UNITED NATIONS, March 5 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday asked to increase the UN Peacebuilding Fund to half a billion U.S. dollars per year.

"Failure to make progress on financing peacebuilding will undermine our other efforts to save lives, stabilize countries in crisis, alleviate suffering and protect the vulnerable," Guterres told the General Assembly. "We are witnessing unnecessary human suffering on a scale that is hard to comprehend."

The fund, launched in 2006 to support activities, programs and organizations working for lasting peace in countries emerging from conflict, is a critical tool for peace, he said, adding it can unlock funding from other sources and provides resources for projects that are too risky for others to invest in.

Many of its programs support women and young people.

"I urge all those with the power to do so, to allow us to increase the fund's resources to 500 million dollars annually," he said.

The fund's initial funding target was 250 million dollars.