Welcome to the newest installment of This Week in Peace, where we highlight breaking news in global peacebuilding each week.
This week, we cover a number of events around the world, including the imminent announcement of the winner of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. We also discuss developments involving Armenia, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Cyprus, and Ethiopia.
2023 Nobel Peace Prize
This year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize will be announced later today. In the past two years, the prize has been awarded to those working to support press freedom, democracy, and civil liberties in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. There are a number of potential candidates for this year’s award. They include activists for women’s rights in Afghanistan and Iran, who have put themselves at great personal risk. Other potential laureates include activists for indigenous rights in the Philippines and the Amazon Basin, the International Court of Justice, civil society groups in Myanmar, and a US-based NGO that uses statistics to support human rights.
Setbacks for Peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended EU-mediated talks in Spain this week, but Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev chose not to attend. Relations between the two countries remain extraordinarily tense following the Azerbaijani takeover of the formerly autonomous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which led to a mass exodus of over 100,000 ethnic Armenians. On Thursday, October 5, both sides accused the other of firing across the border.
The region faces an uncertain future now that Azerbaijan appears to have achieved military superiority, and there are fears of future conflict. The news that Aliyev and his close ally, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, chose not to attend these most recent talks is disappointing and detrimental to the chance at long-term peace, which can only come through dialogue.
We recently published an article on the recent developments in Nagorno-Karabakh. You can find it here, or on our website. We have also published numerous other stories on this conflict, and will continue to cover further developments as they occur.
Colombia’s Apology for “False Positive” Killings
The Colombian government issued a public apology for the deaths of 19 civilians killed by security forces and falsely registered as guerillas. In the early 2000s, the Colombian military carried out thousands of extrajudicial killings, with civilians deliberately targeted and in order to meet targets set by high-ranking officials. This apology is the latest development in the “total peace” agenda of President Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrilla group who has made ending Colombia’s long civil conflict a priority.
A key pillar of Petro’s initiative is engaging in dialogue with all armed groups in Colombia in an attempt to end decades of conflict. There has been some recent success (which we covered in the first edition of This Week in Peace), which has led to optimism that perhaps “total peace” can successfully end to organized violence and civil conflict in Colombia. This apology is a positive step towards ensuring accountability for past abuses regardless of who the perpetrator was.
Peace News has written several stories on peacebuilding in Colombia in the past, and will be publishing another on the progress of “total peace” on Monday. Read those articles here, or on our website.
Hopes for a Renewed Peace Process in Cyprus
Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, publicly supported the appointment of a UN envoy tasked with resolving the division of Cyprus. Since 1974, the northern third of the island has been occupied by Turkey. Tens of thousands of Turkish troops remain on the island, and Turkey is the only country to recognize the self-proclaimed Turkish Cypriot state. Numerous efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict have failed, most notably the UN-brokered Annan plan in 2004.
The most recent talks failed to find a solution, ending in 2017. Inflammatory statements from the Turkish Cypriot leader and ongoing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean between Turkey and EU member states, including Greece and Cyprus, have complicated the situation even further. It is unclear whether this latest initiative will lead to a breakthrough that can peacefully resolve the situation and lead to reconciliation between the two communities.
Read a past Peace News story covering potential talks in Cyprus here, and keep an eye out for further stories on this issue.
EU Support for Peacebuilding in Ethiopia
The European Union reiterated its commitment to provide a large aid package to Ethiopia in support of peacebuilding, after it had been delayed by the Tigray War. The peace deal that ended this conflict successfully ended the fighting, although there are fears of continued atrocities and ethnic conflict (we covered this issue in the previous edition of This Week in Peace).
The EU publicly voiced its support for the implementation of that peace agreement. Despite government efforts to rebuild Tigray and address many of the issues resulting from the destructive war, numerous concerns remain, including whether peace will hold, and if accountability and peace can both be achieved.
You can read our previous coverage of Ethiopia here: https://peacenews.com/category/ethiopia/
Leo Weakland
Leo Weakland graduated from the George Washington University in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs. He is the Development and Operations Manager for Peace News Network, and is based in Washington, D.C. Before Peace News, he worked as a Research Assistant at GWU, for a nonprofit focused on supporting veterans running for office, and interned at the Office of the General Counsel at the Centers for Disease Control.
