Welcome back to This Week in Peace, our weekly summary of events in global peacebuilding.
This week, the UN pushes for peace talks in Cyprus, and warns that the war in Sudan is imperiling a crucial peace process, while Chad holds an election following years of military rule – a rare event in the Sahel as the region has experienced multiple coups in recent years.
UN mediator calls for resuming peace talks in Cyprus
The United Nations envoy to Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, has continued to call for a resumption of peace talks aimed at reuniting the island and ending the decades of separation caused by the Turkish occupation of the north of the island. She spoke with the president of the Republic of Cyprus in the south, and the leader of the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the north, which is recognized only by Turkey. The island has been divided since a Turkish invasion in 1974, in response to a military coup sponsored by the Greek military junta aiming to make the island part of Greece. Cyprus has since become part of the European Union, while the north remains internationally isolated aside from its ties to Turkey. As the island marks fifty years since the initial occupation, there is a newfound urgency from the UN, which patrols the dividing line between the two parts of the island, to find an agreement after the collapse of talks seven years ago. The Republic of Cyprus envisions a future federal state unifying the two entities, while the north insists on independence and a permanently divided island, a division which risks continuing the status quo indefinitely.
War in Sudan risks regional peace
As the civil war in Sudan continues and the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces fight for control, a resolution to an ongoing dispute with South Sudan has been put at risk. South Sudan became independent in 2011 following decades of civil war with the north, and one outstanding issue is the status of the disputed Abyei region. Lying along the border between the two countries, and holding significant oil deposits, the region has been impacted by the ongoing conflict, with the UN warning that while it remains ready to mediate negotiations over its permanent status, the increase in violence as a result of the war puts future peace at risk. Humanitarian workers and UN peacekeepers face a deteriorating security situation, impacting their ability to respond to the dire conditions caused by the yearlong war in Sudan. South Sudan, which is supposed to hold its first presidential election later this year, faces an escalating economic crisis, as the war has prevented it from producing and exporting oil, as the landlocked state relies on transit through Sudan, which has been made impossible by the war.
Chad holds first election since a military coup, a positive sign in a region in need of peace
Chad has held its first presidential election since a military coup in 2021, when Mahamat Idriss Deby took power after his father, who ruled the country for years, was killed by rebels. The voting was largely peaceful, but some violent incidents did take place, and Deby’s main challenger called for international assistance, as the opposition protested threats and alleged vote rigging in favor of the current president. While Deby is expected to win a second term when the results are announced, and the conduct of the election seems in line with continued autocratic rule, holding an election and formally ending military rule is an important step for the country, considering the regional context. Numerous governments, both democratic and autocratic, in the Sahel and West Africa have fallen victim to military coups, and Chad is the first to move away from military rule, although it remains to be seen whether this can lead to a genuine democratic opening in the future.
