Prevention is the most cost effective
and humanitarian approach to addressing the root
causes of violence before the outbreak of armed
conflict, and the ensuing need for post conflict
reconstruction and reconciliation.
The UN Foundation is addressing
this mission by supporting the UN's efforts to
address the three major challenges of conflict
prevention: preventing the escalation of dangerous
disputes; preventing ongoing conflicts from spreading;
and, preventing the re-emergence of violence once
peace has been achieved. In this pursuit, UNF
is working with partners to identify appropriate
roles, facilitate interaction and implement initiatives
to strengthen the United Nations conflict prevention
capacity to build capable societies and respond
to immediate crises.
Peace Building
The UN’s work on peace building involves a range of approaches to facilitate the establishment of a durable peace that prevents the recurrence of violence by addressing root causes through reconciliation, institution building and political and well as economic transformation.
The UN Foundation’s Peace, Security and Human Rights program is supporting UN efforts in peace building and post-conflict reconstruction. The UN Foundation also supports the UN’s endeavors in two specific areas of peacebuilding, disarming children and youth and addressing landmines.
Disarming Children and Youth Disarming children and youth is a crucial element to peace building in war torn societies. The United Nations has developed a two-tiered approach to the subject; to seek to end conflict and remove children from service, and provide alternatives to child soldiering. The United Nations Foundation is supporting the work of the UN on this issue by funding projects to disarm and reintegrate children into society and working with communities to develop “cultures of peace.”
Landmines Landmines are a pervasive problem that kill
or maim more than 10,000 people every year. Land
mines are also barriers to the reconstruction
of war torn societies and the return of displaced
individuals and economic growth. The United Nations
Foundation is working with the UN on a multi-dimensional
approach to the landmine issue, assessing the
problem, building awareness and addressing victims’
issues. These efforts are complemented by the
Better World Fund’s support of the Adopt
A Minefield Campaign that leverages additional
resources to mine action. For more information
on UNF's work on landmine issues click
here.
Human Rights
Since its inception in 1945, one of the principal focuses of the United Nations has been the assessment and establishment of human rights around the world. The United Nations promotes and protects human rights and fundamental freedoms based on their "recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world."
In December 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration sets a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to educate and promote respect for human rights and freedoms.
The UN operates under the
guidance of these tenets and objectives to extend
basic freedoms to all citizens, and in doing so
strives to penetrate even the harshest political
and war stricken environments to try to ensure
fair treatment of individuals throughout the world.
The United Nations Foundation supports the UN's
development of strategies for the promotion and
protection of human rights.
Terrorism
The UN Foundation supports the UN’s efforts to combat global terrorism by focusing on long-term solutions aimed at eradicating the root causes of conflict; insecurity, injustice and disenfranchisement. The UN Foundation is working with the UN to build a universal respect for human rights, necessary for the creation of capable societies, distinguished by representative governance, market economies, a robust civil society and a system based on the rule of law for all people.
High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change
In November 2003, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
established a High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges
and Change to assess new dangers to international
security and to recommend measures to strengthen
institutions of collective security. Accordingly,
the UN Foundation has launched
UN
& Global Security,” an initiative
with a number of partners worldwide that aims
both to support fresh intellectual contributions
to the dialogue surrounding the challenges facing
the UN and to enlarge the circles of informed
citizens who actively follow and contribute
to that debate.
