On 19 June, the Quaker UN Representative for the Prevention of Violent Conflict Program, Rachel Madenyika, made a statement on behalf of the Civil Society - UN Prevention Platform. The event was attended by the Member States, UN actors, and Civil Society representatives. The Quaker UN Office was the only civil society organisation formally asked to speak at this event, organized by the UNDP-DPA Joint Programme on Building National Capacities for Conflict Prevention (the Joint Programme), which works to develop and implement conflict prevention initiatives in 45 different countries. 

In her statement, Rachel highlighted that launched in 2016, the Civil Society - UN Prevention Platform (the Platform) aims to support the UN’s prevention agenda through strengthening coordination and, information sharing between civil society organisations and the UN at all levels. She stressed that the Platform believes the UN’s work on prevention benefits from a systematic engagement with civil society and that the inclusion of diverse civil society expertise is crucial to achieving sustainable peace.

Rachel expressed that the Platform has collaborated meaningfully with the Joint Programme in the past year by successfully linking these UN actors to the larger network of local civil society organisations in the field. “We see great potential in growing and developing this relationship, there is an interest and demand within civil society for this enhanced relationship with the Joint Programme in NY and the field.” 

In her concluding remarks, Rachel, stated that the Platform, co-facilitated by QUNO and the Global Partnerships for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), in close collaboration with the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA), stands ready to assist the UN in whatever way possible to nurture and grow this partnership with civil society.