Sophia Magazine vol.2 / WINTER 2015

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Contributing to Peacebuilding in the WorldFor Mari Yamashita, working at the United Nations had been her dream since she was a high school student. Later, at Sophia Univer-sity, several inspiring encounters further led her to become a staff member of the UN. She has travelled around the world to countries and regions in conflict or undergoing difficult political transitions and has worked for world peace for more than twenty-five years.Mari Yamashita is Director and Deputy Head of the Peace-building Support Office of the United Nations headquartered in New York. The Peacebuilding Support Office extends sup-port to the Peacebuilding Commission, a subsidiary organ of the Security Council, which consists of some 30 member na-tions, and manages the Peacebuilding Fund as well. Prior to assuming this position in October, Yamashita was Director of the Asia and Pacific Division of the Department of Political Affairs, whose mission is to prevent violent conflicts through peaceful means such as quiet diplomacy and mediation.“I imagine that of all peace–related UN activities, the PKO (Peacekeeping Operations) come to your mind most easily. For the past many decades, PKOs have contributed signifi-cantly to the successful resolution of conflicts and to a declin-ing number of conflicts. Across four continents, PKOs have contributed to maintaining ceasefires, protecting civilians and sustaining fragile peace processes. Given the cycles of conflicts and peace, however, the de-ployment of PKOs alone has not always been adequate and sometimes there was no peace to keep. Every time an opera-tion withdraws, the level of attention or support from the in-ternational community drops, leaving a gaping hole, and how to build lasting peace becomes a major challenge for the UN. Helping the UN and the countries concerned in this regard is a role performed by people like Yamashita. “The Peacebuilding Commission provides a political plat-form to address peacebuilding opportunities for countries af-fected by conflict or countries in complex political transitions, such as Burundi, Sierra Leone, or the Central African Repub-lic. Additionally, the Peacebuilding Fund provides funds for specific initiatives to provide catalytic support, for example by creating an environment where returning soldiers can reinte-The Privilege of Working for the Principles of the UN Charter grate into society (Nepal) or by extending support to house-holds headed by widows who have lost their husbands in war (Sri Lanka). At present, the Peacebuilding Fund is addressing about 20 countries, including some countries in Asia. I myself am still new in this field, but I would like to expand specific support measures down the road,” she said, expressing her en-thusiasm. Since she started working at the UN in 1990, she has as-sumed a wide array of posts, including ones in the Office for Research and the Collection of Information in the Secretary-General’s Office at the time, the Electoral Assistance Division, Africa and Asia Pacific Divisions of the Department of Po-litical Affairs, and as Director of the UN Information Centre in Tokyo. She has been involved in missions to countries in Africa, Eastern Europe, Caucasus, South America and Asia that have undergone difficult political transitions, including Armenia, Angola, Nepal, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. In support of implementing of a peace accord or an election, to extend support to the formulation of a constitution, or to solve chal-Above: Meeting at the Min-istry of Foreign Affairs with Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, Beijing 2013Right: Ofcial visit to Nepal with Under-Secretary-Gen-eral Jeffrey Feltman,Kathmandu 2014 19Sophia People