Remarks by the Brazilian representative, Minister Gustavo Sénéchal de Goffredo Junior, at the United Nations Security Council Arria Formula meeting “Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace through Comprehensive Approaches: Investment in People, including Empowerment of Women” - January 22nd, 2024

Thank you, Ambassador.

I thank Japan, Guyana and Mozambique for hosting this fit-for-purpose Arria-formula meeting. I also thank the briefers for their crucial insights.

Dear ambassador, dear colleagues

Brazil fully supports the comprehensive approaches to peacebuilding and sustaining peace under discussion today. The linkages between exclusion and conflict have been explored over the last decades.

It is widely accepted that inclusive societies are more resilient and less prone to conflict and the connection between sustainable peace and inclusive institutions have been already recognized in the SDG16 of the 2030 agenda. Exclusion and marginalization undermine trust and lead to resentment, which can altogether jeopardize peace initiatives.

A comprehensive approach to peacebuilding and conflict prevention, based upon local ownership, that fosters inclusive decision-making and the participation of all relevant stakeholders is crucial.

Women’s meaningful participation in all aspects of peace and security is critical to their effectiveness. It has been shown that women’s involvement directly impacts the sustainability of peace agreements.

Ambassador, colleagues,

Brazil deems the UN Peacebuilding Commission to be particularly well-placed to play a coordinating role at the international level, since the PBC already prioritizes inclusivity. It must continue to engage in actions that value the intersection of inclusivity, prevention and peacebuilding.

Furthermore, the Commission can help mobilize political support to nationally defined peacebuilding priorities, including initiatives aiming at improving socioeconomic standards and promoting the implementation of the sustainable development goals. For that to happen, we need to work on the challenge of establishing predictable and sustainable funding for prevention and peacebuilding-related activities.

One of the most pressing challenges is the issue of financing. In the present context of scarcity of resources, I would like to emphasize the role of the PBF. Its catalytic nature should pave the way for larger scale, mid-term or long-term oriented interventions by development agencies and international financial institutions.

This complementary approach should lay the ground for potential synergies between development actors and the fund. Moreover, the PBF has already implemented good practices in terms of inclusive financing, especially on gender-responsive funding, with the development, for instance, of the PBF’s gender marker. Its practices could inform the functioning of other funds.

As we expect to take on the role of chair of PBC, this year, Brazil is committed to give special attention to the need for the Commission to provide an even higher priority to the promotion of gender equality and women empowerment.

We must make use of all available tools in order to achieve this goal.

Thank you.