Peace Efforts

The new police station has a women and children protection unit to address specific issues relating to the welfare of women and children, especially rape and other forms of gender-based violence.  The United Nations in Liberia has been actively supporting national activities in this area. Read more

"We must never forget the many small and sometimes important steps that are constantly being made towards consolidation of peace," said Special Envoy for Burundi and the Great Lakes Region, Ambassador Mr. Arild Øyen at the First Biennual Review Meeting for the implementation of the Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding In Burundi 23 June 2008. Read more

Summary on Burundi Country-Specific Meeting in the Peace Building Commission October 13. 2006: Read more

Intensified efforts are crucial to consolidate stability and thwart a relapse into violence and chaos in Burundi, the Norwegian Ambassador to the UN,  Johan L. Løvald, told reporters at the UN Headquarter in New York, after his latest fact-finding mission to the Central African nation.  Read more

Norway is increasing its budget support to Burundi by NOK 40 million. This means that Norway’s total support to the country for 2008 will amount to NOK 100 million. Read more

Government forces in Burundi and Palipehutu/FNL, the last major rebel group, have agreed to end all fighting. “This is very gratifying news which gives new hope to the implementation of the ceasefire agreement," says Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim. Read more

"Peacebuilding must become an integral part of our common UN agenda," said Ambassador Mr. Johan L. Løvald, when focusing on leadership, peacebuilding architecture and civilian capabilities in a statement at the Security Council debate on Post-conflict peacebuilding 20 May 2008. Read more

Half of all children growing up without an education live in conflict-affected areas. A recent report from Save the Children explores the vital role of education in conflict prevention and peacebuilding. Read more

“It is our view that peacebuilding is more of a priority in Sierra Leone and Burundi now than one year ago,” Ambassador and chair of the Peacebuilding Commission’s work in Burundi, Johan L. Løvald, stated as the General Assembly debated the first annual reports of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund. Read more

"The success of the Peacebuilding Support Office and the Peacebuilding Commission will to a large extent hinge on the ability to integrate in their work women’s interests and rights as spelled out in resolution 1325," Mr. Arne Hønningstad, Senior Adviser, said to the Fifth Committee. Read more

"The Peacebuilding Commission, together with the Peacebuilding Support Office and the Peacebuilding Fund, has the potential to be a powerful tool to meet the challenges in a more coordinated and comprehensive manner," Ambassador Løvald said in a plenary meeting on the progress achieved in the work of the  Peacebuilding Commission. Read more

"Full participation for the women of Burundi and Sierra Leone in the peacebuilding process has to be our goal," said Norwegian Ambassador Johan L. Løvald in a statement in the Peacebuilding Commission,  Working Group on Lessons Learned, 29 January 2007. Read more

On January 25th Ambassador Johan L. Løvald signed an agreement with Nigeria whereby Norwegian police will support Nigeria in training police officers for peacekeeping operations in Africa. Read more

"We have come a long way since last year last year when negotiations on the Peacebuilding Commission were taking place," MP Finn Martin Vallersnes said at the 2006 Parliamentary Hearing at the United Nations.  Read more

The Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) was established in 2006 to fill a gap within the UN system. Norway plays a major part in PBC as Vice-Chair of the Organizational Committee as well as being the Chair of the Burundi configuration. Read more

On March 4, Jan Egeland’s new book “A Billion Lives: An Eyewitness Report from the Frontlines of Humanity” was released in the U.S. Egeland presents an eye witness account from the frontlines and backrooms of his life on the international scene.   Read more

“We have a responsibility to help the more than 30 000 refugees who have fled from the Nahr al-Bared camp", said  Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Read more

State Secretary Anne F. Stenhammer has participated in the launch of the UN’s new Peacebuilding Fund in New York. The fund will better enable the UN to contribute swiftly to reconstruction and stabilisation efforts in countries emerging from conflict. Read more