Role of the OSCE as mediator in focus at OSCE Chairmanship conference in Berlin

BERLIN, 6 July 2016 - The German OSCE Chairmanship, in co-operation with the Network ‘Initiative Mediation Support Germany’ (IMSD), holds a conference today in Berlin which puts the role of the OSCE as a mediator at the center of its attention, focusing on the Organization’s capabilities, instruments and potentials in this area.

The conference will explore various instruments and approaches to mediation, bringing together some 200 mediation experts from mediation units of international organizations and OSCE participating States, civil society and academia. They will develop recommendations on how to further enhance the mediation capacities and capabilities of the OSCE, taking up specific examples from ongoing mediation activities in the OSCE area, including the South Caucasus, the Transdniestrian settlement process and the conflict in and around Ukraine.

“Considering the multiple conflicts of our time, the capacities and experience of the OSCE in mediation and conflict resolution are more urgently needed than ever before,” said Gernot Erler, Special Representative for the German OSCE Chairmanship, in his opening keynote.

Strengthening the mediation and other capacities of the OSCE across the entire conflict cycle is one of the focus areas of Germany’s 2016 OSCE Chairmanship. “The aim of this conference is to concretely identify approaches to further develop the OSCE instruments for peaceful conflict resolution and thereby strengthen the organization as such,” said Erler.

Astrid Thors, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, said: “Particularly from a national minority point of view, and in order to reach a durable solution, it is crucial to have an inclusive approach to mediation that also involves and supports civil society.”

Amongst others, the Special Representatives of the Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus Günther Bächler, to the Trilateral Contact Group on the Implementation of the Peace Plan in the East of Ukraine Martin Sajdik, and for the Transdniestrian Settlement Process, Cord Meier-Klodt, as panelists, will share their views.

This conference complements a series of roundtable discussions initiated by the German Chairmanship in order to strengthen OSCE capacities across the conflict cycle.

A study on the potential of insider mediators, commissioned by the Conflict Prevention Centre of the OSCE and financed by Germany, is currently being conducted by the Berghof Foundation and will be presented later this year.