Peacebuilding with particular focus on the role of the UN peacebuilding commission

Abstract

My dissertation concerns the notion of peacebuilding; with special reference to the role of the UN Peacebuilding Commission. The term 'peacebuilding' does not have one specific definition attached to it, as will be discussed in the first chapter. In fact, various institutions and organizations, even within the United Nations itself, have provided a number of different definitions over time. One would naturally ask whether there is the need for a single universal definition. Peacebuilding is a relatively young concept, first referred to by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in his Agenda for Peace in 1992; he stated that peacebuilding missions seek "to identify and support structures which will tend to strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid a relapse into conflict" and create a self-sustaining peace. In fact this is the underlying aim of any peacebuilding operation-hence the term 'post-conflict peacebuilding'- and is what distinguishes it from other stages of a peace process, such as peacekeeping or peace enforcement. Since the end of the Cold War the world has seen a number of these peacebuilding operations in war-shattered countries, most notably, Namibia, Cambodia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mozambique, Angola, Rwanda and Bosnia. I will be assessing the cases of Burundi and Sierra Leone in chapter three, being the first two cases on the Peacebuilding Commission Agenda. Based on such assessments I will be discussing the role of integrated peacebuilding strategies and recent 'Lessons Learned' by the Peacebuilding Support Office, as well as further recommendations to consolidate the peace, in the fourth and final chapter. Any successful peacebuilding operation involves cooperation among a wide variety of actors, including national relief and development agencies, nongovernmental organisations, international financial institutions, and other regional and international actors, which are involved in a broad range of activities, from disarming former belligerents to even temporarily taking over the administration of a country, as further explained throughout the course of my research paper.