Launch of the CAF24 Key Takeaways
On 31 January, the key takeaways from the Challenges Forum’s Annual Forum, held in Berlin in December 2024, were launched at an event hosted by the Permanent Missions of Germany, Sweden, and Egypt, with the Challenges Forum, the Centre for International Peace Operations (ZIF), and the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding (CCCPA) as co-organisers. The event took place at the German House in New York.
The event aimed to launch the key takeaways from the Challenges Forum’s Annual Forum in Berlin and explore how these could feed into the Peacekeeping Ministerial in Berlin, the Review of All Forms of UN Peace Operations, and the Review of the UN’s Peacebuilding Architecture (PBAR). The event brought together approximately 120 representatives from Member States, the UN Secretariat, and other key stakeholders working towards more effective peace operations.
Germany welcomed the discussions and expressed its hope that the ministerial meeting in Berlin would generate momentum to explore how the Pact for the Future could be implemented, highlighting the synergies between peace operations, peacebuilding, conflict prevention, sustainable development, and political processes. Egypt also emphasised the importance of integrating peacebuilding efforts and raised implementation challenges related to Resolution 2719 on the financing of African Peace Support Operations. Sweden underscored the need for modular peace operations that are flexible and adaptive.
USG Ryder highlighted the Review of All Forms of UN Peace Operations and identified the Challenges Forum as a natural partner in that process to generate external input.
The subsequent panel discussion, featuring the directors of the Challenges Forum, CCCPA, ZIF, Alexandre Zouev, Assistant Secretary-General for Rule of Law and Security Institutions, Department of Peace Operations (DPO), United Nations and Asif Khan, Director, Policy and Mediation Division, Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, United Nations, presented the key takeaways from the Annual Forum and discussed their relevance for UN policy.