The Institute for Global Peacecraft is a non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. It contributes to the work of the United Nations through written statements and events. The questions and answers below describe that work, and what the status means. The structure of the United Nations system is shown in the United Nations system chart.
Is the Institute part of the United Nations?
Not as a United Nations body. The Institute is an independent non-governmental organization registered under Swedish law, in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. It was not established by the General Assembly or any other United Nations body, it is not part of the Secretariat or of any fund, programme or agency, and the people who work with it, including its Research Trainees, are not United Nations officials. It does not use the name or emblem of the United Nations as its own and does not speak for the Organization. Its Statutes describe it as non-political, non-partisan, non-religious and non-governmental.
What does special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council mean?
Consultative status is the relationship between the Economic and Social Council and non-governmental organizations, governed by Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31. Under that resolution, special consultative status is for organizations “that have a special competence in, and are concerned specifically with, only a few of the fields of activity covered by the Council and its subsidiary bodies”. Organizations in special consultative status may designate representatives to sit as observers at public meetings of the Council and its subsidiary bodies, and may submit written statements on subjects in which they have a special competence. The Institute’s status is recorded in its two written statements to the Human Rights Council, A/HRC/58/NGO/136 and A/HRC/60/NGO/307, which describe it as “a non-governmental organization in special consultative status”.
What has the Institute submitted to United Nations bodies?
Three written statements, each published by the United Nations:
- A/HRC/58/NGO/136, “Reinforcing the Foundations of Peace and Human Rights: A Call for Philosophical and Scientific Rigour”, Human Rights Council, fifty-eighth session, agenda item 3, distributed on 20 February 2025.
- E/C.2/2025/CRP.48, item 66, a statement to the High-level Segment of the Economic and Social Council, 2025 session, on Goal 16, July 2025.
- A/HRC/60/NGO/307, “From Exploitation to Equitable Peace: Advancing Economic Justice Through Irenomics”, Human Rights Council, sixtieth session, agenda item 3, distributed on 27 August 2025.
What did the Institute propose?
Two of the statements call for a clearer account of what peace is, at the level of the United Nations. In its statement to the High-level Segment of the Economic and Social Council (E/C.2/2025/CRP.48), the Institute recommended, among other things, to “Establish a United Nations Special Rapporteur on Peace to examine peace’s evolving normative, scientific, and operational dimensions” and to “Create an ECOSOC Committee on Peace dedicated to investigating empirical and philosophical foundations of peace and human rights”. In A/HRC/58/NGO/136 it proposed that the Human Rights Council consider establishing a permanent, interdisciplinary research body on the philosophical principles of peace and human rights. These are the Institute’s proposals; no United Nations body has acted on them.
Has the Institute organized events at the United Nations?
Yes, one. On 24 March 2025, from noon to 1 p.m., the Institute organized and moderated a side event at the fifty-eighth session of the Human Rights Council, “The Future of Peace: Defining a Foundation for Global Peacecraft”, in Room XXV of the Palais des Nations, Geneva. The panel included the United Nations Independent Expert on Human Rights and International Solidarity and the Executive Director of the International Peace Bureau. The Director moderated and presented the Institute’s research.
Side event at the fifty-eighth session of the Human Rights Council
Does the Institute take sides in specific conflicts?
No. The Institute takes the side of peace, not of any State, party or movement. Under its Statutes it is independent: non-political, non-partisan, non-religious and non-governmental. Its research may describe conduct as peaceful or violent according to the definitions it has published, on stated criteria and on the evidence. Such descriptions concern conduct, not the identity of any State, party or person.
How can a Member State, a United Nations entity or a researcher work with the Institute?
Permanent missions, United Nations entities and researchers may write to the Institute about its research or about a statement or event. The Institute offers analysis to United Nations entities on request. Researchers may propose a research partnership. Students and early-career researchers may apply to advertised traineeship calls.