CPP & Conciliation Resources Convene Peace Mediation Roundtable

Discussion brought together policymakers, practitioners and other stakeholders with a vested interest in peace mediation

Entity:  College of Public Policy
Participants at Peace Mediation Under Stress: Adaptation, Innovation and Challenges

The College of Public Policy (CPP) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), and Conciliation Resources together convened an expert, closed door roundtable discussion on October 20, 2024, titled Peace Mediation Under Stress: Adaptation, Innovation and Challenges. This event was one of a series convened by Conciliation Resources with regional partners to carry forward and extend the findings of its publication Accord 30 – Still time to talk: adaptation and innovation in peace mediation (February 2024)

Discussions were introduced by His Excellency Ambassador Faisal bin Abdullah Al Henzab, Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State of Qatar. The event was co-chaired by Dr. Sultan Barakat, Professor in Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, HBKU, and Teresa Whitfield, Issue Editor of Accord 30. The meeting brought together contributors to Accord 30 with regional and international experts, practitioners, diplomats and civil society to discuss challenges facing mediation today and priorities for adaptation and innovation to try to meet them – in the Middle East and globally.

His Excellency Nasir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, a Qatari diplomat and the former permanent representative of Qatar to the United Nations, spoke for many in underlining the importance of a more active role of the international community in peacemaking. Violent conflicts are surging, fuelled by profound geopolitical polarization, the fragmentation of armed actors, widespread violations of human rights and a glaring lack of accountability, rising systemic threats such as the climate emergency, as well as deep technological change – from the pervasive influence of social media to the rapid evolution of AI and new weapons systems. The value of mediation as a tool to facilitate political solutions to violent conflict is under severe pressure.

Discussions at the roundtable focused on maintaining support for mediation amid major challenges; the need for partnerships among diverse mediators, noting the importance of regional engagement and the growing role of mediators from the Global South, as well as leadership and coordination of the mediation effort; the challenges and opportunities presented by digital technologies, which  create both dynamics that may need mediation and new tools and opportunities for mediators; engaging resistant, elusive and excluded conflict parties; and the role of private mediators. Jonathan Cohen, Executive Director of Conciliation Resources, welcomed Qatar’s continuing commitment to mediation as a central pillar of its foreign policy.

“At the College of Public Policy, we are committed to fostering dialogue between policymakers and academics on a range of critical global challenges. Our specialization in conflict mediation reinforces our leadership in the evolving academic field of conflict and humanitarian studies”, concluded Dr. Sultan Barakat.


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