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Gender-Based Violence and Climate Change: the challenges of environmental peacebuilding in Colombia

Natalia Urzola and María Paula González
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Gender-Based Violence and Climate Change: the challenges of environmental peacebuilding in Colombia

In 2016, after over five decades of internal armed conflict, the Colombian government and the largest guerrilla group in the country, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP), signed a peace agreement. Among the most significant innovations of the peace agreement are its gender and environmental focuses, which act as guiding principles for peacebuilding.The gender focus acknowledges unequal gender relations exacerbated and instrumentalized during the armed conflict. The environmental focus acknowledges the environmental-related causes and consequences of the armed conflict. Despite being central to the peacebuilding context, these two focuses remain treated mainly independently during peacebuilding. Understanding how these two are directly related could prove vital for ensuring peace for the future.

Climate change acts as an intensifier of gender-based violence

Gender-based violence is among the conflict’s most dreadful consequences. As defined by the Colombian Constitutional Court, gender-based violence is a form of violence that is rooted in dominant gender relations stemming from historical power imbalances. Colombian rural women and girls were overwhelmingly victimized by armed conflict actors (i.e. guerrilla, military, paramilitary). The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, plus (LGBTQIA+) population also suffered from violence motivated by biases towards diverse sexual orientations and identities. Rape, sexual assault, torture and reproductive violence are among the most documented and commonly studied acts of violence against gender-based violence victims. Reports show different dimensions of sexual violence in Colombia, ranging from violence used for social control to sexual slavery and violence within armed operations and armed forces. 

Gender-based violence is driven by inequalities, disparities, and acts of discrimination based on gender. However, sexual and physical violence is not the only form in which gender-based violence manifests. Some of these inequalities manifest in less access to financial resources and land ownership, food and housing insecurity, displacement, as well as physical and sexual acts of violence. 

Climate change can intensify these pre-existing inequalities. For instance, climate change impacts water availability, affecting food security. Women, particularly rural women, tend to work closer to the land. When faced with water scarcity, women will need to travel longer distances to access water sources, exposing them to situations of violence. Moreover, the LQBTQIA+ population tend to be ignored in measures addressing the aftermath of climate-related natural disasters due to biases around heteronormative family compositions, leading to, for instance, housing insecurity. Furthermore, climate change can also lead to forced displacement, increasing vulnerability to housing insecurity, as well as sexual and physical violence.

The current state of environmental peacebuilding in Colombia

The armed conflict’s roots in environmental-related issues deeply influence the peacebuilding process. In Colombia, environmental peacebuilding translates into addressing the root causes while simultaneously coping with the devastating effects of the climate crisis. Further, the complexity of the Colombian case heightens because, in addition to the ongoing peacebuilding process with FARC-EP, other illegal armed groups continue to affect the security of the country’s inhabitants, which intensifies the gender-based violence against marginalized communities including women, girls and the LGBTQIA+ population. 

As a result, the current Colombian government placed a significant focus on the so-called “Total Peace”, with the primary objective of achieving peace through negotiation with the remaining illegal armed groups, which includes ELN guerrilla, FARC dissidents, paramilitaries, and criminal bands. The statutory definition of “Total Peace” encompasses a participatory, broad, inclusive, and comprehensive State policy in negotiation, dialogue, and justice processes. It also covers their implementation, including the ongoing peacebuilding process with FARC-EP.“Total Peace” is envisioned as a state policy that guarantees human rights and differential, gender, ethnic, cultural, territorial, and intersectional focus in peace-related public policies.

The process has been successful to some extent. A ceasefire was negotiated with ELN, followed by an agreement to negotiate peace with FARC dissidents. More importantly, these negotiations have emphasized the significance of meaningful civil society participation. This presents a new opportunity for inclusion in the negotiation processes, particularly regarding victims of gender-based violence. Victims of gender-based violence, which includes women, girls and the LQBTQIA+ population, could play a vital role in the peace process, considering their knowledge and experience at the intersection of internal armed conflict and climate change.

Furthermore, as the peacebuilding process with FARC-EP continues, bringing in their situated knowledge could allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the realities of those at the worse end of the conflict. A gender and intersectional focus could help achieve a stable, lasting peace that guarantees non-repetition and human security. 

Moving forward: an opportunity for inclusion

The Colombian peacebuilding process is full of challenges. The country is building peace with one armed group while other armed groups continue to perpetuate violence against the Colombian population. Negotiations to reach an agreement with these other groups present an opportunity to achieve total peace. Nevertheless, this “total peace” needs to be mindful of the realities experienced by the Colombian population, especially marginalized communities. In addition to the peace crisis, marginalized people are experiencing the devastating effects of climate change. Moreover, both crises have the potential to intensify gender-based violence in a country weakened by decades of armed conflict. 

As previously mentioned, climate change heightens the risk of experiencing gender-based violence due to pre-existing inequalities and biases. Understanding climate change’s complex interlinkages with gender-based violence is not an easy task. However, analyzing and addressing gender-based violence through the lens of the gendered impacts of climate change allows us to recenter the voices of women, girls and the LGBTQIA+ population amid the peacebuilding process. Understanding how climate change amplifies and intersects with other categories of oppression allows a more comprehensive read of the Colombian reality during peacebuilding, which could prove vital in achieving “total peace”.

This Week in Peace #27: April 5

Peace News Staff
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This Week in Peace #27: April 5

Welcome back to This Week in Peace, our weekly summary of events in global peacebuilding. 

This week, we discuss a new initiative to negotiate peace between criminal groups in Mexico, progress towards elections that could cement long-term peace in South Sudan, and a French effort to convince China to push Russia to end its war on Ukraine. 

Mexico’s Catholic bishops play a new role – peace negotiators 

Mexico’s ongoing security crisis shows no signs of slowing down. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who entered office claiming a policy of “hugs not bullets” and a shift from the drug war of the past, has seen continued high rates of violence, while the growing prominence of the military, not just in the security realm but also in political and economic areas – has fueled concerns over the future of Mexico’s democracy. In some states, the Catholic Church is emerging as an alternative peace negotiator. In the state of Guerrero, which has seen some of the worst violence in recent years, a February deal negotiated directly between bishops and criminal groups had a positive impact, leading to a drop in homicides. Following the success of these local initiatives, church leaders led an initiative to develop recommendations to improve the security situation through national dialogue. The leading candidates in the country’s approaching presidential election have endorsed the document, although it is unclear whether they would adopt any of the recommendations it contains. Either way, these developments are a positive sign that unconventional approaches might help to build peace in Mexico, and redicue, if not end, the level of violence throughout the country. 

South Sudan approaches a crucial period where a fragile peace will be tested

South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, is scheduled to hold its first elections later this year. The country has a turbulent history – following decades of armed struggle against Sudan, which resulted in its independence in 2011, the country experienced a devastating civil war, which ended in 2018. The country has no permanent constitution, and elections have been postponed several times. The country faces ongoing violence, often influenced by ethnic disputes, and an economic crisis caused by the war in Sudan.  Vice President Riek Machar, who had led one side in the civil war, recently suggested yet another postponement.  In a positive sign for the future of peace and democracy in the country, one of the world’s poorest, President Salva Kiir came out in support of holding the elections in December 2024, warning his fellow politicians “not to cling to power”. With no permanent constitution, South Sudan faces a crucial crossroads, holding elections for the first time in its 13 year history could prevent further widespread conflict, and lead to a peaceful and democratic future. 

Read our past stories about South Sudan here. 

France tries to find peace in Ukraine through China

Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, as American domestic politics leave Kyiv without much-needed aid. France has recently emerged as one of Ukraine’s closest allies, attempting to find a solution through engagement with China. French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné visited Beijing this week, calling on China to send “very clear” messages in support of international law and Ukraine’s sovereignty. China’s ostensibly neutral position, combined with its close ties to Russia, mean that it could indeed act as a peace actor, as one of the few states that could exert pressure on the Kremlin to enter into good-faith negotiations. 


While this approach seems promising on paper, there are a number of factors that make it unlikely. The largest obstacle is the ideological and political motivations behind Russia’s war, and the rhetoric coming from Moscow which makes peace talks appear impossible. Russia has consistently violated Ukrainian sovereignty, since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, and Russian politicians consistently deny the existence of Ukraine as a nation, especially since the unprovoked 2022 invasion – meaning that an appeal on the grounds of respect for sovereignty and international law are unlikely to resonate. China has tried to present itself as a global peace actor, and negotiated a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia. However, its territorial claims on Taiwan and in the South China Sea mean that it may have ideological sympathy for Russia’s position, and it has become an increasingly close economic and political partner of Russia.

Can entrepreneurship foster young leaders invested in a shared and peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians?

Yaniv Sagee
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Can entrepreneurship foster young leaders invested in a shared and peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians?

Editor’s note: As part of our ongoing series with the Alliance for Middle East Peace, we have been featuring the voices of peacebuilders from the region over the past weeks. When covering the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the media and peacebuilders face a similar issue – there is an overwhelming focus on the political situation and acts of violence, but very little on the actual people involved.

This series tries to address that by highlighting the people who must live out the reality of this conflict every day – the Israelis and Palestinians who are actively working to build peace and understanding between the two communities. Many, including the Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow (MEET) have real-world impacts, helping to build bonds between young Israelis and Palestinians that help to create a more inclusive society. MEET’s focus on entrepreneurship and leadership training, engaging both communities equally, is crucial given the current situation in the region, and given the current economic exclusion and difficulties many Israelis of Arab and Palestinian descent face – and the dire situation facing Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. As a general note, Peace News has received no compensation from any organizations in this series, and each piece, including the following text, is written by an author involved in the work of their organization. 

October 7th marked the beginning of one of the most violent periods in our region, and an immensely challenging one for Isreali-Palestinian relations in Israel. Now, even more so than before, Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow (MEET) reiterates its unwavering commitment to a vision of a shared and peaceful future that young Israeli and Palestinian leaders can envision, together, as a fundamental pillar of our shared society’s resilience and strength. Youth and young people, who are most susceptible to the long-term implications of violence, constitute a growing portion of our society and are crucial players in it. It is precisely within today’s reality, that there is a dire need to cultivate and build binational networks of young leaders who can identify, innovate, and jointly address pressing social, economic, and political challenges toward a sustainable future. 

Established in 2004, in partnership with MIT, MEET is an educational excellence program for promising Israeli and Palestinian youth (ages 15-17), cultivating the up-and-coming young change-makers that will shape our shared future. MEET educates and empowers its students, teaching them computer science, entrepreneurship, leadership skills, and, most importantly, how to solve complex problems by working together from an early age. Each year, 300 Israeli and Palestinian bright high-schoolers from diverse areas of the region, 50/50 in gender and nationality, participate in MEET’s three-year intensive program. At MEET they learn how to work together, harnessing tech innovation to build a resilient democratic society, impact their communities, and shape their shared future.

Our response to the events of October 7th immediately centered on two pivotal objectives: ensuring the safety of our students, alumni, and team, and upholding community unity and program quality. Additionally, MEET has been dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment where community members feel empowered to voice their concerns and needs. The organization has also striven to remain flexible in its approach to best address individual and collective needs during this time. Above all, MEET believes the circumstances further highlight its crucial role in upholding its mission—safeguarding the strong bonds between Palestinians and Israelis.

Within the initial 72 hours, MEET conducted safety check-ins with staff, 215 students, and alumni, ensuring their well-being and offering crucial support. Additionally, the organization organized training workshops for its diverse team, fostering open dialogue and collaboration. MEET actively engaged parents and alumni through Zoom calls, sustaining meaningful discussions amid challenging times. The organization facilitated platforms for its students and alumni to join weekly dialogue groups, encouraging collaboration while addressing individual and collective emotional needs.

Since then, MEET’s bi-national team has worked tirelessly, taking essential steps to support the community. Despite challenges, MEET launched its year-long program online, achieving a90% attendance rate in bi-national sessions. Leveraging its expertise in hybrid learning, the organization smoothly transitioned to a fully online model, embracing a project-based learning approach.

Furthermore, MEET recently started offering an educational experience with KIBO, a child-friendly robotics kit, to Israeli and Palestinian children (ages 6-8) from northern and southern communities who have been displaced due to the current regional turmoil. Our binational alumni volunteer to teach the children in their native languages (Arabic and Hebrew) at makeshift schools and centers around the region. Our primary focus has been in geographic areas that are known to host a large number of  evacuee families, including Nazareth, Tel Aviv, and Herzilyiha, and will extend to Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Tiberias, and Eilat. 

The organization has also shared its experiences with multinational organizations, offering guidance to those facing similar challenges and underscoring its commitment to the broader ecosystem. 

The MEET community encompasses a diverse array of people and perspectives. During these times, the organization has engaged in many difficult and complex discussions. However, this is not MEET’s weakness but its strength. The organization is thankful for all those who feel that MEET holds an important enough place in their lives to share their perspectives throughout this challenging period. The MEET community—its team, students, parents, and alumni—has stood firm in rejecting hate and violence throughout, staying devoted to the shared vision of unity.

In the face of challenging circumstances, MEET’s team has remained a symbol of resilience, embodying unity and dedication to a brighter future amid regional turmoil. The organization extends its deepest gratitude to all who have contributed to its efforts.

What Lessons can Peace Journalism Learn from Constructive and Solutions Journalism?

Peace News Staff
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What Lessons can Peace Journalism Learn from Constructive and Solutions Journalism?

While peace journalism dates back to the 1960s, new innovative thinking on how to make journalism more responsible and solutions oriented (similar to peace journalism) has continued to evolve, with some notable success in recent years. With limited interest by mainstream news outlets in adopting peace journalism when reporting conflicts, the Media and Peacebuilding Project (MPP) at the George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA), along with partners, decided to investigate what lessons peace journalism could learn from constructive and solutions journalism. To that end, they examined the lessons from these related fields in the 3rd and 4th events of a 6-week webinar series on How to Grow Peace Journalism, on March 13th and 20th, 2024. 

The third webinar, held on March 13, focussed on the lessons constructive journalism may have for peace journalism. While it is a separate discipline from peace journalism, it shares a similar mission and basic principles. The first speaker on this panel was Cathrine Gyldensted, a Danish investigative journalist who was one of the first to study constructive journalism. Many of the other speakers credited Gyldensted with developing and defining the concept itself. She described how, after spending the bulk of her career focused on conventional journalism, she began to realize that her stories often reinforced negative domains, with little focus on the positive. 

Since she began developing the concept of constructive journalism in 2008, the field has grown and had a positive impact on media, especially in the Scandinavian countries. According to Gydensted, at the core of constructive journalism is the mission of  “portraying the world more accurately, by adding what classic news journalism tend[s] to overlook: possible solutions, progress, nuances and complexity, and dialogue with users and audiences.” She discussed several examples of constructive journalism in action, including a Swedish media study examining how coverage of Africa shaped attitudes, and initiatives in Denmark and Norway which led to positive changes in the media landscape. 

Gylednsted was followed by Bette Dam, a Dutch author, investigative journalist, and professor at Sciences Po. Dam is best known for her extensive work on Afghanistan, a subject on which she has written three books. Much of her presentation was devoted to the same subject, specifically on a project examining how the New York Times and the Associated Press (AP) covered the long war between the Afghan government, the US, and NATO, and the Taliban and other terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda. 

Her research found that both tended to use more Western sources than Afghan ones, and prioritized sources from the security sectors of both Afghanistan and its international supporters. The war and security situation were prioritized, and there was little discussion of peace or early Taliban offers to negotiate. The social and economic context of Afghanistan, including tribal differences and family dynamics, was also ignored. Dam finished her presentation by speaking about how journalism needs to stay distanced from governments. 

The final speaker was Tanja Aitamurto, a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, formerly a journalist for one of Finland’s leading news organizations. Her reporting brought her to a number of conflict zones and post-conflict areas, including Afghanistan and Angola, but her work focused generally on stories from a military and defense angle. As an academic she has studied how emerging technologies such as augmented reality can be used to improve media and connect with audiences more effectively. 

She spoke about journalism from a normative perspective, focusing on what she called the “Western, Anglo-Saxon journalistic norms” of “accuracy, authenticity, objectivity, impartiality/neutrality, transparency …” and others, which separate journalism from other forms of communication. Notably, other forms of journalism, including both peace journalism and conflict journalism follow the same norms. She discussed a major challenge constructive journalism faces – that while it might have a positive impact on consumers emotionally, it risks failing to fully convey information about the topic at hand. Peace journalism faces the same challenge, with the need to balance neutrality with honest reporting on the causes of armed conflicts. 

The fourth webinar focused on solutions journalism. The discussion began with Kyser Lough, a professor of journalism at the University of Georgia, where he focuses on visual and solutions journalism. He laid out the four key tenets of solutions journalism, which he defined as  “rigorous reporting about how people are responding to social problems”. Solutions journalism should be a response that seeks to address the underlying problem. It should provide evidence of that response, and examine its effectiveness. It should also discuss limitations, and focus on providing real insights. 

His own research found that solutions-oriented visual journalism led to more positive feelings in audiences, who found themselves more interested and willing to act compared to visuals from a “problem journalism” approach. Lough spoke about a study of former journalism students, who have gone on to become journalists themselves. They felt that an introduction to solutions journalism and its fundamentals aligned with their values, ideal view of journalism, and was seen as “revolutionary” and “essential”, perceptions that endured once entering the workforce, although they noted that there was a shift in practicality as they encountered more time constraints and resistance to change from editors or organizations. 

The next presenter, Keren McIntyre, is a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, and was the first to introduce solutions journalism into academic literature in 2015. McIntyre spoke about a model she had developed with Cathrine Gyldensted, where “constructive journalism is like a tree and it has many branches.” Among those branches are solutions journalism, and peace journalism, both of which help to make journalism more constructive. She discussed research carried out with Kyser Lough on nearly 100 articles on solutions journalism and constructive journalism. 

They found that there is a need to both internationalize the practice, and fully define solutions journalism as a part of constructive journalism. They observed a focus on emotions, and generally found that audiences felt either more positive or less negative, compared to traditional journalism. 

One important question raised by McIntyre’s research, which is also relevant to peace journalism, is whether the engagement of these alternative forms of journalism is solely down to their positive impact they have on audience emotion. In order to address some of these issues, McIntyre surveyed over 400 journalists in Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya. She found that over half had heard of constructive journalism, and many were aware of solutions journalism. The vast majority in all three countries said they felt they practiced them, but that there was room for growth. 

The overwhelming consensus was that these alternative ways of conducting journalism should be used, and can help to address societal issues and foster hope, but must not be used as a tool for the government, or in a way that overshadows critical reporting and takes up resources. 

The final speaker in the fourth webinar was Tina Rosenberg, of Solutions Journalism Network, a journalist and author of hundreds of articles and three books, who has won a national book award for nonfiction. She discussed her organization’s Solutions Story Tracker, which is a collection of solutions journalism stories from around the world. For example, there are a number of stories from a Ukrainian outlet on the tracker, and while many are related to the war – including volunteers evacuating people from cities, or efforts to rescue art and animals – some focus on other subjects. he tracker isn’t used for breaking news, but instead focuses on people finding solutions to pressing problems. 

Rosenberg mentioned that a widely shared story may hint at what the wider problems are, and the four qualities of solutions journalism can be used to highlight those working to address those problems. Rosenberg mentioned that there is a large potential audience for these types of stories, and that the growing prominence of Solutions Journalism Network is helping to reach and expand it. 

The final webinar in this series is on Wednesday until April 3, 2024, and will focus on recent innovations in journalism and social media, focusing on visuality and virality. Recordings of the past sessions can be found here. 

Afghan Refugees Suffer from Hate and Prejudice in Pakistan and Beyond

Ayesha Jehangir
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Afghan Refugees Suffer from Hate and Prejudice in Pakistan and Beyond

Decades of conflict in Afghanistan has led to millions of Afghan refugees dispersed throughout the world, including over 3 million in Pakistan. Now, many face expulsion under the Pakistani government’s recent crackdown, which will enter its second phase on 15 April 2024, impacting at least 1.3 million Afghan refugees. 

The nation-wide crackdown was launched with full force and immediate effect on 15 September 2023, creating a humanitarian emergency, particularly in regions closer to the Durand Line – the 2,640-kilometer colonial border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Over the next three months, some 400,000 Afghan refugees were forcibly repatriated to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. This is the highest number of refugees expelled from Pakistan within a brief period. 

During this time, there were reports that Pakistan had also begun arresting Afghan refugees, and while the state narrative claimed that only undocumented refugees were being arrested, there were reports of police harassing and illegally detaining Afghan refugees despite possessing valid documents. Some refugees complained that the Pakistani government was intentionally delaying the registration renewal process, despite its scheduled commencement in June 2023. Most recently, The Guardian reported that some Pakistani officials were illegally charging an ‘exit fee’ of as much as $830 from each Afghan refugee who had fled persecution by the Taliban after the fall of Kabul in August 2021 and sought refuge in Pakistan.

Local journalists interested in covering the crisis at Torkham and Chamman – two of the largest checkpoints on the Durand Line – were reportedly halted by a boundary line marked by local security officials. This measure prevents journalists from approaching and filming refugees. The lack of open access to assembly points where these refugees gather and live in tents for days, sometimes weeks, before being forcibly repatriated, compromises public interest journalism, insofar as the right of these people to be heard and their suffering to be witnessed by both the proximate and distant audience.

This crackdown is taking place as Pakistan is getting ready for the country’ general elections – a time marked by political chaos and security turmoil. In the absence of an organized plan for Afghan refugees, their challenges have only worsened as they continue to live in temporary settlements in fear of being picked up by Pakistani police anytime. And yet, the Pakistani media remains conspicuously silent on the challenges faced by the largest refugee group in the country.

The muted response of Pakistanis to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees over the last few months mirrors the Pakistani media’s near-absent coverage of the humanitarian toll of forced repatriation. This is despite social media platforms being flooded with witness accounts of refugees testifying that Pakistani police officials were destroying their valid Proof of Registration cards (issued to documented Afghan refugees) in an attempt to ‘round up Afghan refugees’. However, social media alone cannot substitute journalism that exposes human rights violations and holds power centers accountable. Due to the perceived ‘enemy’, ‘terrorist’ and ‘traitor’ images of Afghan refugees in the Pakistani media, and their proliferation into the broader public conversation, their digital testimonies are deemed ‘fake’ and fail to move public opinion on the issue. 

In a conflict or crisis, citizens often look to the media to determine who is to blame, shaping broader public opinion. The way Pakistani media strategically portrays Afghan refugees develops a frame through which the Pakistani public understands and responds to their forced repatriation. As the public sifts through information in the digital realm, from sources of varying quality and accuracy, figuring out who is responsible for what can become a complicated undertaking. In the light of this logic, Afghan refugees are an easy target of the Pakistani media that promotes the narrative of the political and military elite. Afghan refugees in Pakistan are framed as a threat and burden, a crisis imaginary: a framework developed by LSE’s Lilie Chouliaraki and her co-author Myria Georgiou. Writing in the context of Europe, they argue that a crisis imaginary presents migration and asylum seeking as a sudden, shocking and unmanageable event that puts “us” under pressure, generating what David Shariatmadari calls “the toxic metaphors of the migration debate.”

An example of this was witnessed in the western media’s coverage of the refugee exodus from Ukraine during the Russia-Ukraine War (February 2022–present). Whether it was Charlie D’Agata of CBS News who described Ukraine as “relatively civilised, relatively European” in comparison to countries like Iraq and Afghanistan or Peter Dobbie from Al Jazeera English, who remarked on live TV, “these are prosperous middle-class people…  these are not obviously refugees getting away from the Middle East” or NBC News correspondent Kelly Cobiella who said, “to put it bluntly, these are not refugees from Syria, these are refugees from Ukraine…. They’re Christian, they’re white, they’re very similar” – media coverage exposed the structural biases and reproduced what Lilie Chouliaraki calls a hierarchy of human life, in which some people’s lives and their suffering are represented as more deserving than others. 

In my new book, I show how such routinely accommodated narratives of race, religion and security are a symbolic manifestation of the cataclysmic power that presents refugees – and in the context of my book Afghan refugees – through a crisis imaginary to build a ‘truth’ for the audiences that through reinforcement becomes an incontestable reality for the public. In doing this, I present a theoretical account of peace journalism as a deliberative practice. I explain how, through deliberation, peace journalism questions media bias and negative coverage, and has the potential to encourage the public to get involved and speak up.

I also note that the re-articulation of deliberativeness in journalism practice is fundamental to promoting critical thinking among the audience, especially on issues that are perceived as the problems of the ‘other’. In the absence of a deliberative peace journalism practice in Pakistan, Afghan refugees will continue to be framed as a ‘burden’, ‘enemy’ and a ‘threat’, similar to the crisis imaginary perception of refugees seen in Europe. This perception legitimizes their de-humanisation and forced repatriation, to an extent that the only legitimate way for Afghan refugees to exist in the Pakistani media narrative is by being physically absent.

For more information, see the author’s latest book, Afghan Refugees, Pakistani Media and the State: The Missing Peace (Routledge, 2024)

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