CIVICUS discusses the outcomes and limitations of the Annual CSO-UN Dialogue on Peacebuilding with Sweta Velpillay, co-director of Conducive Space for Peace (CSP), an international civil society organisation (CSO) that works at the intersection of civic agency, global collaboration and peacebuilding.
Launched in 2023, the Annual CSO-UN Dialogue on Peacebuilding offers a rare platform for civil society to engage with the United Nations (UN) peacebuilding architecture at a system level. However, the extent to which such dialogues translate into meaningful influence on policy and practice is questionable, particularly as civic space is subjected to growing restrictions globally and grassroots civil society faces mounting barriers to participation.
