On the 16th of June, DSAI's Humanitarian Action Study Group held an online roundtable on the impact of COVID-19 on peacebuilding.
The discussion brought together actors across policy, research, and practice for a facilitated roundtable sharing recent evidence, insights and reflections on the impact of the global health crisis on peacebuilding. Recent years have seen an increasing concentration of humanitarian needs in protracted conflict-affected contexts. At the same time, there have been commitments by the international community for greater coherence between humanitarian, development and peace actors in key global frameworks, such as Agenda 2030, the Sustaining Peace Agenda and the Agenda for Humanity, among others. Moreover, peacebuilding activities not only represent a growing percentage of Irish ODA, but peacebuilding has also been identified as one of three key priorities of Ireland’s tenure on the UN Security Council.
Participants who kindly presented included:
- Áine Hearns, Director, Conflict Resolution Unit, Dept of Foreign Affairs;
- Dr Jamie Hagen, Lecturer in International Relations, Queens University Belfast; Founding co-director for Centre for Gender in Politics;
- Dr Paul Quinn, Head – From Violence to Peace, Christian Aid Ireland;
- Claudio Alberti, PhD candidate, Trinity College Dublin and Programme Officer (Analysis and Impact), Swisspeace; and
- Megan Greeley, PhD candidate, Trinity College Dublin.
This Discussion Document presents a summary of recent evidence, insights and reflections from the dialogue including:
- Background;
- Overview of Key Challenges;
- Adaptation in Crisis;
- Digital Divides and Dividends;
- Localisation and Change; and
- Gaps and Future Directions.