Peacebuilding Partners - Australia

Australia

December 2024?

Australia is steadfast in its commitment to enhancing the United Nations' efforts to prevent conflict and sustain peace and has been an active supporter of the UN’s peacebuilding architecture. In early 2025, Australia is set to take a seat on the Peacebuilding Commission, continuing its active role in the UN’s peacebuilding agenda since its inception.

As a major donor to the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), Australia has committed to increase its contribution to AUD15 million per year through multiyear funding, to support peacebuilding and sustain peace globally. This contribution is part of Australia’s broader commitment of over $45 million to the PBF since its establishment, including $18.7 million allocated to the Fund’s 2020-24 Strategy. Such support underscores Australia’s dedication to addressing the root causes of conflict and fostering peaceful, inclusive societies worldwide.

Australia is supportive of the strategic priorities of the PBF including advancing the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda globally, and building a greater UN focus on conflict prevention. Through its contributions, Australia helps to promote gender equality and empower women by strengthening their rights, representation, and participation in peacebuilding. For example, in the Philippines, PBF support helped with the reintegration of members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Women Auxiliary Brigade (BIWAB), an all-female group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, by offering sustainable livelihoods opportunities to 2,000 ex-BIWAB members not included in the Government-sponsored reintegration programme. Additionally, PBF also provided leadership and mediation capacity building to over 100 ex-BIWAB members, enabling them to become Women Peace Facilitators, who raise awareness on peacebuilding and gender-based violence in their communities.

The Fund’s ability to respond swiftly and flexibly to urgent conflict resolution and prevention needs across the globe is vital and this could not be done without the continued accompaniment of the Fund’s major donors. With Australia’s support, for example, the UN is able to continue its impactful work in Papua New Guinea, advancing the Bougainville Peace Agreement as well as and addressing complex multi-faceted risks in the Highlands region, at the intersection of peace, humanitarian and development nexus and with a strong focus on climate peace and security.

In October this year, the PBF organized a partner visit to Papua New Guinea with representatives from Australia, Norway, United Kingdom and United States, and a member of the PBF Advisory Group. Community visits showcased how the UN Highlands Joint Programme facilitated community-led approaches in remote areas, mediated local peace agreements and jumpstarted rehabilitation of infrastructure and basic services as tangible peace dividends.

Kimberly Barnes, Assistant Director of the Multilateral Peace and Commonwealth Section at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra, who participated in the partner visit to Papua New Guinea, was moved by the experience and the interactions with the local communities who generously shared their stories with the partners. She emphasized the critical need to sustain voluntary contributions to the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) to enable UN multi-agency approaches to continue in communities like the Sugu Valley and others. These efforts are essential to addressing community needs in a sensitive manner and supporting their capacities to resolve local conflict and achieve peace dividends.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong at the Peacebuilding Commission Ministerial Meeting said, “Australia will join the UN Peacebuilding Commission in 2025.?We take this opportunity seriously.?The opportunity to strengthen, to reimagine, and to ensure financing for a system designed to sustain the peace. Australia will prioritise conflict prevention and improving the multilateral peacebuilding architecture in our term.?Australia will support national prevention strategies, which are fundamental to peacebuilding starting at home. We will provide additional resources and staff to the Commission’s support and secretariat bodies.?And we will increase our voluntary contribution to the UN Peacebuilding Fund to 15 million dollars per year. We urge others to also increase their contributions.”

Ambassador James Larsen, Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations said, “Australia has been a proud supporter of the PBF since it was established in 2006. At a time when the world is experiencing some of the highest levels of humanitarian needs, addressing the root causes of conflict and building the foundations for peaceful, inclusive societies is critical. Predictable funding for peacebuilding is fundamental to this and we acknowledge the need to overcome this challenge through our practice of multi-year funding agreements, which help strengthen the PBF’s strategic planning over the long term. Australia values the PBF's unique ability to provide timely, catalytic, and risk-tolerant support, including to countries in our Asia-Pacific region. The priority the Fund places on the meaningful inclusion of women and young people is not just a ‘nice to have’ but is recognized as essential for ensuring the effectiveness of peacebuilding. We encourage donors to increase their funding to the PBF where possible and to encourage more States to contribute to the PBF as it undertakes some of the most critical UN work, in partnership with governments and communities.”

麻豆传媒