Today’s violent conflicts are proving deadlier and more difficult to resolve than ever before. Over the past decade, the number of civil wars has nearly tripled, driven by a growth in transnational criminal networks, greater presence of radical groups in many settings and a willingness of international actors to support intra-state conflicts. This, in turn, has contributed to historic levels of conflict-related displacement and far higher numbers of civilians caught up in violent conflict.
UNU-CPR research focuses on this dynamic, highlighting ways that recent UN reforms offer an opportunity for the UN and its partners to adopt conflict-sensitive prevention approaches, taking into account the role of climate change in the risk landscape.