Norway’s engagement in peace processes since 1993

Country

Norway’s contribution

Afghanistan

Engaged in peace initiatives in various roles since 2006. Norway has not forgotten Afghanistan. We are determined to undertake the difficult conversations and to hold those in power to account, and this has continued to be Norway’s approach since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Norway has focused on pursuing a structured dialogue with the Taliban on human rights, women’s participation in society, humanitarian access and peace, and we have extensive contact with representatives of Afghan society, allies and other countries committed to Afghanistan and to the future of the Afghan people. Norway facilitates contact between representatives of Afghan society, the international community and the de facto authorities with a view to improving the situation in the country over time. The alternative to seeking gradual change is stagnation or renewed violence.

Colombia

A key partner in the country’s peace processes, Norway has for several decades been involved in various efforts to promote dialogue between a series of governments and guerilla groups. Norway and Cuba were official facilitators of the peace negotiations with FARC-EP and act as guarantor countries for the implementation of the peace agreement that was signed in2016.  Norway also acts as a guarantor country for the ongoing negotiations with the guerilla group ELN (suspended as of January 2025) and with the FARC-EP dissident groups EMB and CNEB. Norway also provides technical support for the dialogue on disarming urban criminal groups.

Philippines

Facilitator of the peace talks between the Government and the communist movement NDFP since 2001. Active participation in the monitoring and disarmament process in Mindanao in connection with the peace process between the Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Guatemala

Facilitator of the negotiations that resulted in a peace agreement in 1996. Norway was a member – together with Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Venezuela and the US – of the Group of Friends for Guatemala, which assisted the UN in its mediation efforts. Three of the partial agreements were signed in Oslo.

Israel – Palestine

Facilitator of the negotiations in 1992–1993 that led to the Oslo Accords. In charge of the People-to-People Programme, established under the Oslo II agreement in 1995 to make the peace process more inclusive. Chair of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), which coordinates international assistance to Palestine, since its establishment in 1993. Since the Oslo Accords, the AHLC has coordinated international financing for a large share of the Palestinian Authority’s budgets. 

Yemen

Contact with all parties to the conflict, supporting the UN-led peace process, and encouraging de-escalation in the Red Sea region.

Myanmar

Norway withdrew its support for the peace process following the 2021 military coup but has continued capacity-building efforts aimed at promoting the active engagement of ethnic armed groups and the democratic opposition in the peace process. Norway is in contact with all parties to the conflict; the focus is on humanitarian access and a return to civilian rule. Broad support for the peace efforts of civil society organisations.

Nepal

Provided a unique and informal meeting place for the parties to the conflict during the peace process. Supported UN assistance and monitoring of the peace agreement, including the disarmament and integration of the Maoist forces. Peace agreement signed in 2006.

Somalia

Supported various national and local peace and reconciliation processes over a number of years, including the development of the Federal Government’s National Reconciliation Framework and the parties’ preparations for negotiations between Somalia and Somaliland.

Sri Lanka

Facilitator of the peace negotiations in the period 2000–2006. Leadership of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission set up to monitor the ceasefire agreement signed in 2002 until the Sri Lankan Government formally withdrew from the agreement in 2008.

Sudan and South Sudan

Norway, the UK and the US have since 2002 made up the Troika, which has a special role in Sudan and South Sudan. The Troika played a leading role in the negotiations that resulted in the 2005 peace agreement and supported the IGAD-led negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan that resulted in the Addis Ababa agreements in 2012.  

In independent South Sudan, the Troika has supported the IGAD-led negotiations that resulted in 1) the peace agreement of August 2015 following the internal conflict in South Sudan, and 2) the revised peace agreement of September 2018. Norway is also providing support for the implementation of the agreement.

Since 2019, Sudan has undergone a democratic revolution and a subsequent coup, followed by the outbreak of war in 2023. Norway has provided support for a humanitarian conference on Sudan and works to bring together democratic and civilian voices in a political process.  

Venezuela

For a number of years, Norway acted as a facilitator of the negotiations between the Venezuelan Government and the opposition on finding a political and inclusive solution to the conflict, at the request of both parties. The negotiation process was launched with the signing of an MoU between the parties in Mexico City in 2021. A number of agreements were subsequently entered into, including a social agreement in 2022 and the Barbados Agreement in 2023, which established conditions for the presidential election in 2024, intended to ensure that it would adhere to international standards. The election was not carried out in line with democratic standards.