News and Insight

Surveys into the views of Georgian and Abkhaz youth on peace and security issues have shown that young people consider isolation, prejudice and an insufficiently student-centred approach to education as among the biggest obstacles to peace and stability in the Georgian-Abkhaz context. 

Women Mediators across the Commonwealth (WMC) members met in London this week as part of the first all-member meeting since the inception of the network over a year ago. The women shared their mediation learning and discussed the future development of this international network of mediators, which is hosted by Conciliation Resources.

On Saturday 23 November the people of Bougainville (an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea) started voting in a referendum on Bougainville’s political future. There are two options on offer – independence or greater autonomy. This vote marks a key moment in the Bougainville peace process, but does not mark the end of the process.

The international peacebuilding NGO, Conciliation Resources, and Brussels-based mediation organisation mediatEUr, have decided to recognise the closeness of their missions and come together, combining their objectives and operations.

Conciliation Resources works with two local partners in Mindanao, southern Philippines, to resolve clan conflicts, and strengthen relationships between communities and local authorities. Tenduray Lambangian Women’s Organisation (TLWOI) is a network representing indigenous people, and United Youth for Peace and Development (UNYPAD) is a predominantly Moro (Muslim) youth organisation working to promote peace in the region through dialogue and reconciliation.

The current situation in Kashmir puts the potential of peace in the region even further away. Can the Kashmiri people provide the way out?

31 October marks the 19th Anniversary of the UN Security Council resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on Women, Peace and Security. This commitment reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and stresses the importance of their equal participation.

On this day, one year ago, I was in Asmara in Eritrea, witnessing the signing of a declaration ending over 20 years of armed conflict in the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia (commonly referred to as ‘Ogaden’). For six years, I’d accompanied every twist and turn of these peace negotiations, and to see how far we had come was a moment of real pride. But we all knew that although this singing marked the end of the Ogaden insurgency, the hard work of transitioning from war to peace was just beginning. So, one year on, how far have we come and what needs to happen next?

One year ago, the Ogaden National Liberation Front and the Government of Ethiopia signed an historic peace deal, ending nearly a quarter of a century of armed conflict in the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia.

We were there, as we have been for the past seven years of negotiations, helping these two parties to reach a peace deal.

This film brings together some of the voices of this extraordinary peace process. Together, they tell the story of how over 20 years of fighting came to an end, and an armed group moved from war to peace.

The phases of peace processes before formal talks are marked by deep distrust, security challenges, and the need for discretion and secrecy. This results in sparse analysis or documentation of this crucial but unpredictable period of supporting pathways to peace talks. In many ways this phase remains uncharted territory compared to later phases – once public negotiations begin and when a ceasefire or peace deal is struck.

Today, the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea. It was a monumental achievement ending a 20-year military stalemate, but his sweeping reforms have also been instrumental in transforming years of armed conflict within Ethiopia.

We would like to say a huge thank you to all of the BBC Radio 4 listeners and Conciliation Resources’ supporters who so generously supported our appeal broadcast in September. The appeal has raised over £15,200 for our peacebuilding work, with donations still coming in!