In Advance of UN Peacebuilding Week, AfP Calls on the UN to Return to its Role as a World Leader for Peace
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 17, 2026
CONTACT
Nick Zuroski | nick@allianceforpeacebuilding.org
Washington DC, USA — Since its beginning, the United Nations (UN) has been a vital cornerstone of global peacebuilding efforts. The Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) calls on the UN to return to its peacemaking roots and “renew its toolbox to advance international peace and security” during the first ever UN Peacebuilding Week starting on June 22. This week must mobilize the international community to start prioritizing conflict prevention and peacebuilding amidst record-breaking global violent conflict. The UN must lead this effort and carry out bold reform to reclaim its peace and security remit.
The scale and complexity of violent conflicts are accelerating, from the resurgence of large-scale interstate wars, to new nuclear arms races, to the destabilizing impacts of artificial intelligence (AI), to spiraling economic and energy insecurity caused by the war in Iran. At the same time, the U.S. and other major donors have slashed foreign assistance, global military spending is skyrocketing, and the UN is being hobbled by a severe liquidity crisis in an increasingly multipolar world where leaders circumvent or ignore established norms and laws.
During UN Peacebuilding Week, if the international community and the UN are serious about addressing alarming rates of global violent conflict and emerging risks, the UN must reform and return to its founding vision of prioritizing preventative diplomacy and mediation. The last major agreement negotiated by the UN was the Black Sea Grain Initiative in 2022—almost four years ago. Now is the time for the UN to get back in the game by scaling up the use of special envoys, formal processes, and shuttle diplomacy to resolve disputes. UN officials must also strengthen early warning and human rights mechanisms, reporting, and technical assistance—in close collaboration with diverse civil society actors—to more effectively identify risks early and address the drivers of conflict.
While the UN should be lauded for formalizing the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda with the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000 and subsequent resolutions, today, WPS remains siloed and marginalized from major debates and actions. No longer can matters of “international peace and security” be discussed at the UN without considerations of gender and WPS, given the growing evidence that the inclusion of women bolsters peace agreements and conflict prevention efforts.
UN80, an initiative that seeks to reshape the UN system so “every mandate, dollar, and decision delivers greater impact for people and planet,” presents a welcome opportunity to take these necessary steps. Reform efforts must lean into the UN’s exceptional position as a peacemaker and mediator, center WPS in peace and security interventions, and embrace the UN’s role as an agent for peace. The UN cannot afford to withdraw from the most existential threats to international security, especially when it can bring a stabilizing presence that no country can match alone. As the UN seeks a new Secretary-General, the institution must lead on peace and security to accelerate burden-sharing and cooperation and build sustainable peace.
The Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP), named the “number one influencer and change agent” among peacebuilding institutions worldwide, is an award-winning nonprofit and nonpartisan network of almost 300 organizations working in 181 countries to prevent and reduce violent conflict and build sustainable peace. AfP cultivates a network to strengthen and advance the peacebuilding field, enabling peacebuilding organizations to achieve greater impact—tackling issues too large for any one organization to address alone.