Luanda — Angola reaffirmed, in New York, the value of preventive diplomacy as an essential element to avoid conflicts.

This statement was made on Friday in New York by Angola's permanent representative to the United Nations, Francisco José da Cruz, while speaking at the High-Level Meeting on the 2025 Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture.

He said Angola attaches importance to multifaceted cooperation to mobilize coordinated international support to prevent conflicts and consolidate peace and development.

He highlighted the key role played by Angola in the adoption of the resolutions that created the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission and recalled that this resulted in the country's election as the body's first president in 2006.

At the meeting, which reviewed The Gambia's Experience in Peacebuilding and Peacekeeping, the diplomat stressed that the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) has played a significant role in The Gambia, supporting transitional justice, security sector reform, women's and youth empowerment, and the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC).

He therefore called on the international community to continue to support the country to preserve the hard-won gains in peacebuilding since 2017, which have contributed to economic development, the consolidation of democracy and stability in the country.

He encouraged the Government of The Gambia to remain committed to its institutional reforms to improve good governance, democracy and respect for human rights.

Francisco José da Cruz called on all stakeholders to continue working with the PBC and supporting the mobilization of resources to finance essential programs for international peacebuilding.

The UN Peacebuilding Architecture aims to support governments and their peoples as they seek to 'prevent the outbreak, escalation, continuation and recurrence of conflict, address root causes, ensure national reconciliation and move towards recovery, reconstruction and development'. ART/DOJ