United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture Review 2020

Background

Thematic Consultations in Geneva, 18-19 February 2020

To inform the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture (UNPBA) Review 2020, the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, in collaboration with Switzerland, facilitated a consultation process among relevant stakeholders in Geneva. The aim of the consultation was to contribute to the informal part of the review process, through collecting, analyzing and summarizing the expertise, considerations and concerns of Geneva-based stakeholders engaged in peacebuilding and sustaining peace efforts.

The Consultations focused specifically on policy/operational coherence, as well as partnerships for peacebuilding and sustaining peace. In addition to plenary discussions on these themes, five break-out sessions were held for smaller groups to engage in greater detail with specific aspects, assess progress, identify concrete learning examples and formulate suggestions for the 2020 Review. The groups shed light on the role of peace-responsive programming to operationalize sustaining peace across the system; integrated analysis to enable coherent action on humanitarian, development, peace and security challenges; governance-driven approaches to security; the role of human rights in sustaining peace; and gender-responsive peacebuilding.

The consultations involved a total of 285 representatives of Member States, Geneva-based International Organizations, International Civil Society Organizations, the Private Sector and Academia.

The key output from the consultations was a report that was officially submitted to the United Nations by Switzerland. This report was produced by the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform and its five partners – the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP) of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies; the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF); the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP); Interpeace; and Quaker United Nations Office, Geneva (QUNO) – in collaboration with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) of Switzerland.