With a record level of conflict worldwide — and an estimated 20,000 lives lost to violence each month — UN Peacebuilding Chief Elizabeth Spehar explains why peacebuilding is the smartest investment we can make.
ASG Spehar addresses the root causes of conflict and the conditions necessary for lasting peace.
Since it began operating in 2006, the Peacebuilding Fund has:
• Invested over USD 2 billion
• Supported more than 75 countries and territories
• Worked through 24 UN entities and over 80 civil society organizations.
From supporting Colombia’s peace process and justice for victims, to safeguarding peacekeeping gains in the Central African Republic.
“For two decades, the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund have helped communities emerge from the darkness of war,” Secretary-General António Guterres said, addressing the Peacebuilding Commission’s annual session marking the 20th anniversary of the Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund.
“That spirit of healing and of hope could not be more vital today. Across the globe, we are witnessing more conflicts than at any point since the Second World War,” the Secretary-General said.
The session is part of UN Peacebuilding Week 2026, running June 22-26 at UN Headquarters in New York. The commemoration is mandated by 2025 General Assembly resolution A/RES/80/11 and Security Council resolution S/RES/2805 on the Peacebuilding Architecture Review, timed to coincide with the Commission’s first session in June 2006.
Guterres cited the Commission’s record across several countries, pointing to its role grounding peacebuilding “in local realities” in Colombia, convening across borders in the Sahel to advance the UN Integrated Strategy, supporting the Central African Republic’s first local elections in 30 years, and helping Liberia transition from the departure of UN peacekeepers to a nationally owned strategy.
He credited the Peacebuilding Fund with acting as a “catalytic financing instrument” that has backed more than 70 countries worldwide and said the Fund — now bolstered by assessed contributions — is also helping states “from Mauritania to São Tomé and Príncipe” draft national prevention and peacebuilding strategies under the Pact for the Future. He called the shift to assessed funding “a true vote of confidence” but urged Member States to keep up voluntary contributions to match “the speed and scale peacebuilding demands.”
He closed by urging all Member States “to renew their commitment to a future free from violence.”
Opening the session, Omar Hilale, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations and Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, called it “an immense privilege to open this annual session in the very room where, 20 years ago, the United Nations made the wager that has since defined an era — that peace, once won, must be preserved, and that this cannot be done by any single actor acting alone.”
He added that “over two decades, our commission has fully served the objectives of its founding resolution and has provided the countries on its agenda with sustained attention and long-term support,” noting it had brought together “the development system, international financial institutions, regional organizations, civil society and the private sector” around the same table.
Leonor Zalabata Torres, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations, also addressed the session in her capacity as President of the Security Council for June. She said national efforts to build, sustain and maintain peace “are essential to the promotion and maintenance of international peace and security,” and reaffirmed the Council’s recognition of the Peacebuilding Commission “as an intergovernmental advisory body for coordination and convening, as well as a dedicated platform for bringing together relevant actors” in support of national peacebuilding efforts.
According to UN figures, the Peacebuilding Fund has invested more than $2 billion since becoming operational in 2006, supporting over 75 countries and territories through 24 UN entities and more than 80 civil society organizations.
Two deadly earthquakes struck Venezuela less than a minute apart on Wednesday, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, causing at least 164 deaths and widespread destruction in and around the capital, Caracas as international assistance begins to arrive early Thursday, with UN agencies rapidly deploying aid, support and rescue teams.
Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– Venezuela/Earthquakes
– Venezuela
– Colombia
– Sudan
– UNIFIL
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Central Emergency Relief Fund
– Uganda
– Ukraine
– UN Charter Day
– The Day of the Seafarer
VENEZUELA/EARTHQUAKES
The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread destruction caused by the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela yesterday. He extends his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured.
Initial reports indicate significant destruction across several states, including in the capital Caracas. Many people have reportedly been killed and injured, while others remain trapped or are still missing. Critical infrastructure has been damaged and basic services have been disrupted.
The United Nations in Venezuela, including the Humanitarian Country Team, is mobilizing assistance and working closely with the Government and our partners to support the response. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is facilitating the deployment of urban search-and-rescue teams.
The Secretary-General welcomes the offers of solidarity and support from Member States at this critical time.
The Secretary-General expresses his solidarity with the people and Government of Venezuela.
VENEZUELA
The Government of Venezuela has declared a state of emergency, while international support is rapidly mobilizing, including incoming Urban Search and Rescue teams from different countries and multiple offers of assistance from across the region and beyond.
Tom Fletcher, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, said in a statement this morning that the UN and our humanitarian partners are fully mobilized to support the people of Venezuela. UN agencies are mobilizing assistance and will deliver support as quickly as possible. Our team in country is in close contact with Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and relevant national authorities.
A central coordination hub has been established in Caracas, with the UN supporting efforts on the ground to ensure that assistance reaches those most in need as quickly and effectively as possible.
OCHA is also supporting the coordination of incoming international search-and-rescue teams expected to arrive in the coming hours.
For its part, UNHCR says that the effects of the earthquake are likely to exacerbate existing protection risks, particularly for returnees, displaced people and communities already facing barriers to services. These risks include heightened risks of gender-based violence and unsafe or inadequate housing, and reduced access to health care, water, education and livelihoods, among others.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-06-25
With a record level of conflict worldwide — and an estimated 20,000 lives lost to violence each month — UN Peacebuilding Chief Elizabeth Spehar explains why peacebuilding is the smartest investment we can make.
ASG Spehar addresses the root causes of conflict and the conditions necessary for lasting peace.
Since it began operating in 2006, the Peacebuilding Fund has:
• Invested over USD 2 billion
• Supported more than 75 countries and territories
• Worked through 24 UN entities and over 80 civil society organizations.
From supporting Colombia’s peace process and justice for victims, to safeguarding peacekeeping gains in the Central African Republic.
“When States become the main violators of the rights of children, this signals a dramatic disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law, and an erosion of the principle that States bear the primary responsibility to protect their populations, including children,” a senior UN official said.
Briefing the Security Council, Vanessa Frazier, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said, “The United Nations Monitoring and Reporting mechanism verified 38,558 grave violations against children, affecting 24,174 children. The process of verification was undertaken in 2025, thus including violations that have taken place in previous years. This is the highest verified number of children affected by violations in any year since the establishment of the children and armed conflict mandate.”
She noted that in 2025 the report showed a concerning shift. “For the first time, Government forces are the main perpetrators of grave violations against children overall, and specifically the killing and maiming of children, attacks on schools and hospitals and the denial of humanitarian access.”
Frazier said, “That is not a marginal development. That is a profound and deeply troubling shift. When States become the main violators of the rights of children, this signals a dramatic disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law, and an erosion of the principle that States bears the primary responsibility to protect their populations, including children.”
According to the report, “The highest levels of violations in 2025 were verified in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Myanmar, and Somalia.”
Elpida Rouka’s first name means hope in Greek, a feeling that can sometimes be elusive when serving in the most troubled places on earth. Currently a senior political affairs officer in Geneva, she is a survivor of the 2003 Baghdad Canal Hotel bombing, the deadliest attack in UN history.
“First you feel the shake, and the light, and then the blast, the sound comes. I blacked out between exiting the building, but when I was out, there was just a scene of a massacre. The only thing I recall after that was being thrown a phone and told: ‘Call your parents, now.’”
Humanitarian workers are routinely exposed to primary and secondary trauma. Yet stigma and survivor’s guilt can prevent aid workers seeking timely help for post-traumatic stress. In this episode, Elpida Rouka reflects on grief, loss, and mental and physical scars, and shares why the exact wording of the preamble of the UN Charter has helped give her the strength to heal.
[00:00] Introduction
[01:22] Recalling the 2003 Canal Hotel Bombing
[10:01] The emotional toll of survival
[11:51] Returning to her work in Iraq
[13:23] How the attack brought renewed determination
[17:31] Life across conflict zones
[21:14] The triggers of personal loss
[23:23] Pathway to recovery
[30:12] Roots of purpose
[33:22] Reflections on contribution and impact
[35:05] Finding hope in conflict-affected communities
[38:30] Balancing service and wellbeing
[39:03] Closing remarks
Listen to more Awake at Night episodes https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwoDFQJEq_0b6hu1e8oxsch9W0D7vkNqt
#podcast #UnitedNations #AwakeAtNight #Trauma #Healing
About Awake at Night
Hosted by Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, the podcast ‘Awake at Night’ is an in-depth interview series focusing on remarkable United Nations staff members who dedicate their career to helping people in parts of the world where they have the hardest lives – from war zones and displacement camps to areas hit by disasters and the devastation of climate change.
Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
Secretary-General Travel
Security Council
UNIFIL
Lebanon
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Yemen
Sudan
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ethiopia
Costa Rica
Women in Diplomacy
Guest Tomorrow
SECRETARY-GENERAL TRAVEL
The Secretary-General will be back in New York later today following his participation in London Climate Action Week.
This morning, the Secretary-General addressed the Climate and Development Finance Forum 2026. The Secretary-General underscored that climate adaptation is no longer about preparing for a distant future. It’s about managing risks in real time, as the searing heat now gripping London and far beyond makes unmistakably clear.
Also today, the Secretary-General addressed a Super Pollutants Reception. He noted that the climate crisis is accelerating, and we are now on course to overshoot the 1.5-degree limit in the coming years.
Our task, the Secretary-General stressed, is to keep that overshoot as small, short, and safe as possible, and to bring temperatures back down. He said that can’t happen without drastically reducing emissions, starting now, and accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels, starting now.
The Secretary-General stressed that it requires steps to end deforestation and protect nature, and it demands the world to move fast on super pollutants, the potent greenhouse gases that are behind nearly half the warming so far. He noted that methane is the super Super-pollutant, so cutting methane is the single fastest brake we can pull on a warming planet, adding that this is why he launched yesterday a global Call to Action on Methane.
Before leaving London, the Secretary-General met Arsenio Dominguez, the Secretary-General of International Maritime Organization. The Secretary-General expressed his full support to IMO’s efforts to release the seafarers stranded in the Gulf.
And last evening, the Secretary-General was awarded the Kew International Medal in recognition of his global leadership on climate change, biodiversity loss and collective action for people and planet. The Secretary-General said that he accepted the medal not for himself, but for the United Nations, and all those who work in the United Nations.
SECURITY COUNCIL
Vanessa Frazier, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, told the Security Council this morning that the United Nations Monitoring and Reporting mechanism verified 38,558 grave violations against children, affecting 24,174 children – which, she said, is the highest verified number of children affected by violations in any year since the establishment of the children and armed conflict mandate.
The Special Representative warned that this year’s report shows that, for the first time, Government forces are the main perpetrators of grave violations against children overall, and specifically the killing and maiming of children, attacks on schools and hospitals and the denial of humanitarian access. That is a profound and deeply troubling shift, she said.
Ms. Frazier told the Council that the highest levels of violations in 2025 were verified in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Myanmar, and Somalia.
She added that the growing integration of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into warfare is transforming the conduct of hostilities. Unless accompanied by meaningful human oversight, she said, these technologies risk increasing harm to children and distancing decision-makers from the human consequences of war.
Catherine Russell, the UNICEF Executive Director, told the Council about efforts taken by different governments – including in Colombia, Haiti and Syria – to improve the protection of children and end their recruitment for armed conflict. The Children and Armed Conflict framework works when there is political will, she said.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-06-24
