Paris Peace Forum 2022: “Riding out the multicrisis” (11-12 November 2022)

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On 11 and 12 November 2022, the Paris Peace Forum took place in Paris in the presence of the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, the Minister of State for Europe, Laurence Boone, and the Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou.

The fifth Paris Peace Forum brought together experts and participants from all regions of the world, officials and representatives of civil society, to focus on the theme of “Riding out the multicrisis”.

Focusing on today’s major challenges at the fifth Forum

The fight against climate change, efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and strengthen health systems, economic cooperation and the joint management of global public goods had already been undermined by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, much of the world has also been affected by the consequences of this war: a humanitarian crisis, higher inflation and energy prices, growing food insecurity and major economic and political disruption. By fostering a cooperative global order and renewed multilateralism, by offering solutions, initiatives and transnational debates, the Paris Peace Forum offered examples of determination, resilience and solidarity.

A look back at the fifth Paris Peace Forum

Universalism challenged by the war in Ukraine

President Macron took part in a major debate on how universalism is being challenged by the war in Ukraine, with political leaders and intellectuals from several regions of the world.

The 2022 Forum was also an opportunity for several large-scale initiatives

Resumption of the inter-Venezuelan negotiation process

Concerning Venezuela, French President Emmanuel Macron, Argentinian President Alberto Fernández, and Columbian President Gustavo Petro met with the lead negotiators of both parties, in order to support a resumption of negotiations begun in Mexico between the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the opposition’s Unitary Platform, which came to a standstill in October 2021. The presidents expressed theirfull support to the resumption of the inter-Venezuelan negotiation process as the only possible route to resolving a deep crisis that has caused millions of Venezuelans to leave their country.

Child protection online

The President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, announced the launch of the Children Online Protection Lab following the call to stand up for children’s rights in the digital environment launched at the previous Paris Peace Forum. In concrete terms, the role of this Lab will be to assess, promote and develop technical solutions to key issues such as internet user age verification, the fight against non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and cyber bullying. Several partners, at the forefront of digital technology matters, are committed alongside France to the protection of children online, in particular Estonia, New Zealand, Amazon, Dailymotion, Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, Snap, TikTok and Qwant.

Defending a free and independent press

During discussions on the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM) initiative, Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, announced an ambitious partnership between France and the IFPIM @FundFreeMedia, including financial support of €15 million over three years and the hosting of the IFPIM headquarters in Paris. This fund, created in 2021 at the Paris Peace Forum, is dedicated to supporting struggling independent media and aims to support freedom to inform and independent media around the world.

The IFPIM, known as @FundFreeMedia, is fully aligned with French diplomacy initiatives in favour of a free, democratic and trustworthy global information space. The partnership between France and the IFPIM is also supported by the expertise that French public agencies and media can bring to the Fund’s activities, in particular in the Francophone world.

Laurence Boone, Minister of State for Europe, took part in the launch of the International Observatory on Information and Democracy. This observatory, tasked with assessing the developments in the global information space, will publish a regular report addressed to the 43 Member States of the International Partnership for Information and Democracy and civil society. It will help the authorities to take the necessary decisions to tackle the root causes of failures in the information space and to develop practices to defend freedoms and principles in the digital age.

Global food security

Minister Catherine Colonna announced a contribution of €7.5 million to World Food Programme (WFP) operations, in particular to deliver fertilizers from Russia to Africa by establishing a corridor. This financing is in addition to the “Save Crops” initiative launched by the President of the French Republic at the United Nations General Assembly on 23 September 2022. It is supported by the African Trade Exchange (ATEX) e-commerce platform, set up by the African Union, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and Afreximbank, in order to pool requests, reduce prices and develop a Euro-African fertilizers market in the medium term.

International health cooperation

Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, took part in a session dedicated to global health and the challenges of regionalization in international health cooperation. She recalled the commitment of France and the European Union to support the strengthening of health sovereignty in Africa.

What is the Paris Peace Forum?

Founded on the idea that international cooperation is key to overcoming global challenges and ensuring lasting peace, the Paris Peace Forum’s mission is to bring together all actors in global governance – Heads of State and Government, international organizations, local governments, NGOs, foundations, businesses, the media, trade unions, religious groups and citizens – so that every year they are able to engage in dialogue under one roof.

Every year since 2018, the Paris Peace Forum has highlighted governance projects and initiatives that propose specific solutions and actions in the face of global challenges. These solutions are characterized by their international and multi-stakeholder dimension and their ability to bring about lasting change within global governance.

More information on the Paris Peace Forum