In positive news, in November 2016, four years of negotiations between the Government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (FARC- EP) culminated in a final peace accord. This marked an end to five decades of conflict in which sexual violence was widespread and systematic.
Over 13 million people require humanitarian assistance and protection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to violence and unrest.
In South Sudan, violence between government and opposition forces has been ongoing since 2013 despite multiple peace agreements, displacing 3.6 million people from their homes (IRIN).
The Central African Republic was listed the world's “unhappiest country” in 2017 (World Happiness Report) due to displacement, lack of food, and internal conflict. Aid workers have been targets and agencies have been required to suspend operations (IRIN).
Afghanistan is again in a state of active conflict with a battle for control continuing on multiple fronts. Over 1 million people have been displaced in the last two years while other Afghans are returning after being kicked out of Europe (IRIN). Civilian casualties have been on the rise since 2016, with the Taliban carrying out attacks on civilian centres (HRW).
Syria heads towards seven years of war as violence and suffering continue. Starvation, chemical weapons and denial of aid is occurring and it is estimated that nearly 3 million people are living in ‘besieged’ or “hard to reach” areas; many living in makeshift shelters (HRW).
The ISIS caliphate was destroyed in 2017 but the threat remains of their return, or move underground, or erupting elsewhere as well as ongoing recruitment of young people (NBC News). In Iraq, 2.78 million people remain internally displaced since January 2014 (ReliefWeb).
In the past eight years the Boko Haram rebellion have killed 20,000 people and displaced 2.7 million (Aljazeera).