UN General Assembly – Peacebuilding Architecture Review adoption
Explanation of Position delivered by H.E. James Larsen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations
26 November 2025
Thank you very much, President,
And let me join others in particularly thanking our dear colleagues from Egypt and Slovenia for co-facilitating the review.
President,
At a time when multilateralism is under great strain, the consensual adoption of twin UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions is an achievement which should make us all very proud indeed.
As our Foreign Minister has said: “Building trust is hard. Compromise is hard. Making peace is hard.”
Today, we have been able to demonstrate that trust can still be built, and compromises made in the pursuit of peace.
In 2016, Australia proudly co-facilitated the Peacebuilding Architecture Review, along with Angola.
That review revolutionised how we understood peacebuilding.
For the first time, it linked prevention and peacebuilding, created the ‘sustaining peace’ agenda, and affirmed that peacebuilding is an inclusive, nationally led, whole-of-system effort.
President,
The resolutions before us builds on that vision by focusing on implementation and impact on the ground, where it is most needed.
Critically, it reflect important and hard-won gains.
In a time of record global conflict, we welcome recognition that conflict prevention is the only way to sustain peace, save lives and safeguard development gains.
Its explicit inclusion is an important step forward.
And we welcome the Peacebuilding Commission and Peacebuilding Fund now having a mandate to support Member States in developing and implementing their national prevention strategies, upon request.
Australia also welcomes strengthened cooperation with UN leadership in the field, more strategic engagement with International Financial Institutions, and recognition – for the first time – of the role of women-led, youth-led and local peacebuilders.
Despite these important gains, we regret the text does not address several important elements.
For our Pacific family, climate change is an existential threat.
We regret that the text does not recognise climate change as a driver of conflict.
We will continue to advocate for this recognition in future resolutions.
We will also continue to advocate for stronger recognition that inclusivity, gender equality, sustainable development and human rights-based approaches are critical to building and sustaining peace.
President,
As a final reflection, Australia is proud to have demonstrated the power of cross regional engagement and united middle-power advocacy.
We thank the cross-regional group of Member States which joined us to advocate for stronger language on Women, Peace and Security, Youth, Peace and Security, and civil society engagement.
Together, we proved that when middle powers unite, we can safeguard and advance values-based norms which underpin sustainable peace.
President, Excellencies,
Together, let us rise to the challenge these resolutions set.
Let us recommit to preventing conflict and building sustainable peace – because while building peace is hard, it is our only path.
Thank you.