Welcome back to This Week in Peace, our weekly summary of global peacebuilding.
This week, we continue our coverage of attempts to find a peaceful solution to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and developments in Ethiopia. Peace talks between opposing factions in Sudan failed to find a resolution, but did find some common ground. Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “total peace” initiative faced major challenges, although there is still hope for long-term peace. And a controversial amnesty plan in Spain might lead to a peaceful resolution of the debate over the status of Catalonia – or further inflame tensions.
Ethiopia
As we covered in last week’s edition, there are still numerous obstacles to long-term peace in Ethiopia. This week, there have been some positive developments that have led to hope for long-term peace in Tigray and the rest of Ethiopia, even as fears grow over the possibility of another war with Eritrea. The Ethiopian government is reportedly holding talks with the Oromo Liberation Army, an armed group which has waged a five-year war against the government. The government has also announced plans to resolve a territorial dispute between the Amhara and Tigray regions with a referendum. Following the end of the Tigray War over a year ago, tensions in the regions have remained, with fighting breaking out between the federal government and local militias. A peaceful resolution would be an important step towards long-term peace in Ethiopia. There is growing concern that Ethiopia and Eritrea could be headed towards a new conflict, however. Ethiopia is landlocked, and recent statements by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have referred to the importance of acquiring a port, while hinting at a willingness to use force. Another war with Eritrea, whose forces were accused of committing numerous atrocities in Tigray during the war, would be extremely destructive, and must be avoided to ensure peace and stability in the Horn of Africa.
You can read more Peace News coverage of Ethiopia here.
Sudan
As attention remains focused on the Middle East, the war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has continued. The RSF has gained ground in the province of Darfur, where it carried out widespread crimes against humanities in the early 2000s. The humanitarian situation in that province, and the rest of the country, is dire, with almost five million Sudanese displaced within the country, with another million living as refugees in neighboring countries. Recent peace talks facilitated by Saudi Arabia and the U.S. in Jeddah failed to find an agreement for a ceasefire, although according to the U.S. Department of State, there some success in confidence-building measures and efforts to ensure access to humanitarian aid. Continued negotiations to build peace, with the involvement of both sides and international involvement, is crucial to ending the war and ensuring peace for the people of Sudan.
Peace News has written a number of stories on Sudan in the past, which you can read here.
Israel Palestine
As the world remains fixed on the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and reports of civilian casualties continue to increase, there have been a few positive signs for peace. Israeli leaders continue to reject calls for a ceasefire, and recent reports say that early in the war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a five-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of some of the hostages held in Gaza. There have been some positive developments brought about partially by international diplomacy. On November 9, the White House announced that Israel had agreed to daily 4-hour pauses in the fighting, in order to allow civilians to flee. U.S President Biden mentioned that he had called for at least a three-day pause in the fighting in a call with Netanyahu. Other heads of state have called for further humanitarian pauses or a ceasefire, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who opened a peace summit in Paris with a call to protect civilians in Gaza. Continued international diplomacy is important to build peace, as the civilian death toll continues to climb and concerns mount over increased violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
You can read more of our coverage of this topic here. Peace News published a story recently discussing the work of organizations and individuals working to build peace between Israelis and Palesitinians, which you can read here.
Colombia
In Colombia, the “total peace” agenda of President Gustavo Petro continued to encounter obstacles. A major aspect of that initiative was the outreach to armed groups, including the Marxist National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissident groups that split from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, both of whom had recently agreed to negotiations with the government. Recent developments have threatened hopes for negotiated peace, however. The public kidnapping of the parents of soccer star Luis Diaz, by ELN gunmen, has raised concern over the group’s willingness to work towards peace. Both were released, but the kidnapping was the most high-profile violation of a ceasefire agreement which is seen as crucial to peace negotiations. In a further blow to Petro, the largest FARC dissident group, the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), announced that it was pulling out of negotiations with the government. There is still some hope – the EMC confirmed that it is still observing a ceasefire until January. However, these two events threaten the Colombian peace process, and it is crucial that both sides continue to work towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict and avoid a return to widespread violence in Colombia.
You can read our past coverage of Colombia here, including a recent video and article we published on the Colombian peace process and the total peace initiative.
Spain
In Spain, the aftermath of the illegal 2017 Catalan independence referendum continues to divide the country. The unofficial vote, organized by separatist parties, was met with a police crackdown and resulted in mass protests, with some Catalan independence leaders going into exile. Following a snap election this summer, no party was able to form a government on its own. Incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, of the Socialist Party, was able to find a majority, which required the support of Basque and Catalan separatist parties. An amnesty for those involved in the 2017 referendum was necessary for the support of the pro-Catalan independence Junts party. Protests against the amnesty have broken out across the country, many led by members of the far-right Vox party, which has taken a hard line on the issue. On November 9, Alejandro Vidal-Quadras, a longtime Catalan member of the PP who helped found Vox, was found shot in Madrid. He is expected to survive, and there is no link found yet between the shooting and the amnesty law. It remains to be seen whether implementing the agreement will further divide the country, or lead to reconciliation and an end to political polarization.
