Delivered By: Ms. Fatema Yousef, Acting Deputy Permanent Representative

The UAE congratulates Somalia for assuming the presidency of the Security Council this month and thanks them for convening today’s meeting, as well as Germany as Chair of the PBC and the briefers for their insights.

Today’s discussion builds on the momentum of the recently adopted twin resolution on the Peacebuilding Architecture Review, facilitated by Egypt and Slovenia.

That process reaffirmed that the UN already has a comprehensive peacebuilding architecture.  The real difficulty, now, lies not in designing new frameworks, but in sustaining long-term efforts to address the root causes of conflict. This should include continued promotion of the WPS and YPS agendas as critical tools for peacebuilding.

Security Council resolution 2686 on Tolerance, Peace and Security, which the UAE co-penned with the UK in 2023, responds to this challenge by recognising that hate speech, extremism, and related forms of intolerance, are drivers of conflict. It also highlights the Peacebuilding Commission’s unique convening role to address these root causes by sharing peacebuilding approaches.

At the same time, terrorism across multiple regions, including West Africa, the Sahel, and the Horn of Africa, continues to complicate peacebuilding and prevention efforts.

Against this backdrop, conflict is driven by multiple, intersecting factors, and prevention therefore resists simple formulas. The UN’s role should be to support integrated and context-specific national approaches,  reinforced through international partnership.

In that regard, in the UAE, tolerance is treated as a practical dimension of governance. Policies promoting inclusion, peaceful coexistence, and the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and youth in public life are integral to social cohesion. The UAE has facilitated interreligious and intercultural dialogue, and hosts international platforms such as Hedayah, and the Sawab Center, which address extremist narratives through education, counter-messaging, and resilience-building. Together, these efforts illustrate how addressing intolerance and extremism upstream can help reduce conflict risks.

In conclusion, the UAE remains committed to building sustainable peace and we look forward to working with all partners in this shared effort.

Thank you.