Update no 1

May 2018

A number of new items have been added to the website:

"Sustaining Peace" at the UN

UN2020 coordinator Fergus Watt joined a panel of experts at an event April 24 at the United Nations. The side event on "Global Platforms for Preventing Violent Conflict and Sustaining Peace on the Road to 2020" took place during the April 24-25 UN General Assembly "High-Level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace."

Watt’s remarks described recent developments with respect to the "UN2020 Initiative" and the call for using the 75th anniversary of the UN in 2020 as an occasion for stocktaking, renewal and reform for the organization. 

A summary of the side event was prepared by the Stimson Center.

• Excerpts from statements that directly support the call for utilizing the 75th anniversary of the United Nations in 2020 as an occasion for stocktaking, renewal and reform
• General statements in favour of the UN, UN reform & multilateralism

• Miroslav Lacjak, President of the UN General Assembly during its 72^nd session, has initiated a series of morning dialogues. These are informal off-the-record discussions among UN Permanent Representatives. As of April 30, nine morning dialogues have taken place; three have focused on "Multilateralism Under Fire." \
• On behalf of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Tomas Anker Christensen, Chef de Cabinet for the last two General Assembly Presidents, has authored a paper, "President or Paper Tiger? The Role of the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations." Many of the reforms discussed in the paper are also under consideration at the Ad Hoc Working Group on Revitalization of the Role of the General Assembly.
• Published ahead of the April 24-25 General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, and grounded in a shared commitment to conflict prevention, "Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict" is a joint United Nations and World Bank study that looks at how development processes can better interact with diplomacy and mediation, security and other tools to prevent conflict from becoming violent. (A summary, Main Messages and Emerging Policy Directions, is also available.)