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Progress on Tribal Reconciliation in Solomon Islands

By
Peace News Staff
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The reconciliation brought together the young and old for the first time in decades. Photo by Solomon Island's Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) press.

The Solomon Islands is a nation that knows the cost of communal conflict: From 1998 to 2003 it was engulfed in violent unrest (known as “the Tensions”) as militants from Malaita and Guadalcanal provinces clashed over land and ethnic disputes. These hostilities caused abductions, the killings of an estimated 200 people, sexual violence, and forced displacement. International peacekeepers, particularly Australian peacekeepers, intervened, and were able to bring the conflict to an end in 2003, although tensions flared again in 2021 after Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare refused to meet with protesters from Malaita island.

Today, land disputes remain a major issue in the Solomon Islands. Around 85% of the country’s landmass is customary land, which is regulated by unwritten laws and oral traditions passed down through generations which are not universally accepted. This can sometimes cause tribal and clan disputes. 

But the islands have recently seen progress on tribal reconciliation in Malaita. In the village of Fo’ondo, the North Malaita Constituency (NMC) organized a tribal reconciliation program for members of Abua’ero tribal clan from April 25 to 27, 2025. Some of the clan’s members had been separated by 115 years of estrangement over grievances and disputes, the Solomon Islands government reported. 

Families reunited under the theme “A Journey of Reconciliation, Reunion, and Restoration of the Abua’ero Tribal Clan.” Officials described the event as emotional and historic, noting it reunited families for the first time since their great-grandfathers left the land around 1910. Families traveled from across Malaita and even other provinces to attend.

A senior officer from the Ministry of Traditional Governance, Ben Oto’ofa, facilitated the ceremony. The gathering even oversaw a leadership transition when Elder Paramount Chief Philip Akote’e Damirara formally passed his title to a new tribal chief, Silas Benono Wawane.

Community Peacebuilding to End Conflict and Spur Development

Constituency Development Officer (CDO) Nason Nunufia said that under the leadership of the Member of Parliament (PM) Daniel Waneoroa, it a priority to resolve land disputes and reunite tribes and people. Nunufia noted that land disputes were one of the “major hindrances” to development.

“Development cannot happen in the air. It happens on the land. So, preparing people and their land for development is paramount,” he said. Nufunfia added that since most lands were tribally owned, there was a need to come up with “models and avenues to engage people in a people-centred approach to deal with land issues and disputes, a collective paradigm.”

A local business also contributed, reflecting community investment in peace. Solrice Company donated 20 bags of rice to support the event.

The Role of International Institutions

International bodies are also working to address land disputes in the Solomon Islands. In 2020, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partnered with the Solomon Islands Government through the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey to launch the customary land recording process. The process took place in the three target provinces of Malaita, Western, and Guadalcanal.

UNDP and UN Women collaborated with the ministry to maintain inclusiveness in the consultation process, involving women, youth, and people with disabilities. The government then made the Customary Land Recording policy one of the biggest priorities for the country’s development. 

Keywords: Solomon Islands, Malaita, peacebuilding, grassroots reconciliation, community conflict resolution, development, land disputes, tribal unity, underreported peace story

This Week in Peace #84: May 30

By
Tara Abhasakun
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Nasir, South Sudan, a city that civilians recently fled from. Photo from Al Jazeera video, April.

This week, will Trump’s new ceasefire proposal for Gaza work? Russia proposes new Ukraine peace talks amidst ongoing tensions. Conflict returns to South Sudan, chipping away at fragile peace.

Will Trump’s New Ceasefire Proposal for Gaza Work?

On May 28, Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, announced plans to disseminate the new term sheet soon, saying he had “very good feelings about” achieving both a temporary ceasefire and a lasting, peaceful resolution to the conflict. On May 30, Associated Press reported that Witkoff had not yet publicized this proposal, however, Israel had accepted it. Meanwhile, the outlet reported that Hamas officials said they wanted to study the proposal more closely before giving a formal answer.

A Hamas official and an Egyptian official anonymously told AP that the ceasefire calls for a 60-day pause in fighting, guarantees of serious negotiations leading to a long-term truce, and assurances that Israel will not resume hostilities after the release of hostages, as it did in March. Israeli forces would return to the positions they held during the ceasefire which ended that month. The ceasefire would also include the exchange of 10 living hostages for 1,100 Palestinian prisoners, and hundreds of food and aid trucks would be allowed to enter Gaza.

Last week, ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas resumed in Doha on May 17.  Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters that both sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions.” However, Israel intensified its military operations in Gaza, launching Operation Gideon’s Chariots, which involves a ground incursion. The operation killed at least 160 people on March 17. ABC News’ journalist Diaa Ostaz, reporting from Khan Younis, said the situation is “getting worse not day by day, but hour by hour.” To read last week’s report on the situation, click here.

Ever since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 people, the humanitarian situation has continued to deteriorate for Palestinians in Gaza. Over 50,000 Palestinians are reported to have reported killed. Meanwhile, Israel is still holding 58 hostages, about a third of whom are believed to be alive, AP reports.

Russia Proposes New Ukraine Peace Talks Amidst Ongoing Tensions

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Russia wants the next round of direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2, aiming for a sustainable peace settlement. While Ukraine has not yet responded, the proposal comes as U.S. President Donald Trump expressed concerns over potential delays in negotiations. 

The previous meeting in Istanbul on May 16 saw Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov engage with Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky. This meeting marked the first direct contact between the two countries in over three years since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Although the officials did not reach an agreement, the meeting led both sides to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each.

Conflict Returns to South Sudan, Chipping Away at Fragile Peace

Conflict is returning to South Sudan, chipping away at the country’s fragile peace. Amnesty International on May 28 reported that violence had killed 180 people between March and mid-April amid deepening divisions between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar. Amnesty called for the UN Security Council to renew its arms embargo on the country, despite African members of the Council– including Sierra Leone, Somalia and Algeria – calling to lift it.

Amnesty’s call comes after last week, The New Humanitarian reported that the government had launched barrel bombs at civilians in Nasir and surrounding areas, who were taking refuge in makeshift shelters. This was after the armed group known as the White Army overran a military base. Citizens in South Sudan and those who had fled to Ethiopia told the outlet that the national army, currently backed by Ugandan forces, had used incendiary weapons.

South Sudan experienced a civil war in 2013 between First Vice President Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir. Kiir accused Machar of plotting against him, and Machar was removed as vice president. This led to brutal violence between armed groups supporting both figures. In 2018, a peace deal was agreed upon, however, many issues remain. Although the agreement ended a five-year civil war that killed over 400,000 people, talks stalled after Kiir sacked the former government delegation to the talks.

Keywords: Israel, Gaza, Palestine, Ukraine, Russia, South Sudan, peace, conflict, conflict resolution

Three Ways Positive Dialogue Builds Peace After Conflict in Liberia and Beyond

By
Jennifer K. Ptacek
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Two pen-pen riders from different communities came together to shake hands during a football game that was organized by the local peacebuilding group, photo by Jen Ptacek.

In the wake of violence, peace doesn’t emerge overnight—in many conflict-prone countries, tensions persist long after formal violence ends. Positive dialogue is critical at these times, as it offers numerous research-backed benefits. However, it is an often overlooked peacebuilding tool. In my research on peacebuilding in Liberia—a country recovering from two major civil wars—I have seen how ordinary people use dialogue to contribute to reconciliation, inclusion, and local agency in peacebuilding. This article focuses on three powerful ways in which positive dialogue fosters peace in fragile and divided societies.

1. Dialogue Rebuilds Trust and Humanizes the ‘Other’

After violent conflict, groups often view each other with suspicion or dehumanization. In Liberia, for example, ex-combatants and former youth militia members—many of whom became commercial motorcycle riders known as ‘pen-pen riders’—were widely viewed as aggressive and dangerous. They were stigmatized and often pushed to society’s margins. 

However, through intentional community dialogue and organizing, pen-pen riders began to transform public perceptions. Grassroots organizations began to form—involving the riders both as group members and dialogue participants—and acknowledged their value in getting information to people quickly when it was needed most. They led peaceful election campaigns, distributed Ebola prevention education, and spread peaceful messages on the radio and at community events. Perceptions of pen-pen riders started to shift from “violent outgroup” to “partner in peace”—not only in the eyes of community members but in the riders themselves.

As one rider reflected, “I got to understand the importance of my life. So the only way you can enjoy life is peace.” 

By creating space for people to speak—and be heard—dialogue shifted the narrative here. It reminded communities that those members who were once labeled as “threats” were also humans, neighbors, survivors, and peacebuilders. 

The same principle applies globally. In the United States, hates crimes have been on the rise in recent years, showing how dehumanization can fester in silence. Dialogue, in contrast, reclaims shared humanity and challenges hateful narratives.

2. Dialogue Builds Shared Identity in Times of Crisis

When crisis happen, societies can either come together or fracture even further. In Liberia, the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic threatened to destabilize already fragile communities. Misinformation, fear, and government mistrust were rampant. 

But dialogue made a difference. Local citizens, working with community partners, launched a grassroots awareness campaign. Pen-pen riders and others volunteered to disseminate public health messages and often tailored their communication to reflect local realities. In doing so, they fostered an unexpected solidarity among diverse groups of people. 

In my research, we observed a dramatic shift in language, from “them” versus “us” to “we” and “our.” Through engaging in often-difficult dialogue, one member of a grassroots organization said it was because of their group “that we are working together…Why should we have division among ourselves?…The group really brought us together and made differences go away, definitely.” 

This collective identity helped bridge multiple divides. However, the work was not easy or finished. Even as unity emerged, some groups—such as Ebola survivors and pen-pen riders—continued to face stigma. Dialogue is not an instant solution, but it is an essential foundation for collective healing and peace. 

Likewise, in the United States, crises like the rise in school shootings have left communities reeling. Yet in the aftermath, dialogue circles, interfaith gatherings, and youth forums have offered hope for rebuilding connection amid trauma. 

3. Dialogue Enables Community-Led Peacebuilding

All too often, peacebuilding is top-down, driven by donors or foreign governments rather than local communities. However, sustainable peace is best built from the ground up. In my work, I have witnessed how relationally attentive dialogue—listening across difference and organizing for well-being—equips ordinary people to shape their own sustainable peace. 

In advance of Liberia’s 2017 elections, local citizens organized a nonviolent voter education campaign. They engaged in multiple activities, including football matches, peace marches, radio talk shows, and town hall meetings. These community-driven efforts were not just symbolic, but they actively resisted attempts by political actors to inflame tensions.

Pen-pen riders and other local community members joining together for a peace march, photo by Jen Ptacek.

This kind of dialogue-driven organizing recognizes the peace is not just a destination, but rather a daily practice. As my co-author and I wrote, “peace is constituted through the processes and act of organizing for well-being.” It is not just about preventing violence—it’s about building systems of care, inclusion, and dignity. 

Today, the need for local empowerment remains urgent. Recent reports from Liberia document ongoing gender-based violence and election-related tensions. In the United States, hate speech and political polarization continue to erode trust in institutions and neighbors alike. Supporting locally rooted dialogue efforts, especially those that amplify marginalized voices, can offer a pathway forward. 

Looking Ahead

Peacebuilding through dialogue is not easy. It requires patience, humility, and a willingness to listen across deep divides. But as these examples from Liberia shows, it is possible and powerful. 

Governments, NGOs, and international donors must recognize and continue to support these community-led efforts. Rather than bringing in solutions, they should invest in dialogue infrastructure, such as local media, town hall meetings, youth initiatives, and grassroots coalitions. Every word exchanged in empathy and understanding is a step toward peace. 

Keywords: Liberia, pen-pen riders, dialogue, positive dialogue, peace, conflict, conflict resolution

In the Llanos Orientales, Seduction is Another Weapon of War

By
Global Voices
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Illustration by Global Voices using Canva Pro.

By Lorena Andrade, a member of the Mi Historia journalism project, originally published on Global Voices.

In 2018, my life changed in ways I could never have imagined. I grew up in the Meta district in Colombia, where the law is just a suggestion and poverty is a given. There, kids and teenagers, girls and boys alike, are easy prey for the armed groups, especially for dissident wings of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC).

Since forever, football has been my safe space. Every evening, after school, I’d run to the pitch with my friends and we’d train until it was too dark to see. It was at one of these training sessions that I met David. He was new at school, a 17-year old kid who’d joined to finish ninth grade. I liked him right from the start; we talked a lot, and he’d always be waiting for me at the end of training. Little by little, he worked his way into my confidence and, ultimately, into my heart. We started going out and, for six months, I thought I’d found my special someone. 

But one day, after training, reality hit me like someone kicking the ball in my face. We were alone, and out of nowhere, his manner changed completely. He grabbed me roughly and told me I had to go with him. My heart stopped for a second. I tried to work out what was happening, but I was paralyzed with fear. I told him, no, I couldn’t go with him. That was when he confessed that if I didn’t go with him to join the guerrillas, they would kill him. In that moment, I realised it had all been a trap. The whole time we’d been dating, David’s real intentions had been to recruit me as a guerrilla. He’d used seduction and emotional manipulation as his weapons. 

In Colombia, armed groups have always used seduction as a recruitment technique. But forcing young men to recruit even younger girls is something new in Colombia’s Llanos Orientales, our western plains. 

As dissident factions of the FARC and other armed groups look to expand and fill the vacuum left by recent demobilizations, they take advantage of our vulnerability. They promise protection, safety, and a sense of belonging that so many of us lack at home. Our teachers warn us about their methods, and I myself knew stories about other youngsters who’d fallen into this trap. But I never thought it could happen to me. 

I was lucky. That day, my brother saw us fighting in the street and ran to my rescue. I don’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t been there. Perhaps I wouldn’t be here to tell my story. Now, I still play football, but it’s not the same anymore. Something inside me broke that day. Perhaps it was the loss of innocence, the feeling of not being safe anymore, or simply no longer just being able to enjoy the pure happiness of running after a ball. 

According to the Commission for the Discovery of Truth (Comisión para el Esclarecimiento de la Verdad) and the Study of the Characteristics of Disenfranchised youth [Estudio de caracterización de la niñez desvinculada (2013–2022)], published jointly by UNICEF and the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar), the victims of forced recruitment tend to come from impoverished, rural social backgrounds. Emotional manipulation is a systematic and well-established recruitment technique used by armed groups against these youngsters, and it is often teenagers, often girls, particularly those who have suffered mistreatment or abuse in their own families, who are most vulnerable to their emotional blackmail. 

My story is one of many. Here in the Llanos Orientales, the promise of a better life or just a hot meal can be enough to tempt some young people into joining the armed groups. Some are kidnapped, others are blackmailed, and some are offered bribes. Methods vary, but the result is the same: we lose our childhoods and our futures. 

Today, I keep fighting both on the football pitch and in life. Every day I try to get back some of what I lost, and, at the same time, to be a voice for those who can’t tell their stories. Because in all this darkness, we need to remember there is still hope, and that together, we can change our destiny. 

Keywords: Colombia, seduction, youth, grooming, trafficking, armed groups, armed recruitment, child soldiers, forced recruitment, FARC, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, conflict, conflict resolution, peace, relationships, teens, teenagers

The Humanitarian–Development–Peace Nexus in Colombia’s PDET Regions

By
Angelika Rettberg and Federico Dupont Bernal
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Quibdo, a city in Colombia's Choco department, photo by Maria Paula Medina via Pexels.

As a result of Colombia’s 2016 Peace Agreement with one of the longest-standing guerrilla groups in the world, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the government launched the Programs for Development with a Territorial Focus (PDETs) to address the country’s most conflict-affected and institutionally fragile regions. With a 15-year budget of 25 billion USD, these programs target 170 municipalities grouped into 16 subregions (map 1). They aim to reduce violence, alleviate humanitarian issues, solve structural matters that have made the conflict persist, and promote development. These objectives align with what is known internationally as the Humanitarian–Development–Peace (H–D–P) Triple Nexus. This article summarizes a recent study that evaluates to what extent the PDETs have advanced those goals, drawing on both quantitative indicators and people’s perceptions in the territories (Rettberg & Dupont 2025).

Map 1. PDET subregions and municipalities (Rettberg & Dupont 2025)

Source: Authors based on Decree 893 (2017), and DNP (2017).

Internationally, the Triple Nexus emerged after the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals and the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit as a policy approach to address complex crises holistically. Colombia has had a rich and diverse range of research on the relationship between armed conflict, peacebuilding, institutional presence, development, humanitarian assistance, and security (Rettberg 2012; Betancur and Rettberg 2023). Since the 1980s, successive governments have launched initiatives that fused state building, security, and development, from the National Rehabilitation Plan from 1982 to 1986, Plan Colombia from 1998 to 2002, to the Democratic Security Consolidation Policy from 2006 to 2010  (González 2003; Romero 2021). The PDETs build on this history but emphasize participatory planning (Figure 1). Over 32,000 locally proposed initiatives were compiled into Action Plans for Regional Transformation (PATR), designed to ensure community ownership. While praised as an innovative model, questions remain about whether implementation has lived up to this promise.

Figure 1. Implementation Framework of the PDETs (Rettberg & Dupont 2025)

Source: Authors based on Decree 893 (2017), and DNP (2017).

Investment, Security, and Perceptions

Findings from public investment records show that while funding for PDET municipalities steadily increased—peaking in 2021—it has largely prioritized infrastructure over community-identified needs such as education and economic reactivation.  The top sectors include transportation (27%), mining and energy (13%), and rural development. Although private investment has also risen, with more businesses forming in PDET areas, the COVID-19 Pandemic and bureaucratic barriers have hindered long-term growth. More concerningly, the security situation remains fragile. Homicide rates in PDET regions have declined slightly but not as quickly as the national average, and forced displacement has increased. Social leader assassinations grew significantly, by over 40% in PDET areas from 2019 to 2021, and the regions continued to host 80% of the country’s illicit coca cultivation.

Despite ongoing challenges, citizen perceptions from the UNDP’s Escuchar a la Paz survey—conducted in 2019 and 2021 across 72 PDET municipalities—show a rise in overall satisfaction with the Peace Agreement, increasing from 36% in 2019 to 48% in 2021 (Weintraub et al. 2021). However, perceptions of security declined during that time, and positive evaluations of local development projects also fell. Our statistical analysis using logistic regression models shows that satisfaction is significantly associated with perceived improvements in security and the arrival of public goods, as well as lower levels of victimization risk. Notably, while investment initially (2019) did not correlate with satisfaction, by 2021, it had become a significant factor, suggesting that perceptions may catch up to reality as projects are implemented.

Subnational differences were also particularly significant. For instance, over 50% of residents in Macarena–Guaviare reported improved public goods, while only 12% did in the Middle Pacific and Alto Patía–Norte del Cauca regions. Regions with increased violence, like Catatumbo and the Pacific border, also saw declines in satisfaction. These disparities point to uneven state capacity, varying levels of administrative support, and corruption. Civil society organizations and the Office of the Inspector General of Colombia (Procuraduría General de la Nación), among others, have flagged irregularities in PDET contracting processes and the misuse of funds. Moreover, while the PDETs were designed to foster community ownership, implementation often failed to align with community-generated priorities. Legal limits on budget flexibility, political interference, and technical capacity gaps diluted participation. As others have noted, such gaps between planning and delivery can erode local trust (Mac Ginty & Richmond 2013; Ramírez 2021).

Implications

Our research confirms the interdependence of humanitarian relief, development, and peace in Colombia’s most vulnerable regions. The Triple Nexus is not just a theoretical model, it also plays out in practice. People who feel safer and see tangible improvements in their communities are more likely to support the peace process. Yet the promise of territorial peace remains unevenly fulfilled. The experience of the PDETs underscores the importance of adaptive localization (Koff & Masujima in press), ensuring not only participation but meaningful influence of communities over project design and delivery. Without such alignment, satisfaction will remain limited, and peace itself fragile.

A deeper understanding of subnational dynamics and political variation across PDET regions is also needed. More comparative research is needed to illuminate the barriers and opportunities for peacebuilding from below and the specificities of each case. As Colombia continues its long path toward reconciliation, the lessons of the PDETs, both their promise and their limits, offer critical insights for policymakers, practitioners, and citizens alike who remain committed to building peace through development, security, and well-being.

Keywords: Colombia, Programs for Development with a Territorial Focus, PDET, Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, humanitarian, peace, Triple Nexus, development, peace, conflict, conflict resolution

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