Paris Peace Forum 2025 concludes with global pledges for peace, AI accountability and climate action

Selection of 10 projects to be backed in 2026

The 8th Paris Peace Forum concluded on Thursday, drawing over 4,000 participants and 15 Heads of State to renew global cooperation amid ongoing conflicts, humanitarian crises, and rapid technological change. Centred on the theme ‘New Coalitions for Peace, People and the Planet’, the summit highlighted international coordination on AI safety, humanitarian law in conflict zones, and climate commitments.

The 8th edition of the Paris Peace Forum, which took place over two days in the French capital, concluded on Thursday after high-level international discussions on peace, climate, and the impact of technological progress on people.

In a press statement, the organisers of Paris Peace Forum say that more than 15 Heads of State or Governments and 25 ministers from around the world attended the Forum discussions under the theme, New Coalitions for Peace, People and the Planet, which brought together 500 speakers at 86 conferences and round tables, and 4,000 participants.

It adds that the second day was marked by debates on Artificial Intelligence, hopes for peace in Israeli-Palestinian conflict, end of war in Ukraine as well as in Great Lakes region in Africa and the future of humanitarian law. On this occasion, the Forum also announced the list of 10 projects that it will support in 2026 as part of the SCUP programme.

“The word that embodies the Forum is impact. When we look at a brutalised and chaotic world, it is not simply to analyse it, it is to take action, to bring together stakeholders with a view to transforming it”, says Justin Vaïsse, Founder and Director General, Paris Peace Forum.\

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According to the statement during the Forum, several countries announced funding for the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM), including France, which pledged  EUR 10 million, and Ghana, the first African country to provide financial support for this initiative. Additionally, countries from both the Global North and South have pledged to reduce methane emissions. This pledge, championed by Emmanuel Macron and Mia Mottley, the Prime Minister of Barbados, will be discussed at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in November.

The statement adds that as part of a ministerial conference in Paris to support peace and prosperity in the Great Lakes region, the Forum held a session on regional economic integration, a crucial vehicle for achieving lasting peace. Co-chaired by France and Togo, mediators of the African Union for the Great Lakes region, the main objective of this Paris conference is to mobilise the international community to respond to the humanitarian emergency in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region. It is also an opportunity to support the ongoing negotiation and mediation process led by the United States, Qatar and the African Union.

It further adds that the importance of safeguarding international humanitarian law was also highlighted on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Geneva Conventions. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, French Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, CIVIC Director Hichem Khadhraoui, EU Special Representative for Human Rights Kajsa Ollongren, and ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric-Egger discussed the principles of international humanitarian law (IHL). They restate the importance of mobilising more states to join the initiative aimed at galvanising political commitment to IHL.

“The first steps towards peace are always humanitarian, we must treat human life as human life, regardless of which side you are on. That is the guarantee of returning to the path of peace,” says Spoljaric- Egger, ICRC President.

At the Forum, global experts in artificial intelligence, including Yoshua Bengio of LawZéro, Nicholas Butts of Microsoft, and New Zealand’s former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, examined ways to strengthen AI security and cooperation to develop responsible standards. The discussions highlighted both the preventive potential of AI and its risks, highlights the importance of collaboration between governments, industries and societies.

“AI is a preventive tool, but it can also exacerbate the pathways to radicalisation,” said Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand.

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“It is important that industries, governments and societies engage with each other,” said Butts, Director of AI- and Cybersecurity Policy, Microsoft.

Other sessions focussed on protecting children’s cognitive and emotional development in the age of intelligent technologies, with contributions from representatives of UNICEF, Sesame Workshop, OpenAI and everyone.ai. The Forum also explored sustainable development in Africa, addressing issues of agriculture, mineral use and economic transformation, and concluded by announcing 10 innovative projects to receive support under its 2026 Scale-Up programme.