Policy Meeting on European Civil Society Organisations’ input to the UN Peacebuilding Architecture Review 2025
In February 2025, Interpeace participated in the Policy Meeting on European Civil Society Organisations’ input to the UN Peacebuilding Architecture Review 2025, organised by the European Peacebuilding Liasion Office (EPLO), in cooperation with the European External Action Service (EEAS), the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations (UN) and the European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments. The exchange gathered 35 civil society representatives from European conflict prevention, mediation and peacebuilding organisations to discuss the ongoing review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture. The discussions gathered insights on how the UN PBA can be strengthened and the potential role of both the EU and its Member States in this process. Participants also discussed three key challenges for the PBA, namely supporting and leveraging national prevention strategies enhancing coherence for peacebuilding and sustaining peace across the entire UN system, and addressing horizontal priorities.
The meeting focused on four key topics:
- The EU and its Member States supporting a strengthened UN PBA
Participants discussed how the EU could use its political and diplomatic influence to strengthen UN peacebuilding efforts, ensure that commitments on conflict prevention remain a priority, and support multilateral cooperation.
- Strengthening national ownership in the context of national prevention approaches
The discussion focused on the need to develop national conflict prevention strategies that include civil society. Participants highlighted the importance of the EU and UN providing both financial and technical support for these processes.
- System-wide coherence for peacebuilding
Participants explored options for further integrating the PBA in the UN system to ensure peacebuilding and conflict prevention becomes a cross-cutting priority across all pillars of the UN’s work.The role of Resident Coordinators and Peace and Development Advisors was mentioned as key to improving the effectiveness of UN efforts.
- Delivering on horizontal priorities
The discussion covered important cross-cutting themes such as Women, Peace and Security (WPS), Youth, Peace and Security (YPS), and the link between climate, peace, and security.
The role of civil society and the need to protect civic space
The importance of civil society in peacebuilding was a central point in the discussion. Participants underlined the need to increase civil society participation in the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) and ensure direct access to the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). Concerns were raised about the shrinking civic space and the need for the EU and UN to take action to protect and strengthen civil society’s role in peace and security discussions.
A video was recorded during the event to highlight the importance of civil society and its role in the PBAR 2025 consultations.
