UN GUIDE TO MEDIATION: CASE OF ISRAEL-PALESTINE AND THE SYRIAN CRISES
The United Nation’s Guidance for Effective Mediation proposes eight ‘fundamentals’ for a successful mediation process. Identify and discuss what you consider to be the two most important fundamentals. Refer to one or more of the following mediation case studies to illustrate why your chosen fundamentals are more important that the others; Aceh, the Israel-Palestinian conflict and Syria.
Introduction
The international community, under chapter VI of the UN Charter, has adopted and integrated mediation into a formal institutionalized practice, and regards it as one of the most effective methods of preventing, managing, and resolving conflicts. Mediation involves the intervention of a third party between disputing parties, in an effort to advance proposals aimed at seeking a compromise that will restore or maintain international/regional peace and security (Roberts 2009). It is important because, despite primary conflict-parties being key in determining outcomes, studies have shown that mediated crises were twice as likely to result in agreement as those without (Wilkenfield et al 2005; Bercovitch 1996). Because of the efficacy of mediation as an effective conflict resolution tool, in 2012, the United Nations formulated eight fundamentals for effective mediation referred to as the United Nations Guidance for Effective Mediation (hereinafter The UN-Guide). The UN-Guide was designed to support professional mediation efforts internationally, nationally and/or at local levels, as it incorporates global best practices that inform approaches of all mediators. The strength of the UN-Guide resides in the fact that it draws on experience of many actors, including international, state, UN, regional, Non-governmental, women-based, religious, academics, diplomats, mediators and mediation specialists (UN 2012). The eight fundamentals espoused by the UN-Guide are preparedness, consent, impartiality, inclusivity, national ownership, international law and normative frameworks,
Introduction
The international community, under chapter VI of the UN Charter, has adopted and integrated mediation into a formal institutionalized practice, and regards it as one of the most effective methods of preventing, managing, and resolving conflicts. Mediation involves the intervention of a third party between disputing parties, in an effort to advance proposals aimed at seeking a compromise that will restore or maintain international/regional peace and security (Roberts 2009). It is important because, despite primary conflict-parties being key in determining outcomes, studies have shown that mediated crises were twice as likely to result in agreement as those without (Wilkenfield et al 2005; Bercovitch 1996). Because of the efficacy of mediation as an effective conflict resolution tool, in 2012, the United Nations formulated eight fundamentals for effective mediation referred to as the United Nations Guidance for Effective Mediation (hereinafter The UN-Guide). The UN-Guide was designed to support professional mediation efforts internationally, nationally and/or at local levels, as it incorporates global best practices that inform approaches of all mediators. The strength of the UN-Guide resides in the fact that it draws on experience of many actors, including international, state, UN, regional, Non-governmental, women-based, religious, academics, diplomats, mediators and mediation specialists (UN 2012). The eight fundamentals espoused by the UN-Guide are preparedness, consent, impartiality, inclusivity, national ownership, international law and normative frameworks,