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What is Insider Mediation? Why does it Matter for the Arab States today?

Raphaëlle Ayach, Conflict Sensitivity and Communications Specialist

December 19, 2024

What is Insider Mediation and who are Insider Mediators?  

Insider Mediation is a transformative, grassroots approach to peacebuilding in which trusted community members, known as Insider Mediators, resolve local conflicts through dialogue. This can include anything from settling an argument over livestock wandering onto a neighbor’s land, to broader community dialogues addressing tensions over the meaningful inclusion of people with disabilities. 

In contrast with mediators coming from outside the context, Insider Mediators are from and respected by the community, including parties to the conflict. This means that Insider Mediators have the trust and cultural fluency that allows them to navigate sensitive issues effectively. Due to their inherent ties to the community, Insider Mediators are also driven by personal conviction, meaning they have a vested interest in the outcome (1).  

While traditional mediation has long been a cornerstone of conflict resolution in the Arab States, Insider Mediation is different in a few ways. Whereas traditional mediators are often elders and/or men, Insider Mediators come from all walks of life including women and men, people with and without disabilities, elders and youth, etc. They can be teachers, online influencers, shopkeepers, community leaders, or activists. This inclusivity of the approach is one of its key strengths, as mediators can reach and listen to the concerns of all groups, including those harder to reach and under-represented.  

"If women have been victims of violence, they often won't feel comfortable going to the courts or sharing that experience with a man. Speaking to a female Insider Mediator allows them to share their challenges freely and allows the mediator to help them reach a solution." - Loubna Ezzedine, Insider Mediator, Lebanon

A second difference is that traditional mediators often provide conflicting parties with a solution. Insider Mediators support parties to reach a solution together through dialogue. This means that solutions reached are often more resilient and sustainable, and that they drive the adoption of peaceful practices by the broader community.   

a group of people sitting in a chair talking on a cell phone
Photo: UNDP Somalia

What role does Insider Mediation play in maintaining peace?  

Insider Mediation complements higher-lever political mediation (called Track I) and plays an essential role in achieving and maintaining local-level peace (also called ‘little p’). Specifically, Insider Mediation plays a key role in conflict prevention, de-escalation, and in mitigation of the negative impact of conflict.  

With regards to prevention and de-escalation, Insider Mediators identify and address local conflicts before they escalate to traditional or formal conflict resolution mechanisms, such as the judicial system. This approach means social cohesion is maintained in ways it might not be through other more formal mechanisms.  

"If the problem goes to court, there will be no possibility of goodwill between the two. Mediation resolves the problem and preserves the goodwill. It can even leave them better than they were before!" Ahmed Alshamout, Insider Mediator, Jordan

What types of conflicts does Insider Mediation address?  

Insider Mediation is well-positioned to resolve a broad scope of local level conflicts. These can include infrastructure and resource disputes such as electricity distribution, waste management, land and water. Insider Mediation can also address online tensions, tackling disinformation and online hate speech, as well as social or inter-group conflicts such as school or university-related violence, family or tribal conflicts, as well as tensions arising from exclusions of groups such as people with disabilities, youth and IDPs among others. 

Why is it so important in the Arab States today? 

Over the past five years, there has been a 22% increase in political violence globally, with the Arab States disproportionately affected. The Arab States region is particularly affected, with conflicts driven by governance crises, economic instability, border disputes, climate security as well as social tensions and erosion of trust. 

International peacebuilding frameworks as well as the tools traditionally used by the international community to prevent and respond to conflicts and have proven insufficient in addressing the complex, protracted conflicts in the Arab States region. Now more than ever, conflict drivers require prevention and mediation efforts across sectors, levels and groups, over sustained periods of time. 

a group of people around each other
Photo: UNDP Sudan

What is UNDP doing to strengthen Insider Mediation in the region?  

In line with the UN Secretary General António Guterres' New Agenda for Peace, which calls for an urgent shift in approach to sustaining peace focusing more on national prevention capacities and infrastructures for peace, UNDP has spearheaded the Insider Mediation approach globally and in the Arab States region. This approach first emerged from the Development as a Pathway for Conflict Prevention and Recovery framework in line with UNDP's Local Approaches to Conflict Prevention. 

Today, with support from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, UNDP is implementing the regional project "Sustaining Peace through Insider Mediation in the Arab States". The project, currently piloted in Jordan, Lebanon and Sudan, has supported the creation of both national and regional networks of Insider Mediators. These networks, which serve as key peace infrastructures, have provided unique spaces of connection allowing Insider Mediators to expand their collective impact, while developing systemic approaches to conflict resolution. As well, UNDP has supported Insider Mediators through: 

  • Supported, coached and trained over 70 Insider Mediators 
  • Provided grants to support local-level Insider Mediation efforts, leading to over 40 initiatives across three countries. Examples of interventions include community dialogues in Sudan aimed at strengthening social cohesion between IDPs and host communities, crisis-responsive interventions in Lebanon to de-escalate tensions in IDP shelters, and dialogues in Jordan to improve social inclusion of people with hearing impairment.  
  • Delivered psychosocial and logistical support to enhance mediators’ effectiveness 
  • Established a Regional Network for Insider Mediation, fostering collaboration, knowledge-exchange and peer support across countries 
  • Enabled mediators to tackle a range of conflicts including inclusion of people with disabilities, resource disputes, violence against women and online hate speech 
  • Supported the creation of a Community Mediation Center in Zarqa, Jordan 

Through these efforts, UNDP aims to strengthen conflict prevention and resolution throughout the Arab States region.   

Discover more about Insider Mediation below: