DPPA's Annual Report under the Multi-Year Appeal showcases how voluntary contributions made a difference in 2019, allowing us to be more operational and seize opportunities to prevent violence and defuse tensions in mission and non-mission settings such as Bolivia, El Salvador, Papua New Guinea-Bougainville, Sudan, Ukraine, and Yemen.
DPPA's Strategic Plan 2020-2022 is the basis upon which the Department will prioritize its engagements to prevent conflict and sustain peace over the coming three years.
The Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs' (DPPA) new Multi-Year Appeal (MYA) for 2020-2022 carries special significance, for reasons of symbolism and of substance. It marks 10 years since the Department first asked Member States for voluntary contributions to support its work. And, with the launch of our new Strategic Plan for 2020-2022, it provides the means to help secure DPPA’s position as a central part of the UN’s conflict prevention, peacemaking and peacebuilding work over for the next three years, a longer span than any previous appeal.
Report on progress achieved in the delivery of its mandate in the period between July and September 2019.
DPPA is pleased to issue its Quarterly Report (01 April to 30 June) covering activities funded under the Multi-Year Appeal. During the reporting period, the Department made further progress, thanks to funding under the Multi-Year Appeal (MYA), in assisting Special political Missions (SPMs) and non-mission settings, as well as servicing the whole UN system in the areas of electoral assistance, conflict prevention, crisis response and mediation. DPPA also organized a field visit to Addis Ababa on 3 and 4 June to inform partners of its work with regional organizations.
Examples of the UN's conflict prevention and mediation work in Africa.
The 2018 Annual Report on the Multi-Year Appeal (MYA) provides an overview of success stories for the year as well as ongoing challenges. Partnerships with regional and sub-regional organizations feature prominently in the document, which also lists examples of collaboration with the UN Peacebuilding Fund, UN Country Teams, the World Bank and the Joint UNDP-DPPA Programme on Conflict Prevention, among others. In 2018 the MYA allowed DPPA to mobilize a total of $35.6 million from 30 partners. Remarkably, up of 69 per cent of the total received was unearmarked, which demonstrates the confidence partners place on the Department.
The 2019 Update of the Multi-Year Appeal (MYA) is being released at a significant turning point, as the Department of Political Affairs transforms into the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), following the reform of the United Nations peace and security pillar. The Update reflects on the opportunities created by the reform and its “whole-of-pillar” approach. Following the reform, the extra-budgetary funding mechanisms of the two former Departments (DPA and DPKO) and PBSO will co-exist and complement one another, resulting in more synergies in the peace and security work of the Organization.
DPA’s mission is to help prevent and reduce violent conflicts and sustain peace through inclusive political solutions. The Department’s Theory of Change recognizes that a multitude of actors and variables affect achievement of the Department’s mandate. Therefore, deep and effective partnerships, within the United Nations system and outside it, are required to address root or immediate causes that lead to violent conflict. As conflict is complex and its dynamics are embedded in societal, economic, legal and political systems, conflict prevention and management require a non-linear and cyclical approach.
DPA’s Strategic Plan is also accompanied by a Results Framework to assist in the monitoring and evaluation of DPA’s performance in the period 2016-2019. A biennial Results Framework with the expected accomplishments and indicators was defined for the first two years (2016-2017). Following a mid-term review, the second (2018-2019) biennial Results Framework was developed for the remaining two years of the Strategic Plan.
The objectives of the Results Framework are to: 1) Operationalize the priorities of the Strategic Plan (SP) into concrete and achievable results; 2) Support integrated planning across Divisions of the Department; 3) Support better and more regular monitoring and reporting of achievements; 4) Form the basis for the Annual Work Plans (AWPs) of the Divisions and Offices of the Department.
This annual report shows how donor contributions allowed DPA to extend its assistance and expertise to help prevent or mitigate conflict and sustain peace in countries around the world, expand its network of regional presences, and to continue to work for more inclusion of women, minorities, indigenious peoples and marginalized groups in conflict prevention, peace processes and peacebuilding.
The Multi-Year Appeal 2018-2019 lays out the priorities for the biennium, taking into account the Secretary-General’s vision and focus on prevention, and in line with DPA’s Strategic Plan for 2016-2019. Under the overarching priorities of the Strategic Plan, the MYA 2018-2019 puts emphasis on inclusive processes as part of setting the agenda for conflict prevention and as a cross-cutting theme in all areas of our work. The MYA continues investments in sustaining peace and further strengthening of partnerships and common agendas with regional and sub-regional organizations.
2016 was a year of transition for the United Nations. In his last year at the helm of the Organization, former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon moved to translate the conclusions of the wide ranging and recent reviews of the United Nations peace and security work into meaningful reforms and action, and saw the adoption of the landmark “Sustaining Peace” resolutions. The United Nations also welcomed a new leader, António Guterres, who has made a “surge in diplomacy for peace” his clarion call. These changes, along with the continuously evolving “conflict landscape” that gave rise to them, promise to have a transformational effect on the Department of Political Affairs (DPA).
The 2017 Update complements the MYA 2016-2017, providing an overview of what’s new for 2017 with a particular focus on DPA’s response to the twin “Sustaining Peace” resolutions adopted by the Security Council and the General Assembly in April 2016.
This Strategic Plan sets out a vision for DPA that is centered on the need to promote inclusive political solutions as the key to preventing, managing or resolving conflicts and acts of political violence, while ensuring long lasting solutions that reduce human suffering and make peace sustainable. The Strategic Plan complements and integrates many aspects of the GA approved biennial Strategic Frameworks 2016/17 and 2018/19, and comprises three goals involving eight strategic objectives.
The report examines MYA projects at a whole-portfolio level, while identifying specific areas for in-depth evaluation. The assessment analyses the relevance of the MYA testing, the logical connection between MYA projects and DPPA’s high level objectives; examines the effectiveness of the MYA portfolio of projects in delivering valued results; and considers questions of cost-efficiency, asking whether the MYA portfolio is applying funds in an efficient way to minimize costs. The assessment articulates a clear ‘value claim’ of the MYA for the first time, which will be helpful in future discussions with our divisions.
Undertaken by an independent consultant, the assessment concludes that the MYA has been able to deliver value-for-money at multiple levels, ensuring good use of resources.
