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1. The New Secretary-General Report on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace: Prevention Back on the Agenda

Author:
Paige Arthur, Céline Monnier, and Leah Zamore
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the newly released secretary-general’s report on peacebuilding and sustaining peace contains, as usual, a wealth of examples of the steps that the United Nations (UN) system is taking to implement the sustaining peace resolutions. It also suggests a welcome and surprising finding: the conflict prevention agenda—once thought to be on life-support at the UN—has found new vigor. This briefing examines the new report, finding that it moves the prevention agenda forward in several key respects, from deepening political buy-in among member states and partners, to a greater embrace of conflict-sensitive approaches in the field. The briefing also identifies key opportunities for prevention to take root in the UN’s practice—including continued strengthening of expertise on prevention; deepening partnerships with the IFIs; leveraging links with violence reduction initiatives, especially relating to SDG16; focusing on area-based approaches to address multiple risks; and more action on humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus approaches.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, United Nations, Peace, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. A Stocktaking of the UN-IFI Relationship on Prevention and Peacebuilding, 2018 to 2020

Author:
Paige Arthur
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
In 2018, the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank published a groundbreaking report driven by the conviction that the international community’s attention must urgently be rebalanced from crisis response to prevention. Pathways for Peace offered a joint framework for conflict prevention, and as it has gathered momentum, other international financial institutions (IFIs)—such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF)— have re-examined their approach to fragile and conflict-affected countries. Now, with the UN and the IFIs mobilizing in response to the COVID-19, the progress made in recent years will be tested. There is a risk that these opportunities will be overshadowed by the colossal need generated by the pandemic—but the scale and urgency of the crisis is also creating new opportunities for UN-IFI collaboration. This briefing provides an external perspective on the evolution of the UN-IFI relationship over the past three years. The first part of the stocktaking will focus on the UN-World Bank relationship, followed by a brief overview of partnership with the IMF. It is written for a broad audience—across the UN system, the World Bank and other IFIs, UN member states, civil society, and beyond—and aims to build consensus on next steps needed to accelerate implementation of a preventive approach.
Topic:
United Nations, Fragile States, Multilateralism, and Crisis Management
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Operationalizing the Prevention Agenda: Three Recommendations for the Peacebuilding Architecture Review

Author:
Paige Arthur and Céline Monnier
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Over the past 18 months, CIC has facilitated a series of discussions on the United Nations secretary-general’s agenda on preventing violent conflict. This options paper consolidates key recommendations for operationalizing the prevention agenda in light of the 2020 peacebuilding architecture review. In the paper, Paige Arthur and Céline Monnier present recommendations based on the consultations CIC has held across the UN system, as well as with national actors, to support the operationalization of the 2016 sustaining peace resolutions—with a specific focus on upstream prevention that is nationally led and sovereignty supporting. The paper examines options to increase national demand for prevention approaches, opportunities to build and consolidate the UN system’s expertise on prevention, and options to increase cross-pillar approaches, which are critical to the success of prevention initiatives.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, United Nations, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus