Our input on the Review of the Future of all Forms of Peace Operations

The Challenges Forum contributed with a joint input to the Review on the Future of All Forms of UN Peace Operations, underscoring the urgent need to safeguard the UN’s capacity to deliver on its peace and security mandate in today’s turbulent global environment, and urging that financial and structural adjustments be guided by a strategic vision for the future of peace operations.

The Review on the Future of All Forms of UN Peace Operations is undertaken by the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the request of member states in the Pact for the Future, adopted on 22 September 2024. The Review is conducted by the Department of Peace Operations and the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, who will draft its outcome, aimed to be captured in the form of a report of the Secretary-General, to be submitted to the General Assembly and the Security Council.

Our joint contribution emphasises that peace operations remain one of the international community’s most effective tools to foster cooperation and protect fragile peace from sliding back into conflict. But they are under severe strain — from geopolitical fragmentation, financial shortfalls, and increasingly complex threats like climate change, transnational crime, and harmful information.

The Review, together with the he UN80 initiative and the Peacebuilding Architecture Review should be seen as critical tools and a unique opportunity, amidst current challenges, to renew, reform, streamline and adapt peace operations to meet evolving needs.