Enhancing peacebuilding planning in Guinea-Bissau

Tomorrow, I fly back to Guinea-Bissau. I will be training the UN, government and civil society on better planning and implementation of UN Peacebuilding Fund projects. I will be reflecting thoughts on challenges and opportunities for peacebuilding planning.

Since the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Mission (UNIOGBIS), peacebuilding has been at a cross-road. Ensuring stronger national ownership and inclusivity on PBF projects is crucial for its success. Otherwise, peacebuilding will remain externally-led.

In most eligible countries, PBF resources are pretty small compared to broader official development assistance. In Guinea-Bissau, the PBF accounts for over 10% of all aid received by the country. Reflecting on what catalytic funding means is essential!

The international community has much to do. First, it needs to ensure better coordination and ensure that countries that need resources the most are not becoming "aid orphans". Providing more reliable and sustainable funding can make a significant difference.

In doing so, it comes my second point. The UN Peacebuilding Commission should become more active in galvanising resources and become a stronger actor in Guinea-Bissau itself. As the chair of GB configuration, Brazil needs to step up its game!

Institutionally, the gap left by the departure of UNIOGBIS. A new Resident Coordinator is to be identified soon. They will have a significant role in ensuring strategic coherence coordination and ensuring that national actors are in the driving seat.

But this brings me back to my first point on ownership. There is limited sustainability if national actors are not equipped (and at times even allowed) to be in the driving seat. External actors need to think more about "transferring" rather than "doing". More to come!

Gustavo de Carvalho

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From Norm-Takers to Norm-Makers: Making African Voices More Effective at the United Nations

African UN member states should act as unifiers and conveners rather than dividers. More coordination could help them overcome the structural challenges they face at the United Nations. This policy report was published by the Council on Foreign Relations' International Institutions and Global Governance Program.

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Gustavo de Carvalho

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HOW TO SYSTEMATISE G20 ENGAGEMENT WITH AFRICAN MULTILATERALISM

Gustavo de Carvalho

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While only one African member is formally part of the G20, Africa remains severely underrepresented in the most important multilateral group regarding global economic and financial cooperation. This policy brief argues that a greater degree of global integration and regional representation is key to ensuring the long-term legitimacy of the G20 itself. For this to be achieved, the G20 needs to become more inclusive, particularly by systematising its relationship with African multilateral institutions. Strengthening the relationship between the G20 and African multilateral institutions could be key to ensuring that a complex and diverse continent is better represented in global decision-making bodies. It also argues that the more systematic inclusion of African multilateral institutions should be followed by changes in the way the AU itself guarantees that its participation in G20 discussions will be more effective and meaningful.

This Policy Brief was published by Task Force 8: Multilateralism and Global Governance of the T20, 2021.

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