Peace Mediation Today: Do Norms Still Matter?

The discussion will focus on the values and norms underpinning current peace mediation efforts. Agreements brokered to address today’s armed conflicts are frequently negotiated under compressed timeframes and hence limited in their scope and prospects to lead to sustainable peace. 

As mediators are called in to “backfill” fast-tracked deals, questions arise about the relevance of the norms and values that have long underpinned effective mediation practice, such as impartiality, inclusivity, and a commitment to longer-term conflict resolution. The panel therefore discusses whether the current moment represents a fundamental challenge to these principles or an opportunity to reaffirm them. Initiatives to strengthen international commitment for the peaceful settlement of disputes or to improve the status and protection of mediators are stalling. Is this due to the weakness of the international legal framework underpinning mediation, or to the increasing tendency to disregard it? And beyond legal considerations, what is the case for reviving multilateral approaches to peacemaking at a moment when bilateral “quick-fix” solutions are showing their limits? 

Panelists will reflect on these questions. The panel will explore these questions, bringing together perspectives on the normative, legal, and political foundations of peace mediation and on what is required to preserve effective peacemaking in a changed international environment.