The Role and Capacities of International Third-Parties in Multi-Track Mediation

The aim of the EU-funded research project on “EU capacities for whole-of-society conflict prevention and peacebuilding” (WOSCAP) is to enhance the capabilities of the EU for implementing conflict prevention and peacebuilding interventions through sustainable, comprehensive and innovative civilian means. This event was carried out as joint endeavour between the WOSCAP project’s policy dialogues which aim to discuss actionable policy recommendations based on research findings and case study reports of the project in five EU Member State capitals, and the Berghof Foundation’s Mediation Roundtable series. The Mediation Roundtable series offers German decision-makers and experts an informal platform to discuss topical challenges and innovations in the field of mediation and mediation support and develop policy recommendations. Specifically, this roundtable event discussed the results of a study — produced as deliverable within the WOSCAP project — which investigated the challenges and opportunities related to EU capacities for proactive, coordinated and inclusive mediation and dialogue support, with explicit focus on the case studies of Ukraine and Mali. It brought together WOSCAP project participants from Germany, the Netherlands and Ukraine, German researchers and practitioners in the field of peace mediation, civil society experts on Ukraine, and representatives from the German Foreign Office and the European External Action Service.