UNITED NATIONS, June 23: Pakistan on Friday welcomed establishment of a new peace-building commission to help countries recover from conflict situations and rebuild their societies afresh.

“Establishment of the commission, an intergovernmental advisory body to assist countries emerging from conflict, is a major achievement of the 2005 World Summit,” a statement issued here said.

Inaugurating the commission, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told the UN delegates that the commission was a symbol of both a hope for millions of people.

Pakistan has been selected a member of the commission for being the largest contributor of troops and civilian police to the UN peacekeeping operations for the past three years.

Pakistan is participating in 11 peacekeeping operations, including missions in Liberia, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Burundi, Sudan and Haiti. Pakistani peacekeepers played a key role in the UN mission in Sierra Leone.

Pakistan expressed the confidence that “this dedicated mechanism will enable the international community to address the needs of countries emerging from conflict towards recovery and reconstruction.”

Following is the composition of the 31-member commission:

1) Seven members selected by the Security Council including China, Denmark, France, the Russian Federation, the UK, Tanzania and the US.

2) Seven members elected by the Economic and Social Council, including Angola, Belgium, Brazil, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Poland and Sri Lanka.

3) Five top providers of assessed contributions to United Nations budgets and of voluntary contributions to the UN funds, programmes and agencies, including a standing peace building fund, including Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway.

4) Five top providers of military personnel and civilian police to the UN missions, including Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

5) Seven members elected by the General Assembly, including Burundi, Chile, Croatia, Egypt, El Salvador, Fiji and Jamaica.