Solving a Conflict is a Joint Effort

CMI's Executive Director Tuija Talvitie moderated the seminar.

Conflict resolution and peace mediation are going through a transition period. Conflicts have changed and, meanwhile, so has mediation. States and their foreign ministries do not hold a monopoly in solving conflicts, instead the importance of non-state private diplomacy actors has risen, said mediation support practitioners in a seminar organized by CMI and the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) in Helsinki, Finland. The seminar States as Peacemakers had an audience of close to 100 people.

CMI’s Senior Advisor Andrew Marshall set the scene by discussing the increased influence of non-state actors. An African perspective on peace mediation and its challenges was delivered by Vasu Gounden, founder and executive director of ACCORD (African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes). The seminar also discussed concrete examples and case studies of countries (Sweden, Germany Switzerland), where governments have played different kinds of roles in supporting peace mediation efforts.