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, ensuring the implementation of peace agreements, and fostering democratic governance. UN peacekeeping and political missions play critical roles in providing or supporting 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 as well as the judicial sectors of fragile nations. This is vital to building a culture of security and accountability. DDR activities facilitate the disarmament of former combatants and give them vocational skills, thereby discouraging them from rearming.

       Examples: UNMIL (Liberia), UNMIT (Timor-Leste), UNOCI (Côte d’Ivoire) 

• Free, fair elections and good governance. Establishing effective and accountable government institutions that can provide essential services to their own people is crucial to the long term stability of any country. The United States and the UN work together to support integrated peacekeeping and political missions that facilitate free and transparent elections and create conditions for democratic governance. They also protect human rights, work to promote economic growth, and encourage political reconciliation.

Examples: 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 reunited with their families, return to their communities, and find employment.

Examples: UNIFIL (Lebanon), UNAMA (Afghanistan), UNMISS (Sudan)

• 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, promote women’s rights, and encourage women to participate in the political process.

Examples: UNMIL (Liberia), MONUSCO (The Democratic Republic of the Congo)