Author: Swisspeace
Publication Date: April 2014
Description: While the concept of conflict sensitivity has been largely accepted in humanitarian and development aid and in peacebuilding, it remains widely neglected in international peace mediation. Most practitioners assume that a mediation process automatically has a positive impact on the wider conflict context. This assumption is, however, questioned by the fact that mediation processes can lead to further escalation and violence of a conflict. Such examples point to the relevance of conflict sensitivity in mediation. This article presents such a conflict sensitive approach to mediation based on a three-step-model. Thereby, it proposes guiding questions that a mediation team should ask during the planning, implementation and adaptation of an intervention in order to avoid doing unintentional harm and to increase its positive impact.
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