UN peacebuilding does not represent even 1% of peacekeeping budget: India

India has said that the UN's peacebuilding work lacks adequate funding and highlighted that it does not represent even 1 per cent of the organisation's peacekeeping budget.

Gitesh Sarma, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs, said sustaining peace required a comprehensive understanding of both challenges and opportunities, as well as serious international efforts to ensure greater peace and prosperity.

"Concrete action would also require a much greater commitment and longer-term political engagement and investment, including financial contributions to activities that helped build and sustain peace," Sarma said.

"While peacekeeping had been largely successful in containing inter-state conflict, it faced limitations in tackling intra-State conflicts," Sarma said in a statement.

"The funds available for the United Nations peacebuilding work did not represent even 1 per cent of the Organisation's peacekeeping budget," he said, calling for a serious examination of the specific financing options presented by the Secretary-General.

Outlining India's various contributions to United Nations peace operations, he said it had deployed the world's first all-women formed police unit to United Nations Mission in Liberia in 2007.

India also continued to expand its development partnerships to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and climate action targets.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and President of the General Assembly Miroslav Lajcak also bemoaned the lack of funding for the peacebuilding efforts.

Lajcak pointed out that the Peacebuilding Fund was struggling to meet its USD 500 million target because the international community was not investing enough in efforts to prevent conflicts.

Guterres spoke of the high cost -- USD 233 billion -- for dealing with conflicts and their aftermath through humanitarian interventions, peacekeeping and hosting refugees.