Purposes and Methods
The Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum (CPPF) was founded in 2000 to strengthen the knowledge base and analytical capacity of the United Nations in the fields of conflict prevention and management, peacemaking, and peacebuilding. It supports UN peace efforts by helping ensure that UN officials are informed by the best available knowledge, scholarship, and practical expertise on and from the countries and regions on which they are working. A secondary purpose of CPPF's activities is to strengthen inter-agency cooperation within the United Nations, and between the United Nations and multilateral partners such as regional organizations and international financial institutions.
CPPF organizes small, off-the-record meetings between senior UN staff and outside experts. Occasionally, we commission short policy/research papers or otherwise help establish links between UN staff and external expertise; conduct evaluations related to conflict management and peacebuilding; and provide analytical materials to meet UN needs. Our value as a 'bridge' between these worlds depends heavily on our ability to be responsive to the intricacies of decision-making at the United Nations. The hallmark of this approach is responsiveness, flexibility, and discretion.
Target Audiences
CPPF has two broad constituencies: i) UN officials actively responsible for formulating policy for conflict prevention and response; and ii) scholars, practitioners, and members of civil society, especially from countries at risk of or affected by armed conflict.
Our work has increased its reach to both constituencies. In 2005 we linked more than 140 UN policymakers with more than 70 experts drawn from academia, NGOs, and the media; of these experts, 41 % were drawn from the Global South, and 35 % from the country or region of concern.
Within the United Nations, we maintain a variety of points of contact in order to ensure maximum reach of our work. Our regular interlocutors include:-
The three Secretariat departments most centrally concerned with conflict management: the Department of Political Affairs (DPA), Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA);
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The Executive Office of the Secretary-General and, as it takes shape, the Peacebuilding Support Office;
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Actors at both headquarters and the field, including Special Representatives of the Secretary-General, Under-Secretary-Generals and Assistant Secretary-Generals, regional division directors and desk officers, Resident Coordinators, and other senior Country Team staff;
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UN programmes, specialized agencies and funds, especially the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (OHCR), and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF);
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The UN's main multilateral partners in regional organizations (including the African Union, the Caribbean Community, the Economic Community of West African States, the Organization of American States, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) and international financial institutions (including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and regional development banks).
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A diverse and growing network that includes leading senior analysts as well as promising younger scholars and representatives of the media, civil society, and advocacy groups, with an emphasis on individuals and centers located in a region or country of concern;
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Research and other institutions that support the UN and other multilateral approaches to conflict, including the International Peace Academy, the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, the International Crisis Group, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Conciliation Resources, and the International Center for Transitional Justice.
