Peace Building Commission: Situation in Liberia
The Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) was created in 2005 by the Security Council and the General Assembly, as a body that would help countries emerging from conflict to create development plans and pave de road to consolidate peace. This Commission is the one that connects the peacekeeping operations and the post-conflict processes, and also the International network such as the Member-states of the UN and other bodies like the World Bank. All together, they debate in order to create a plan that fits the needs of each country that has just reached a peace agreement and search for tools to make that plan into reality. At the moment, the PBC agenda consists of five main topics: Burundi, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau and Liberia.
Liberia will be our case of discussion all through MOVENU. It is a country that, after many conflicts and dictatorships, managed to sign a peace agreement between the rebels and the government in 2003. On that same year, the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was established as a multinational force in the country and its mandate was extended by the Security Council (S/RES/1938 (2010)) until 30 september 2011.
According to the official website of the Commission: “Liberia was placed on the PBC's agenda on 16 September 2010, following a request from the Security Council backing the Government of Liberia's request for inclusion on the Commission's agenda. The PBC has worked with the government international and local partners to address the country's peacebuilding priorities in the areas of rule of law, security sector reform and national reconciliation.”
Because of the nature of the committee, we will be drafting documents instead of resolutions. On those documents, the delegations must establish developing plans regarding the main aspects in which Liberia needs support from the PBC. Also, the committee will gather representatives from the government of the country, member-states of the UN, regional bodies such as the African Union and representatives from the civil society; which means that some delegates will represent countries, others will represent organizations and others will represent specific characters.
Finally, I can only give you the warmest welcome into MOVENU 2011. I am positive that together with Claudia González and Marcel Lepage, who will serve as your Vice-presidents, we will have one of the best debates in the Conference. We know the topic is a challenge, but a challenge that we will all assume together and succeed. The documents we deliver by the end of the Conference must be a reflection of our hard work during debate, and with passion and preparation I can assure you the results could be impressive.
“We are judged by what we finish, not by what we start” - Anonymus
Ana Carolina Maciá
President
Peacebuilding Commission - Movenu Internacional 2011