Peacebuilding: Massari calls for more prominent place for conflict prevention

NEW YORK, JULY 27 – The Italian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Maurizio Massari, addressed today a Security Council open debate convened by the Mission of Ghana under the Arria Formula. Massari called for a  more prominent place for conflict prevention in the UN system, so that regional and sub-regional organizations became even more crucial, and for a more ambitious collaboration between the Security Council and regional and sub-regional organizations.

More generally the Ambassador reiterated Italy’s support for Africa’s role in peacebuilding. Italy has been recently elected for a 2023-2024 mandate to the Peacebuilding Commission, a 31 Member States intergovernmental advisory body that supports peace efforts in conflict-affected countries. 

The meeting in the ECOSOC Chamber was called to examine how to support regional arrangements for the maintenance of international peace and security. According to the concept note prepared by Ghana, regional and sub-regional organizations, such as the African Union, ECOWAS, SADC, ECCAS, European Union and the League of Arab States, are playing an increasingly prominent role in addressing threats to international peace and security, although regional efforts to address root causes and drivers of conflict have been undermined by financing gaps and an inadequate level of cooperation with the Security Council. “There is therefore the need to examine and synthesize the views of Member States on the Council’s cooperation with regional arrangements and how best such regional arrangements can be better equipped to deal with the challenges and threats of our world today, especially in relation to the logistical, human and financial capacity required for the maintenance of international peace and security”, reads the concept note. (@OnuItalia)