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Editorial by Brian James Williams
Chief, Financing for Peacebuilding Branch, DPPA/PBSO
Global warming has profound implications for peace and security. The United Nations Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) has been financing pilot climate security projects for several years, and in April, the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) published an independent Thematic Review on Climate Security and Peacebuilding as part of efforts to continuously learn and improve. The review found that PBF had helped catalyze action in this field, highlighted the value of cross-border programming, encouraged increased inclusiveness of communities in environmental peacebuilding activities and recommended more investment in longitudinal studies. The review was commissioned in partnership with FAO, UNICEF, Climate Security Mechanism and the UK, and led by the UN University’s Centre for Policy Research.
The review found that the Fund played a catalytic role as a conversation starter, fund for innovation, and ‘tugboat’ to bring larger donor funding for climate-security into more fragile and conflict-affected areas. It emphasized that the efforts towards climate, peace, and security present opportunities to address pressing social challenges, such as the exclusion of women or elite capture in local communities.
Building on the review’s findings, in particular with regard to greater inclusiveness, the PBF has dedicated its 2023 Gender Promotion Initiative to climate change mitigation and adaptation and women’s engagement in natural resource management. This reflects the commitment to exploring the gender-climate-security nexus through programmatic responses and investing in women’s inclusion. Global webinars for all applicants developing proposals on these topics have already taken place. Read more.
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Climate Security and Peacebuilding: Lessons from Liptako Gourma
Despite implementation challenges, PBF's climate security investments in the Liptako Gourma subregion spanning Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger demonstrate potential in addressing root causes. Full story here
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Catalyzing Peace in Colombia, Madagascar, and South Sudan
In regions impacted by conflict and violence, catalytic peacebuilding initiatives have been instrumental in fostering positive change and transforming communities. Read More
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Nurturing Safer Digital Spaces: Empowering Youth Against Hate Speech in the Western Balkans
Fake news, misinformation, and hate speech are causing significant harm to mental health, exacerbating social divisions, and eroding trust in public institutions. Read More
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Fostering Cohesion in Niger’s Agadez Region
An independent evaluation report has highlighted that a peacebuilding initiative in Agadez, Niger has helped contribute to a growing recognition and acceptance of coexistence, as migrants steadily integrate into the local community. Read More
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The Peacebuilding Support Office in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs partners with the African Union (AU) in a variety of ways including through its support to the Peacebuilding Commission’s country and regional engagements in Africa and its annual consultative collaboration with the AU Peace and Security Council on peacebuilding and sustaining peace. Read more
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Colombia is an important partner of the United Nations and a champion of its peacebuilding efforts. Colombia led the Peacebuilding Commission as Chair in 2019 and Vice-Chair in 2020, and contributed to the strengthening of the Commission as a platform that conflict-affected countries can use to share peacebuilding experiences and seek the support of the international community to address remaining challenges. Read more
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Germany is a fervent advocate for and dedicated partner to the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture. As a longstanding member of the Peacebuilding Commission, Germany is proud to support prevention and peacebuilding efforts that are characterized by an exceptionally high degree of national and regional ownership. Read more
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The Republic of Korea is a committed partner in the United Nations’ peacebuilding efforts, recognizing the importance of international cooperation and multilateralism in addressing global challenges, particularly in the realm of promoting peace and security. In 2023, The Republic of Korea contributed $4.34 million to the Peacebuilding Fund. Read more
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Advancing Peacebuilding Efforts in Kenya
The Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, Elizabeth Spehar, interacted with the United Nations and national actors working in peacebuilding in Nairobi on the sidelines of the UN Sustainable Development Group Principals Meeting. Read more
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Strengthening Multilateralism for a Peaceful Future
Elizabeth Spehar, ASG for Peacebuilding Support, visited Sweden from 15 – 17 May. She engaged with Government counterparts and participated in the Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development. Read more
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Key Stakeholders Collaborate on TRRC Recommendations Implementation in The Gambia
On 12 May, PBSO Director and Deputy Head, Awa Dabo participated in the Stakeholder and Donor Conference on the implementation of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) recommendations in The Gambia. Read more
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Donor Partner Visit Explores Peacebuilding Fund's Support in DRC
To highlight the impact of the PBF's support in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Peacebuilding Support Office organized a donor partner visit from 15 - 19 May. Participants included representatives from Belgium, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Read more
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Supporting Transitional Justice in Colombia, The Gambia and Timor-Leste
The Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) provides its platform for facilitating exchanges of experiences, good practices and lessons learned among conflict-affected countries, in the spirit of South-South and triangular cooperation. Read more
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The Peacebuilding Commission's Meeting on Youth, Peace and Security
On 7 June, the PBC convened its annual meeting on Youth, Peace and Security, focusing on regional efforts in advancing the agenda and the linkages between regional, national, and local efforts on the agenda. Read more
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The Peacebuilding Commission’s Meeting on Mozambique
On 29 March, the PBC convened its first ever meeting on Mozambique, in the presence of H.E. Mr. Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of the Republic of Mozambique. Read more
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The Seventh Advisory Group of the UN Secretary-General's Peacebuilding Fund Convenes in New York
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres met with the Advisory Group together with the ASG for Peacebuilding Support, Elizabeth Spehar, and discussed resource mobilization for the Fund and peacebuilding more generally, connections to the New Agenda for Peace, engagements between the PBC and PBF and the priority of peacebuilding in today’s world. Read more
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The Peacebuilding Commission’s Meeting on the Gulf of Guinea
On 19 May, the Peacebuilding Commission held an Ambassadorial-level meeting to reflect on peacebuilding and the implementation of the Regional Maritime Security Framework in the Gulf of Guinea. Read more
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Pathways for Peace: Five Years On
In 2018, the United Nations and World Bank published the report “Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict” which urged a pivot to prevention, strengthened the business case for prevention initiatives, and highlighted new research on the importance of addressing patterns of exclusion and inequality in efforts to prevent conflict and build peace. Read more
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Management Response to the PBF’s Mid-term Review Report of its Strategy 2020-24
The Management Response reiterates continued focus on gender and youth empowerment and civil society engagement, building on demonstrated good results in UN mission transition settings, and strengthening work around design, monitoring, and measuring catalytic effects. Read more
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Empowering Youth for Peace
Young peacebuilders from across the world, civil society organizations, experts, and UN staff working on YPS met in Saly, Senegal, for the annual meeting of the Global Coalition on Youth, Peace, and Security. Read more
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Fragility and Resilience in the Mano River Union Subregion
The Mano River Union Secretariat, the African Development Bank, and the United Nations jointly commissioned a fragility and resilience assessment of the MRU subregion. Read more
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Climate Security and Peacebuilding Thematic Review
On 25 April, nearly 200 participants joined PBSO's virtual launch event for the Climate Security and Peacebuilding Thematic Review. Read more
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