The SDG 16 and PVE agendas have much in common. These include the emphasis on strengthening civil society, particularly women and youth, and empowering local agents of change; building social cohesion and resilience and the role that inclusive cities can play in this regard; the need for government to be responsive to citizens’ needs; and the importance of respecting human rights and addressing grievances and inequality. More broadly, the 2018 Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies’ report highlighted the need to scale up the prevention of violence (including extremist violence) for the most vulnerable segments of society if the SDG 16 objectives are to be met.

The vision and intent of both agendas are admirable and necessary. But progress on both has been far too slow and siloed. Many would argue that there has been regression.

Given that 40 countries are already experiencing conflict and a further 92 are less peaceful than they were a decade ago, the SDG 16 and PVE agenda are both in need of urgent and critical attention. So what can and must be done?

First, as advocates for peace, security, development, and human rights—as well as practitioners spanning governmental, U.N., and civil society organizations—we have to acknowledge that both agendas share the same goals. This is particularly true for the agendas on women, peace, and security, as well as youth, peace, and security.

Read the full article about development aid groups working in silos by Eric Rosand and Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini at Brookings.