On 6 November 2007, the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) hosted jointly with the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) a one-day conference entitled 'Our Common Peacebuilding Challenge: the Contribution of International Geneva'. The Chairman of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) and the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support delivered keynote addresses.

Attended by over 150 representatives of Governments, United Nations entities, regional and sub-regional organizations and civil society, the event was intended to nurture a greater engagement between the PBC and the key stakeholders located outside of United Nations Headquarters in New York. The overall objective was to ensure that the practical experience and expertise of this multitude of actors would feed into the deliberations of the Commission. The aim was to produce practical recommendations that could serve to inform and bolster the international community’s peacebuilding response through the PBC.

Conference synopsis

Press release

Final agenda

Biographies of speakers and moderators

Concept note


Format and objectives
Participation
Additional background
The conference followed on from the project entitled “The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission and International Geneva”, launched by GCSP with the financial support of the Swiss Government and organized in association with the Quaker United Nations Office, the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, and other partners. The mapping of the peacebuilding capacities in Geneva, the International Geneva Peacebuilding Guide, was part of this project. The preliminary results of this mapping exercise were presented at GCSP on 12 September 2007, and also formed the basis of one of the session at the 6 November 2007 event.

Building on this GCSP-led project and on the strength of the rich presence of stakeholders in Geneva, the one-day event aimed at broadening our common understanding of the gaps in the international community’s post-conflict peacebuilding response, raising awareness of joint capabilities and identifying avenues for further developing the effort.