Speakers from The Gambia, Liberia and the small Asian country of Timor-Leste shared their journeys from conflict to stability during a commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission.
“Over the past 20 years, the Peacebuilding Commission has supported more than 30 countries and regions,” helping advance national peacebuilding strategies and donor coordination, Germany’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Serap Güler said in her June 2025 opening remarks in New York.
The U.N. established the commission, an intergovernmental advisory body supporting peace efforts in countries emerging from conflict, in 2005. Although it does not deploy troops or run missions, the commission plays an essential advisory and coordinating role, focusing on the long-term dimensions of peace, including governance, justice, reconciliation, institution-building and sustainable development. It comprises 31 member countries.
“Today, The Gambia proudly shares its experience as a testament to what can be achieved through effective multilateral cooperation, national ownership and the resilience of a people determined to forge a new path,” said then-Gambian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mamadou Tangara. He said the commission’s intervention at a critical juncture in The Gambia’s history was not only historic but also a defining example of preventive diplomacy and international solidarity.
The Gambia emerged from more than two decades of governance challenges and repression, launching a national effort to restore democracy, human rights and the rule of law. After the 2017 political impasse, the Gambian government initiated a comprehensive transition toward democratic governance and resilience, and sought support from the commission, a partnership that proved instrumental in enabling a peaceful democratic transition.
Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, told a similar story about her country.
“Liberia’s story is one of pain, but also of promise — a nation once brought to its knees by protracted conflict now stands as a testimony to what is possible when national will is matched by international solidarity,” she said in a video message.