The UN Peacebuilding Commission: questions and answers.

The General Assembly, acting concurrently with the Security Council, in a historic resolution adopted on 20 December 2005, decided to establish the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission to help post-conflict countries manage the difficult transition from war to peace.

The United Nations has been engaged in peacebuilding activities for years, so why another body and how does this fit with ongoing UN reforms?

The United Nations has played a vital role in mediating peace agreements and assisting in their implementation, helping to reduce the level of conflict in several regions. However, some accords have failed to take hold, such as in Angola in 1993 and Rwanda in 1994, and roughly half of all countries that emerge from conflict lapse back into violence within five years. To prevent this, peace agreements must be implemented in a sustained manner. Yet, to date, no part of the UN system has been directly responsible for helping countries make the transition from war to lasting peace. The Peacebuilding Commission will help fill this gap by facilitating an institutional and systematic connection between peacekeeping and post-conflict operations and the international network of assistance and donor mobilization.

The aim of the UN reforms is to make the Organization more effective in dealing with today's threats and challenges. By improving coordination and reducing duplication of efforts among the many actors who become involved in a country experiencing or coming out of conflict, the Commission will improve overall efficiency and reduce the likelihood of a costly relapse into conflict. Its primary aim is to strengthen a country's own capacity to recover after conflict and reduce the long-term necessity for recurring peacekeeping operations.

What are the functions of the Peacebuilding Commission?

The Commission will marshal resources at the disposal of the international community to advise and propose integrated strategies for post-conflict recovery, focusing attention on reconstruction, institution-building and sustainable development in countries emerging from conflict. It will bring together the broad capacities and experience of the United Nations in conflict prevention, mediation, peacekeeping, respect for human rights, the rule of law, humanitarian assistance, reconstruction and long-term development.

The Commission specifically will: propose integrated strategies for post-conflict peacebuilding and recovery; help to ensure predictable...