Achievements of the UN Peacebuilding Commission and challenges ahead

Abstract

This chapter discusses some of the key challenges to, and achievements of, the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) and its three configurations, the Organizational Committee (OC), the Country-Specific Configurations (CSCs), and the Working Group on Lessons Learned (WGLL), in order to identify its potential added value in the current peacebuilding arena. The United Nation's PBC is probably the most scrutinized and criticized component of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture (PBA). As Sarah Hearn, Alejandra Kubitschek Bujones, and Alischa Kugel note in their 2014 paper on the UN Peacebuilding Architecture, skepticism is the key obstacle facing the PBC today. Reforms are vital for the future of the PBC. The commission is faced with many challenges and finds itself once again at a crossroads: either it manages to find a way to increase its effectiveness and relevance, or it will be left with a largely ceremonial role.