Forgotten conflicts and education for peace
The media has focused on the war in Ukraine since Russia committed the crime of aggression on February 24, 2022. The war and violence have caused the forced displacement of millions of people. Unfortunately, there are over 100 active armed conflicts in the world, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), causing suffering of those directly affected and without a peaceful solution. War separates families, causes pain, traumas, destroys lives and forces people to start new beginnings.
Solidarity and empathy awaken by the armed conflict in Ukraine did not exist with the one in Syria, which has been active for over 11 years, and the media coverage is not comparable to that of the armed conflict in Ethiopia, where it is hard to obtain trustworthy information. But there are also wars in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Mali, Chad, Yemen, Myanmar, Venezuela, Somalia…
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), over 339 million people in 69 countries will require humanitarian assistance in 2023, with the United Nations appealing for an increase of 25% in funding compared to last year, when responses were already only half met.
David Miliband, President of the International Rescue Committee, has recently written the article 'The 20 humanitarian crises the world cannot ignore in 2023 — and what to do about them' for the World Economic Forum: "Armed conflict, the climate crisis and economic turmoil are pushing a growing minority of the world’s population into ever deeper crisis. These countries are home to just 13% of the global population and account for just 1.6% of global GDP, but they represent 81% of the forcibly displaced, 80% of the people facing crisis or catastrophic levels of food insecurity and 90% of global humanitarian need. Conflicts devastate the infrastructure, livelihoods and services upon which communities depend to withstand shocks".
Humanitarians keep on working in the frontlines of such crises, both with internally displaced peoples and refugees. War is a failure for humanity. Education and a culture of peace can transform reality and build up a better world through prevention, early action, mitigation, resolution to reach a settlement and accountability.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan has been at war since 2001, an eternal drama because it is one of the most entrenched armed conflicts on the planet and with a solution that does not seem close. Fighting is sure to endure in Afghanistan, as forces from the Taliban and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) clash, and both groups continue to target ethnic and religious minorities. The recent arrival of the Taliban to power on 15 August 2021 does not seem to offer a peaceful solution either. Ethnic and religious minorities and supporters of the former government were targeted for torture and execution. And the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces launched mortar attacks on homes, and conducted an air strike on a hospital, all of which killed civilians hiding in fear. The US carried out a drone strike on 29 August 2021 that killed 10 civilians, including 7 children. Not only in Afghanistan but also in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Somalia the US has failed to live up to obligations to protect civilians during air strikes and provide fair reparations when there is harm. Crimes committed under international law, including war crimes, by the taliban are: killings in spin Boldak and Daykundi, killings and torture in Malistan, killings and mistreatment of detainees in Panjshir. According to UNHCR, there are at least 2.6 million refugees from this country worldwide, most of them in Iran and Pakistan. In addition, 3.5 million people are internally displaced. Humanitarians support the conflict-affected population with food, basic necessities, as well as offering education and training to young people to improve their life prospects. The International Criminal Court (ICC) must conduct full investigations into all parties to the conflict.
"The only thing we want is for this bombing of civilians to stop," a 34-year-old farmer from Kunduz Province, describing the aftermath of an Afghan Air Force strike on a hospital in Basoz.
"We asked the Taliban why they did this, and they told us, when it is the time of conflict, everyone dies, it doesn't matter if you have guns or not. It is the time of war," 27-year-old construction worker from Malistan, describing the killing of 9 civilian men.
"They kept us underground. When we were asking for medical treatment of the wounded, the Taliban were saying 'let them die'. If they are alive, they will fight again. There was no food and water, and no support to the wounded. They had brutal relations with us. For two days, we had no food and water. When we were asking for water, they were saying die of thirst".
"I saw women and children lying inside, some injured and some dead. These bombings have had such an effect on people, I cannot explain. When I hear planes I become a different person. I can't think. Because first you hear it, the sound of bombs is heavy and horrible and no one knows where it will hit. People around die or it damages the mind," a 38-year-old tailor from Khanabad, recalling a US air strike that killed 5 civilians.
"I see people dead, I see the houses ruined, and I look for my sister lost in the rubble. Then, the American forces came in, and they are fighting DAESH. The Americans came to keep us safe to pull the bodies out. But DAESH comes to fight them. The Americans said 'we have the wrong coordination and we have hit your house by mistake'. In our guest house there were a lot of people sitting on the terrace there. Maybe they think that men with beards are DAESH?
"I was sleeping when the first bomb hit... They were telling us to hide somewhere in case the second bomb happened. My father said I had to find my younger brother. The second bomb killed my mother, my uncle, my aunt, and my sister. All of them.
"The people who can afford to leave do but the poor people stay because they will starve if they leave," a 40-year-old shop keeper, in Kunduz.
In the joint report "Afghanistan: The fate of thousands hanging in the balance", Amnesty International, OMCT, and FIDH have outlined some of the immediate human rights concerns that have arisen following the Taliban’s takeover: Reports of killings, torture, and the cutting off of essential supplies to civilians in Panjshir where active conflict is ongoing, are evidence of war crimes committed by the Taliban. Women’s rights are already being infringed upon, with women being barred from working (some are refraining from working out of fear) and given no place in the new “government” announced by the Taliban. Crackdowns on protestors have left several people injured and dead. Journalists are facing significant intimidation and home searches, and are prevented from working through arbitrary arrest, detention, and ill-treatment. Human rights defenders are in hiding, afraid for their lives and those of their families, while some have already faced reprisals.
On 30 August, the UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted the urgent Resolution 2593 on Afghanistan. The Council must monitor compliance with its resolution, including through reporting by the Human Rights Unit in the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), and be ready to implement and enforce its resolution through further measures. The UN must supply UNAMA with the resources and on-the-ground staff necessary for robust human rights monitoring. On 17 September the UNSC unanimously adopted Resolution 2596, providing UNAMA with an extended mandate for six months until 17 March 2022. This means that the provisions in UNSC Resolution 2543 of 2020 regarding the role of the OHCHR to monitor human rights and support the rule of law continues to apply. The authorities in Afghanistan must respect and protect human rights, especially those of women, children, and minorities’ ensure the right to full, equal, and meaningful participation of women; adhere to the rule of law; allow Afghans to leave Afghanistan; and respect international humanitarian law. It is apparent that these minimum safeguards are not being met at this time, by the Taliban and other armed groups such as the ISKP, as they continue to perpetrate violations and abuses with impunity. This poses a huge responsibility for the international community to take a strong stance before the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council (UNSC), to ensure that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is closely monitored, and that the authorities are held to the human rights standards set out in international human rights law and in UNSC Resolution 2593. Engagements with the authorities in Afghanistan to ensure respect for international human rights law must commence immediately, and human rights violations and abuses must be independently monitored, verified, and documented. It is therefore imperative that a robust international mechanism is established for that purpose.
The joint report includes recommendations to all UN member states and states that have for the past 20 years financially supported Afghan civil society, and Countries that have already pledged support for at-risk Afghans, as well as those who are yet to make these commitments, should protect and respect the rights of all refugees and asylum seekers, including by:
1. Immediately halting all deportations and forced returns; and ensuring the protection of all Afghans in their territories, through granting refugee status or other forms of international protection.
2. In particular, States should consider all Afghan women and girls as prima facie refugees, on the grounds of high risk of gender-based persecution upon return to Afghanistan.
3. Suspending visa requirements and/or expediting humanitarian visas to at-risk groups – including journalists, members of civil society, human rights defenders, in particular, women human rights defenders, and other women who worked in security, justice and judicial sectors, and members of minority ethnic and religious groups. Visa requirements should be suspended at least until embassies and consulates reopen in Afghanistan, and visa-granting processes function in a prompt, effective, and transparent way. Those countries whose visagranting processes for Afghans are still functioning in a prompt, transparent, and effective way, should expedite humanitarian visas and/or grant minimal documentation requirements for these groups.
4. Neighbouring countries should commit to maintaining open borders for refugees and implementing measures to ensure that border crossings are safe.
5. States with resources to do so, should open or increase safe pathways to protection, such as resettlement and community sponsorship, offering places proportionate to the scale of the crisis, while considering the particular situation of women.
6. The United States of America, European Union and its members, UK, Switzerland, Canada, and Australia must work to ensure those who are at risk in Afghanistan, particularly those working for them, are granted safe passage and resettlement in one of these countries.
7. All states party to the Rome Statute must cooperate, and press Afghanistan’s government to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity, including crimes committed by the Taliban and affiliated forces.
8. While welcoming the continuous engagement towards humanitarian aid for the suffering population in Afghanistan, states supporting development and humanitarian aid and engaging the Taliban authorities should demand a commitment to uphold human rights treaties, ratified and binding upon Afghanistan.
Responsibility of the International Community, particularly via the United Nations to:
1. Ensure safe passage for all people trying to leave Afghanistan.
a. Ensure that access to the airports is permitted to everyone by the Taliban. The United Nations and the international community via the UNAMA, or through a specially appointed mandate holder, or through bi-lateral engagements by state parties, must commence negotiations with the authorities in Afghanistan and the authorities of neighbouring countries to ensure safe passage for refugees to countries sharing landborders with Afghanistan.
2. Protection and safe evacuation for human rights defenders and other at-risk groups.
a. The United Nations and the international community via the UNAMA, or through a specially appointed mandate holder, must commence negotiations with the authorities in Afghanistan to ensure safety for individuals at risk who remain in Afghanistan
b. Post-negotiations, mechanisms for protection should also be developed. The international community must engage collectively to hold the authorities in Afghanistan to international human rights standards and ensure the safety of human rights defenders, journalists, and other groups at high risk.
3. Securing commitment to human rights guarantees from the authorities in Afghanistan UN SECURITY COUNCIL
a. Following up on its Resolution 2593 and Resolution 2596, the UN Security Council must press the authorities in Afghanistan to honour international human rights principles, especially with respect to women’s rights and minority rights.
b. The UN Security Council must monitor compliance with the minimum standards on human rights contained in UNSC Resolution 2593 and Resolution 2596, by receiving regular briefings on the human rights situation from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
c. The UN must provide the Human Rights Unit of UNAMA with sufficient on-the-ground staff (whilst assuring their safety) and resources (including from additional voluntary contributions by member states) to carry out robust and independent human rights monitoring.
d. The UN Security Council must appoint a special mandate holder or other special mechanism to negotiate with the authorities in Afghanistan and increase international pressure on the authorities to end all human rights violations and abuses that are being reported from various parts of the country, via mechanisms available through the United Nations and multilateral negotiations.
e. All efforts must be taken to pressure the Taliban and other armed groups in Panjshir valley to adhere to international human rights law and humanitarian law, protect civilians, civilian objects, and prisoners of war, and ensure uninterrupted access to essential supplies and humanitarian aid.
f. The United Nations through a special mandate holder or other mechanism, must put in place a mechanism to negotiate with the authorities in Afghanistan, to ensure commercial and civilian aircrafts are able to operate safely at the international airports, and are provided the security needed for such operations. - - Negotiations must commence by the United Nations with the authorities in Afghanistan, either through a special mandate holder or through an existing mechanism, to support evacuations from Kabul airport and other international airports in Afghanistan by securing safety for civilians at the airport and ensure safe travel for civilians to the airport.
The UN Human Rights Council (HRC):
The UN HRC must establish a fact-finding mission or similar independent investigative mechanism, with a multi-year mandate to:
1. Investigate all alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and other serious human rights violations and abuses, including any gendered dimensions of such violations and abuses, by all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan.
2. Contribute to efforts to bring all those suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes under international law to justice in fair trials before ordinary civilian courts and without recourse to death penalty, including by identifying those suspected of criminal responsibility, collecting and preserving evidence for future prosecutions, and making recommendations on necessary measures to end impunity and ensure accountability for serious crimes.
3. Make recommendations for concrete action to protect the rights of the people of Afghanistan, to ensure access to justice, truth and reparations for victims and survivors, and to prevent further atrocities.
4. Report regularly, including inter-sessionally, to the HRC, as well as to the General Assembly, the UNSC, and other relevant UN organs and bodies.
The International Criminal Court (ICC):
1. The ICC should make a public decision regarding the request filed by the Afghan government in 2020 to defer the investigation under Article 18 of the Rome Statute, taking into consideration that (a) crimes are ongoing; and (b) the new de facto authorities in Afghanistan are unlikely to be willing or able to investigate and prosecute criminal acts that may fall under the ICC’s jurisdiction.
To the authorities in Afghantistan:
1. On ending human rights violations. End all human rights violations that are taking place in Afghanistan including reprisal killings; attacks on members of ethnic and religious minorities, women and girls, LGBTI people, human rights defenders, civil society members, judges, lawyers, former government officials, journalists and others; and attacks on protests, torture, and ill treatment of those arrested; and the exclusion of women and girls from public life, including work and education.
2. Ensure the human rights of everyone in Afghanistan. Adhere to international human rights law and humanitarian law, protect civilians and civilian objects, end murders and other violations targeted at surrendered soldiers and other former government officials, and ensure uninterrupted access to essential supplies and humanitarian aid.
3. On accountability for crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations.
a. Ensure investigations into all reliable allegations of crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations and abuses and where individuals are suspected of criminal responsibility, and ensure they are brought to trial in accordance with international human rights law and without recourse to the death penalty.
b. Pending investigation and trial of those reasonably suspected of crimes under international law, remove them from the ranks of the Taliban or any other forces under their control.
c. Agree to and support the establishment of a UN special mandate holder, a fact-finding mission, or other special mechanism, to independently monitor human rights in Afghanistan.
d. Ensure cooperation with the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC in investigating Rome Statute crimes committed in Afghanistan.
e. Ensure the safety of survivors, witnesses, HRDs, and civil society members who have contributed to the investigative and outreach efforts of the ICC.
4. On the right to leave the country:
a. Ensure that access to the airports is permitted to everyone, and end checkpoints where at-risk individuals are screened by the Taliban, preventing most at-risk groups from accessing the airports for evacuation flights.
b. Ensure open borders with countries sharing land-borders with Afghanistan.
c. Respect and protect the rights of at-risk individuals including human rights defenders, civil society members, women and girls, LGBTI people, politicians, local government and mayors, members of minority ethnic and religious groups, journalists, entertainers, former government workers and other at-risk groups. 5.
5. On humanitarian aid:
a. Ensure safe passage for humanitarian aid workers delivering critical services to Afghans across the country to ensure humanitarian aid can continue without interference.
Central African Republic (CAR)
The Central African Republic is considered by the United Nations to be the least developed country in the world. CAR has suffered multiple armed conflicts since 2002. Thousands of civilians have been killed, raped, or otherwise subjected to horrific violence. Many more have had their homes burned or looted, and have been forced to leave for displacement camps. Since 2013 CAR has been immersed in a civil war that has not ceased, although since 2018 the intensity is less intense. However, a third of the population, more than 1.4 million people, have left their homes and their lives, and half are refugees in neighboring countries. Today there is no peace, but neither is there hope, especially for the rural population, as violence is still rife in the country and progress in consolidating peace is too slow. War crimes and crimes against humanity have been inflicted on the population by armed groups, the CAR military and their allies. Very few perpetrators have been held to account or these horrific crimes. People have continued to live in the vicinity of their attackers, forced to endure trauma and the fear of further violence. Most of those who have ordered the worst atrocities have simply continued to go about their lives with total impunity. Some have been promoted into top positions in government.
CAR criminal courts do not have the capacity to deal with crimes at such scale. The ICC can only take on a small number of cases in CAR. On 22 October 2018 the Special Criminal Court (SCC) was created in CAR as a hybrid between a national and international court to create more opportunities for justice to be done and thus help end impunity. Yet the SCC faced obstacles and delays in becoming fully operational. It still faces difficulties affirming its full independence and overcoming apparent resistance from the CAR authorities and MINUSCA for reasons of political expediency.
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"I ask that our cases be processed, so that justice is done for the memory of my murdered brother".
Victims of crimes deserve justice and they must have it. They cannot move forward with their lives while the perpetrators of their worst sufferings walk free and while they have no redress.
According to the CAR government, the UN, partner States of CAR and donors must, at all costs:
More information available on the report published by Amnesty International: One step forward, two steps backwards. Justice in the Central African Republic.
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
The armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the longest in the world. The violence began more than 25 years ago and there is already more than a generation that has only lived under these conditions. War, killings, kidnappings, violence and widespread sexual violence have left over 5.2 million people internally displaced, more than 800,000 refugees and tens of thousands dead. There is still instability in the country and impunity remains.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, DRC President Tshisekedi inherited a number of crises across the country, including an Ebola outbreak in the east and ongoing violence across the country, particularly in the Ituri, Kasai, and Kivu regions. More than one hundred armed groups, such as the Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces, are believed to operate in the eastern region of the DRC. Despite the presence of more than sixteen thousand UN peacekeepers, these groups continue to terrorize communities and control weakly governed areas.
The return of the M23 armed group has deepened humanitarian needs in eastern DRC and triggered a geopolitical crisis that could set off a wider proxy conflict in the Great Lakes region. Attention on the M23 has pulled focus away from other insurgent groups, including the Islamist Allied Democratic Forces and the Ituri-based CODECO militias. They will likely wreak more havoc in 2023, while planned presidential elections could add to the instability.
Consolidating peace efforts across the vast territory has proved difficult. Scholars writing for The Conversation Africa have highlighted a range of factors driving the conflict – and the challenges in the way of addressing them.
More information on the report published by Amnesty International: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2021.
Ethiopia
In early November 2020, an armed conflict broke out between the Ethiopian military and regional security forces from the country's northern Tigray region. The fighting followed years of growing tensions between the Ethiopian federal government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and leaders of Tigray's ruling political party. Government forces were soon joined by security forces from the Amhara region, which borders Tigray as well as soldiers from Eritrea. A peace deal between the federal administration and Tigrayan forces has many hurdles still to overcome.
The armed conflict has resulted in human rights abuses from both sides and millions of people displaced. Individuals responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the conflict should be fairly prosecuted. Initially heavy fighting between the Ethiopian military with their allies against Tigrayan fighters took place around Western Tigray. Electricity, banking and telecommunications, including the internet and phone lines to Tigray were cut off. Residents described heavy shelling and gunfire, as Ethiopian and allied forces entered their towns:
"When the Ethiopian and Amhara forces entered the town, people were panicked and began running to the farms. They started killing people, no warning, just shooting. They shot at people running".
Soon, an interim administration for Western Tigray was established by forces of the neighboring Amhara region. An administration hostile to the presence of Tigrayans.
"Papers said Tigrayans need to leave the town immediately. They were thrown everywhere, so when we woke up in the morning, you would see it on your door or on the way to church, everywhere. I was in Dansha Town where I have a hairdressing shop. Six militia came to loot my shop. Two of them raped me. They said 'you Tigrayan, you should disappear from the land west of Tekeze'. You are evil and we are purifying your blood. In the first two moths of their control they looted everything in the town. All the crops, they took our cows, we had nothing to eat. Everything we had was taken. The militia would even write on the houses that belonged to Tigrayan. This is ours, this is Amhara house. They told us not to speak in Tigrinya".
Meanwhile, as reports of atrocities became widespread, Ethiopian authorities limited access to Western Tigray for international journalists, human rights and humanitarian groups. Humanitarian organizations should have inmediate and independent access to Tigray, including to all detention facilities. In Adi-Goshi town, in January 2021, Amhara Special Forces and militias rounded up around 60 residents, transported them to the Tekeze bridge and shot them.
"The Amhara Special Forces told us to disembark. They lined us up in rows, cocked their guns and sprayed us with bullets. We fell in the ditch below. After that they said 'Tigrayans don't die easily. Shoot again'.
As abuses in Western Tigray continued, hundreds of thousands of Tigrayans were forced to flee their homes. Some fled to Sudan while many more were forcibly displaced to other parts of Tigray in a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign. Ethiopia's federal and regional authorities have dismissed allegations of acts of ethnic cleansing and human rights violations in Western Tigray.
"After seeing this and other incidents I thought: what are we expecting? Are we waiting for them to kill all of us? Why don't we cross the Tekeze River while we still hace our lives?"
Throughout this conflict, thousands of Tigrayans have been arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned. In June 2021, Ethiopian and allied forces withdrew from much of Tigray, but not Western Tigray. Detentions of Tigrayans in Western Tigray escalated.
"We could not access the toilets, they did not give us any food or water. A lot of people were falling ill. There were some people that died from torture. They tie your hands and feet, they hit you in your testicles, your head and your chest. All of us went through
Tigrayans in Western Tigray continue to be subjected to torture, arbitrary detention and other grave human rights abuses.
"All I want is peace. All I want to do is to be able to speak Tigrinya freely. I am a beekeeper and all I want to do is work".
The Ethnic cleansing of Tigrayans from Western Tigray, which began in November 2020, needs to stop. All communities in Western Tigray need protection. Safe conditions should be established to allow Tigrayans to voluntarily return to their homes.
Ethiopia has been at war since 2020, but it is one of the armed conflicts with the least media attention due to lack of information and obscurantism of the warring parties. The crisis that began in the northern Tigray region has spread to other parts of the country, and human rights violations are constant, as denounced by the UN. There are more than 260,000 people who have fled their homes and more than 12 million people who need help to survive.
The Human Rights Watch report "We will erase you from this land: crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing in Ethiopia's Western Tigray Zone", documents how newly-appointed officials in Western Tigray and security forces from the neighbouring Amhara region, with the acquiescence and possible participation of Ethiopian federal forces, systematically expelled several hundred thousand Tigrayan civilians from their homes using threats, unlawful killings, sexual violence, mass arbitrary detention, pillage, forcible transfer, and the denial of humanitarian assistance. These widespread and systematic attacks against against the Tigrayan civilian population amount to crimes against humanity, as well as war crimes.
"He kept telling us that we need to move, that we don't belong to stay here. They took all my cattle, burnt my sorghum (crops) and house and told us that this is not our region. They said 'our land is east of the Tekeze River'. They kept saying every night 'we will kill you. Go out of the area'."
Prolonged drought in the southeast of the country, ongoing economic stresses and the impact of the conflict exacerbate growing needs.
Ukraine
Air raid alarms are sounding every day in Ukraine. Houses and electric gas stations are being bombed. People are living in basements, there is no light and no heating, stores are closed and it is difficult to find bread, there is no traffic on the streets. The city is full of barricades and the people who remain are trying to survive in this situation of resistance. Citizens collect bottles to make Molotov cocktails. Humanitarian aid continues to arrive in the cities: food, water, medicine, warm clothes and basic necessities are distributed to families, the elderly and the sick. Families spend weeks on trains, buses and walking to reach other countries. Loved ones who are separated and dream of being reunited soon.
People in Ukraine are facing a human rights crisis; they are dying, including children, and many more are at risk.
"The invasion has triggered a huge human rights, humanitarian and displacement crisis that has the makings of the worst such catastrophe in recent European history. Russia is breaching the sovereignty of Ukraine and challenging the global security architecture. Genuine humanitarian corridors must be established quickly, effectively, and safely. As thousands of protesters take to the streets across Russia to denounce the war, the Kremlin remains hellbent on stiffling state critics as it coerces domestic media into supporting its policies," Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
About 6 million people left Ukraine. According to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, more than 320,000 Ukrainians have returned to the country to join the war. The war is not new to Ukrainians. The country has been resisting the onslaught of its Russian neighbor for three decades. Since gaining its independence in 1991, a series of presidents (Viktor Yushchenko, Viktor Yanukovich, Pyotr Poroshenko...), who have been close to Russia, the US and Europe, have succeeded each other in power. The latest confrontation started in the Donbas, in the east of the country, in 2014, after the Maidan square revolution and the overthrow of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. The Donbas massively supported Yanukovych and rejected his overthrow. Russia took advantage of this discontent and strengthened the separatist militias that clashed with the Ukrainian army to gain their independence. The current president Volodymir Zelenski, who is close to the values of the EU and NATO, has once again aroused the suspicion of Moscow, the origin of this confrontation that has been complicated by the adhesion of foreign fighters to both armies. Russia recruits soldiers in Syria and Chechnya, and Ukraine launches an appeal to the world: "help us to defend Ukraine, Europe and the whole world," says the call published on fightforua.org, sponsored by the Ukrainian government and linked to all its diplomatic offices.
The risk of escalation remains high. Nuclear war is the most frightening potential development. Even if the use of nuclear weapons is avoided, the danger of widening conflict remains as NATO sends advanced weaponry to Ukraine and Iran supplies Russia with military drones.
International organizations estimate that more than 4.2 million people left Ukraine in the first 40 days of the Russian invasion. They fled to Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Belarus, and other European countries. The humanitarian response has been different from the one given to the situations in Syria and Afghanistan.
South Sudan
In 2011 a new country was born after years of armed conflict: South Sudan. But the joy was short-lived and has now lasted many years of war, leaving two out of three children in urgent need of humanitarian aid. There are over two million internally displaced people and over two million refugees in Uganda, Ethiopia and Sudan. Violence in South Sudan is escalating. The Dinka are invading land because there is not enough food for their animals due to drought. People are afraid and fleeing.
It is 7 years since the first peace deal was signed in South Sudan and with it a commitment made to set up an African Union-backed up Hybrid Court for South Sudan (HCSS) to investigate and prosecute war crimes and other human rights violations committed in the conflict since 2011. But the creation of the HSCC has been delayed. Hundreds of thousands of people fled their homes because of conflict. Humanitarian assistance was impeded or blocked. All parties to the conflict perpetrated serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including the indiscriminate and targeted killing of civilians, the recruitment and use of children, acts of sexual violence and destruction of property. At least 52 people, including children, were extrajudicially executed. Impunity for human rights and humanitarian law violations remained the norm. The security forces continued to use unlawful surveillance to target government critics, in some cases arbitrarily arresting and detaining them. They responded to calls for peaceful protests with a wave of repression. Death sentences were imposed and executions carried out. The government continued to fail in its obligation to respect and protect the rights to health and education.
Violence persisted in various pockets across the country, setting parties to the conflict, as well as local groups aligned with them, against each other. Months of tension culminated in fighting in June in Tambura county in Western Equatoria State between competing local groups aligned with forces affiliated to the government’s South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) on the one hand, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO) on the other. The SPLA-IO split in August led to inter-group fighting in the north. Fighting continued between government forces and the National Salvation Front (NAS), a non-state armed group, in Central and Western Equatoria State.
Extreme flooding continued and, according to the UN, affected eight out of 10 states, creating and exacerbating a humanitarian crisis.
“They will say if you don’t comply with me, if you don’t cooperate, I’ll gun you down. So, we fear, we have to accept what they want.” Keji (pseudonym), CRSV survivor, 5 March 2022, Central Equatoria State.
Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) has been a persistent feature of the conflict that broke out on 15 December 2013 and that spread to South Sudan’s Greater Equatoria region following the collapse of the 2015 peace agreement in July 2016. All parties to the conflict, their allied militias, as well as a non-state armed group that did not sign the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, have committed sexual violence that violates international humanitarian law and constitutes war crimes. CRSV in South Sudan is grounded in historical and pervasive gender inequality, discrimination against women and a patriarchal and militarized society in which women and girls are subordinate to men and boys.
“All these cases of rape that are happening, the government is keeping silent.” Jacqueline (pseudonym), CRSV survivor, 4 March 2022, Central Equatoria State
Survivors are left without redress and have inadequate access to critical services.
As recently as September 2022, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a report documenting violations and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law including killings of civilians, forceful displacement of civilians, rape, gang rape and pillage of civilian and humanitarian properties. The violations were committed during fighting between “South Sudan’s joint Government Forces and affiliated armed militias/groups – comprising community-based militias and elements who defected from the pro-Riek Machar Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition”. The clashes took place between February and May 2022 in southern Unity State.
In their joint report "South Sudan: African Union’s abandoned commitment to justice in Africa: The case of the hybrid court for South Sudan", Transitional Justice Working Group and Amnesty International believe that the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC), may unilaterally establish a tribunal for South Sudan pursuant to its obligation to implement the peace agreements and in exercise of its power relating to implementation of peace-building measures and prevention of the resurgence of violence in the country.
Syria
The bombs have stopped falling in the big cities of Syria, but there is still no ceasefire. More than eleven years of neglect have left the country mired in poverty. More than 13 million people need urgent humanitarian aid. Syria today is starving and there is no work for anyone. Humanitarians are trying to create spaces of peace in which, especially children and young people, can think of something outside the war. Syria is a devastated country. There is no fuel, money is worthless and electricity is only available for two hours a day. An average salary for a family is 25 euros a month. There are more than five million refugees, mainly in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, and more than 3 million internally displaced people.
Education programs, such as the Idarah program in Syria, offer immediate access to education including remedial learning, the promotion of inclusion, and psychosocial support to address biases and trauma that fuel a conflict.
UNHCR high profile supporter and Syrian youth advocate for refugees Nujeen Mustafa underlined, for Devex event "Creating urgency for education in emergencies and protracted crises", that education is an inherent right and that it is “unacceptable and inexcusable” for millions of children and young people to be denied this right. Recounting her story and the difficulties she faced in accessing learning opportunities as a girl with disability growing up in Syria, she called on policymakers not to see children from conflict zones as “a burden or a problem to solve” but rather as “treasures” who should be valued and provided with the opportunities they deserve.
Yemen
More than eight years of war have made Yemen one of the most dangerous places in the world. The war has left more than 230,000 people dead, not only on the front lines or from bombings, as more than half are from food shortages, lack of access to medicines and hospitals. More than 24 million people in Yemen, more than 80% of the population, need humanitarian aid to survive, according to the ICRC. In addition, more than 16.2 million people have been food insecure since last year and more than 4.7 million children and women suffer from malnutrition. Yemen is very unstable, where kidnappings of humanitarians are frequent.
OCHA estimates that this war has caused the deaths of nearly a quarter of a million people. Millions of Yemenis continue to face the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, with more than half the population facing acute levels of food insecurity. Yemen depends on imports of almost all its food and essential commodities, and the collapse of its currency has led to skyrocketing food and other commodity prices and reduced households’ purchasing power. Millions of people cannot afford to meet their basic needs.
Human Rights Watch states that the conflict intensified in 2021 with 49 districts in Yemen directly affected by active front lines, up from 35 at the start of 2020. Marib governorate was the site of heavy fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi armed group. Over 4 million people are internally displaced due to the conflict. The Covid-19 pandemic worsened the humanitarian crisis.
Civilians across the country suffered from worsening economic conditions and lack of basic services. Southern Yemen witnessed protests over deteriorating economic conditions and basic services. Torrential rains and flooding in May 2021 killed scores of people and damaged homes and infrastructure across the country. The UN Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts (GEE) on Yemen and other rights groups documented how parties to the conflict continue to commit serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including violations that likely amount to war crimes. Nevertheless, under heavy pressure from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the UN Human Rights Council narrowly voted in October 2021 to end the mandate of the UN Group of Eminent Experts, shuttering the only international, independent body investigating abuses by all parties to the conflict in Yemen.
There are other countries with active armed conflict, such as Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Libya, Nigeria, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Somalia —where decades of chronic armed conflict, food insecurity and devastating drought have destroyed and weakened many of the systems and infrastructure that protect communities— Sudan... In Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti, Nagorno-Karabakh, Nicaragua, Palestine, Philippines and Venezuela violence is present in the daily life of the population. The consequences of war and violence remain for years. The absence of bombs or snipers in the streets does not mean that there is peace. It takes many years for a society to rebuild what has been lost. It is not only a matter of reconstructing buildings, houses, cities.... It is also necessary to heal the wounds, to help to forgive, to work on the construction of people. Humanitarians are also there, promoting values of social awareness and civic responsibility. Peace is not only the absence of war, it is to have a project for the future.
War, as the journalist Gervasio Sánchez says, "is society's greatest failure" and today many people are suffering the serious consequences it brings with it. Increasingly polarized societies, in which dialogue has no place, are a bad omen for the future. Helping others to promote change through dialogue, humility and love is an act of solidarity that sows joy, trust and hope. A way to build lasting peace. It is urgent an education of non-violence, of respect for others, of enjoying a harmonious coexistence, of peace. The family, the school and the State have a great responsibility to promote and act for an education for peace, development and social stability.
"Education and hope are the most important tools to overcome a conflict," Roula Al Shamas, Syrian student in Spain.
Education is key to solving conflicts because it can ensure the transition to peace and development. Education can bring immediate and long-term benefits in conflict areas by bringing people together, collaborating with them supporting sustainable recovery and helping them solve problems as well as prevent them, providing a path forward.
"Education enables people to form their own opinions and decisions. Education addresses unemployment and unequal opportunities. Education makes citizens more peaceful and resilient. Education creates citizens who can address conflict’s complex problems. Education can help address children and youth’s current trauma and help prevent future conflicts. Education can remove the perpetuation of false or biased perceptions," Stacia George, Director, Conflict Resolution Program at The Carter Center.
Peaceful solutions like education are needed to boost the resilience of at-risk communities before, during and after armed conflicts, natural disasters and situations of violence.