United Nations Day: Finland is building peace through inclusion 

Peace lasts longer when everyone has a voice in shaping it. Those who live with the consequences of conflict know best what peace must deliver, and decisions made without them are less likely to last. This approach to inclusive peacebuilding runs through all of Finland’s work for peace. Finland remains committed to placing people and partnerships at the center of peacebuilding. 

Minister Elina Valtonen interviewed by Emilia Uljas, Vice-chair of Youth, Peace and Security Network of Finland at the OSCE Youth Forum 2025 in Helsinki.

People are the starting point for peace and development  

Persons with disabilities are among those most affected by conflict and crisis yet remain too often absent from the rooms where decisions are made. They are not merely beneficiaries of peace and security efforts, but also key actors whose leadership and agency are critical to achieving lasting peace and resilience.

In line with UN Security Council Resolution 2475, Finland promotes equal access to humanitarian assistance and justice for persons with disabilities in armed conflict, and their meaningful participation in peacebuilding.

Inclusion only becomes real when it is built into how work is planned, funded, and led. Finland works to make disability inclusion part of how development cooperation and humanitarian assistance are planned and delivered. Civil society organizations applying for development cooperation funding must show how they consider the rights of persons with disabilities, and Finland tracks and reports on disability-related funding.  

In humanitarian crises, Finland advocates for clear responsibility for disability inclusion within coordination structures. Finland is also one of the few countries in the world with a dedicated Ambassador for Disability Inclusion, giving these issues a face and a mandate in our foreign policy.  

Inclusion is essential in making peace sustainable and conflict prevention effective. We cannot prevent conflicts effectively if we leave out the people most affected by them.” 

Elina Valtonen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland 

Peace is forged in partnerships where everyone has the right to participate 

Young people have an important role in building peace and security. Their ideas, experiences, and engagement are crucial to preventing conflict, strengthening communities, and building lasting peace.

Finland has been at the forefront of advancing the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, which promotes young people’s active role in peace and security efforts. In 2021, Finland became the first country in the world to publish a National Action Plan for the agenda and is now implementing its second plan. The action plans have been prepared in close collaboration with youth organisations. 

Finland has also taken this work beyond its borders. During Finland’s 2025 OSCE Chairpersonship, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen launched a roadmap for Youth, Peace and Security, developed through consultations that included the Chairpersonship Youth Forum in Helsinki. At the UN in New York, Finland co-chairs the Group of Champions of YPS with Jordan, aiming to facilitate and strengthen the youth advocacy work of other member states and the UN.  

Youth participation is also reflected in Finland’s long-standing Youth Delegate program. The delegates are elected young representatives who engage in dialogue and influence policy both on a national and international level on issues relating to, for example, the environment, youth employment, culture and science.  

Participants at Women’s Military Peace Operations Course (WMPOC) in Helsinki, a course led by UN Women.

Women’s participation in peace and mediation processes is vital for lasting peace 

According to the new UN Secretary General Report, more women and girls than before are affected by conflicts while women remain underrepresented among peace negotiators. 

This growing gap between the impact of conflict on women and their participation in peacemaking calls for more coordinated efforts to ensure women’s full, equal, meaningful and safe participation in peace processes. 

Women’s leadership throughout peace processes is not only a matter of equality, but also of effectiveness and accountability. Their participation must be ensured in peace negotiations, national dialogues and ceasefire agreements, as well as in security sector reform, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, and transitional justice. 

Finland has long worked to turn these principles into practice. From its active role in the negotiations leading to the landmark resolution on Women, Peace and Security in 2000 to the implementation of its fourth national action plan, Finland has helped advance the agenda. 

Working with countries and civil society actors as well as within international organisations, Finland supports partner countries in implementing national action plans, strengthens women mediators’ networks and promotes women’s meaningful participation in peacebuilding at regional and global levels. To further support UN’s efforts to advance the rights of women and girls, Finland has remained among the largest core funders of UN Women and UNFPA. 

Building peace together

The UN’s 2030 Agenda calls on us to leave no one behind. Finland believes that peace must be built with people, not on their behalf. That means involving diverse groups in decisions that affect them and building partnerships that reach beyond usual participants: governments, civil society, youth organisations, organisations of persons with disabilities, the UN and its partners – working together at every step from planning to evaluation.