Luanda: Angola on Thursday advocated national ownership of peacebuilding processes, with international support aligned with the priorities and capacities of each state.
According to Angola Press News Agency, The position was expressed by Minister of Foreign Affairs T©te Ant³nio during the ministerial meeting of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission, held under the theme 'National Ownership in Practice: Strengthening Inclusive State Institutions through International Support for Peacebuilding'.
The meeting was convened by the Kingdom of Morocco, in its capacity as Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, together with the vice-chairs Bangladesh, Brazil, Croatia and Germany, and was dedicated to strengthening national ownership in peacebuilding processes.
The meeting sought to promote inclusive, resilient and accountable state institutions, as well as ensure that international support is guided by national priorities, respects state sovereignty and contributes to strengthening institutional capacity, social cohesion and conflict prevention.
In his remarks, T©te Ant³nio said the theme of the ministerial meeting, 'National Ownership in Practice', was not an abstract concept for Angola.
The country's experience of national reconciliation, institutional reconstruction and democratic consolidation following decades of internal conflict is itself a testament to what can be achieved when a state takes sovereign leadership of its own peace process, with the support, but never the substitution, of the international community.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs said the 2025 resolutions on the Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture are clear in defining national ownership as the cornerstone of sustainable peace.
In this regard, he said Angola endorsed this vision and called for it to be translated into concrete forms of partnership.
He said external support is welcome when it is driven by national demand, anchored in the sovereign priorities of the state and designed to strengthen local capacities rather than circumvent them.
Addressing the elements that should guide this approach, he identified three inseparable pillars: political ownership, institutional ownership and financial ownership.
He said it was not enough for governments to define peace priorities if their institutions lacked the technical and financial capacity to implement them.
Likewise, he said international financing only produces lasting results when it flows through national systems, strengthens accountability to citizens and forms part of a long-term vision.
T©te Ant³nio also advocated the need for genuinely inclusive national ownership, with the participation of women, young people, local authorities and civil society in peacebuilding processes.
In this regard, he said peacebuilding that excludes women, young people, local authorities and civil society is doomed to fail, since the social contract becomes resilient only when all sectors of society see themselves as co-authors of peace.
The minister also said Africa's experience demonstrates that solutions must be contextualised and complemented by robust and predictable financial support.
Against this backdrop, he urged multilateral partners, international financial institutions and the private sector to deepen their commitment to integrated financing for peace and development, centred on national priorities.
T©te Ant³nio reaffirmed Angola's commitment to the principles and mandate of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission.
He said multilateralism, when based on respect for sovereignty, genuine solidarity and collective responsibility, is the only path to lasting peace.
Concluding his intervention, the Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed the hope that the meeting would produce concrete commitments and that these commitments would translate into actions that people living in fragile societies could genuinely feel.
Peacebuilding Commission
The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission is an intergovernmental body established in 2005 as part of the reform of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture.
It brings together Member States, United Nations entities, regional and sub-regional organisations, international financial institutions and other partners, with the aim of supporting national efforts to prevent conflicts and consolidate peace.
It performs advisory, coordination and international support mobilisation functions, with particular attention to priorities defined by the countries themselves.
Its work seeks to bring together the different actors involved in peace processes and promote coherent, sustainable international responses tailored to national realities.
Thursday's ministerial meeting forms part of efforts to strengthen the United Nations peacebuilding architecture and implement the recommendations arising from the review conducted in 2025.
