On Aug. 15, 2005, in the quiet neutrality of Helsinki, the government of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the erstwhile Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed a landmark peace agreement that ended nearly 30 years of violence and ushered in a new chapter for the nation’s westernmost province.

The Helsinki Agreement remains one of Asia’s last true peace settlements; one that went beyond temporary ceasefires to actually confront root causes. It demobilized fighters, returned governance to civilians and brought hope to a region scarred by war and natural disasters.

Yet, as we reflect on two decades of relative peace in Aceh, we must also acknowledge the accord’s global significance in today’s world where peace itself is fast becoming a relic.

From the bloody occupation of the Gaza Strip to the trench warfare in Ukraine, from border flare-ups between Cambodia and Thailand to ethnic conflict and military rule in Myanmar, we are increasingly seeing a pattern: In an age of piecemeal conflicts, ceasefires are becoming the new norm to strive for, not peace itself.

Diplomatic energy is spent on silencing guns, not solving problems.

As the Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation recently noted, international conflict mediation is now largely driven by efforts to "manage" violence, not to end it.