Global Developments in Peacebuilding: February 2026

Religions for Peace monitors global developments in peacebuilding of special interest to those interested in interfaith collaboration and publishes occasional updates on various efforts. Developments of interest for February appear below.

Advancing Humanitarian Disarmament at the UN

On February 17, 2026, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and the Permanent Missions of Thailand, Lao PDR, and Kiribati, convened at the Church Center for the UN to champion the “humanitarian lens” in global disarmament. The panel highlighted how the success of the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions paved the way for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), specifically its revolutionary provisions for victim assistance and environmental remediation (Articles 6 and 7). From Thailand’s milestone of clearing 99.5% of its mine-contaminated land to Kiribati’s tireless advocacy for nuclear justice and Lao PDR’s leadership in clearing unexploded ordnance, speakers demonstrated that disarmament is not merely a technical treaty process but a moral imperative to heal “worldview distortions” that prioritize weapons over human dignity. By bridging evidence-based analysis (the mind) with survivor-centered narratives (the heart), the event reinforced that true ecological and community flourishing requires a global “Alliance of Virtue” committed to ending the indiscriminate legacy of war. WATCH the event here.

Reconceptualizing Justice: Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue Shapes CSW70 Recommendations

The Member State Expert and Civil Society Dialogue, hosted at the Bahá’i International Center in February, served as a strategic platform to present the second draft of the NGO CSW70 Advocacy & Research Group recommendations. The dialogue focused on a holistic “reconceptualization of justice” for all women and girls, moving beyond narrow legalistic definitions toward a framework of structural and cultural transformation. Central to the discussion was the upcoming Crimes against Humanity Treaty and the need for an expanded transitional justice model that addresses root causes of systemic discrimination rather than just post-conflict accountability.

The recommendations presented during the event categorized justice into six critical dimensions:

• Transitional & Social Justice: Emphasizing transformative reparations, truth-telling, and the recognition of women as agents of change in peacebuilding and climate policy.
• Economic & Political Justice: Calling for labor reform, the implementation of ILO Convention 190, and mandated gender-responsive electoral laws to ensure safe political participation.
• Cultural & Digital Justice: Highlighting the need to engage men and boys against digital misogyny and demanding algorithmic fairness and accountability in AI and data governance.

A significant portion of the dialogue addressed the revitalization of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) amidst the UN’s ongoing liquidity crisis. Participants urged Member States to fulfill their Article 17 funding obligations to protect UN Women’s specialized mandate from being weakened by institutional consolidation. The event concluded with a call for the Commission to develop both quantitative and qualitative indicators to measure shifts in hearts, minds, and social norms, ensuring that statutory legal gains are translated into improved lived realities for women and girls globally.

READ the NGO Advocacy & Research CSW70 Recommendations for the First Draft