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1. The rapidly changing international environment and evolution of new threats and challenges demands more agile, adaptable responses from the international community. The international community should be prepared to support vulnerable states and people in the transition from conflict to sustainable peace with robust stabilization and reconstruction assistance. The UN is a primary actor in international peacekeeping and S&R operations. The UN has established a new Peacebuilding Commission that will provide more sustained, coordinated, and focused support to countries emerging from conflict. The UN is also in the process of establishing a Peacebuilding Support Office and a Standing Fund for Peacebuilding, and is revising its Integrated Mission Planning Process, in order to make more effective use of its institutional machinery. With the right level of partnership with members of the G8 and others including regional organizations, this will lead to better protection for civilian populations and a far more coordinated and strategic international approach to stabilization and reconstruction. Multilateral and regional organizations and states have focused significant resources on developing new tools for S&R in recent years. Individual states are trying to make better use of their national resources by integrating defense, development and diplomatic capabilities in support of joint planning and strategy for stabilization and reconstruction.
2. The G8 has also sought to address deficiencies in the stabilization and reconstruction field, with a particular emphasis on Africa. All of these initiatives have produced benefits, but for these efforts to truly succeed, G8 heads of state acknowledge the need to establish a more coherent global approach to stabilization and reconstruction that enhances the UN's capabilities and provides complementary national and regional capabilities. National capabilities are leading efforts and we can expect that international efforts will contain a blend of UN, regional and national initiatives. The G8 Heads of State commit as a group to establish a more coordinated approach with each other and key external partners to conflict prevention, stabilization and reconstruction that ties together existing initiatives - both inside and outside the G8 - and builds on them, by committing to the following measures:
Measures to Enhance Collaboration in Stabilization and Reconstruction
Cooperation among G8 partners: We asked the Russian presidency to organize and lead consultations on this issue. G8 experts will invite representatives from the UN and appropriate regional organizations from a range of disciplines (development, security and diplomacy) to meet as soon as possible in 2006 after the conclusion of the UN General Assembly to discuss feasibility of implementation of the following measures.
- Peace Support Operations: Uphold previous G8 commitments to increase global capability for peace support operations, particularly in Africa, including through support to the Centre of Excellence for Stability Police Units (COESPU) in Vicenza, Italy, also including further discussion on possibility of creation of a transportation and logistics support arrangement (TLSA) in 2006, that would address a key capabilities gap in timely reaction to crises, by providing countries with transportation to deploy peace support units and their logistics support in the field. This includes continued support for the Africa Union in the development of peacekeeping capacity and transport and logistics capabilities. G8 members reconfirm their commitment to supporting UN peace operations where established.
- Conflict Prevention: Regular exchange of information on how we assess countries at risk; working toward developing common conflict assessment tools by taking existing structures and mechanisms into consideration to help identify and focus adequate attention toward at-risk states and to enhance collaboration on joint response; the G8 nations should consult the UN to ensure compatibility among tools and methodologies. These conflict assessment tools should be elaborated by G8 experts in close coordination with the UN, in the first instance, with a view of involvement on a later stage of other key partner countries and regional organizations.
- Coordination: Designation of national or organizational focal points (individuals or offices) for coordination of their international response activities. National focal points should work closely with officials in international institutions such as the UN and with G8 and other partners and regional organizations to better coordinate national and multilateral efforts in states emerging from crisis as they relate to reforms and capacity building in the fields of justice and security sector reform, public sector governance, democratic accountability and social welfare.
- Awareness of Capabilities or Gaps: Regular discussion of capabilities of organizations and governments to help us identify gaps that need to be addressed and identified in advance, of capabilities available to particular governments or organizations and prioritizations for use; putting in place mechanisms to ensure that all relevant actors are engaged in dialogue about a crisis as it evolves and are effectively cooperating in contingency planning;
- Pre-positioning Resources: In order to facilitate the UN's rapid and efficient response to crises, G8 states commit to pursuing reforms in the United Nations to ensure that resources are available in advance to the UN as it works to establish new peacekeeping and peace support operations: pre-positioning equipment in Brindisi, an increase in pre-authorization funds to support DPKO's planning, and the authority to identify personnel in advance of a UNSC resolution mandating a new PKO;
- Strengthening Regional Organizations: Commitment to support development of conflict prevention and conflict response capabilities by regional actors in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. G8 members stress the importance of cooperation in this between regional organizations, and with the UN;
- Interoperability: We expect to promote practices such that the quality and effectiveness of international S&R missions will be consistent regardless of which international organization (e.g. the AU or other regional organizations vs. the UN) is responsible for organizing and implementing the mission.
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