2020 marks a milestone year for the United Nations (UN) as it approaches the fifteenth anniversary of the creation of the Peacebuilding Architecture. Comprised of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) and the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), this combined architecture is dedicated to supporting countries emerging from violent conflict as they seek to identify and implement priorities to build and sustain peace. 

Every five years the UN undertakes a review of the architecture and takes stock of the system’s progress in peacebuilding and sustaining peace, including in fragile and conflict affected settings. The reviews provide an opportunity to assess progress and impact for peacebuilding, identify remaining challenges and set the UN’s peacebuilding priorities for the coming years. 

To inform and influence the 2020 Peacebuilding Architecture Review, QUNO submitted the policy brief, Building Peace through Reconciliation, which builds upon QUNO’s long-standing history of exploring the topic of reconciliation in peacebuilding. The document focuses on three key areas, namely: the definitional challenges of reconciliation; reconciliation and the Peacebuilding Architecture; and key messages.  

QUNO looks forward to working with UN and Member State partners to further explore the messages and ideas in the document and to find ways to partner with and support colleagues in our shared effort to build and sustain peace.