“Building Peace from Within: Supporting Insider Mediation for Sustainable Transformation of Conflict” is a two-year project funded by the EU and implemented by Search, Interpeace, and Berghof Foundation to support national efforts for peace and stability in Burundi, Zimbabwe, and Niger.
A closer look at the success rate of peace agreements reveals that most do not significantly include broader society sections in the decision-making process and that the lack of such inclusion affects their sustainability over time.
Thus, in recent years, insider mediation has emerged as a process to prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts by involving trusted local personalities, such as civic, social, religious, or political leaders, in national and international peace efforts. This approach relies on the influence, legitimacy and knowledge of the individuals who are themselves an intrinsic part of the conflict context. As such they are capable of engaging with disputing parties from across social divides beyond international and regional mediation actors’ reach.
By harnessing the vast potential of insiders, including influential youth and women, our consortium leverages their valuable network and unique understanding of the context to mitigate locally generated conflicts and contribute to high-level mediation efforts. For a detailed global analysis report on Youth-inclusive peace processes and Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security you can go here.
“In Burundi, we are working with actors at all levels such women mediators, community, youth and religious leaders, and local authorities to address issues consequent to recurrent socio-political crises the country has been enduring
In Niger, our teams focus primarily on young leaders who are willing and able to play a crucial role in peace and security. The project also strengthens capacities and partnerships with national and local peace infrastructures, including the High Authority for Peace Consolidation (HACP), regional councils, civil society organizations, and peace and mediation committees.
In Zimbabwe, Berghof has been engaging with various key mediation actors and stakeholders in order to create opportunities and entry points for Insider Mediators to engage in national dialogue and mediation processes.
To strengthen the existing capacities of insider mediators in all three countries, the consortium provides training and mentoring in conflict analysis and design, mediation, negotiation and dialogue facilitation. Armed with their new skills, the trained mediators become the spearhead of their communities in mediation and conflict prevention initiatives, and will eventually be able to support EU high-level peace processes.
Discover more about our mediation work and insider mediation projects here.
