Welcome back to This Week in Peace, our weekly summary of events in global peacebuilding.
This week, we discuss the differences between Ukrainian and Russian peace proposals, a small diplomatic victory in Gaza, and continued progress towards peace in Colombia.
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Competing, incompatible visions for peace in Ukraine
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented a peace plan to end the war between his country and Russia. The plan calls for Russia to withdraw from all occupied territory, along with provisions for reparations and accountability for war crimes committed by Russian forces. The static military situation, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s likely unwillingness to relinquish occupied territory, especially Crimea, make acceptance of the plan highly unlikely. However, Switzerland has agreed to host talks on it, and while those will not include Russia they could help to find a negotiated solution acceptable to both sides. The Kremlin has recently indicated that it may be open to a ceasefire, if it legitimizes Russia’s occupation and annexation of Ukrainian territory, which Kyiv has repeatedly rejected. As Ukrainians continue to suffer from ongoing Russian aerial bombardments, and military casualties on both sides remain high, peace is desperately needed. However, any peace should be a just peace for the people of Ukraine, instead of rewarding the aggression behind Russia’s invasion.
For more stories about Ukraine, click here. We will continue to cover this conflict, and efforts to resolve it peacefully.
Diplomacy finds a (small) breakthrough in Gaza
Despite international activism and continued high-level diplomacy, there is no sign of progress towards a ceasefire in Gaza. However, this week saw a small diplomatic victory. France and Qatar were able to broker a deal to increase aid to Gaza. Israeli hostages still held by Hamas will have access to medicine, while Israel will allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza amid its ongoing military operation there. Gaza has been left devastated by the 100 day Israeli War following the October 7th attacks, with millions of Palestinian civilians displaced, over 20,000 killed and tens of thousands more wounded. International pressure continues to grow on Israel to scale back, pause, or end its attacks, which has so far failed to have an impact. An end, however, brief, to the fighting is needed to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and a permanent two-state solution is necessary to prevent future conflicts, and allow a future peaceful coexistence for both peoples.
You can read our past articles on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict here.
Colombia continues working for peace
Colombia’s government announced the extension of a ceasefire with a major FARC splinter group until July, as talks continue in Bogota. Colombia’s President, Gustavo Petro, has made peace talks with all armed groups remaining in Colombia a major part of this “total peace” strategy, but it has failed to reduce violence in rural areas in Colombia. The extended deal includes provisions to stop the armed group from attacking civilians, which had continued during the previous 3-month ceasefire. While there is no guarantee that the ceasefire will last beyond its expiration, it is still a positive step in the Colombian peace process, part of a slow trend towards peace since the 2016 peace deal with FARC.
Click here to read our past coverage of peacebuilding in Colombia, and our story on the “Total Peace” initiative.
