United Nations Liaison Office for Peace and Security | UNLOPS

Based in Brussels UNLOPS represents the parts of the United Nations secretariat that support Member States and the Secretary-General in maintaining peace and security: namely the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), the Department of Peace Operations ( DPO), the Department of Operational Support (DOS) and the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT). The office also engages closely with the Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG).  As such, the office serves as a single UN peace and security focal point for policy discussion, political engagement and operational coordination with the European External Action Service (EEAS), the NATO secretariat, alongside direct engagement with EU member states and NATO nations. The office also supports UN agencies, funds and programs based in Brussels with tailored political analysis.

With the growing importance of ‘networked multilateralism’ and the UN partnerships agenda as set out in the ‘Pact for the Future (2024)’, the office continues to grow in stature and over the years has become the ‘go to office’ in Brussels for all UN officials working with the EU and NATO on political, peace and security files. The office prides itself on client orientation and being a knowledge hub on all key peace and security files. The office also engages in outreach and public diplomacy in Brussels and across Europe on behalf of UN headquarters.   

The office has been described by interlocutors in Brussels as a mini-UN embassy, insofar as it monitors political development, engages with partners on core peace and security matters, supports and advises senior UN visitors to Brussels and is focused on building relations and trusts in an ever more complex and contested global geopolitical landscape.

The remit and focus of the office has also grown over time since its establishment in 2011. While building institutional partnerships remains key, the focus of the office on political understanding, outreach and public diplomacy has increased, as multilateralism becomes more contested and as the need for trusted voices and impartiality becomes ever more important.

UNLOPS works on a daily basis with the EU and NATO to support institutional dialogue and improved coherence and coordination on peace and security policy, with a focus on political understanding and operational engagement with a view to preventing conflict, managing crises and countering terrorism. The office facilitates high level UN visits from New York and UN field missions to Brussels, supports UN-EU and UN-NATO information exchanges (both formal and informal) and backstops dialogue mechanisms relating to political affairs, peace and security.

With partnerships becoming a linchpin for effective multilateralism, the standing  of UNLOPS - as the UN’s one-stop shop on peace and security in Brussels – is well positioned to build on its legacy helping to deliver the values enshrined in the UN charter.