Integrating peacebuilding into the triple nexus: insights from UNICEF's dual mandate

This article explores how UN organisations without a formal peacebuilding mandate – using UNICEF as a case study – can integrate peacebuilding within the Triple Nexus framework. Drawing on institutional ethnography, interviews, and document analysis, it finds that UNICEF strategises peace outcomes through a child-rights lens, social cohesion strategies, risk-informed, and conflict-sensitive programming. However, implementation remains fragmented. Comparative findings from UNDP, WFP, and WHO demonstrate that participatory approaches enable more coherent integration of peace objectives across sectoral mandates. The article contributes to nexus scholarship by showing that peacebuilding can be operationalised without contradicting humanitarian principles if anchored in sector-specific strengths and interoperable frameworks. It calls for a differentiated yet harmonised UN-wide approach that promotes local ownership and adaptive design. The study informs policy and practice across the Triple Nexus and contributes to the achievement of SDGs 3, 10, 16, and 17.