Sri Lanka elected to the Peace Building Commission

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka was elected to the newly-established United Nations Peace Building Commission at the resumed Organisational Session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on May 12, 2006, states a Foreign Ministry Press release.

The Peace Building Commission is a new UN body that emerged from the ongoing reforms exercise in the UN and was established by the General Assembly and the Security Council, following a decision made by World Leaders at the UN High-Level Summit in September 2005.

It is composed of 31 Member States that constitute the Organizational Committee, while the larger Commission would include representatives of the UN Secretary General, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other institutional donors who will participate in the Commission meetings.

Other members from the Asian Region in the Commission include China, Japan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Fiji and Philippines.

Election to the Organization Committee is generally considered an acknowledgement by the international community of the member states positive contribution in the field of peace building activities.