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Mr President,

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the European Union and its member states.

The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro^*, Serbia^*, Albania^*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina^* and Georgia, as well as Andorra, align themselves with this statement.

Mr. President,

“As long as gendered power inequalities hold back half of our societies,” it says, ‘peace will remain elusive”.

While the UN Commission on the Status of Women convenes in New York this week, it is even more relevant to reflect on this quote from the New Agenda for Peace. The quote followed the call of the Secretary-General to dismantle patriarchal power structures. And it is so true.

We know that a more gender-equal society opens the door for more inclusivity, and thus for more social justice and peace. Building resilience requires removing all barriers to gender equality and women’s empowerment so that women can be full, equal and meaningful participants in peace, security and peacebuilding. Involving youth as full, effective and meaningful participants is also key to creating ownership for the solutions of the future.

The EU is committed to supporting the inclusion of women and youth in conflict prevention, mediation, and peace processes around the globe:

• Together with international and local civil society organisations, we have built cross-regional networks of young peacebuilders to create channels to influence decision-making and contribute to the democratic life of their countries; The Sahel Youth Voices network, the Young Mediterranean Voices network and EU-Tunisia partnership for youth are among the EU's flagship initiatives.
• The Afghan Leaders Forum supports Afghan women both inside and outside Afghanistan in making their voices heard.
• In Burundi, EU support contributes to strengthening the participation of women in peace mediation processes and local infrastructures for peace.

And please, let us not forget: Ensuring the full realization of human rights for all, including women and girls, is key to sustaining peace. Resolution 1325 as well as Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, remind us of our joint commitment to the rights of women and youth, as well as the importance of their leadership at the core of security and political decision-making.

Mr President,

The world is facing multiple crises and no region has been spared. The UN must be better prepared to support countries in their national conflict prevention endeavours. This is one of the key deliverables we hope to see from the Summit of the Future and further on, in next year’s Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture.

The Secretary General has several important tools at his disposal for conflict prevention and mediation. We urge the Secretary General to make more systematic use of his good offices, his envoys and special representatives and of Art. 99 of the UN Charter.

The Security Council for its part, should stand united in giving political backing to the Secretary General’s good offices. The Security Council should also consider more systematic inclusion of peacebuilding components in its mandates and consider how women and youth can be empowered to fully participate in peacebuilding activities. A closer cooperation with the Peacebuilding Commission is key in this regard. Peacebuilding must be carefully built in to peacekeeping mission transitions plans. As Peacekeepers leave, other UN efforts to sustain the peace have to take their place.

We need a UN support system for conflict prevention that is more coherent, better resourced and better prepared to meet the diverse needs of member states. Globally, conflict is on the rise. At the same time, development assistance for conflict prevention is at a fifteen-year low. The UN system’s capacities for conflict prevention are fragmented and under-funded. This is the time to reform the system to support countries and people in their efforts to build and sustain peace. We see three crucial components here:

• First, more systematic support to member states to develop national prevention strategies, as called for in the New Agenda for Peace. These strategies should be multi-dimensional, people-centred and focus not only on conflict but also on gender-based violence. The strategies could be presented in the PBC and be linked to financial and other incentives for their implementation. In the past year, we have seen several examples of countries coming forward to present their national prevention efforts in the PBC: we have heard from Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe. We also participated in a meeting on indigenous peoples and national reconciliation with Canada, Colombia and Norway. This month the PBC will hear from Mauritania, Kenya, Timor-Leste and again Norway on their national prevention approaches. I want to commend these countries for stepping forward and for demonstrating that the need for conflict prevention is universal.

• Second, better coherence in the UN system’s support for conflict prevention. There are many different efforts across UN agencies. DPPA, the special political missions, the peace and development advisors and the Peacebuilding Fund are all important examples of peacebuilding actors. However, we have to ensure that these efforts work in sync to allow Resident Coordinators and country teams to provide the best support to countries in the formulation and implementation of their conflict prevention strategies and to include women and youth in these efforts.

• Finally, a new paradigm for financing conflict prevention, building on the Financing for Peacebuilding resolution from 2022. The fragmentation of the UN system and the strong reliance on voluntary funding for peacebuilding sets the system up for competition rather than for collaboration. We also need a step change in investment for prevention – we know that every dollar spent will save us several more in the future.

Dear Colleagues, the European Union very much looks forward to engaging actively in further discussions so that we can achieve real progress on conflict prevention in the Summit for the Future and the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review.

Thank you.

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.