UN PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION ANNUAL MEETING
Statement by H.E Ambassador James Larsen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations
19 June 2025
Thank you Chair, I thank you for convening this most useful session, with particular thanks to all of our briefers.
We are at an exceptionally challenging time, where we know there are more violent conflicts than at any period since the Second World War.
And of course, all of us are keenly aware that in the past week, the volatile situation in the Middle East has deteriorated even further.
In response to which Australia continues to call for a return to dialogue and diplomacy, for all parties to de-escalate and exercise restraint.
Elsewhere, we see conflicts deepening.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
And conflicts in Sudan, Myanmar, Gaza, Democratic Republic of the Congo remind us of the grave toll faced by many.
We know that entrenched violence has its own gravity.
And we also know the importance of choosing peace as a pathway.
We did this at the 2005 World Summit. Following a period of heightened conflict and mass atrocities, we created the UN peacebuilding architecture.
And we have seen successes, as we have heard from The Gambia, Liberia and also in our own Indo-Pacific region, including Timor Leste and as we have just heard from our colleague, in Papua New Guinea.
Australia has a proud history of supporting peacebuilding efforts in Solomon Islands and in Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines.
It is clear there is much more we can learn from each other.
From our own engagement in peacebuilding, Australia has drawn the following lessons.
First, we know that peace is more durable when it is built by, and for, all of society.
This is why Australia champions Women, Peace and Security initiatives like the Southeast Asia Women Peace Mediators.
And why Australia is supporting the Government of Solomon Islands to develop its second whole-of-government National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security (2021–2031), and the Government of Papua New Guinea to develop a national roadmap to develop its Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan.
The data is clear. When women participate, a peace agreement is 35 percent more likely to last over 15 years.
Second, we have learnt that to be sustainable, peacebuilding must be nationally owned and led.
This is why Australia is helping to develop policy guidance for effective National Prevention Strategies.
We want this to be a free, shared resource, endorsed by the PBC. A tool to help any state assess risk, improve prevention, and respond to conflict in their countries.
Third, we need to be ambitious and creative in a global architecture that includes conflict prevention.
The Peacebuilding Architecture Review comes at a time when we need it most, even more so than in 2005.
We need to design tools and frameworks to prevent tomorrow’s conflicts before they begin.
Tools to help us build coalitions, negotiate agreements, reduce tensions and craft partnerships support long-term stability, security, and development to secure more peaceful and prosperous regions.
We know prevention is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do – every $1 invested in prevention can save between $26 and $103 in conflict-related costs.
In 10 years time, when we mark the UN’s 90th anniversary, and peacebuilding’s 30th, we hope to be having a different conversation, in a much more peaceful world.