While often still thought of primarily in the context of post-conflict environments, peacebuilding is not merely about preventing relapse of violence and re-building broken institutions.
Peacebuilding is also about preventing communities and countries from resorting to violence in the first place, and strengthening mechanisms that allow for peaceful resolution of conflict. Peacebuilding is a comprehensive activity requiring holistic, long-term thinking and connects development, peace and security and human rights.
As such, efforts to sustain peace demand the priority, attention and effort of the entire UN system, including the three relevant principle intergovernmental organs. This paper launches six goals that would help create a UN system able to build and sustain peace and proposes changes at the institutional level that would reinforce the work of the UN’s three peacebuilding institutions.