In November 2025, the UN Security Council and General Assembly unanimously adopted twin resolutions (A/RES/80/11 and S/RES/2805) on the UN peacebuilding architecture review (PBAR). In the resolutions, member states decided to establish an annual “peacebuilding week” in June with the aim of “raising awareness” of the UN’s peacebuilding and sustaining peace work, “fostering inclusive dialogue on peacebuilding approaches,” and convening a wide range of stakeholders to share expertise and evidence on peacebuilding. The inaugural Peacebuilding Week took place from June 22nd to 26th in New York and around the world under the theme “UN Peacebuilding@20: Partnerships for Innovation, Inclusion, and Impact.”

The month of June is historically significant for the UN peacebuilding architecture, as the first meeting of the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) took place on June 23, 2006. Peacebuilding Week builds on previous commemoration initiatives, including efforts to organize the PBC’s high-level annual session in the last week of June and the designation of June 23rd as “Peacebuilding Day,” which is typically marked by a statement from the secretary-general. Unlike previous efforts, however, the inaugural edition of Peacebuilding Week benefited from a robust five-day schedule of over 50 events organized by UN entities, member states, and civil society in New York, with several others held around the world. Combined with the involvement of various non-UN actors, the initiative was also widely promoted through UN communication platforms, lending greater visibility and momentum and drawing significant attention to the peacebuilding agenda.

Peacebuilding against the Backdrop of Reform

The inaugural Peacebuilding Week took place against the backdrop of a UN system undergoing structural reforms and facing increased financial constraints. The ongoing liquidity and budget crises that triggered the UN80 reform initiative have led to significant changes in the UN Secretariat’s peacebuilding office, including staff cuts in 2025. In January, the former Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) within the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) became the Peacebuilding and Peace Support Office (PBPSO)—situated as a joint office under DPPA and the Department of Peace Operations (DPO). Three teams formerly part of DPO’s Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) merged into the new PBPSO, including the sections covering disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR), security sector reform (SSR), and justice and corrections. PBPSO’s leadership has also undergone changes, with the departure of the office’s longtime deputy head and the arrival of several new directors and chiefs, mainly from the former OROLSI sections.

The week provided a platform for PBPSO to introduce the new office’s identity and articulate its vision for how the recent reforms can strengthen its support to national authorities and local communities. The reconfiguration has the potential to meaningfully enhance PBPSO’s impact in the field. As a joint office of DPO and DPPA, it is now better placed to advance the peace operations–peacebuilding nexus and foster closer ties to missions deployed through both departments. Coupled with the integration of DDR, SSR, and rule of law expertise from the former OROLSI sections, this new positioning may allow PBPSO to better inform UN programming in these areas—including projects supported by the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF)—in peace operations settings.

Beyond these structural changes within the Secretariat, the secretary-general’s PBF has faced financial constraints and is undergoing its own changes. Demand for the fund has continued to exceed available resources, while voluntary contributions and the number of voluntary donors have declined over the past three years. In December 2023, the General Assembly decided to approve $50 million of assessed contributions annually to the PBF. The use of assessed contributions began in 2025, but because of the ongoing liquidity crisis, only $6 million had been transferred to the PBF by the end of last year. As a result, the PBF is taking measures to prioritize programming in active conflict areas with urgent peacebuilding needs, which may result in fewer resources being available for prevention.

Against this backdrop, the week provided an opportunity to draw attention to the PBF. Ahead of the week, the secretary-general circulated a letter to member states renewing his call for additional voluntary contributions—an ask he reiterated during the PBC’s annual session on June 25th. As the office continues to develop a new multiyear strategy for the PBF, discussions on its impact and lessons learned during Peacebuilding Week could help inform the fund’s future direction, especially as it faces declining contributions and slides down the list of member states’ priorities.

Building on the PBAR

During Peacebuilding Week, there was a renewed focus on ensuring that the UN’s peacebuilding institutions are appropriately structured and resourced to support peacebuilding in the field. In the twin resolutions, member states articulated a vision for what needs to change to ensure that the UN system can most effectively deliver for communities. Since then, member states, the UN, and other stakeholders have begun to define how the resolutions should be operationalized—a major focus of many of the week’s discussions.

A central goal for the week was to raise the visibility of the work of the UN’s peacebuilding institutions in the field by highlighting their impact. Responding to the PBAR’s call for more evidence-based approaches, PBPSO leveraged evidence gathered through its Peacebuilding Impact Hub to highlight how PBF-supported programming helps to build and sustain peace. PBPSO launched a new impact evaluation of investments on the Mali–Niger border, debuted a documentary film on the Gambia’s peacebuilding journey, and released its first biennial “Global Peacebuilding Overview Report” with recommendations for adapting peacebuilding approaches.

For the PBC, Peacebuilding Week was a chance to showcase its relevance and impact to a wider audience. The commission is not well known outside policy circles in New York, leading member states to request in the PBAR that the PBC enhance the visibility of its work. Peacebuilding Week provided the first major opportunity to do that. In addition to the events in New York, activities on Peacebuilding Week took place in 23 countries—many of which have engaged with the PBC, including Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, Haiti, Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritania, Papua New Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sri Lanka, and the Gambia.

The PBC’s annual session—its signature event—focused on lessons from its two-decade history. The high-level session featured remarks by the secretary-general, the president of Guatemala, and ministers from Liberia and Haiti, as well as an interactive panel discussion with representatives of the World Bank and the African Development Bank, a private sector stakeholder, and civil society participants. The PBAR also requested that the PBC strengthen its impact, including through regular follow-up, monitoring, and assessment of its activities. Here, the commission’s leadership seems to be prioritizing convenings that build on past engagements to ensure follow-up and progress—though translating these discussions in New York into outcomes in the field remains a work in progress.

Finally, the UN is not the sole peacebuilding actor, and maximizing impact requires strengthening partnerships—a point reflected in the week’s theme. Egypt and Slovenia, as co-facilitators of the PBAR, took the lead on coordinating member state–led side events focused on advancing partnerships within and outside the UN system, including among the UN, member states, civil society, international financial institutions, regional and subregional organizations, and the private sector. Civil society–led side events drew attention to the work of local peacebuilders and engagement on the ground.

Though this year’s edition emphasized member-state leadership, as the organizer of the annual CSO–UN dialogue, PBPSO is uniquely placed to meaningfully engage civil society actors. During Peacebuilding Week, PBPSO held a stocktaking meeting to reflect on the previous CSO–UN dialogues. Continuing to meaningfully engage with civil society will be key to maximizing the impact and visibility of the week’s discussions beyond New York.

Overarching Takeaways

Peacebuilding Week provided an opportunity to draw attention to the UN’s peacebuilding work and for member states to reaffirm their commitment to its institutions. In the spirit of other thematic weeks, it built momentum for action by placing a spotlight on peacebuilding. The week also surfaced two broader themes.

First, the week’s discussions highlighted the need to link policy discussions in New York with realities in the field to enhance the effectiveness and impact of peacebuilding approaches. Relatedly, discussions revealed the importance of linking top-down, nationally led peacebuilding approaches with bottom-up, community-level efforts. National prevention and peacebuilding strategies—a focus of the PBAR—were discussed at length throughout the week and offer one way of operationalizing this link. The PBF, through its programming, can also play an important role in bridging gaps between the national and local levels. The PBC, however, has been less successful in doing so and will need to explore ways to address this challenge.

Second, the week revealed that member states’ willingness to engage with the peacebuilding architecture, and their attitude toward the peacebuilding and sustaining peace agenda, continue to evolve. A wide range of member states spoke during the week about their own peacebuilding journeys, mirroring member states’ increased engagement with the PBC over the past few years. This engagement has come from countries across the peace continuum—with countries from Germany to Syria to Kenya to Haiti highlighting why building and sustaining peace is important in their national contexts—reflecting the universalization of the peacebuilding and sustaining peace agenda.

Looking Ahead

While the inaugural peacebuilding week accomplished its goal of drawing attention to the peacebuilding architecture, strategic shifts loom on the horizon. The selection of a new secretary-general—and subsequent leadership changes—will shape the future evolution of the peacebuilding architecture. Secretary-General António Guterres and his office have placed conflict prevention at the center of peacebuilding and emphasized new partnerships—themes that were central to the PBAR. Whether or not future leaders push for radical changes, their commitment to peacebuilding may differ from the current secretary-general’s. Notably, during the General Assembly interactive dialogues, none of the six current candidates for secretary-general mentioned “peacebuilding” or directly addressed the UN’s peacebuilding architecture, even when member states brought up the topic in their questions.

The second edition of Peacebuilding Week will help feed into the new secretary-general’s first report on peacebuilding and sustaining peace, expected to be submitted to the General Assembly and the Security Council in the fall of 2027. It will be among the first opportunities for the new leadership to outline its vision for the UN’s role in peacebuilding. Thus, while this year’s historic initiative offered an opportunity to engage a wide array of stakeholders and mobilize action to advance the implementation of PBAR, the second edition of Peacebuilding Week may prove even more significant.