News and Insight

This month, a team of peace and environmental activists completed a two-day mountain hike in Jammu and Kashmir along the Line of Control, which divides territories administered by India and Pakistan. This dividing line is contested by India, Pakistan and Kashmiris on both sides, and communities in this area often experience heavy artillery and shelling by the militaries of the two countries.

A group of intrepid journalists and peace and environmental activists are embarking on a two day hike in the mountains of Jammu and Kashmir, passing one of the most militarised regions of the world, to raise awareness and funds for peacebuilders around the world.

Hela province in Papua New Guinea is experiencing significant rates of violent conflict. Over the past few decades, violence has escalated in scale and intensity. High levels of violence have had devastating effects on the people of Hela, including death, physical suffering, trauma, destruction of property, mass displacement and gender-based violence.

Providing psychosocial rehabilitation and addressing trauma as a consequence of war is generally understood as an important element of supporting communities after the conflict has subsided. But according to Larissa Sotieva and Juliet Schofield of conflict transformation organisation Indie Peace, what is less understood is the way in which trauma is also a driver of conflict, and how trauma influences social and political dynamics before and after a violent conflict. This lack of understanding of the effect of societal trauma – of how people’s emotions, fears and aspirations influence conflict dynamics – means that peacebuilding has failed to take this into consideration in the past.

Despite a growing bank of evidence of the interplay between the climate crisis and conflicts, and the need to consider this intersection in climate responses, still little is actually being done. Conciliation Resources joined a network of organisations in Stockholm in May and June 2022 to make the case for peacebuilding and conflict sensitivity in climate change policy.

The complex connections between the climate crisis and conflict were explored during a recent event organised by Conciliation Resources, hosted by law firm Linklaters LLP. The lively discussion focused on the human costs of conflicts fuelled by the climate crisis, and the positive ways that those who are affected are working to respond to them.

In late June, Conciliation Resources, Transcend Oceania, and community representatives held an event in Suva, Fiji to talk to government, civil society, and international organisations on the importance of enabling communities to lead in managing their own responses to climate change. During the event, community leaders presented key recommendations for addressing the impacts of climate change in their communities, ways to manage those changes and prevent identified conflict risks.

For many South Pacific nations climate change is a reality. Rising sea levels, agricultural land increasingly contaminated by salination, and an increase in extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones, floods and droughts are creating extra pressure on communities already under strain. Existing conflicts among communities are being exacerbated. Even some of the solutions to mitigate the effects of a changing climate are making matters worse.

Nigeria is in the midst of a deep security crisis, with armed conflicts and violent crime now a problem in most parts of the country. In rural Nigeria, blame for the violence has focused on cross-border cattle herders – pastoralists whose mobile way of life is suspected of triggering conflict in different parts of the country, from north to south.

Bank accounts blocked. Financial transfers suspended so cash has to be carried in hand. Charities forced to change names to sound less “risky”. These are some of the ways some humanitarian, peacebuilding and development charities working in areas affected by conflict have been impacted by banks’ growing aversion to risk. Banks’ concerns are well-grounded: they must comply with counter-terrorism and money laundering laws. But how do we balance these concerns so that they do not hinder the critical work of peacebuilding and humanitarian NGOs?

How psychology can impact and enhance peace mediation practice was in focus at an event in London on 18 May 2022. The event was co-organised by the Swiss Embassy in London, Conciliation Resources and the Centre for Researching and Embedding Human Rights (CREHR) at Birkbeck, University of London.

How are digital tools polarising societies and fuelling violence? And how can they instead be used to build peace? These were the main questions explored at an event on 10 May 2022 organised by the Swiss Embassy in London in partnership with Conciliation Resources.