New Mid-Year Report Highlights Vital Role of the Multi-Year Appeal in Enabling Prevention, Peacemaking Work

Politically Speaking
5 min readOct 25, 2024

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The newly released report underlines how DPPA is able to undertake a wide variety of its peace promotion work, as well as supporting regional cooperation, electoral support, climate security and youth engagement, through voluntary contributions from Member States.

I n an era that has become increasingly defined by conflict and crises, the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) and its special political missions are working around the clock to prevent violent conflict and build lasting peace. The Department’s 2024 Mid-Year Report details how its chief fundraising mechanism — the Multi-Year Appeal — enables it to engage in a broad spectrum of activities, from mediation to supporting democratic processes. As 2024 unfolds, the importance of these voluntary contributions from Member States has never been clearer.

Mid-year achievements

Over the first half of 2024, DPPA used MYA funding to deploy its Standby Team of Senior Mediation Advisers to 71 assignments across the globe, from Chile to Vanuatu. These advisors helped lay the groundwork for peaceful resolutions to conflicts, facilitating dialogue and building trust between warring parties.

In 2024, roughly half the population of the world is expected to go to the polls. In the first half of the year, with MYA funding, the Department coordinated technical assistance for electoral processes in over 50 member states, contributing to 12 elections in countries including Chad, Ecuador, and Pakistan.

May 2024 referendum in Vanuatu on constitutional amendment. Photo credit: DPPA

Through MYA funding, DPPA has ensured that local and regional voices are heard, by enhancing its engagement on peace and security issues. To that end, the Department has stepped up its collaboration with regional organizations like the African Union, the League of Arab States, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Its partnership with these bodies recognizes that an understanding of local and regional dynamics is essential to conflict resolution efforts.

The report also describes how MYA funding has enabled the Department to address the climate crisis and its impact on security and stability. Climate change can trigger population displacement, in turn leading to disputes over scarce resources, such as land and water. In 2024, DPPA deployed Climate, Peace and Security (CPS) advisors to the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) and the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) to tackle these issues and create innovation solutions with which to address them.

The flexibility afforded by MYA funding is crucial for the UN’s special political missions (SPMs), allowing for fast responses to emerging challenges. In Colombia, for example, the MYA enabled the UN Verification Mission to facilitate negotiations between the government and armed groups, including the ELN. The results were a clear indication that timely interventions can make a concrete difference in conflict resolution efforts.

Children playing at a soccer championship kicked off in the former Territorial Training and Reincorporation Area (TATR) Tierra Grata in Manaure, department of Cesar, 14 April 2024. Photo credit: UN Verification Mission in Colombia.

In Sudan, MYA funding has supported international mediation efforts, providing real-time monitoring that informs Security Council discussions. MYA funding was also instrumental in enhancing the work of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General, who is working in close collaboration with regional actors in accordance with Security Council resolution 2724 (2024). These efforts culminated in the Mediators Planning Retreat in Djibouti in late July, which convened all relevant multilateral organizations and Member States.

The MYA is the sole source of funding for DPPA’s work on Israel-Palestine and the Middle East Peace Process. It ensures that the Department remains able to provide timely analysis and recommendations regarding ongoing tensions.

Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland briefs the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, 29 May 2024. Photo credit: UN Photo

The MYA is also instrumental in advancing the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda, underscoring the Department’s commitment to peacebuilding that is inclusive and participatory. By encouraging innovative practices and integrating rapidly advancing technology such as artificial intelligence, DPPA is enhancing its capacity to support the active participation of women and youth in peace processes. This commitment is reflected in ongoing investments in Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) initiatives, recognizing that young people are not only stakeholders in their own futures, but also key agents of change.

Pacific and Northeast Asian youth participate a workshop co-hosted by DPPA and UNDP in Samoa, 25 March 2024. Photo credit: DPPA

The MYA helps foster a culture of learning within DPPA, through evaluative exercises that continuously improve the impact and effectiveness of its work. By monitoring and analyzing its strategies, DPPA ensures that its efforts are responsive to the rapidly evolving global landscape.

“The MYA is vital in ensuring DPPA’s capability to address multiple protracted conflicts and crises,” said Markus Bouillon, Chief of the Office of the Under-Secretary-General of DPPA. “As the Mid-Year Report shows, the Appeal is a lifeline, enabling the Department — and our Special Political Missions — to work collaboratively with partners and deploy innovative approaches in our efforts to ensure a more peaceful world.”

As the Department moved across the half-way point of 2024, it had received $18.9 million of the $42 million needed to sustain its vital work. This shortfall underscores the urgent need for continued support from UN member states, whose voluntary contributions are indispensable for our work towards peace and stability around the globe. In an era where the challenges are multifaceted, the work of DPPA — and the contributions that sustain it — remind us that collective action is not just necessary, but essential.

To read the Multi-Year-Appeal 2024 Mid Year Report, click here.

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Politically Speaking
Politically Speaking

Written by Politically Speaking

The online magazine of the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs