During the first meeting of the 20th session of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), Bangladesh, along with Germany, Brazil, and Croatia, was elected the Vice-Chair of the platform. Through its election as one of the Vice-Chairs of the relatively underexposed advisory body of the United Nations (UN), Bangladesh's decades-long contributions to UN peace support operations and post-conflict recovery efforts have been recognized. As Bangladesh is confronted with protracted conflicts beyond its borderlands in the east and southeast, it has a novel opportunity as the Vice-Chair of the PBC to translate its leadership role and experience into actionable strategies that can reshape the peacebuilding process in its periphery.
UN Peacebuilding Commission and Bangladesh
The UN Peacebuilding Commission was established in 2005, with its principal task being the supervision and implementation of post-conflict actions in states recovering from armed conflicts. The PBC is composed of 31 member-states, with the UN Security Council (UNSC), the UN General Assembly (UNGA), and the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) each selecting seven member-states, and the remaining ten members being selected on the basis of contributions to UN peace operations and to UN budget. At present, Bangladesh is a member of the PBC owing to its contributions to UN missions, and it has served as a member of the Commission since 2005. Also, it has previously served as the Chair of the PBC in 2012 and 2022, and as its Vice-Chair in 2013 and 2023.
Since its inception, the PBC has played an instrumental role in peacebuilding processes in several states. For instance, it has provided considerable support to the consolidation of peace in Liberia after two destructive civil wars, assisted in the democratic transition in the Gambia after prolonged authoritarian rule, helped facilitate decentralization and the holding of national elections in the war-torn Central African Republic (CAR), and is backing the peacebuilding process in Colombia after the de-intensification of civil conflict in the country. In a world increasingly beset with armed conflicts, the PBC has the potential to play a highly constructive role in establishing sustainable peace in post-conflict states.
As a member-state of the PBC, Bangladesh has served in leadership positions in the Commission several times and is poised to play a similar role once again. Bangladesh has long been a leading contributor of personnel to UN peace missions, and currently, with 4,327 troops, police personnel, and civilian staff deployed in nine peace operations, it is currently the 3rd largest contributor to UN missions. In particular, thousands of Bangladeshi peacekeepers are currently deployed in high-intensity and risky conflict zones, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the CAR, South Sudan, and Lebanon, and at least 174 Bangladeshi peacekeepers have lost their lives while fulfilling their internationalist duties. Also, Bangladeshi peacekeepers have been heavily involved in peacebuilding processes in several post-conflict states, including Cambodia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, and Timor-Leste. Moreover, despite its modest economic capabilities, Bangladesh is a contributor to the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), providing it with $50,000 in 2022, for example.
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