The Public Wants a United Nations That Delivers on Peace and Security.

Peace and Security



This gap is especially stark when it comes to peace and security. While the public expects the UN to deliver across a wide range of areas, peace and security currently ranks highest. In the 2026 Rockefeller/Focaldata survey, “preventing wars and conflicts” emerged as the top priority for international cooperation, named among the top three issues by 44% of respondents. The 2026 UN Foundation survey found that “preventing and ending armed conflicts” was the top priority for international cooperation across all demographic groups.

SURVEY



Yet when it comes to preventing conflict, the UN has had little to show in recent years. There were 65 active conflicts across 35 countries in 2025—the highest number since 1946—as well as an increase in conflict-related fatalities driven by the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan. In many of these conflicts, the UN has been notably absent from peacemaking efforts, and the secretary-general has been less visible in conflict zones than some of his predecessors. As Grynspan put it in her interactive dialogue, “Across every region I am asked the same question: Where is the United Nations?” This sentiment is especially stark in Palestine, where a 2024 survey found that just 13% of respondents were satisfied with the UN’s performance in the war, reflecting a widespread feeling of abandonment.

The gap between expectations and delivery has been at least as stark when it comes to UN peacekeeping operations. While there are many factors behind the so-called “crisis of peacekeeping,” one of them has been the growing perception among some host-state populations that UN peacekeepers are not delivering on their mandates to provide protection from violence. In Mali, for example, surveys conducted before the departure of the UN mission consistently found that Malians’ most common critique of the mission was that it did not protect the population. Frustrations over lack of protection have also driven anti-UN sentiment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This negative sentiment is not limited to the UN mission, with most Congolese expressing distrust in the broader UN to make progress on global challenges (56% distrust vs. 42% trust).

Missions seen to deliver tangible results have gotten more public support. Public support for the UN mission in South Sudan in recent years has been much higher than support for the missions in Mali or the DRC, in part because more than two thirds of the population agrees that the mission “contributes to durable peace” and “successfully supports the protection of civilians,” according to a 2025 survey by PeaceRep. There is evidence from the DRC that even just having contact with UN peacekeepers can increase trust. When it comes to peace and security, people need to experience tangible benefits—or at least see the UN trying to deliver—to view it as effective.

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