Consolidating Peace in Africa:
The Role of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission
Eloho Otobo
"The author was the UN's first
Director and Deputy Head of the UN Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) in New
York. This makes him the "prime insider witness" of how UN peacebuilding has
evolved; and, in particular how the UN Peacebuilding Commission came into
being; how it developed; and what limitations it was and is still facing. In
this book, Otobo shares with us his analyses while working for the UN but also
his thoughts, gained from a greater distance once he left the UN. Otobo's book
is about the real world of peacebuilding in the UN - and this should give it a
distinct place among the many mostly academic studies on this subject. It
should make it also "a must-reading" for everyone who reflects not only on
consolidating peace in Africa but also on the UN's role in general in
maintaining peace and security for future generations."
- Michael
von der Schulenburg
Former Executive Representative of the Secretary
General in Sierra Leone
"An enlightening, lucid and
powerful narrative, which provides an authoritative and in-depth account of
United Nations peacebuilding efforts in Africa. This enriching book will prove
invaluable to policy makers and scholars interested in United Nations work in
peace building, and, in particular the role of the UN Peacebuilding Commission,
in supporting post-conflict and fragile states in Africa. The book not only
portrays the UN Peacebuilding Commission's critical work in
consolidating peace and preventing relapse into violence in countries emerging
from conflicts in Africa but equally offers rich insights into the challenges
confronting the Peacebuilding Commission in performing the tasks entrusted to
it."
- Shola
J. Omoregie
Former
Representative of the Secretary General in Guinea Bissau,
Author
of Witness To Transformation: My Years at the United Nations
"This book is one of the
earliest and most detailed studies of the United Nations (UN) Peacebuilding
Commission from a consummate insider who had a front--row seat to many of the
events described, while serving as its deputy head of the UN Peacebuilding
Support Office from 2006-2013. His rich insights will be useful for both
academics and policymakers with an interest in this nasecnt but vital area in
the UN's evolving security architecture."
- Adekeye
Adebajo
Executive
Director, Centre for Conflict Resolution, Cape Town,
Author
of UN Peacekeeping in Africa: From The Suez Crisis To The Sudan Conflicts
"This
book provides essential and in-depth "insider perspectives" on the evolution,
inner workings and impact of one of the most important institutional
innovations of the 2005 UN World Summit. Scholars, policy-makers and
peacebuilding experts will greatly benefit from this thoughtful and detailed
collection of essays on the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission - authored by
one of the most knowledgeable experts on the subject."
- Joachim
A. Koops,
Dean
of Vesalius College, Research Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and
Director, Global Governance Institute, Brussels
Ejeviome Eloho Otobo (1951-2022) was formerly Director and Deputy Head of the
Peacebuilding Support Office at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. He served as Non-Resident Senior Expert for Peacebuilding and Global Economic
Policy at the Global Governance Institute in Brussels until his transition in 2022.