On 4 February, the Civil Society-UN Prevention Platform (the Platform) held its third annual informal, off the record briefing with Under-Secretary-General (USG) and Senior Policy Advisor, Ms. Ana María Menéndez. Ms. Menéndez has played a central role in Secretary-General António Guterres’s focus on prevention since starting the position in June 2017. 

The UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), launched in 2006 and managed by the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), is the United Nations’ financing tool and investor of first resort in countries emerging from or at risk of descending into violent conflict. Through its programming, the PBF supports peacebuilding processes, addresses crucial gaps to build peace, and provides rapid resources when support may not yet be available from other funding mechanisms.  

Focusing on the theme, “Seizing the Moment for Peace in a Disrupted World,” the annual Alliance for Peacebuilding gathering, Peace Con, provided a timely opportunity for convening the global peacebuilding community to explore a range of issues impacting the field. One such topic that was a reoccurring theme for discussion across sessions was the global closing of civic space and the adverse impact this is having on initiatives to build and sustain peace.

Civil society actors and organizations are an integral part of peacebuilding efforts carried out throughout the world. They often possess localized expertise and institutional knowledge from long-term engagement at a community or country level, which is all too often missing from policy discussions and decision making and carry out a breadth of work that is essential to building peaceful, just and inclusive societies.  

QUNO New York’s Director, Andrew Tomlinson, was pleased to have an interview with fellow Quaker organization, the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Speaking with Chris Kearns-McCoy, a Program Assistant with FCNL’s Communications team, Andrew reflected on Quaker work at the United Nations.

The Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) is the UN Secretary-General’s peacebuilding financing tool and investor of first resort. The Fund supports countries through immediate and direct funding initiatives, addresses crucial gaps that may exist in building peace, and provides resources in a rapid manner when sufficient support may not yet be available. In 2016, the PBF included direct funding opportunities for civil society organizations for the first time through its Gender and Youth (GYPI) Initiative. 

In 2016, United Nations Member States adopted the dual resolutions on peacebuilding and sustaining peace, marking an important step in shifting the UN’s understanding of what is at the core of building and sustaining peace. This year, the UN Secretary-General will release a report that will provide updates on the progress, challenges and opportunities experienced in the past three years. The report will be a step towards developments next year, which will include the next comprehensive review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture.