Thirdly, as the mechanism for partnership in peacebuilding is complex and involves various stakeholders, the Security Council must promote strong leadership on the ground to enable United Nations representatives and the Government concerned to work together towards solutions, taking into account the specificity of the situation.

India launched the largest-ever exercise in democratic decentralization about two decades ago. Administrative and legislative powers were transferred to village- and district-level bodies, and considerable thought and effort were devoted to making these institutions locally relevant. The key to the success of these institutions, we have found, lies in what we call inclusiveness.

Inclusiveness works in interesting ways. The decision of the Government of India to aggressively recruit women police personnel allowed us to field a female formed police unit — the first such formation composed entirely of women — in UNMIL.

Secondly, we need to understand the term “institution-building” in a very broad sense. This is the approach Germany adopts in its bilateral development assistance. Institution-building, or rather Statebuilding, is not only about constructing Government institutions and State capacity; it is about the whole social fabric of a society and how the State interacts with its society.

Secondly, there is an important need to develop a common institutional understanding within conflict torn societies. Institution-building goes beyond establishing and nurturing organizational structures.

We also welcome the initiatives undertaken by the Peacebuilding Commission to strengthen relations between the United Nations and the World Bank, which have enabled the Bank to take better account of the priority needs of countries such as the Central African Republic during 2010. We encourage the Commission, in its coordinating role, to develop partnerships with all financial and donor institutions able to help the countries on its agenda.

Another important point for us is the enhanced deployment of female civilian experts, in the spirit of resolution 1325 (2000) and the Secretary-General's action plan on ensuring women's participation in peacebuilding. Post-conflict institutions cannot be effective unless they are gender-equitable.

Croatia welcomes the Secretary-General's detailed overview of the progress achieved in implementing his agenda for action set out in his progress report on peacebuilding in the immediate aftermath of conflict (S/2010/386), which was recently presented to the Council (see S/PV.6396), and particularly the recommendations contained therein.

The efforts of the international community should be focused not only on supporting institutions in the field of justice and security, as it is also important to enhance the capacity of the institutions in charge of economic revitalization, public administration and the provision of basic services.

First, stable institutions cannot be imposed; they must be trusted and accepted by citizens. They have to be built and sustained by the individuals concerned. International institution-building efforts have to involve national actors at the outset in order to better identify and employ available local capacity.