Mediation and Peacebuilding Training Course

Participants can define a mediator’s role, authority, ethical duties and limits within a given mandate.

• United Nations mediation guidance frames consent, impartiality, inclusivity and national ownership
• Mandate analysis clarifies authority, reporting lines, decision rights and political constraints
• Impartiality differs from neutrality when parties face unequal power or protection risks
• Confidentiality protocols define information handling, consent, disclosure and record keeping
• Conflict-of-interest checks identify relationships that could compromise mediator credibility
• Duty-of-care decisions address threats, retaliation, trauma and participant safeguarding

Participants can design a credible, inclusive engagement process for parties with unequal access and influence.

• Participant selection balances representation, legitimacy, influence, safety and practical participation
• Inclusion planning addresses women, youth, minorities, displaced people and persons with disabilities
• Separate consultations surface concerns that participants cannot safely raise publicly
• Entry meetings establish purpose, expectations, authority, confidentiality and communication channels
• Power analysis informs seating, speaking order, language support and caucus arrangements
• Community feedback mechanisms connect formal dialogue with affected population perspectives

Participants can prepare a phased mediation process with realistic objectives, risks and decision points.

• Mediation readiness assessment tests consent, representation, urgency and minimum conditions
• Process mapping sequences pre-mediation, joint sessions, caucuses, drafting and follow-up
• Terms of reference define objectives, scope, roles, timelines and decision procedures
• Ground rules address respectful conduct, nonviolence, confidentiality and media contact
• Risk registers capture security, political, reputational and implementation risks
• Contingency planning sets responses for walkouts, threats, misinformation and deadlock

Participants can distinguish positions from interests and build workable options for contested issues.

• Harvard interest-based negotiation separates people, interests, options and objective criteria
• Position-to-interest questioning reveals needs, fears, constraints and acceptable trade-offs
• BATNA analysis tests each party’s alternatives and bargaining power
• Objective criteria draw on law, data, precedent, standards and local norms
• Option generation creates packages addressing security, resources, recognition and accountability
• Reality testing examines feasibility, costs, legitimacy and likely implementation barriers

Participants can facilitate constructive dialogue while responding to hostility, misinformation and emotional escalation.

• Active listening identifies stated concerns, underlying interests and unspoken assumptions
• Reframing converts accusations into issues suitable for joint problem solving
• Open, probing and reflective questions broaden understanding without leading participants
• Caucusing manages sensitive disclosures, emotional escalation and private option testing
• De-escalation techniques address interruptions, threats, inflammatory language and personal attacks
• Mediator summaries record convergence, disagreement, commitments and unresolved questions

Participants can structure local security or ceasefire agreements with credible implementation provisions.

• Ceasefire provisions specify parties, geographic scope, prohibited acts and effective dates
• Security guarantees address civilian protection, movement, checkpoints and humanitarian access
• Verification mechanisms define monitors, evidence standards, reporting channels and response timelines
• Incident-management procedures distinguish alleged violations, investigations and corrective actions
• Local peace committees connect community representatives, authorities and security providers
• Sequencing arrangements links immediate restraint measures with longer-term political dialogue

Participants can select appropriate approaches for reconciliation and social cohesion after violence or displacement.

• Reconciliation approaches distinguish coexistence, trust building, acknowledgement and relationship repair
• Trauma-informed facilitation reduces harm when discussing violence, loss and displacement
• Truth-telling processes require informed consent, referral pathways and realistic expectations
• Restorative justice principles address harm, responsibility, repair and voluntary participation
• Social cohesion indicators track participation, trust, safety, contact and shared action
• Memorialisation choices consider dignity, contested narratives, ownership and security risks

Participants can draft clear agreements and establish practical mechanisms for implementation and review.

• Agreement structures state purpose, parties, definitions, commitments and effective dates
• Responsibilities assign named owners, resources, deadlines and reporting requirements
• Implementation matrices convert commitments into sequenced activities and measurable milestones
• Monitoring frameworks define indicators, data sources, review meetings and escalation routes
• Dispute-resolution clauses set consultation, mediation, arbitration or referral procedures
• Public communication plans manage expectations while protecting confidential commitments

Participants can translate mediation findings into conflict-sensitive peacebuilding actions and an individual application plan.

• Theory of change links conflict drivers, interventions, assumptions and intended outcomes
• Peacebuilding indicators distinguish outputs, behavioural change, relationships and institutional performance
• Adaptive management uses monitoring evidence to revise activities, assumptions and priorities
• Conflict sensitivity reviews procurement, staffing, targeting, messaging and partner selection
• Coordination mapping identifies roles of authorities, donors, agencies and local organisations
• Application plans define priority actions, stakeholders, milestones, risks and support needs