A peace process is the set of sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict.
Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare.
Boutros Boutros-Ghali was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) from January 1992 to December 1996. An academic and former Vice Foreign Minister of Egypt, Boutros-Ghali oversaw the UN over a period coinciding with several world crises, including the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Rwandan genocide. He went on to serve as the first Secretary-General of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie from 16 November 1997 to 31 December 2002.
Peace and conflict studies is a social science field that identifies and analyzes violent and nonviolent behaviours as well as the structural mechanisms attending conflicts, with a view towards understanding those processes which lead to a more desirable human condition. A variation on this, peace studies (irenology), is an interdisciplinary effort aiming at the prevention, de-escalation, and solution of conflicts by peaceful means, thereby seeking "victory" for all parties involved in the conflict.
The Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force which operated in Somalia from 5 December 1992 until 4 May 1993. A United States initiative, UNITAF was charged with carrying out United Nations Security Council Resolution 794 to create a protected environment for conducting humanitarian operations in the southern half of the country.
Peacebuilding is an activity that aims to resolve injustice in nonviolent ways and to transform the cultural & structural conditions that generate deadly or destructive conflict. It revolves around developing constructive personal, group, and political relationships across ethnic, religious, class, national, and racial boundaries. This process includes violence prevention; conflict management, resolution, or transformation; and post-conflict reconciliation or trauma healing, i.e., before, during, and after any given case of violence.
The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) is a United Nations Intergovernmental advisory body of both the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Security Council that supports peace efforts in conflict affected countries, and is a key addition to the capacity of the international community in the broad peace agenda. It was established in 2005 with the passage of both A/RES/60/180 and S/RES/1645
The Department of Peace Operations (DPO) is a department of the United Nations which is charged with the planning, preparation, management and direction of UN peacekeeping operations.
Peace enforcement is the use of military force to compel peace in a conflict, generally against the will of combatants. To do this, it generally requires more military force than peacekeeping operations. The United Nations, through its Security Council per Chapter VII of its charter, has the ability to authorize force to enforce its resolutions and ceasefires already created.
The United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nations (UN) with responsibility for monitoring and assessing global political developments and advising and assisting the UN Secretary General and his envoys in the peaceful prevention and resolution of conflict around the world. The department manages field-based political missions in Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East, and has in recent years been increasing its professional capacities in conflict mediation and preventive diplomacy. DPPA also oversees UN electoral assistance to Member States of the organization. Established in 1992, the department's responsibilities also include providing secretariat support to the UN Security Council and two standing committees created by the General Assembly concerning the Rights of the Palestinian People and Decolonization. DPPA is based at the UN Headquarters in New York City.
Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peace Operations as "a unique and dynamic instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is distinguished from peacebuilding, peacemaking, and peace enforcement although the United Nations does acknowledge that all activities are "mutually reinforcing" and that overlap between them is frequent in practice.
United Nations Security Council resolution 743, adopted unanimously on 21 February 1992, after reaffirming resolutions 713 (1991), 721 (1991), 724 (1991), 727 (1992) and 740 (1992), and considering that the situation in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia constitutes a threat to international peace and stability, the Council established a peacekeeping mission in the country, known as the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), with the aim of reaching a peaceful political settlement in the region.
United Nations Security Council resolution 795, adopted on 11 December 1992, after expressing concern about possible developments which could undermine confidence and stability in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and welcoming the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Macedonia, the Council recalled Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter and authorised the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to deploy a presence of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in the border areas of Macedonia.
United Nations Security Council resolution 834, adopted unanimously on 1 June 1993, after reaffirming resolutions 696 (1991), 747 (1992), 785 (1992), 793 (1992), 804 (1993), 811 (1993) and 823 (1993), the Council indicated its concern at the deteriorating political, military and humanitarian situation in Angola and extended the mandate of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission II for a period of 45 days ending 15 July 1993.
United Nations Security Council resolution 858, adopted unanimously on 24 August 1993, after recalling resolutions 849 (1993) and 854 (1993) and noting a ceasefire between Abkhazia and Georgia and commitments to withdraw forces, the Council established the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) for an initial period of 90 days pending further extension.
United Nations Security Council resolution 937, adopted on 21 July 1994, after reaffirming resolutions 849 (1993), 854 (1993), 858 (1993), 876 (1993), 881 (1993), 892 (1993), 896 (1994), 901 (1994), 906 (1994) and 934 (1994), the Council expanded the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) to include co-operation with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and extended its mandate until 13 January 1995.
Environmental peacebuilding examines and advocates environmental protection and cooperation as a factor in creating more peaceful relations. Peacebuilding is both the theory and practice of identifying the conditions that can lead to a sustainable peace between past, current or potential future adversaries. At the most basic level, warfare devastates ecosystems and the livelihoods of those who depend on natural resources, and the anarchy of conflict situations leads to the uncontrolled, destructive exploitation of natural resources. Preventing these impacts allows for an easier movement to a sustainable peace. From a more positive perspective, environmental cooperation can be one of the places where hostile parties can sustain a dialogue, and sustainable development is a prerequisite for a sustainable peace.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1645, adopted unanimously on 20 December 2005, acting concurrently with the United Nations General Assembly, the Council established the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission to advise on post-conflict situations, in accordance with the declaration of the 2005 World Summit.
Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh is an Iranian-American researcher, university lecturer, and United Nations consultant in peacebuilding, conflict resolution, counter-terrorism, and radicalization, best known for her work in "Human Security" and for contributions in the republics of Central Asia and Afghanistan. Currently, she is a lecturer at Sciences Po, researcher, and consultant to the United Nations.
Creative peacebuilding is a form of visual arts that offers a creative means to bring about peace within conflicted contexts. The use of the visual arts for effective peacebuilding emphasizes a consideration of the nature of the context where the tool is applied by not necessarily following a set format or paradigm. It reflects the potential to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, and interpretations geared towards establishing and sustaining peace.