During the World Summit 2005, Member States agreed to establish the Peacebuilding Commission ^[1]. On 20 December 2005 the Commission was founded as a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly and the Security Council, which had previously adopted joint resolutions on this issue. A Peacebuilding Fund and Peacebuilding Support Office have also been launched to complement and support the work of the Commission.

The primary objective of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission is to aid states in transitioning from a post-conflict state to an environment of sustainable peace. The Peacebuilding Commission deals primarily as an advisor, providing input when requested by the Security Council, ECOSOC or the General Assembly and the Secretary-General. Member states on the verge of falling back into conflict or member states emerging from conflict may ask the commission for assistance directly, in case the Security Council is not already involved.

The main task of the Peacebuilding Commission is to bring all relevant actors together in order to provide advices and propositions for post-conflict peacebuilding and recovery strategies. Fields of concern include reconstruction and institution-building to support a foundation for sustainable development. The Commission will attempt to develop best practices, to ensure financing for early recovery activities and to increase and continue the attention given by the international community to post-conflict recovery.

The idea behind the creation of the Peacebuilding Commission is to help states in developing sustainable infrastructure, societies and governments that will be able to increase the longevity of peace agreements. The establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission affirms the importance of focusing on the post-conflict environment. However the United Nations will not abandon all preventative or peacekeeping measures in its peace sustaining efforts.

The Commission began work in June 2006 under the chairmanship of Angola; it consists of 31 members. The allocation formula of seats in the Commission is comparatively complex, including distributions due to selection, election and assignment.

The Security Council selects seven members, including its permanent members. Additionally, Panama and South Africa were selected.

The Economic and Social Council elected the following seven members: Angola, Belgium, Brazil, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Poland and Sri Lanka.

Another five seats, currently held by Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway are assigned to the top ten providers of assessed contribution to United Nations budgets and of voluntary contributions to the United Nations funds, programmes, and agencies, including a standing peacebuilding fund.

Likewise, five out of the top ten providers of military personnel and civilian police to United Nations missions obtain a seat in the Commission. At the present moment this group consists of Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Seven additional members, currently represented by Burundi, Chile, Croatia, Egypt, El Salvador Fiji and Jamaica, are elected by the General Assembly.

The PBC has held two rounds of "country-specific Peace Building Commission meetings" (on Sierra Leone and Burundi), and both countries have been recommended for support from the Fund. Civil society involvement in the PBC has been possible on an ad-hoc basis; formal mechanisms for civil society input have yet to be established.

[1] A/RES/60/180 The Peacebuilding Commission and S/RES/1645