In Our Common Agenda, the Secretary-General has called for enhanced investment in prevention and peacebuilding. This call reflects the recognition that investment in conflict resolution, prevention and peacebuilding is cost-effective.
Two billion people live in countries affected by conflict. Wars drive 80 per cent of all humanitarian needs. In 2021, the economic impact of armed conflict increased by 27 per cent, reaching $559.3 billion. It has been estimated that a scaled-up system for preventive action would save the world between $5 billion and $70 billion every year, which could be re-invested in reducing poverty and improving the wellbeing of populations. Investing in prevention is one of the most cost-effective ways to secure development gains and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The year 2023 marks a new beginning for the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA).
The Department is leading the development of a New Agenda for Peace. Our new Strategic Plan comes at a pivotal time and sets out a vision and priorities until 2026. It looks at how DPPA is contributing to lessen tensions and changing the trajectory of conflicts.
The Plan is ambitious yet realistic: we have refined our goals and strategic objectives while signaling continuity of focus and mandates. The Plan reflects the progress we have made in recent years to consolidate our structures, balancing crisis response and diplomacy with longer-term prevention and peacebuilding engagement. It also clearly sets out the need for prioritization and emphasis on impact where it matters: on the ground. The Strategic Plan further articulates our lead role in devising and coordinating political strategy across the UN system.
The achievement of the new Strategic Plan is dependent on the availability of sufficient, predictable and sustained resources.
A retooled MYA in support of the Strategic Plan
In the next cycle, rising inflation will continue to affect the regular budget. ODA allocations will continue to drop with significant impact for peacebuilding, conflict prevention and resolution. Resources for conflict prevention are shrinking even as crises multiply.
In an environment characterized by crisis, demand for DPPA engagement is projected to increase. Global developments also force us to become more creative, flexible and dynamic in responding to incipient signs of violence and providing our expertise in mediation, peacemaking, electoral assistance, and other areas, as requested. Work in all of these areas is funded by the Multi-Year Appeal (MYA).
In the current financial context, the MYA, our main fundraising tool, is more important than ever. MYA funding supports both core and non-core capacities, making it indispensable to DPPA as it delivers on its mandate. It funds core support in the form of augmented capacities at Headquarters and in the field (e.g., staff, travel), while also allowing us to be more operational, facilitating deployments and activities around the world at short notice. On average, one-third of DPPA’s staffing capacities and more than 90 per cent of its travel needs are funded through the MYA.
MYA Growth Scenario
Under its new Multi-Year Appeal, DPPA is requesting $170 million
to cover its needs and operations until 2026.
What’s funded under the MYA?
Highlights of activities and capacities funded by the MYA with $1 million:
Thematic Windows
The four thematic windows have dedicated earmarked funding to maximize efficiency and impact.
The booster effect of the MYA can be expressed in three ways:
DO MORE, ACT FASTER, AND AMPLIFY.
Out of $170 million requested, 70 per cent of the MYA funding is unearmarked to grant DPPA the flexibility to deploy rapidly and in response to acute needs.
The MYA is also an INCUBATOR OF IDEAS and increasingly invests in new areas, such as
innovation and new technologies and expanding the interlinkages between climate change and
peace and security challenges.
WE KNOW WE CAN DO IT
An underfunded MYA could limit DPPA’s operational reach, translating into reduced capacity to deliver under the new Strategic Plan for 2023-2026.
The Multi-Year Appeal embodies our conviction that peace is priceless, and that peace is possible.
PEACE IS PRICELESS. AND POSSIBLE.
