Building Peace through an urban lens

Managing the social and political impact of rapid urbanisation is a global challenge in the 21st century. As cities grow bigger and new cities emerge day after day, building peace, providing security, promoting human rights and reconstructing after conflict increasingly mean working in and with urban areas. It is high time that approaches to peacebuilding and conflict prevention engage with the specific political-spatial dynamics of cities to address the massive demographic change under way. Urban space has a role to play in peacebuilding and protecting human rights. Hundreds of villages and towns have been transitioning into veritable cities without a corresponding institutional infrastructure to guarantee security and human rights. Building peace through an urban lens means addressing security provision and governance of marginalised communities that, despite living in the centres of economic and political life, lack access to basic public services and rule of law. Further, illicit economies and organised crime are threats that cut across the different security challenges in cities and that must be addressed for peace to take root. This panel will explore some of the core challenges posed by rapid urbanisation to peace and security, including the roles of armed groups in urban governance and the use of urban resources, such as illicit economies and land, in political violence. It will also explore how local governments and communities can present innovative solutions and be partners of national and international actors in promoting peace and fostering urban resilience.

Speakers

• Issa Kassis – Mayor of Ramallah, Palestine
• Antonio Sampaio - Thematic Lead: Cities and Illicit Economic, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime 
• Anaclaudia Rossbach - Executive Director, UN Habitat (video message)
• AlHakam Shaar - Researcher, The Aleppo project

Moderator

• Anh Thu Duong - Co-Director, Global Cities Hub

Interpretation

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Live streaming

All events during Geneva Peace Week will be available on-site and online.

Main Organizer

• Global Cities Hub (GCH)

• Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) 

Co-Organizers

• Peace in Our Cities (PiOC)