“Durable peace, in Guatemala and elsewhere, depends not only on a formal end to military hostilities. It often requires fundamental structural transformations that address the tensions that give rise to conflict in the first place,” Mr. Ban said at the launch of the UN Peacebuilding Fund’s engagement in Guatemala City late yesterday.

The Fund was set up in 2006 to support efforts to augment peace and stability in countries emerging from conflict.

“We are all aware of how hard Guatemala has worked in pursuit of lasting peace and full implementation of the Peace Accords signed 15 years ago,” said Mr. Ban. “We are here today to seize this momentum and bolster the country’s peacebuilding efforts,” he said, adding that the country’s civil society must be an active participant in the process.

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