International Service for Human Rights

ISHR's report on human rights developments in the Peacebuilding Commission in 2008: Human rights emerges as key element in the PBC’s work, but concrete results are spotty across countries.

Within the UN system, the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) and its related mechanisms is an unprecedented forum to debate peacebuilding and human rights issues with the participation of both international and local actors. Over the last few years since the establishment of the new body, Member States and other actors have identified human rights as a crosscutting issue relevant to all priority peacebuilding areas, including security sector reform,  promotion of good governance, and socio-economic recovery. However, although human rights is emerging as one of the core areas in the PBC’s documents, it is usually covered very generally, and the challenge remains to translate this conceptual commitment into tangible results.

In this report, the PBC’s mandate, its position within the UN system, and its key outputs are reviewed in the light of the human rights dimensions of its work. This review looks at developments in 2008, although it will also refer to some key documents drafted by the PBC in 2007 when necessary.  Successes and challenges are highlighted, in particular those that relate to civil society and human rights defenders.