Peacebuilding and sustaining peace
Peacekeeping has a fundamental role in sustaining peace. Efforts to strengthen the impact of peacekeeping on sustaining peace focus on strengthening national ownership, inclusive engagement with civil society and all segments of the local population, effective mission transitions and coherence across the UN system. Key recommendations include:
- Plan for mission transitions. The Secretariat should develop baseline standards for the effective transition of a peacekeeping mission, identifying the opportunities and risks at the different stages of the mission life-cycle. This could be based on an assessment of missions that have recently transitioned with a focus on how they have addressed the structural and intermediate causes of peace and conflict. The Secretariat should work with field missions to develop different planning scenarios with contingencies for ‘unplanned’ transitions and other possible and challenging developments.
- Integrate national and local perspectives. The mission leadership team needs to ensure it has national ownership at the center of its peacebuilding efforts. This requires engagement with all segments of the local population, including men, women and youth from a range of diverse backgrounds. It also requires the mission to work in close collaboration with the UN Country Team.