International Day of Peace

   Peacebuilding Commision Meeting on Post-Transition Peace Efforts in Chad. Related Sites and Documents:  Concept Note . Watch the Peacebuilding Commision Meeting on Post-Transition Peace Efforts in Chad! General Assembly

Many European countries are increasing  Military Expenditure as a result of the war in Ukraine. However, raw military expenditure is not the most pressing issue.  • Europe is undergoing rising social tensions and rising distrust in its institutions. As more public funds are diverted from employment, healthcare and education toward defence expenditure , the risk of further exacerbating these tensions rises.  • Europe’s real defence challenge lies in the absence of integration. Despite collectively outmatching Russia, European forces are hindered by fragmentation.  • Europe’s current military expenditure is almost four times that of Russia, but its combined military capacity is only one third higher.  • Without unified strategic vision and command systems to direct integrated military capabilities, Europe’s defence potential will remain unrealised. The efficiency and integration of its fighting forces are currently more important than increasing its abs...

  Bangladesh experienced the largest deterioration in peacefulness on the 2025 GPI, falling 33 places to 123rd, its lowest ranking since the inception of the index. After experiencing an improvement in 2023, Bangladesh’s overall score deteriorated by 13.2 per cent in 2024. The primary driver of the fall in peacefulness was wide-scale civil unrest, followed by a subsequent government crackdown that resulted in deadly violence. In August 2024, amid demonstrations calling for the end of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s rule, she resigned and fled the country. An interim government was established; however, the power transition remains fragile in the face of competing interests between opposition groups, student protesters and the military. Bangladesh recorded significant deteriorations in the Safety and Security domain, driven by the violent demonstrations and political instability indicators because of large-scale student protests over dissatisfaction with the Hasina government. The go...

  Azerbaijan experienced the largest improvement in peacefulness on the 2025 GPI, with its score improving by 5.6 per cent. Azerbaijan is now ranked 95th on the GPI and is at its most peaceful since 2008. This is the country’s second consecutive year of improvement in peacefulness. Eleven indicators improved, two deteriorated and ten recorded no change. Peacefulness reached a low point in Azerbaijan in 2020, after a major escalation in the territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. More than seven thousand soldiers and civilians were killed over six weeks of fighting. A ceasefire deal was reached in November 2020, brokered by Russia and reinforced by Russian peacekeepers. However, violations by both countries prompted a short, yet deadly period of cross-border attacks in 2022. In September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive in NagornoKarabakh and regained full control of the region. Russianmediated peace talks resumed and have c...

Seven of the eight GPI regions deteriorated in peacefulness in 2025. South America was the only region to improve on average over the past year, although it remains considerably less peaceful than it was at the inception of the index in 2008. South Asia recorded the largest average deterioration of all the regions, with significant falls in peacefulness in both Bangladesh and Pakistan. Figure 1.3 shows the overall score for each region on the 2025 GPI, as well as the change in score since the 2024 GPI. ASIA PACIFIC REGION. The Asia-Pacific region recorded a slight deterioration in peacefulness on the 2025 GPI, with the overall score deteriorating 0.21 per cent. However, it remains the second most peaceful region in the world, a position it has held since 2017. The decline in peacefulness was driven by a 1.1 per cent deterioration on the Ongoing Conflict domain and a 0.4 per cent increase on the Militarisation domain . The Safety and Security domain was the only domain to improve,...

Launch of FARAGEER's study on Taliban's misuse of religion, spotlighting Afghan women's voices and global implications of religious extremism. This panel will present FARAGEER's research on the Taliban's manipulation of religion to justify repression, especially against women. Afghan activists, scholars, and experts will discuss the erosion of rights, rising extremism, and its impact on Afghan society and global perceptions of Islam. The event aims to amplify Afghan women's voices, raise awareness of religious weaponization, and promote gender-responsive policy responses. Watch the Weaponization of Religion by the Taliban and Its Consequences on Afghanistan and Beyond! Meetings & Events

Discussion on recalibrating the UN's Mosaic Approach to ensure inclusivity, accountability, and Afghan-led solutions for peace, rights, and governance. This side event will examine the status of the UN's Mosaic Approach in Afghanistan, highlighting ways to strengthen inclusivity, accountability, and transparency. It will bring together policymakers, Afghan civil society, human rights experts, and UN stakeholders to propose substantive improvements, prioritize women's rights, and reinforce Afghan-led solutions for democratic governance and lasting peace. Watch strengthening the UN Mosaic Approach for an Inclusive Future in Afghanistan! Meetings & Events

Promoting Social Cohesion and Inclusive Governance to Foster Community Resilience and Sustainable Peace Watch the 2025 Peacebuilding Commission Ministerial-level Meeting! Live Meetings & Events

This proposed United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 2025 High-Level Side Event seeks to provide a critical platform for Member States, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector to collectively catalyse new commitments aimed at supporting the GHPI. Related Documents:  Concept Note . Watch the Unity in wellness: Advancing Peace through Global Health (Side Event at UNGA 80)! Side Events

• The Free Flow of Information is foundational to peace. Societies with open, better information systems consistently rank higher on the Global Peace Index .  • Reliable information flows support both domestic stability and global action. Everything from business efficiency to prompt humanitarian responses rely on up to date and accurate information. • Trends in the Free Flow of Information Pillar are mixed. While access to telecommunications has improved more than any other indicator in the Positive Peace Index, press freedom and information quality have seen the steepest declines.  • Media coverage of conflict remains highly unbalanced. In 2023, civilian deaths in high-income countries received 100 times more media articles than a similar number of deaths in low-income countries.  • Civil conflicts are under-reported . They receive less attention on average than conflicts between states, even when they have substantially higher numbers of fatalities.  • Major p...

 • The world is facing a violent conflict crisis . There were 59 state-based conflicts in 2023, the highest number since the end of World War II.  • Deaths from state-based violent conflict reached a 32-year high in 2022. Although the number of deaths is below levels seen during the Cold War, the sheer number of active conflicts increases the risk of at least one conflict rapidly escalating.  • Fewer violent conflicts now end with a peace deal or clear victory . Since the 1970s, the percentage of conflicts that end with a clear victory has dropped from 49 per cent to nine per cent, while the proportion of conflicts ending in peace agreements has fallen from 23 per cent to four per cent.  • The number of internationalised intrastate conflicts have increased 175 per cent since 2010. Seventy-eight countries were directly involved in a war beyond their borders in 2023.  • IEP has identified nine major factors which increase the likelihood that conflict will increa...

• The global economic impact of violence was $19.97 trillion in constant PPP terms in 2024 , equivalent to 11.6 per cent of global GDP, or $2,455 per person.  • The 2024 result represents an increase of 3.8 per cent from the previous year , largely driven by a six per cent increase in military expenditure and a 44 per cent increase in GDP losses from conflict.  • Afghanistan and Ukraine incurred the highest economic cost of violence as a percentage of GDP in 2024 . The economic cost of violence in these countries was over 40 per cent of GDP.  • In the ten countries most affected by violence , the economic cost of violence averaged 27.8 per cent of GDP in 2024, compared to just 2.5 per cent for the ten least affected countries.  • E xpenditure on peacebuilding and peacekeeping was $47.2 billion in 2024, just 0.52 per cent of total military spending in PPP terms. This represents a decline in real terms of 26 per cent from $64 billion in 2008.  • Military and int...