Project Summary:

The increasing complexity of various conflicts and their root causes necessitates a renewed focus on supporting local capacities for prevention and peacebuilding that are context/issue-specific and ‘fit for purpose’. Furthermore, development challenges are increasingly complex and unpredictable, especially in countries that are characterized by fragility, conflict and in transition – requiring significant capacities and investments in dialogue, mediation, and consensus-building.

Building upon the merits of ‘reflective practice’, this three-year programme (2023-2025) is designed to provide national, regional and global opportunities to both support and learn from IMs, while also providing them with opportunities to support and learn from one another. By taking this multi-level approach and infusing all aspects of the programme with a commitment to learning and reflection, insider mediation will become a more transformative part of the global peacebuilding architecture and a more effective component of EU and UN efforts to foster locally-led and people-centred initiatives to sustaining peace.

The UN-EU partnership on Insider Mediation for the 2012-2013 and 2015-2018 periods has enabled building and piloting critical insider mediation capacities across 14 countries while contributing to global policy and practice through two guidance notes on Engaging with Insider Mediators. Moreover, the project builds upon pre-existing regional and country-level insider mediation experiences and processes. Seven UNDP Country Offices, namely the Gambia, Guatemala, Mali, Moldova, Papua New Guinea, Peru, and Yemen are part of this global intervention.

Objective:

• To enable insider mediation to be a transformative part of the global peacebuilding architecture and an effective component of EU and UN efforts to foster locally-led and people-centred initiatives to sustaining peace. By integrating insider mediation as a practice more deeply into the peacebuilding architecture, the work of engaging with insider mediators becomes more mainstreamed and thus has a stronger chance of being sustained.

Expected results:

• The capacities of 22 insider mediators have been enhanced and sustained through specialized training, with particular attention given to women and youth on both banks of the Nistru River;
• Relevant stakeholders have increased knowledge and evidence-based practice of insider mediation to guide the implementation of effective dialogue and inclusive peacebuilding initiatives on both banks of the Nistru River;
• Strengthened local ownership and leadership in peacebuilding efforts through the integration of insider mediation approaches at the community level on both banks on the Nistru River;
• Insider mediators have increased access to knowledge, experience sharing and sustained (including peer to peer) networks and are better linked up to international peacebuilding infrastructures, where relevant.