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This Week in Peace #106: November 14

By
Tara Abhasakun
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Islamabad, Pakistan. Photo via wikipedia.

This week, Thailand and Cambodia’s peace deal interrupted by landmine explosion. Despite Islamabad blast, Pakistan seeks dialogue. Trial over DRC atrocities opens for former rebel leader in Paris. UN humanitarian chief says talks with Sudan leader “constructive.”

Thailand and Cambodia’s Peace Deal Interrupted by Landmine Explosion

Thailand halted its peace deal with Cambodia after a landmine exploded and injured two Thai soldiers near the border on November 10. This development came after US President Donald Trump helped to broker a deal between the two countries in July, and both countries signed an expanded truce in Malaysia in October.   

Thailand and Cambodia’s border conflict escalated on July 24, 2025, after a landmine explosion injured five Thai soldiers, including one who lost his leg. However, the series of events that led to the escalation was disputed between the two countries, with both sides blaming the other. 

Thailand and Cambodia exchanged artillery fire and rocket strikes, and the Thai Air Force launched F-16 airstrikes, marking the worst fighting between the two since 2011. The fighting killed at least 43 people, including many civilians, and displaced over 300,000 in both countries, Reuters reported on June 29. 

Despite Islamabad Blast, Pakistan Seeks Dialogue

Despite a bombing in Islamabad that killed 12 people on November 11, which was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, Pakistan is seeking dialogue. Pakistani Prime Minister Shebhaz Sharif on November 12 offered talks to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Although he said that there were “Afghan footprints” in the attack, Shebhaz insisted that Pakistan wanted peace in the region.

“We want peace to prevail,” Shebhaz said, adding “Afghanistan should realize that what is good for us is good for them. But it cannot be that they make promises and then fail to act.”

The Afghan Taliban did not immediately respond to Sharif’s offer. 

Pakistan says that Pakistani Taliban militants who have increased attacks on Pakistan operate from Afghanistan. The conflict between the two countries intensified when Pakistan carried out airstrikes on Kabul on October 9, 2025.

Trial Over DRC Atrocities Opens for Former Rebel Leader in Paris

On November 12, the trial of Congolese former rebel leader Roger Lumbala opened in Paris over atrocities committed during the Second Congo War from 1998 to 2003. Lumbala has been charged with “criminal conspiracy to prepare crimes against humanity” and “complicity of crimes against humanity,” The Associated Press reported. 

Lubala, 67, led the Congolese Rally for National Democracy, a Uganda-backed group accused of atrocities against civilians, particularly the Nande and Bambuti ethnic minorities in eastern DRC in 2002 and 2003. UN investigators also accuse Lubala’s paramilitaries of targeting pygmies. rfi reports that dozens of victims are expected to testify before the verdict is made on December 19, 2025. Lumbala faces the possibility of imprisonment for life. 

Several NGOs including Clooney Foundation for Justice, TRIAL International, Minority Rights Group, Justice Plus, and PAP-RDC issued a joint statement in October, 2025 in support of what they described as a “historic trial.”

UN Humanitarian Chief Calls Talks With Sudan Leader “Constructive”

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said that his talks with Sudan’s army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on November 11 were “constructive.” The talks aimed to ensure that life-saving aid reaches all areas of the country.

Fletcher said, “I very much welcome the constructive conversations with President Burhan this afternoon, aimed at ensuring we can continue to operate everywhere across Sudan to deliver in a neutral, independent and impartial way for all those in such dire need.” 

This development comes as Sudan’s humanitarian situation has worsened, leaving every two out of three people needing aid. It remains to be seen if humanitarian forces will be able to distribute aid in the country.

Last week, Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group said that it agreed to a “humanitarian ceasefire.” However, since then, there have been reports of violent attacks by the group.

Keywords: Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, DRC, Sudan, peace, conflict, conflict resolution

Human Rights as Peace Infrastructure: Insights from Thailand and Cambodia’s Border Tensions

By
Duanghathai Buranajaroenkij and Vachararutai Boontinand
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The border crossing in Poipet, Cambodia, between Cambodia and Thailand. Photo by Darcy M. via Wikipedia.

Amidst the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, which escalated on July 24, 2025, some Thai human rights defenders have faced threats after standing up for the rights of Cambodian civilians. These threats have come in the midst of heightened nationalist sentiments in both countries. 

The recent experiences of Thai Senator Angkhana Neelapaijit and human rights defender Sunai Phasuk, who face death threats and online harassment, highlight a profound insight: The defense of human rights is not merely a matter of protecting individuals, but of maintaining the social foundations that sustain peace. Their cases invite us to reimagine human rights as a peace infrastructure, a framework of institutions, values, and relationships that prevents the escalation of conflict and anchors trust within everyday governance.

Human Rights Defenders Amid Border Tensions

During the Thai-Cambodian ongoing border conflict in October 2025, senator and former human rights commissioner Angkhana Neelapaijit and Human Rights Watch senior researcher Sunai Phasuk warned that the use of amplified ghost-like noises along the Thai-Cambodian border— described as “haunting wails” broadcast through loudspeakers by a Thai nationalist influencer—could amount to psychological intimidation, and risk violating Thailand’s obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture. They cautioned that while nationalism and anger were running high, such acts risked dehumanizing others and undermining human rights standards Thailand has pledged to uphold. 

Having been accused of being unpatriotic, their remarks fueled online debates over the incident, which escalated into hate speech and targeted harassment. In response, Senator Angkhana urged both Thais and Cambodians to refrain from spreading inflammatory or dehumanizing content online, emphasizing that hate speech only deepens divisions and undermines regional harmony. Echoing this, a network of human rights organizations issued a statement denouncing hate speech, and called for the protection of the freedom of expression of human rights defenders like Senator Angkhana and others who shared their dissenting views, raising questions to the government about the ongoing border conflict. 

Attacks against human rights defenders such as this reveal the precarity of Thailand’s civic space, where defending accountability can be mistaken for disloyalty. Amnesty International Thailand (2025) and Front Line Defenders (2024) note that the increasing hostility toward rights defenders exposes weaknesses in democratic dialogue, while UNDP Thailand (2023) points to systemic gaps in state capacity to ensure a safe environment for protecting the freedom of expression of those defending rights and demanding accountability. 

At the same time, nationalist tensions and clashes between the Thai and Cambodian populations underscore the fact that ensuring human rights is not only about protecting individuals but also about preventing conflict from escalating into violence. 

Human Rights Standards and Conflict Transformation

Human rights provide the ethical and institutional foundation for peace. Michelle Parlevliet (2009) argues that violations of rights are both causes and consequences of violent conflict; Repression and exclusion sow grievances that can later explode into violence. Protecting rights, by contrast, nurtures legitimacy and accountability, key conditions for trust and social stability. Similarly, Riva Kantowitz (2020) stresses that upholding human rights is a crucial element of conflict prevention. Integrating human rights analysis into peacebuilding helps identify root causes, such as inequality, discrimination, and marginalization, thereby turning normative commitments into preventive strategies. The UN–World Bank’s Pathways for Peace report (2018) affirms that investing in rights-based prevention is both morally and economically sound.

The supposed trade-off between peace and upholding rights is misleading: Genuine peace requires justice, as Parlevliet (2009) conceptualizes rights as rules, institutions, relationships, and processes, each indispensable for transforming conflict. As such, all parties should be reminded that sustainable peace requires not only laws that protect civic space, but also trust-building between citizens and institutions, as well as participatory processes that legitimize public dialogue. When activists and human rights defenders are criminalized or psychological tactics are normalized, citizens ‘ relationships fray. The erosion of trust and inclusion deepens social divides, and diminishes the possibility of creating peace.

At the same time, adherence to human rights standards on both the Thai and Cambodian sides is not merely a normative obligation, but a pragmatic tool for stability and confidence-building. Respecting international human rights norms help establish predictable and transparent behavior by both state and non-state actors along the border, thereby reducing the likelihood of miscommunication or escalation. In essence, human rights compliance serves as a form of preventive diplomacy, anchoring cross-border relations in shared values rather than suspicion, and ensuring that disputes are resolved through dialogue and legal mechanisms rather than intimidation or retaliation.

Human Rights as the Foundation of Peace Infrastructure

John Paul Lederach (1997; 2012) introduced the concept of an infrastructure for peace (I4P) to describe the social systems that support reconciliation and non-violent conflict transformation. He argues that peacebuilding is an ongoing process that connects grassroots relationships with national institutions through sustained, participatory mechanisms. An infrastructure for peace thus bridges the “vertical gap” between communities and policymakers, ensuring that early warning, dialogue, and reconciliation mechanisms are institutionalized. In the context of the Thai–Cambodian conflict, this could involve cross-border civic forums, independent human rights monitoring, and educational programs on non-discrimination.

Protecting human rights defenders like Angkhana and Sunai is therefore integral to peace infrastructure; They embody the connective institutions and moral voice linking state responsibility and civic participation.

Both Kantowitz (2020) and Lederach (1997) emphasize that human rights are not abstract ideals, but the operational core of sustainable peace. Rights institutionalize inclusion, accountability, and transparency, the same values that underpin conflict transformation. Embedding these principles in governance, security, and education systems builds a self-correcting social order that mitigates grievances before they escalate. For Thailand and Cambodia, human rights serve as a peace infrastructure by transforming moral commitments into living systems of protection, participation, and peaceful coexistence.

From Protecting Individuals to Building Systems of Peace

The cases of Senator Angkhana Neelapaijit and Sunai Phasuk remind us that defending human rights is inseparable from building peace itself. When human rights standards guide political behavior, security measures, and public discourse, they function as the invisible scaffolding of peace. Conversely, when fear, intimidation, or misinformation dominate, they erode this scaffolding, leaving societies vulnerable to recurring tension. Reimagining human rights as peace infrastructure reframes them not as constraints but as the architecture of stability and coexistence. For Thailand and Cambodia, this means institutionalizing respect for human dignity at every level, from border policy to civic dialogue, so that peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but the capacity to engage in it constructively, with mutual respect and shared responsibility.

Keywords: Thailand, Cambodia, human rights, peace, peace infrastucture, Thailand Cambodia border, Thai-Cambodian conflict, conflict, conflict resolution, border, border conflict,

Supporting Development and Peace in Mozambique’s Conflict-Torn North

By
Tara Abhasakun
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Cabo Del Gado province in Northern Mozambique, where the UNDP and Germany will focus their efforts. Photo by F. Mira via Wikipedia.

People in Northern Mozambique have been facing violence and displacement by non-state armed groups amidst an Islamist insurgency since 2017. Since then, around 1.3 million people have been displaced in the region due to attacks on civilian infrastructure. From July 20 to 28 2025, at least 46,667 people across the districts of Chiúre, Ancuabe, and Muidumbe were forced to flee their homes, with many children separated from their families. 

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has stressed that the aid response to the crisis remains “severely underfunded.” As of July, OCHA reported, only 19 percent of Mozambique’s 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan has been funded. Of the US$352 million requested, just US$66 million has been received – forcing agencies to reduce their response targets by over 70 per cent. Agencies now have a goal of assisting only 317,000 people, UCHA reported, down from the target of 1.1 million at the start of the year.

Germany and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are stepping in to support peace and development in the region. On October 24, 2025, Germany and the UNDP Mozambique commemorated UN Day 2025 by signing an agreement worth EUR 2 million in support of the Programme for the Stabilization of Northern Mozambique. Germany will help to contribute toward work to consolidate peace and social cohesion in conflict-striken areas. Germany will particularly focus on Cabo Delgado province, where the local population is still recovering from violence and displacement.

The Programme for the Stabilization of Northern Mozambique includes three key focus points:

  1. Security and rule of law, to strengthen community safety and protect populations;
  1. Infrastructure rehabilitation, to enable access to essential services; and
  1. Socio-economic recovery, to expand livelihood opportunities and resilience among affected populations.

The program is supporting the livelihood of thousands of households to rebuild their lives in resettled areas. It is also helping to rehabilitate public institutions such as schools, markets, health centres, and administrative offices. In addition, the program has been organizing community dialogues to build reconciliation and trust. 

Many other groups and agencies have also contributed funds to support peace and development in Northern Mozambique. In July, the African Development Bank approved US$17 million dollars to rebuild the region. This funding, the Bank said, would create 24,000 jobs, with 60% of opportunities earmarked for young people aged 18 to 35, and 50% reserved for women. The funding was expected to benefit over 100,000 people.

Still, bringing stability to Northern Mozambique will not be an overnight feat. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC), the climate crisis is straining capacities and deepening protection risks for communities impacted by displacement. Another challenge is that Mozambique also has 25,000 Central and Eastern Africa who have been displaced for over 10 years. 

UNDP Resident Representative Edo Stork said, “Stabilization is not only about rebuilding infrastructure — it is about restoring trust and opportunity.” He added,  “By supporting local governance, economic inclusion, and social cohesion, we are helping communities lay the groundwork for a peaceful and sustainable future.”

The UNDP has played a key role in peace and development projects across several African countries. In September 2025, Peace News Network (PNN) published an article on the program Peacebuilding and Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) in East Africa. The UNDP and a South Korean agency are collaborating on the project in Somalia to make youth and marginalized groups more resilient against extremism through dialogue, peer-to-peer exchanges, and multimedia peace campaigns. 

The program also emphasizes reintegration for those leaving extremist groups, combining psychosocial support with livelihood training to reduce the risk of re-recruitment. To read the full article, click here. 

Keywords: Mozambique, Northern Mozambique, Islamist insurgency, development, peace, UNDP, Germany, conflict, conflict resolution, Africa, North

This Week in Peace #105: November 7

By
Tara Abhasakun
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Pakistan-Afghanistan border, photo via Wikipedia.

This week, Sudan’s RSF agrees to ceasefire after violence against Sudan’s civilians worsens. FIFA’s new peace prize. Pakistan-Afghanistan peace talks on again. 

Sudan’s RSF Agrees to Ceasefire After Violence Against Sudan’s Civilians Worsens

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group finally said on November 6 that it agreed to a “humanitarian ceasefire” after violence against civilians has continued to worsen. 

This development comes two and a half years after Sudan’s civil war began in April 2023. Troops from the RSF, which has been accused of committing a genocide, have posted videos of civilians in El Fasher being shot, including in a maternity hospital. 

On November 5, Amnesty International released a statement declaring that 260,000 people were “trapped with nowhere to run,” as the RSF carried out brutal violence. The statement urged that “we must keep our eyes on Sudan.”

Several international human rights organizations and officials have spoken out against the violence. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterrres said Sudan’s war is spiralling out of control, and called on the warring parties to “come to the negotiating table, bring an end to this nightmare of violence – now.”

The ceasefire will be a three-month truce across Sudan, according to officials involved. However, The Guardian reports that some may view the ceasefire as the RSF’s attempt to deflect from the El Fasher allegations.

On October 24, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and United Arab Emirates have united to form a Joint Operational Committee or ‘quad’ on Sudan. The committee’s statement describes a roadmap including: an initial three-month humanitarian truce to allow for rapid aid delivery, followed by a permanent ceasefire, and concluding with a nine-month transitional period leading to “an independent, civilian-led government with broad-based legitimacy and accountability.”

FIFA’s New Peace Prize

FIFA this week announced its new ‘FIFA Peace Prize,’ which it said will “recognize exceptional actions for peace.” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that due to the instability in the world, “it’s fundamental to recognize the outstanding contribution of those who work hard to end conflicts and bring people together in a spirit of peace.”

Infantino said he will award the first Fifa Peace Prize at the World Cup draw in Washington DC on December 5. 

Pakistan-Afghanistan Peace Talks on Again

Pakistan’s state-run media reported that Pakistan and Afghanistan resumed peace talks in Istabnul, Turkey, on November 6, following nearly a month of conflict which intensified on October 9. The fighting has killed dozens of people including soldiers, civilians, and expected militants, ABC reports. 

Authorities say the talks will continue on November 7, however, neither country’s officials have commented on the talks. This development comes after talks hit a wall last week, with each country’s state media blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal. 

The conflict between the two countries intensified when Pakistan carried out airstrikes on Kabul on October 9. Pakistan says that Pakistani Taliban militants who have increased attacks on Pakistan operate from Afghanistan. Pakistan was a major supporter of the Afghan Taliban in 2001 following the US invasion of Afghanistan. However, relations soured after Pakistan accused the Afghan Taliban of harboring the Pakistani Taliban, which has launched an insurgency against Pakistan’s government.

Keywords: Sudan, FIFA, FIFA Peace Prize, Pakistan, Afghanistan, conflict, conflict resolution, peace

In Indonesia, Experts Discuss Future of Peace Education in Southeast Asia

By
Tara Abhasakun
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Children sitting in a classroom in Thailand, photo by Ron Lach via Pexels.

Southeast Asia is home to several armed conflicts. Southern Thailand has been the scene of a separatist insurgency for decades—which intensified in the early 2000s— while Myanmar is ruled by a junta that took over the country in 2021. In Indonesia, conflict between the government and extremist groups, as well as persecution of religious minorities, are persistent issues. Amidst such conflicts, peace education is a critical need.

From September 24 to 25 2025, UNESCO organized a meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, on sustainable peace education in Southeast Asia. The meeting aimed to bring together policymakers, educators, international organizations, and peace practitioners to, according to UNESCO, “explore the transformative role of education in sustaining peace by fostering reconciliation, engaging in the root causes, and addressing all forms of discrimination and hate speech.”

The meeting was built on the 2023 UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development.  

In his keynote address in the opening session, Professor Abdul Mu’ti, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education of Indonesia, discussed education as a key promoter of tolerance, empathy, and mutual understanding. 

In the first session, attendees discussed how to implement peace education throughout the region, according to 14 guiding principles and seven key areas for implementing the UNESCO Recommendation. The session included speakers from Indonesia, Myanmar, and Timor-Leste, who focused on the need for “contextually grounded and inclusive policy-making with meaningful youth engagement.”

The second session tackled the issue of peace education from a lifelong learning perspective. Speakers included policy stakeholders from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Timor-Leste, who discussed their national strategies and practices. The stakeholders stressed the importance of teacher education, school leadership, and curriculum reform encompassing civic and human rights education.

The third session was titled “Strategies for 2026–2030 for Transformative Education to Advance Peace in the Region.” Speakers from Cambodia, Timor-Leste, and Thailand discussed how education should address reconciliation, addressing historical trauma, and integrating multiple narratives into history education. The speakers urged that education should, rather than simply teaching knowledge, support empathy, healing, and critical reflection. 

The fourth session was titled “Fostering Human Development and Lasting Peace through Education.” The head of UNESCO’s Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU), Sunmi Ji, described APCEIU’s efforts to promote a culture of peace in areas such as teacher professional development, curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and partnerships.

The fifth session showcased successful examples of peace education in the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, and Malaysia, including through the use of art and digital media. In the sixth session, presenters from Indonesia, Thailand, and Timo-Leste called for integrating peace studies, human rights, and ecological justice into higher education. They also called for enhancing faculty training and ensuring academic freedom. 

In the final interactive session, participants were given the chance to answer the question “What three topics would you consider for education for peace in ASEAN?” The highest number of votes went to Global Citizenship Education (GCED), followed by social justice, media literacy, values and ethics, history and memory, climate change and sustainability, and artificial intelligence.

Peace News Network (PNN) has published articles in the past focusing on peace education in Indonesia. In September 2025, PNN published an article on UNESCO’s Social Media 4 Peace project. The project, which launched its second phase in Indonesia in July, aims to build resilience in societies against potentially harmful online content, particularly hate speech. It aims to strengthen freedom of expression and promote peace through social media and digital technology.

In December 2024, PNN published an article on multicultural religious education for peace by Saepudin Mashuri. Mashuri observed how schools in the Poso Regency—which has a history of conflict between Muslims and Christians—had sucessfully implemented an educational model including religious learning, extracurricular activities, socio-religious activities, and humanitarian solidarity programs responsive to peace practices.

Keywords: Indonesia, Southeast Asia, education, peace education, Thailand, Timor-Leste, peace, conflict, conflict resolution

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