Against that backdrop, peacebuilding must be the primary priority and conce...

Against that backdrop, peacebuilding must be the primary priority and concern of the United Nations, which should not be distracted from it by dealing with other symptoms of conflict. Moreover, I wish to reiterate that we must take advantage of regional organizations with proven ability and capacity to build and maintain peace, given their direct link to the causes of conflicts and their comprehensive understanding of them. In that regard, I would also like to point to the decisions taken at the meeting organized by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Dakar in April 2007 on the role of regional organizations in the protection of civilians and on peacebuilding overall.