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Recovery & Peacebuilding
The United States collaborates with other Member States to support many of the UN’s recovery and peacebuilding activities in post-conflict countries by building infrastructure, implementing peace agreements, and fostering democratic governance. UN peacekeeping and political missions play critical roles providing or directing the following:
- Security sector reform and disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR). Through the Department of Justice and other agencies, the United States partners with the UN to strengthen the police and armed services (security sector) as well as the judicial systems in fragile nations. This is vital to building a culture of security and accountability. DDR works to disarm former combatants and to give them vocational skills, thereby discouraging them from rearming.
Examples: UNMIL (Liberia), UNMIT (Timor-Leste), MINUSTAH (Haiti)
- Free, fair elections and good governance. Establishing a strong government that can provide services to its own people is crucial to the long term stability of a country. The United States and the UN work together to support integrated and political missions that facilitate free and transparent elections and create conditions for democratic governance. They also protect human rights, work for economic growth, and encourage reconciliation.
Examples: BINUB (Burundi), UNAMI (Iraq), UNOCI (Côte d’Ivoire), UNAMA (Afghanistan)
- Security for refugees and internally displaced persons. UN missions promote sustainable peace by establishing secure conditions so that internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees can receive aid, be reunified with their families, return to their communities, and find employment.
Examples: UNIFIL (Lebanon), UNAMA (Afghanistan)
- Support for women’s rights. During conflict, women and girls are particularly vulnerable to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Often, rape is used as a weapon of war. And, gender-based violence continues in many post-conflict societies. The UN supports efforts to combat sexual violence, to promote women’s rights, and to encourage women to participate in political processes.
Examples: UNMIL (Liberia), MONUSCO (The Democratic Republic of the Congo)
