Geneva International Discussions

From May to June, two SBT members specialized in security arrangements and process design supported DPPA-DPO Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari (as UN Co-Chair of Geneva International Discussions), the DPPA-DPO Europe and Central Asia Division (ECAD) and UNRGID by developing a technical presentation on international examples of security and ceasefire management and coordination mechanisms, and practical lessons for incident prevention and response, communication, de-escalation and other transparency arrangements. The presentation was delivered on 30 June at an information session for participants of the 67th round of the Geneva International Discussions, which was convened by the three Co-Chairs (UN, EU, OSCE).

Gulf Cooperation Council

On 14 June, a Senior Mediation Advisor facilitated and shared expert input in a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – UN DPPA seminar on “Practical Approaches to Mediation, Dialogue and De-escalation”. The half-day seminar was organized alongside the annual high-level consultations between GCC Secretariat and DPPA and focused on mediation, process design and the roles of the UN and (sub-)regional organisations in peace and dialogue processes. The participants included senior GCC and UN Secretariat officials as well as Riyadh-based diplomats, including ambassadors, from GCC countries. The engagement allowed the participants to exchange perspectives on entry points and confidence-building measures, collaboration between different mediation actors, as well as the UN tools and expertise that are also available to Member States and regional partners. The seminar was the first activity of its kind organized jointly by the GCC and DPPA, in line with General Assembly resolution 79/295 and the DPPA-GCC Joint Action Plan for 2025-2030.

Middle East

MSU staff experts supported the DPPA-DPO Middle East Division and the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General on the Middle East conflict and its consequences by contributing to the team’s strategic planning at the onset of the Personal Envoy’s appointment and by providing advice and comparative examples on confidence-building measures, entry-points and UN’s role in supporting different aspects of peace and ceasefire agreements and their implementation.

Abyei

Building on previous support provided in 2025 and earlier this year, two SBT experts in process design and climate change, environment and natural resources issues provided remote advice to a United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), Office of the Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa (OSE-HOA), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) project team. The experts provided technical inputs on the integration of climate security and peacebuilding considerations into a series of dialogues which aimed to promote inter-communal trust-building focused on women, with a specific emphasis on approaches for creating sustainable structures. The advisers also provided process advice on engagement with evolving conflict dynamics in the region, and on the interaction of the dialogue initiative with broader processes and the UN’s work in Abyei.
 

Great Lakes region

An expert on gender and inclusion was mobilized through the SBT mechanism at the request of UN Women’s Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office to support the High-Level Strategic Meeting of the Advisory Board for Women, Peace and Security in the Great Lakes Region, held in Nairobi on 3-4 June 2026. The meeting was attended by the Facilitators of the AU-led peace process for the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a representative of the Togolese Mediator and the joint chairpersons of the Advisory Board, Mr. Huang Xia, UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region, and Ambassador Liberata Mulamula, African Union Special Envoy for WPS. The Standby Team expert provided inputs and advice on the agenda for the two-day meeting, moderated, as a resource person, the opening and plenary sessions, and recapped the outcomes of at the end of the meeting. She further contributed to the Outcome Document of the meeting, which was presented to the AU-Mediator H.E. President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, during the semi-annual review meeting in Lome on the 7-8 June 2026. Additionally, she participated in a virtual follow-up session after the Advisory Board meeting, offering further insights to strengthen the Board and implement key actions.
 

Libya

An SBT expert on gender and inclusion continued to provide both remote and in-person strategic advice to the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) senior leadership, as well as to the Gender Advisory Section (GAS) and the Policial Affairs Service (PAS) of the Mission. The support, including via an in-person mission to Tripoli in April, focused on the implementation of the Mission’s Strategic Plan for Women’s Inclusion, aimed at ensuring women’s full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation in the political process, particularly in the UNSMIL-facilitated Structured Dialogue (SD) that took place from January to June 2026.

The SD was attended by some 120 Libyan participants who developed recommendations across four tracks related to Libya’s governance, economy, security and national reconciliation and human rights. The SBT expert provided remote technical support to planning meetings of the SD tracks as well as to preparatory meetings for women participants through the Libyan Women’s Caucus. The expert also supported GAS in the development of a mid-process Strategy Note on Gender Mainstreaming in the SD, responding to emerging developments in the process.

While deployed to Tripoli, the SBT expert participated in preparatory meetings with women members of the economic, governance, and security tracks ahead of formal SD sessions. The expert facilitated discussions on strategies to advance genderresponsive outcomes, drawing on lessons learned from women’s participation in other contexts. The expert also attended two fiveday sessions of the economic and governance tracks, providing realtime gender analysis and advising UNSMIL leadership on possible adjustments to the facilitation of the tracks to address challenges related to women’s participation and youth inclusion.

Further, the SBT expert supported UNSMIL leadership and GAS by offering advice and comparative insights on the future of the Libyan Women’s Caucus, helping to consider options for its role after the conclusion of the SD.
 

Sudan

MSU continued its longstanding support to the Office of the Personal Envoy for Sudan (OPESG-Sudan) during the reporting period, including by staff participating in regular meetings and strategy sessions to help OPESG prepare specific initiatives.

On 22 June, a MSU staff expert on ceasefires and security arrangements joined an expert meeting on comparative practice on Ceasefire Arrangements and their Oversight, Monitoring and Verification organized by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Participants also included OPESG, the Office of the EUSR on Sudan and other mediation actors such as the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. At the end of June, the expert also joined a technical level engagement in Nairobi, Kenya organized by OPESG with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to jointly explore measures that can help build a conducive environment for enhancing civilian protection and broader peace initiatives. This effort is in furtherance of Security Council resolutions 2724 (2024) and 2736 (2024), which reaffirms the obligations of all parties to the conflict in Sudan to protect civilians and calls on them to seek an immediate cessation of hostilities to enable humanitarian access.

Substantial support was also mobilized through the Standby Team Mechanism during the period. At the request of OPESG, two Standby Team experts on process design and gender inclusion were deployed to Addis Ababa in May to support the Quintet’s (AU, IGAD, LAS, EU and UN) convening of Sudanese civilian stakeholders for consultations aimed at initiating discussions on the parameters and priorities of a future inter-Sudanese civilian dialogue. They were supported by a third expert who presented remotely on possible frameworks for de-escalation. Collectively, the experts supported the Quintet’s facilitation of the consultations, provided comparative advice on modalities to ensure the meaningful participation of a diverse range of Sudanese constituencies in both the consultations and future iterations, and contributed to the development of a code of conduct and ground rules. 

From 23-26 June, a Standby Team (SBT) expert on security arrangements served as a resource person at a meeting of the “Nyon process” – a dialogue platform of Sudanese political groups (both civilian and armed actors but excluding the SAF and RSF) convened by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). The platform aims to provide Sudanese actors with space to build consensus and strengthen their role in an eventual peace process. The consultations were held in Nyon, Switzerland, during which the SBT advisor delivered a presentation on the political and security dimensions of peace processes. The ultimate goal was to deepen participants’ understanding of the interlinkages between negotiations on political and security tracks.

Afghanistan

In support of the UN’s role as the facilitator of the Doha Process, MSU staff members organised two workshops with colleagues from UNAMA, DPPA-DPO Afghanistan Team and UNODC on confidence-building in the context of the Doha. The discussions explored aspects of confidence-building and facilitation in political processes by drawing from global comparative examples and good practices.

Bangladesh

An SBT constitutional expert deployed to Dhaka on 19-24 April 2026 to support International IDEA in a listening tour and assessment of political reform scenarios in Bangladesh. The mission took came amid discussions about the new government’s commitment to the “July Charter,” the reform agenda agreed during the interim government period and approved by referendum in February 2026. The expert joined an International IDEA team that held a wide range of consultations with political leaders, opposition representatives, members of the legal community, civil society, academics, and the international community — including the Attorney General, the Minister for Home Affairs, party leads on constitutional negotiations, the EU Ambassador, and the UNDP governance.

Papua New Guinea   

An SBT constitutional expert deployed to Port Moresby from 24-30 May 2026 to support the DPPA-DPO Asia-Pacific Division and the Independent Facilitator in advancing the post-referendum consultation process between the Government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG). Building on the “Melanesian Agreement” signed in June 2025, the mission focused on identifying possible options for finalizing the legal and constitutional chapter of the Melanesian Framework – a critical document to be submitted to parliament ahead of a vote that will shape the next phase of the PNG-ABG relationship.

Working alongside the Independent Facilitator and the DPPA Liaison Officer based in Buka, the expert identified potential legislative pathways for the continued transfer of powers from the PNG Government to the ABG Government, including options not previously under consideration, and provided comparative examples of interim, transitional, and shared-powers arrangements relevant to the context. The expert supported preparation for and participation in the May joint technical team session, met informally with both parties’ legal teams, and advised the newly appointed UN Resident Coordinator. The expert’s recommendations were incorporated into a substantially reshaped draft framework shared with the parties for their views.

Regional Workshop

An SBT constitutional expert deployed to Kathmandu, Nepal from 10-12 May 2026 to support International IDEA in the design and facilitation of a regional civil society workshop on constitutional resilience and democratic governance. The workshop, second in a two-part series building on an International IDEA programme launched in November 2025, brought together civil society representatives from across Asia – including representatives of “Gen Z” movements from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and other countries – to develop concrete action plans for strengthening democratic institutions in their respective contexts. Drawing on comparative analysis of democratic backsliding and constitutional reform experiences, the expert led sessions aimed at equipping participants with practical knowledge and strategies for advancing constitutional resilience in their home countries.

SBT and staff online and in person engagements (webinars, panels, consultations)

During the first quarter, multiple experts from the SBT mechanism and MSU staff participated in different virtual discussion formats as panellists, speakers, and moderators. They also acted as expert facilitators in various capacity building exercises for the UN and its partners including: delivering expert briefings for a UN-internal workshop on environmental and natural resource issues in formal peace agreements; as well as delivering a session on process design and mentoring a negotiation simulation at KENT Global Leadership Program of Columbia University.

Climate change, environment and natural resources

In April-May, MSU convened and facilitated two virtual practitioner knowledge exchange sessions to explore strategic considerations and process design approaches to the integration of climate change, environment and natural resources issues in political and peace processes – including in Track 1 negotiations and formal peace agreements, as well as in confidencebuilding measures in conflict and prevention settings.

The sessions centered first-hand practitioner reflections from diverse conflict settings, including from former representatives of conflict parties, government officials, senior mediation advisers and UN staff practitioners working in mission settings. The sessions aimed to explore collective practitioner experiences in navigating the complexities of these issues - in particular, how and when environmental, climate or natural resource issues can be engaged in ways that support political processes, when they may instead risk complicating or constraining them, and how practitioners can develop informed, grounded and creative process design approaches to help navigate these dynamics.

The two sessions brought together around 60 participants from more than 20 geographic contexts, including representatives of DPPA-DPO regional desks and gender team, UN missions, Resident Coordinator Offices and country teams, including Climate Peace and Security Advisors in SPMs and PKOs, and Climate Peace and Security teams in DPPA and DPO. The sessions were designed and facilitated by multiple MSU staff members and supported by the expert inputs of multiple SBT advisors specialized in process design, climate change, environment and natural resources issues and ceasefires and security arrangements.

Digital Technologies

On 4 June, MSU convened the quarterly online meeting of the CyberMediation Network (CMN), during which two CMN members shared inputs. The first member led a discussion on current debates around AGI and superintelligence, focusing on their implications for peace mediators and practitioners. This included reflections on what AI can and cannot reliably do in highstakes, ambiguous, and relationshipdriven contexts, as well as how uncritical adoption of AGI narratives may influence policy in problematic ways. The second member presented on how peacemaking organizations are approaching responsible AI adoption, engaging participants in a discussion on the principles that could guide the use of AI in peacemaking and the operational questions organizations face when integrating AI into mediation support, dialogue processes, analysis, and internal workflows.

UN Ceasefire Mediation Course

From 22–29 April 2026, MSU, in partnership with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), NODEFIC, and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), convened the thirteenth UN Ceasefire Mediation Course (UNCFMC) in Oslo, Norway.                  

The course brought together twelve UN staff members from Special Political Missions, Peacekeeping Operations, and DPPA-DPO, and 20 participants from 13 Member States. The course content drew from the UN Guidance on Mediation of Ceasefires, including its newly launched digital version, and introduced a renewed focus and new course content designed to discuss inter-state ceasefire negotiations. The State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Norway provided keynote remarks during the closing day.

UN High Level Mediation Course

From 14-19 June, MSU in partnership with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs convened the annual UN High Level Mediation Course in Montreux, Switzerland. The 2026 iteration brought together 21 participants and senior resource people, including four UN SRSGs/DSRSGs (Colombia, Libya, Sudan, West Africa and the Sahel), one HoM (UNDOF), one Representative (UNOB), two Resident Coordinators (Madagascar, Nepal), one senior DPPA-DPO official (Central and Southern Africa Division), as well as senior officials from seven Member States and regional organizations and civil society (MEDRC, Network of Religious and Traditional Peacemakers).

Against a backdrop of increasing geopolitical competition, conflict and fragmentation of peacemaking efforts, discussions reflected on how to practically enable the UN’s role in mediation – both in leading processes and supporting those led by others, and the need to strengthen partnerships across actors, invest in skills and professionalization, and adapt approaches through innovative, creative and flexible engagement to respond to contemporary realities. Multiple MSU staff members as well as SBT advisors specialized in process design, gender and inclusion, constitutional issues, and digital technologies and mediation supported the design, delivery, facilitation and substantive expert inputs throughout the course.

Religion and Mediation

The Steering Group of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers (the Network) held its annual principals level meeting on 22 June at the residence of the Permanent Representative of Finland to the UN. Participants reviewed the Network’s engagements in 2025, underscored the growing importance of the role of religious and traditional leaders in the current geopolitical context and exchanged views on how the Network could further deepen engagement with Member States and regional organizations. The principals expressed strong support for implementation of the Network’s new strategy for 2026–2030, emphasizing in particular the importance of prioritizing inclusion. Representing DPPA at the meeting, the PMD Director highlighted the UN's partnership with the Network and reiterated the availability of operational support for its important work.

Prior to this meeting, the Steering Group of the Network met at the working level, hosted by MSU, to review and provide final comments on the draft strategy before its formal launch in September this year.  The Steering Group is composed of 15 entities, including DPPA PMD, UNDP, UNFPA, UNWOMEN and the governments of Finland and Oman.

Youth Inclusion

A Standby Team process design expert and an MSU staff were deployed to Geneva, Switzerland from 4-7 May to support the delivery of the Finland–South Africa Young Peace Mediators’ Training and Mentorship Program (YPMMP). The MSU staff engaged with the trainees representing 15 nationalities to familiarize them with MSU’s mandate and operational work and served as a panelist at a discussion on Human Rights and Mediation. The SBT expert shared comparative knowledge and experience with the trainees during various sessions, including on process design, mediation micro-skills and mediation simulation.

The YPMMP is a capacity-building and mentorship initiative jointly sponsored by Finland and the Republic of South Africa within the framework of their bilateral cooperation, with Interpeace serving as the implementing partner. The programme brings together 15 young peacebuilders from Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Qatar, South Africa, South Sudan, Türkiye, and Ukraine. The support was provided at the request of Interpeace.