Challenges Annual Forum Report 2020
The Virtual Challenges Annual Forum (VCAF20) set out to examine how to sustain effective peace operations within a changing global landscape. The key objective of VCAF20 was to formulate concrete policy recommendations on ‘how’ to reform peace operations in this global context, while also identifying which actors would be best positioned to take forward such reforms.
This report captures the discussions and recommendations that emerged throughout VCAF20, which was hosted virtually from 7–11 December 2020. Some 180 participants from 45 organisations in 30 countries, the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), academia and think tanks took part in the virtual dialogue throughout the week, which was co-hosted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in South Africa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, and the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs (NUPI).
The theme for the Annual Forum was Framing Peace Operations in a Changing Global Landscape. It explored these issues through a series of online plenary sessions with a range of speakers including Ministers, current and former officials from the UN and AU, as well as three cumulative dialogues managed by each of the co-hosts which focused on: the AU-UN partnership (ISS); peacebuilding and sustaining peace (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indonesia); and the performance and effectiveness of peace operations (NUPI).