Tirumurti congratulates Bangladesh on taking over as chair of UN's Peace Building Commission, urges for institution building

Noting that it is a matter of pride for India that its neighbour Bangladesh has been entrusted with the critical task of leading global peacebuilding efforts, India's Permanent Representative to the UN TS Tirumurti congratulated Ambassador Rabab Fatima and Bangladesh for taking over as the Chair of the Peace Building Commission (PBC). "We wish to heartily congratulate you Ambassador Rabab Fatima and Bangladesh for taking over as the Chair of the Peace Building Commission (PBC). It is a matter of pride for us that our neighbour has been entrusted with the critical task of leading global peacebuilding efforts at this critical time when the world, in the midst of the pandemic, is facing several conflict situations," Tirumurti said during the first Plenary Meeting of the Peace Building Commission on Tuesday (local time).

Tirumurti also congratulated Egypt, especially Ambassador Osama Mahmoud Abdelkhalek and Ambassador Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Edrees for their leadership of the PBC. "We also wish to congratulate the Dominican Republic and Egypt for taking charge as the Vice Chairs and to other Chairs and office-bearers." Further, India's UN Representative conveyed his belief that Bangladesh, as a leading voice among troop and police-contributing countries, is uniquely placed to address challenges related to the transition from peacekeeping to a more comprehensive approach in peacebuilding."One, after nearly two years, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. If we need to have any sustainable recovery from the pandemic, it should start with vaccines. Much of the developing world is yet to be vaccinated. We need to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, especially on conflicts," said Tirumurti. Stressing the need to pay adequate attention to institution building, he said that the enduring structures of governance which will protect human rights and bring in rule of law can only be attained through institution building. "In this, Women, Peace and Security agenda should also be strongly supported. Adequate focus in this direction is essential." Shedding light on the growth of terrorism, particularly in Africa, Tirumurti said that terrorism has increasingly exposed the gaps in mandate between peacekeeping and peace-building. "Terrorists are taking advantage of this gap and unleashing terror, which conflict-ridden States are unable to combat due to lack of capacity. This is increasingly becoming apparent in the Sahel and other parts of Africa. Unless we are able to strengthen the State's capacity to fight terror, we cannot bridge this gap in the two mandates. Peacebuilding cannot endure in face of terror," he added. Emphasising that the world has changed irreversibly in many ways, foremost amongst which is adoption of digital initiatives, Tirumurti said that people-centric and citizen-friendly digital technologies need to be promoted, with special focus on women and the youth. "This should be factored into UN's peace-building efforts as well."

( With inputs from ANI )