QUNO NY UN Representative Kavita Desai is co-chairing the peace working group of the 2024 SDG16+ Campaign. QUNO is a Member of the Transparency, Accountability, and Participation (TAP) Network, an international coalition of over 300+ civil society organizations working towards SDG 16 and the 2030 Agenda through advocacy and collaboration. 

QUNO joined the campaign in May in the lead up to the July 2024 High-Level Political Forum review of Sustainable Development Goal 16, which has the stated intention to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. This review comes every four years and is an opportunity to assess progress towards peace, inclusion, and justice globally, as well as to advocate for greater political will and support for implementation.  

QUNO partnered with the Alliance for Peacebuilding and the Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding to focus on peace and craft the SDG16+ campaign’s messaging and focus. Kavita Desai led discussions during several TAP workshops and webinars throughout May and June to distill common interests and advocacy points across the global network, connecting the outcomes of the SDG 16 review conference and the UN Nairobi Civil Society Conference to the HLPF, including through a TAP statement during the panel on SDG 16.  

While progress towards peace has been lost globally and we are seeing increasingly more conflict and suffering, there is important work being done locally to counter this trend. TAP brings together local, national, regional and global actors and the HLPF provides an opportunity to network and learn from one another. QUNO will continue as co-chair through the end of the year and provide reflections and analysis at the HLPF debrief webinar on July 24th.