Ms. Duarte and Ambassador Abdul Muhith for their briefings.

Capacity-building is indeed a fundamental pillar of sustainable peace.

In a context of geopolitical tensions and economic distress, building sound and inclusive institutions deserves our renewed attention.

Madame / Mister President,

I will focus my statement on three main aspects.

The first one is a much-needed overview of the basic aspirations shared in Africa, by the people of all Africa, concerning their peace and security.

A useful point of departure is the Agenda 2063, that pioneering report published by the African Union Commission, whose subtitle is simply The Africa We Want.

It is refreshing to note in the study that the people of Africa and its diaspora have committed to act together towards achieving, as two of their main aspirations, ‘a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development’ and ‘a peaceful and secure Africa’.

In fact, they also ‘recognize that a prosperous, integrated and united Africa, based on good governance, democracy, social inclusion and respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law are necessary pre-conditions for a peaceful and conflict-free continent’.

And therein lies the very core of the issue we are debating today.

Security and development are closely interlinked and mutually reinforcing.

Sustaining peace therefore requires a comprehensive and integrated approach in order to address the economic, political, and social dimensions of conflict.

Madame / Mister President,

The second aspect is the means to reach these aspirations that I quoted from the Agenda 2063.

Here we must recognize that the conditions for economic and social development have been denied to the societies of Africa – as indeed to the majority of the developing countries.

Official development assistance, be it multilateral or bilateral, be it humanitarian or development driven, is important but essentially a stopgap solution.

What developing countries – and those in Africa in particular – need is a global economic, financial and trade architecture that allows them to fulfill their potential.

In this context, the Peacebuilding Commission is uniquely placed as an enabler to mobilize international attention and support to nationally-defined peacebuilding priorities, both in terms of financing and expertise.

Technical cooperation, notably South-South cooperation, plays a key role in capacity-building.

Members elected from the General Assembly, the Security Council and ECOSOC, aside from top financial and troop-contributing countries, confer legitimacy on the PBC.

The PBC’s accumulated experience in promoting national ownership, inclusivity and institution-building also provides useful guidelines for societies that aim at prosperity and security as their way forward.

Madame / Mister President,

The third aspect is the challenge of sustaining peace.

A comprehensive approach to sustaining peace encompasses all efforts to prevent relapse into conflict.

Therefore, we have solid reasons to place a strong emphasis on conflict prevention as a key guideline for peace and security capacities in Africa.

We welcome the steps taken to deepen the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in peace and security issues.

We also encourage further collaboration among the United Nations, the African Union and sub-regional bodies in conflict prevention.

In states and societies that have managed to overcome war and widespread conflict, a common thread has been the ability to adopt effective public policies through solid national institutions.

And the fabric of the institutions is made of shared values.

Hence, the respect for ethnic and cultural diversity, growing participation of women in peace and development efforts, the advancement of material well-being, the protection of political rights and civil liberties, the adaptation of the national security architecture to ensure the safety of all citizens are some of the values that underpin effective institutions.

Thank you.