2018.11.28

Action for Peacekeeping – Strengthening the Effectiveness of Future Peace Operations

Year: 2018
Host country: Sweden
Type: Annual Forum

On November 28-29, the Challenges Annual Forum 2018 was organized by the Challenges Partners Folke Bernadotte Academy and the Swedish Armed Forces in Stockholm in support of the UN Secretary-General’s initiative Action for Peacekeeping (A4P).

In total, more than 140 participants from 30 countries in the Global East, West, North, and South engaged in the dialogue on how to implement Action for Peacekeeping. Saltsjöbaden, Stockholm, Sweden.

On March 2018, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the ‘Action for Peacekeeping’ (A4P) initiative at a special Security Council meeting on the future of UN peace operations. A4P is part of the Secretary-General’s efforts to renew mutual political commitment to peacekeeping operations.

Mr. Lacroix, Under-Secretary General for the Department of Peace Operations, UN, outlining the commitments of A4P to the participants of the Challenges Annual Forum 2018

Co-host Mr. Sven-Eric Söder, Director-General of FBA

The A4P initiative also responds to concerns that peace operations are deployed to increasingly complex environments where political processes may be stalled and where missions and civilians are facing evolving threats to security. The success of peace operations under these conditions depends on sustaining them both politically and materially, and on collectively achieving progress on much-needed reforms at the United Nations. For more information, please visit the UN Secretariat page on A4P.

Co-host Major General Per Lodin, Swedish Armed Forces

The Challenges Annual Forum 2018 was organised at an opportune moment to support the UN’s process.It provided a platform for dialogue between Challenges Partners, the UN, Experts and other key stakeholders on A4P. In total, more than 140 participants from 30 countries in the Global East, West, North, and South engaged in the dialogue. The Challenges Annual Forum also allowed participants to focus on the operationalisation of Action for Peacekeeping.

HE Margot Wallström, Foreign Minister of Sweden, highlighting Sweden’s commitment to international peace operations and emphasizing the importance of real results implementing the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda.

HE Margot Wallström, Foreign Minister of Sweden, together with Challenges Forum International Secretariat (CFIS) Director Dr. Björn Holmberg

Dialogue was organised in four dialogue strands: Peacebuilding, Mandate and Strategic Performance, Protection and Partnerships, and People. A report on the recommendations will be published in January 2019 and presented to the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C34) in New York.

Video summaries highlighting some of the results are available below and the Background Papers to the right. Some of these findings will be published early 2019 as Challenges Forum Policy Briefs.