Tirumurti, India's permanent representative at the UN, emphasized that inclusivity is the key to advancing national peacebuilding objectives

New York: TS Tirumurti, India’s permanent representative at the United Nations, during a debate, on Tuesday said that India views ‘peacebuilding’ as a powerful deterrent to violent conflict. In a statement during a Security Council debate titled ‘Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace – Contemporary Drivers of Conflict and Insecurity’, Tirumurti said that India recognises the primacy of national governments and authorities for sustaining peace, at all stages of conflict and emphasizes that inclusivity is the key to advancing national peacebuilding objectives.

“As one of the largest TCCs in the history of UN peacekeeping operations, India is proud of UN accomplishments in peacekeeping and our contribution to their success. However, peacekeeping alone is not enough to sustain peace and security. Peacekeeping ably aided and supplemented by peacebuilding will transition to sustainable peace and development,” Tirumurti said.

He further asserted that for peacebuilding efforts to be more effective, there is an urgent need for predictable and sustainable financing, and ensuring that conflict-ridden countries do not slip back into chaos, will require the creation of strong governance structures which will enhance trust between citizens and the government, guarantee delivery of essential services and increase avenues for citizen participation in governance.

“As the world’s largest democracy, we are convinced that effective and strong governance structures will help stabilize peace, safeguard fundamental rights, protect rule of law, and make governance representative, transparent, responsive, and people-centric,” he said.

Tirumurti in his statement recalled India’s contributions in the area of people-centric peacebuilding in the post-conflict reconstruction work of Afghanistan, wherein he mentioned that despite repeated terrorist attacks, India had persisted and invested in grass-root and impactful development partnership projects worth over USD 3 billion covering all provinces of Afghanistan.

“Last year, 25 senior civil servants, including the Solicitor General and Legal Secretary, Permanent Secretaries and Deputy Permanent Secretaries from key governmental ministries of Gambia trained at India’s National Centre of Good Governance to understand best practices in field administration and good governance. This program was conducted under our flagship “Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation” (ITEC) Program, which annually assists over 160 countries through scholarships in the area of capacity building,” he added.

The permanent representative of India in UN stated that India’s fundamental approach to peacebuilding efforts is to respect national ownership and to be guided by member states’ development priorities, and going forward, India will continue to be a force multiplier for peacebuilding with an emphasis on the “people-centric” approach in the country’s neighbourhood and also in Africa, the Pacific and Caribbean Islands and beyond.

In his statement, he also pointed out that the UN’s first-ever all-women Formed Police Unit (FPU) was from India and stationed in Liberia, which he stated had proved to be strong visible role models, and gained worldwide attention and illustrating the significant contribution that women can make towards the provision of security, due to their dedication, professionalism, and motivation.

Tirumurti further added that with their youthful energy and capabilities, and ability to adapt to new technological trends, it was important to provide the youth with training opportunities, especially in the digital space, to take an active part in peacebuilding.

“We are convinced that people-centric, gender-sensitive and technologically primed solutions and democratic institutions of governance that give all stakeholders a say in creating a better future is the biggest guarantee for the success of peacebuilding and for sustaining peace,” he said.