By Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs
We are coming to the end of one of the most challenging years in the history of the United Nations. The catastrophic war between Israel and Hamas, the carnage in Sudan and the devastating fighting in Ukraine were only three of the acute crises the global community grappled with in 2025. Violent conflicts killed thousands of civilians around the world and led to widespread destruction of livelihoods and infrastructure. Global political divisions deepened, making international cooperation to promote peaceful resolution of conflict even more difficult. Compounding this dire situation, the United Nations — the body charged with bringing the world together to maintain peace and security — is facing a financial crisis that is constraining its capacity to respond.
As tough as the year has been, it has also served to confirm the need for sustained and adequate investment — political and financial — in peace efforts. The successful push to increase support for Haiti as it tackles widespread criminal violence that also threatens the region is a case in point. At times like these it is equally crucial to remember that peace is not only the absence of war, but that it is often built gradually, sometimes painstakingly, with gestures and actions big and small. As you’ll see in the stories and pieces we’ve compiled here, much of the world continues to look to the United Nations for support in creating or bolstering the institutions that prevent conflict, consolidate democracy and lay the ground for economic development. That is what we do in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) when we help countries hold inclusive elections or help competing groups settle differences at the negotiating table instead of the battlefield. We monitor global developments to keep the Security Council and the United Nations leadership informed and prepared to act to foster peace. We back up the work of the Council’s sanctions mechanisms. And we put the vast expertise and experience gathered over the last 80 years to work to help countries make the transition from violent turmoil to stability, including in many of our special political missions.
The international political environment is indeed difficult, but our commitment to supporting countries in their efforts to prevent and resolve conflict and build sustainable peace is undiminished. We look to the global community in turn to continue to back our work, politically and financially, to enable us to fulfill our important mandate.
Active Around the World
Here’s a quick look at some of our areas of work as covered in our online newsletter, Politically Speaking.
ELECTORAL ASSISTANCE
DPPA and the UN system provided electoral assistance to over 40 countries in 2025. In October, we looked at how this support aims to make elections worldwide peaceful, inclusive, and credible, always at the request of Member States and under national ownership. It highlights local examples — from Malawi to Liberia, Vanuatu, Ecuador, Jordan, and others — to show how assistance is adapted to each country’s needs, whether through strengthening electoral institutions, improving laws, supporting information integrity, or ensuring that women, youth, persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups can participate fully. Demand for UN electoral support is growing, even as funding declines, and multiple UN entities coordinate this work as a cost effective investment in good governance and conflict prevention.
“Genuine elections that reflect the will of the people are not guaranteed. Gains can be reversed. Sustained commitment and investment are essential to ensure inclusion, protect electoral integrity and maintain public trust.”
SANCTIONS
UN sanctions have evolved from broad, country-wide measures to more targeted tools — such as arms embargoes, travel bans and asset freezes — aimed at specific individuals, groups or sectors that threaten international peace and security. Today, 14 sanctions regimes support conflict resolution, counter terrorism and non-proliferation, and are designed to work alongside diplomacy, mediation and peace operations rather than punish entire populations.
“Security Council sanctions can be broadly considered as measures strategically imposed to restrict activities in a wide range of areas, aimed at achieving peace and security objectives.”
WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY
DPPA was a partner in the “Through Her Lens: Women Rising for Peace” photo exhibit, launched at the 2025 Photoville Festival. The exhibit showcases women as protagonists in making and keeping peace, challenging the stereotype of women as only victims of war.
“These images are more than art — they are a collective story of resilience, acts of resistance, and transformation.”
CONFLICT PREVENTION
Recent IMF research shows that well targeted macroeconomic policies can be a highly cost effective tool for preventing armed conflict. It is estimated that every $1 spent on prevention can yield returns of $26–$75 in countries without recent violence and up to $103 in countries emerging from conflict.
We looked at how DPPA and its Peacebuilding Support Office apply a “prevention lens” in practice, working with international financial institutions and governments to design and implement national prevention and peacebuilding plans, support youth empowerment and inclusion, and engage early in fragile contexts through diplomacy, mediation and local peacebuilding efforts.
“We found that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Indigenous Peoples, though disproportionately affected by climate risks and conflict, remain underrepresented in decision-making, even as they steward a large share of the world’s land and biodiversity. In 2025, we examined Indigenous-led, climate-informed peacebuilding, focusing on the shift from viewing Indigenous communities as vulnerable groups to recognizing them as key partners.
“Please don’t worry about us, just include us.”
Looking Back … and Ahead
The situation in five countries on the Security Council’s agenda — and monitored by DPPA — saw significant developments in 2025, reflecting, notably, the effects of a substantially changed geopolitical landscape.
Gaza continued to retain much of the Security Council’s attention during 2025. DPPA and UNSCO, the Jerusalem-based special political mission it oversees, briefed the Council regularly on the impact of the fighting in the territory and the need to reach a ceasefire, release the hostages and prisoners and allow the unimpeded delivery of aid into Gaza. In September, the United States, with Egypt and Qatar, brokered a ceasefire in Gaza, which was welcomed by the Secretary-General and later endorsed in October by the Council in resolution 2803. Briefing the Council in December, Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said the ceasefire “remains fragile, as we have seen with continued attacks and strikes in Gaza.” He welcomed the “ongoing efforts by the mediators to avert further escalation, support implementation of current commitments — including the recovery and return of the last Israeli hostage — and to advance discussions on the next phase and implementation of the Comprehensive Plan for Gaza, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2803.” UNSCO and DPPA continue to support the implementation of the ceasefire by supporting humanitarian efforts and providing expertise and advice on ceasefire implementation to pave the way toward a path to a political process and sustainable peace.
Amid broadly somber global political sentiment at the beginning 2025, there were some signs of hope, and none more prominent than the change of government in Syria after decades of repression and 14 years of a bloody conflict. As Bashar al-Assad fled Syria in December 2024, the Secretary-General said: “We will need the support of the international community to ensure that any political transition is inclusive and comprehensive and that it meets the legitimate aspirations of the people of Syria, in all their diversity.” Many countries lifted bilateral sanctions on Syria in 2025, and in November, the Security Council removed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Minister of Interior Anas Hasan Khattab from its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List. In December 2025, Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council that, “[o]ne year ago, the hope of millions of Syrians was realized when then President Assad fled the country.” She commended the people of Syria for the progress made since, “despite the undeniable and daunting challenges before them.” She added that the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, the special political mission for the country, continues to be fully engaged with the Government and Syrian society and provides them with good offices support on issues related to the transition, including transitional justice. The Office, with DPPA support, is seeking to be on the ground in Damascus to engage in a structured and supportive way throughout the transition.
In Sudan, however, there is no end in sight to the war. After nearly 1000 days of brutal fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the country is in the grip of the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Throughout 2025, UN leaders condemned the violence at the hands of both parties. In October, shortly after the fall of El Fasher to the RSF, Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee warned: “The risk of mass atrocities, ethnically targeted violence and further violations of international humanitarian law, including sexual violence, remains alarmingly high across the country, and particularly in El Fasher.”
The situation is simply horrifying. In the past week, the UN Human Rights Office has documented widespread and serious human rights violations in and around El Fasher. These include credible reports of mass killings in various locations and summary executions during house-to-house searches and as civilians have tried to flee the city.
The conflict is being fanned by other countries in the region and farther afield. As Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari told the Council in December, “The continued supply of weapons — increasingly sophisticated and deadly — remains a key driver of the conflict. Sudan is saturated with arms. Calls to end these flows have gone unheeded, and there has been no accountability. Moreover, the parties remain unwilling to compromise or de-escalate. While they were able to stop fighting to preserve oil revenues, they have so far failed to do the same to protect their population.”
The Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, is in contact with the warring parties to encourage them to engage in discussions on concrete and implementable measures to de-escalate violence and advance the protection of civilians in Sudan. Lamamra is also engaging closely with members of the Quad, composed of the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. “Consistent coordination of peace efforts is essential to increase our collective impact,” Khiari said, adding that preparations are underway for the fifth Consultative Meeting on Enhancing Coordination of Peace Initiatives. The next meeting is expected to be held in Cairo in early 2026.
The situation remained critical in Haiti in 2025, but there was also a significant breakthrough. The Security Council in September authorized the creation of a multinational, non-UN mission — the Gang Suppression Force — to counter the criminal groups terrorizing the population. The Council took on board several important recommendations by the Secretary-General to make increased security support for Haiti more effective, notably the establishment of a support office funded by the UN’s peacekeeping budget — UNSOH — to provide logistical and other backing to the GSF. Speaking to the Council in October, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti Carlos Ruiz Massieu said the establishment of the GSF and UNSOH reflected “the continued engagement of the Security Council in supporting the restoration of security in Haiti. More importantly, it has generated a renewed sense of hope among Haitians.” He emphasized that improving the security situation is vital to support Haitian-led efforts to advance the political process and set the stage for elections to renew the country’s political institutions. The Special Representative heads BINUH, the UN’s special political mission in Haiti.
In Libya, too, there was progress in 2025 in preparation for future elections. Through its integrated electoral team, UNSMIL continued to provide technical and advisory support to the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) in the organization of municipal council elections across the country. Building on the successful polling conducted in November 2024, HNEC implemented a phased nationwide approach, with polling conducted in over one hundred municipalities in 2025 and additional local elections anticipated in 2026. In December, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) announced the launch of a key step in an initiative announced at the end of 2024 to help clear a path to national elections and unified institutions. On 14 and 15 December, over 120 Libyan personalities — representing key sovereign institutions, civil society actors, political parties, academia, cultural and linguistic components — took part in the inaugural session of the Structured Dialogue, a forum mandated to generate recommendations to, among others, create the conditions for credible elections, bring an end to successive transitional arrangements, advance economic and security sector reforms and support national reconciliation and human rights. The Structured Dialogue is an integral part of the political roadmap that UNSMIL is facilitating and that Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya Hannah Tetteh presented to the Council in August. Addressing the Council in December, Tetteh, the head of UNSMIL, said “the country’s path to elections remains fraught with complications that are challenging, but we believe can be overcome.”
In February, as the expanded war in Ukraine hit the three-year mark after the full-scale Russian invasion, Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo underscored the need for a just and comprehensive peace, in line with the Charter of the United Nations, international law, and resolutions of the General Assembly. A month later, the Under-Secretary-General told the Council that it was meeting at a potential inflection point in the war amid intensified efforts to bring the parties to negotiations. However, despite cautious optimism around resumed diplomatic efforts, 2025 has been particularly deadly for Ukrainian civilians. In November, the Under-Secretary-General visited Ukraine to express solidarity with the Ukrainian people and reiterate the call for a just and lasting peace. In Ukraine and before the Council throughout 2025, the Under-Secretary-General and other senior DPPA officials consistently conveyed the UN’s readiness to support all meaningful efforts to achieve such a peace.
