– CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY –

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^*, Albania^*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina^*, the potential candidate country Georgia, as well as Andorra, align themselves with this statement.

Mr. President, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to speak this afternoon.

We are unfortunately witnessing an era where conflicts and crises are on the rise, on all continents. Political dynamics are more unpredictable and tensions between countries more palpable. The UN is often side-lined and mediation efforts are discarded. Against this background, the international community needs to do more to prevent crises, strengthen efforts towards peaceful resolution and avoid that they spiral out of control. Regional organisations can play a key role in this regard.

The EU, as a regional organisation, has contributed and is still contributing to many mediation efforts on the ground, across the world, and we would like to share a few thoughts based on our experience. Let me also highlight that this topic is all the more relevant in light of the Secretary General’s “New Agenda for Peace”, which we strongly support. We need to protect and re-invigorate the multilateral efforts and recall the unique legitimacy of the United Nations.

-First of all, complementarity and coordination of peace efforts is of paramount importance. There is no predetermined format. Most of the time, mediation on the ground involves a number of different actors: national, sub-regional, regional, and/or the UN. Coherence, coordination and complementarity of initiatives are key for peace efforts to be successful. The diversity of actors can be an asset, if the division of tasks between the various actors is clear. But it also can jeopardize the prospects for peace if these efforts are competing with each other.

- Regional organisations can provide space for dialogue and compromise and should be the first ones to ring the alarm bell, take prevention measures and facilitate mediation. Thanks to their geographical proximity and culture, they are more likely to be familiar with local issues, the situation and the parties in conflict. They also have the greatest interest in managing or mitigating a conflict, to avoid a spill-over through the region.  We’ve seen during the last decades an increased number of regionally led mediation initiatives, some of which were successful, among them those of ECOWAS-led mediation efforts in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

But as said before, regional initiatives are not exclusive and can be complemented or supported by the UN, when needed. Very often, regional organisations are reluctant to have a country of their region discussed at the Security Council, as they fear this would diminish their control over the situation. We see this differently: sometimes regional efforts struggle to be heard by parties and need additional support from the international community. This does not mean that the Security Council is substituting to the regional efforts, on the contrary, it reinforces them.

- Cooperation between regional organisations is also key. The EU has a strong cooperation with the main regional and sub-regional organisations, including the AU, LAS, ASEAN, GCC, etc..  On African crises for instance, we cooperate closely with the AU, ECOWAS, SADC on the situations in Somalia, Mozambique, Mali, Niger, etc. Such cooperation is important to exchange information, assess the situation, and join efforts in the same direction, for instance to put pressure on the parties.

-Finally, regional organisations can play an important role, even in countries that are not part of their constituencies. The EU is a major supporter of conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts outside of Europe, and we do that based on our peacebuilding experience at home. Our network of Special Envoys and mediators are working around the world to enhance trust between local populations and national authorities. In Somalia, for example, we support communities, which have been liberated from Al Shabaab and have suffered from their punitive actions and drought. In the Central African Republic, EUAM CAR supported the Government in creating a reliable legal framework to restructure the Police and Gendarmerie to better meet the needs of the population. We are also accompanying international peace efforts in Yemen or Libya.

Some of our support is channelled through the UN, for example the UN Standby Mediation Team and the UN Peacebuilding Fund.  A concrete example of operational UN-EU collaboration is Yemen, where the EU – at the request of the UN – is coordinating Track II mediation in support of the ceasefire. Another example is the EU-UNDP partnership on Insider Mediation that has enabled building and piloting critical insider mediation capacities in 14 countries. In Afghanistan, we support the women leaders’ network to raise women’s voices in peacebuilding, an inclusive approach being paramount for sustainable peace.

I believe Mozambique’s peacebuilding efforts can be an inspiration, as a process characterised by strong national ownership, continued and open dialogue between the parties, effective community engagement, and support from regional and international partners, mainstreaming a gender perspective throughout. The promotion of development and community resilience to prevent violent extremism is commendable, and demonstrates the importance of building peace bottom up, promoting a positive rights-based agenda based on inclusion, and the benefits of working closely with UN agencies and regional organisations.

Mr. President,

I can assure you of the European Union’s continued support to conflict prevention, peacebuilding and sustaining peace. We will continue to work to strengthen these aspects of the Security Council’s work and of the UN system more broadly, including through an acceleration of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, engaging actively on the Peacebuilding Commission, and in the formulation of A New Agenda for Peace.

Thank you.

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