The United Nations Peacebuilding Fund has reached a major milestone, approving more than $1 billion in support for global peacebuilding and conflict prevention since 2020, UN officials said. The announcement came as the Security Council and General Assembly passed matching resolutions backing the United Nations (UN)’s peacebuilding work and setting out ways to make it more effective.
The fund is the UN’s main tool for helping countries emerging from—or at risk of—violent conflict. It currently supports more than 50 countries, three-quarters of them in Africa. “This funding milestone reflects the Secretary-General’s call for a quantum leap in financing,” said Elizabeth Spehar, head of the Peacebuilding Support Office, and Macharia Kamau, chair of the fund’s advisory group, at a press briefing in New York.
Despite the progress, the fund faces a $500 million shortfall toward its $1.5 billion target for the 2020–2026 period, limiting its ability to meet growing demand from member states. The gap is holding back crucial support services at a time when more countries need help to prevent or recover from conflict.
The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the UN’s peacebuilding efforts earlier Wednesday, with the General Assembly passing the same text shortly after. It’s only the second time the two bodies have coordinated on the UN’s peacebuilding structure since 2005. The resolution stresses that lasting peace depends on development, human rights, and security working together.
Spehar said the timing of the votes alongside the $1 billion funding announcement was “very significant,” underscoring the UN’s focus on preventing conflict and supporting sustainable peace.
