Empowering Civil Society in a Volatile World
On behalf of its members, the Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (CSPPS) is proud and thrilled to announce that its 2023 Annual Report has been issued. This report entitled ‘Empowering Civil Society in a Volatile World’ highlights the main activities in networking, amplifying and lobbying for a better inclusion of civil society voices in dialogue and decision-making processes related to conflict prevention, peacebuilding and the implementation of SDG16+.
In 2023, we witnessed the multiplication of conflicts in various places in the world, which include the political and security crisis in the Sahel region, the conflicts in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, ongoing violence in South Sudan, the civil war in Sudan, the escalation of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and the ongoing war in Ukraine, amongst others. These conflicts are all the more complex as they are interconnected with other challenges, such as the impacts of climate change, poverty, food insecurity and inequalities between genders. In this context, civil society has an important role to play and has also a responsibility to do its part in addressing these challenges, by amplifying the local voices and the needs of communities on the ground, and by advocating for concrete and resolute actions from their governments and international organisations.
In order to address these growing challenges, CSPPS, as a global network of civil society organisations working on prevention and peacebuilding issues, partnered in 2023 with many stakeholders in the context of various partnerships - including the International Dialogue for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding, the SDG16+ Coalition, and Peace@COP28. Next to that, the Platform continued to amplify the voices from civil society on issues related to conflict prevention, peacebuilding and statebuilding in key events, such as the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the United Nations General Assembly high-level week, the Pact for the Future and COP28. With the aim of coordinating strategic positioning from the civil society at all levels, CSPPS also issued the fourth Rome Civil Society Declaration on SDG16+ ‘’If Not Now, Then When? An urgent call for transformative SDG16+ commitments at the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda” drafted in cooperation with the Transparency, Accountability and Participation Network.
Moreover, in the context of our partnership with the consortium members of the Just Future programme - a five-year programme launched in 2021 and funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which aims to improve security, justice and inclusive politics in decision-making processes through coordinated lobbying, advocacy and support networks for CSOs - we have been able to actively engage our members in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and statebuilding processes. In addition, the Platform is pleased to announce its new partnership with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ), with whom a two-year partnership agreement was signed, starting from January 2024. In this regard, CSPPS is expressing its warmest thanks to its donors for their ongoing support and trust in our activities.
We would also like to thank all CSPPS members for their efforts in contributing to a more peaceful, just and inclusive world. We strongly believe that our strength is in our membership, as it brings civil society actors together to join forces and amplify their impact at all levels.
Please click here to access the report.