Study on OSCE support to insider mediation launched in Vienna

The Mediation Support Team of the Conflict Prevention Centre’s Operations Service and the German Chairmanship launched a study on the OSCE’s support to insider mediation on Friday 16 December in Vienna. Conducted by the German Berghof Foundation, the study examines past, present and possible activities with insider mediators for the OSCE, in particular looking at cases from Ukraine, Kosovo and Kyrgyzstan. It provides recommendations for the OSCE and its field operations on how to make use of insider capacities in conflict prevention and resolution.

Insider mediators are persons who are close to a conflict and may even have been members of one of the conflict communities, but enjoy enough moral legitimacy to be accepted by all sides in a mediation role.  They can be a very valuable resource for peace processes, which, however, has to be managed carefully to avoid doing harm to them or to their communities.  The study, entitled “OSCE support to Insider Mediation: Strengthening mediation capacities, networking and complementarity”, can be downloaded here.   

The Conflict Prevention Centre’s Mediation Support Team provides tailor-made mediation and dialogue facilitation support to OSCE executive structures. It offers methodological advice on the design of complex negotiation processes, including analyses where needed, and provides individual coaching to high-level OSCE mediators, for example the Special Representative of the Transdniestrian Settlement Process or the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus on Ukraine. It also conducts specialized training, such as ceasefire mediation training for the Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.