daily editorial analysis for 1 November 2025

The Case for a Board of Peace and Sustainable Security

 Context

• As the United Nations marks its eightieth anniversary, the gap between its founding ideals and its institutional reality has become stark.
• Created to prevent catastrophic conflict and safeguard global peace, the UN now struggles to fulfil these aspirations.
• Diplomacy has become reactive and episodic, fading after crises pass.
• To address this, a bold yet realistic innovation has been proposed: the creation of a Board of Peace and Sustainable Security (BPSS) to ensure continuous political engagement throughout the peace process.

The Structural Deficit in UN Peace Architecture

• The UN’s peace system suffers from a mismatch between mandate and mechanism. The UN Security Council (UNSC) is designed for crisis response but is episodic and reactive.
• Peacekeeping missions stabilise but rarely operate with a comprehensive political strategy.
• Meanwhile, the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) lacks authority to shape transitions during critical post-conflict phases.
• The result is weak follow-through, loss of momentum, and institutional amnesia, undermining peace agreements and leaving fragile states vulnerable to relapse.

Functional Reform Before Structural Reform

• While UNSC structural reform is long overdue, waiting for it has stalled innovation.
• Under Article 22 of the UN Charter, the General Assembly can establish subsidiary bodies, a pathway for functional reform without altering global power structures.
• The BPSS represents a practical and urgent reform, strengthening the UN’s ability to act within existing legal authority.

A Dedicated Space for Sustaining Peace

• The BPSS would occupy a clearly defined institutional space: supporting political transitions during and after conflict.
• It would not challenge UNSC authority or state sovereignty, nor act as an early-warning or intervention tool. Instead, it would:
  • Reinforce nationally-led political dialogue
  • Support peace agreement implementation
  • Coordinate regional diplomatic efforts
  • Align peacekeeping operations with political goals
  • Ensure continuity of engagement over time
• By absorbing and strengthening the Peacebuilding Commission, it would transform diplomacy into a sustained, structured process.

Representation, Credibility, and Mandate

• The BPSS requires legitimacy through representation without becoming unwieldy.
• A rotating body of around two dozen elected states, with guaranteed regional balance, would avoid elite clubs and veto systems.
• Regional organisations (e.g., AU, ASEAN) would serve as active participants, reflecting the reality that peace is shaped beyond New York.
• Civil society would participate consultatively, ensuring local insight without procedural gridlock.

Embedding the Concept of Sustainable Security

• Central to the proposal is sustainable security, the idea that lasting peace requires governance, inclusion, and legitimacy, not just ceasefires. Sustainable peace emerges through:
  • Gradually implemented political settlements
  • Inclusive and responsible governance
  • Strengthened public trust
  • Nationally owned processes
• The BPSS would ensure the UN remains engaged long after crises fade, providing continuity, memory, and discipline in peace efforts.

A Realistic Path Toward Meaningful Reform

• The UN faces a false choice: accept stagnation or pursue radical, unattainable reform.
• The BPSS demonstrates that institutions can evolve responsibly.
• It would not redistribute geopolitical power, but would correct a critical weakness, the absence of political continuity between war and stable peace.
• This reform revives core principles: diplomacy must be disciplined, peace must be sustained, and institutions must evolve to endure.

Conclusion

• The BPSS is not a miracle solution, but a pragmatic and principled innovation.
• By ensuring continuous political engagement, it strengthens the UN where failures are most costly.
• As the UN enters its ninth decade, meaningful renewal begins not with rewriting the system but with innovating where authority already exists.
• With the BPSS, the UN can reclaim its founding purpose: to ensure that peace is not just achieved, but sustained.

The Case for a Board of Peace and Sustainable Security FAQs

Q1. What main problem does the UN face in sustaining peace?
Ans. The UN struggles to sustain peace because its systems are reactive and lack continuous political engagement after conflicts ease.

Q2. Why is functional reform considered urgent?
Ans. Functional reform is urgent because it strengthens the UN’s ability to act immediately using existing Charter powers, without waiting for difficult structural changes.

Q3. What is the purpose of the proposed Board of Peace and Sustainable Security?
Ans. The proposed Board of Peace and Sustainable Security aims to provide continuous political support during and after conflict to ensure lasting peace.

Q4. How would the BPSS differ from the current UN Security Council?
Ans. The BPSS would focus on long-term political accompaniment rather than crisis-driven action and would not rely on permanent seats or veto power.

Q5. What principle underlies the idea of “sustainable security”?
Ans. Sustainable security rests on the principle that lasting peace depends on good governance, inclusion, and legitimate political processes.

Source: The Hindu