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.  

In April, QUNO, in partnership with the Peacebuilding Support Office, hosted a conversation on the progress, challenges and opportunities for the UN’s efforts to build and sustain peace. This informal gathering provided an opportunity for conversation between civil society and United Nations colleagues to reflect on those topics, share learning and experiences on peacebuilding, consider the political and operational environments facing peacebuilding and, looking forward, identify what opportunities exist to build on progress and address known challenges. 

Conversation brought forward a range of issues, including the importance for the UN, and especially the peace and security pillar, to work more coherently; the need to improve and strengthen sustainable financing for peacebuilding; and the centrality of inclusive national ownership for building peace. Discussants also emphasized that some aspects of implementing the resolutions will take time and require long-term and behavioral change, meaning some outcomes may not be immediately visible. Looking ahead, participants noted the importance of the next review of the peacebuilding architecture and how this will be a key opportunity for taking stock of the UN’s efforts for peacebuilding and sustaining peace.