Ceasefires tracker featured in The Lancet
Ceasefires in a Time of Covid-19, a digital tracking tool for ceasefires called during the Covid-19 pandemic, has been featured in The Lancet.
On 14 December 2020, The Lancet Infectious Diseases published a short piece from the University of Edinburgh’s PeaceTech team highlighting the relationship between the pandemic and global conflict resolution. Acknowledging the distinct public health challenges of Covid-19 in conflict-affected states, the article introduces the UN Secretary General’s call for a global ceasefire to halt violent conflict in the face of the pandemic and outlines the development of Ceasefires in a Time of Covid-19, an interactive digital tool that monitors ceasefires called since March 2020. The authors offer key findings from the tracker on the relationship between the pandemic and conflict resolution efforts – notably, that the ceasefire call was not a game changer in terms of global conflict.
Ceasefires in a Time of Covid-19 is part of the University of Edinburgh’s PeaceTech initiative, which harnesses the power of data and technology to support peacebuilding initiatives. The piece was written by members of the PeaceTech team at the University of Edinburgh: John Allison, Sanja Badanjak, Benjamin Bach, Christine Bell, Devanjan Bhattacharya, Fiona Knaussel, and Laura Wise.
Read the piece in full on The Lancet’s website, or download as PDF.
The Covid-19 Ceasefire Tracker is a publicly available digital tracking tool to examine the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on peace processes and armed conflict across the world. The tool monitors ceasefires alongside live data on infection rates in country, using an interactive timeline and map including live data on infection rates in country.
Ceasefires in a Time of Covid-19 is a collaborative project between the Political Settlements Research Programme (PSRP), the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich, Conciliation Resources, Mediateur (European Forum for International Mediation and Dialogue) and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), with thanks to contributions from the Mediation Support Unit in the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs.
Further Reading
Read all PSRP research and reports on the impact of Covid-19 on conflict-affected states.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Peace and Transition Processes: Tracking the Trends
This research report by Christine Bell, Tim Epple, and Jan Pospisil used expert surveys on a set of conflict countries to understand how Covid-19 pandemic responses were affecting conflict and peace process dynamics.
This report by Robert Forster asks when and how are ceasefires negotiated, and what are their critical elements?
Gender Mainstreaming in Ceasefires: Comparative Data and Examples
This report by Christine Bell and Robert Forster asks when and how have ceasefire agreements in armed conflict addressed women? Why should ceasefires include gender-specific provisions? Finally, what are the potential strategies for including women in ceasefire monitoring and implementation modalities?