Chapter I: International peace and security Proliferation of nuclear weapons The Security Council, by resolution 1887(2009) of 24 September (see p. 525), reaffirmed its support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, calling on States that were not parties to accede to it. The Council demanded that parties involved in major challenges to the nonproliferation regime comply fully with their obligations and find early negotiated solutions to those issues. The Council urged States to curb the export of nuclear-related material to countries that had terminated their compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards agreements. It also called upon States to refrain from conducting nuclear test explosions and to ratify the Comprehensive NuclearTest-Ban Treaty in order to bring it into force.
Peacemaking and peacebuilding Post-conflict peacebuilding Post-conflict stabilization Pursuant to presidential statement S/PRST/ 2008/16 [YUN 2008, p. 52], the Secretary-General in June issued a report [A/63/881-S/2009/304] on peacebuilding in the immediate aftermath of conflict, defined as the first two years after the end of a main conflict, which focused on the challenges that postconflict countries and the international community faced in that period. Reflecting on past peacebuilding experience, the report underscored the imperative of national ownership, highlighting the unique challenges arising from early post-conflict situations. The report stated that the threats to peace were often greatest during the early post-conflict phase, but so too were the opportunities to set virtuous cycles in motion. That early phase offered a window of opportunity to provide basic security, deliver peace dividends, shore up confidence in the political process, and strengthen national capacity to lead peacebuilding efforts. If countries developed a vision and strategy that succeeded in addressing those objectives early on, it substantially increased the chances for sustainable peace and reduced the risk of relapse into conflict, but those early opportunities had often been missed. The report identified several recurring priorities that related to those core objectives, and for which international assistance was frequently requested. Seizing the window of opportunity required that international actors were, at a minimum, capable of responding coherently, rapidly and effectively to support those priorities. The report described UN efforts to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of its post-conflict response. It identified systemic challenges related to differing
43 mandates, governance structures and financing arrangements across diverse UN entities, which prevented the Organization from making deeper reforms. The report set out an agenda to strengthen the UN post-conflict response and to facilitate an earlier, more coherent international response. That agenda included stronger, more effective and better supported UN leadership teams on the ground; early agreement on priorities and alignment of resources behind them; and strengthening UN support for national ownership and capacity development. It also included rationalizing and enhancing the UN system’s capacity to provide knowledge, expertise and personnel to meet the most urgent peacebuilding needs, in concert with partners who had a comparative advantage in particular areas, as well as assisting countries to identify and draw on the most relevant capacities globally. Finally, the report considered the critical role of the Peacebuilding Commission in supporting postconflict countries and made suggestions to Member States on how the Commission could strengthen its advisory role in the early post-conflict period. The General Assembly, by decision 63/571 of 14 September, deferred consideration of the report until its sixty-fourth (2009) session under the items entitled “Report of the Peacebuilding Commission” and “Report of the Secretary-General on the Peacebuilding Fund”. Security Council consideration. On 22 July, the Council held an open debate [meeting 6165] on postconflict peacebuilding, presided over by Uganda’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sam K. Kutesa. The Secretary-General presented his report, emphasizing that peacebuilding entailed much more than ending war; it was about putting into place the institutions and trust that would carry people forward into a peaceful future. Chile, as Chairperson of the Peacebuilding Commission, said that the Commission would support Governments in managing the difficult process of establishing clear and attainable peacebuilding priorities, working closely with UN country staff to ensure coordination and avoid duplication. The Director of the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery of the United Nations Development Programme (undp) said that effective and quick peacebuilding action was essential if countries emerging from conflict were to succeed in meeting the Millennium Development Goals. The Director of the Fragile and ConflictAffected Countries Group of the World Bank stressed the need for financial accountability to maintain longterm predictable financial support, adding that often the highest priority in the aftermath of conflict was personal security, justice and ending impunity. Forty speakers addressed the day-long debate.