Strengthening the Role of Mediation in the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes, Conflict Prevention and Resolution

A/RES/70/304View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 34bStrengthening the role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution, published in 2015.

What other versions does this mandate have?

4 versions · 2011–2016

2016A/RES/70/304Strengthening the role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolutionLatestCompare with previous version
2014A/RES/68/303Strengthening the role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolutionCompare with previous version
2012A/RES/66/291Strengthening the role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolutionCompare with previous version
2011A/RES/65/283Strengthening the role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 topics

Cooperation Between Organizations Dispute Settlement Mediation Regional Cooperation War Prevention

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2017.

2017A/72/115United Nations activities in support of mediation report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

25 operative paragraphs

Reiterates that all Member States should strictly adhere to their obligations as laid down in the Charter of the United Nations, including in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution;

Acknowledges the importance of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution and in seeking long-term political solutions for sustaining peace, and recognizes that mediation needs to be further and more effectively used, without prejudice to other means mentioned in Chapter VI of the Charter;

Welcomes the increasing contributions of Member States, as well as of the United Nations and of regional and subregional organizations, to mediation efforts, as appropriate;

Recognizes that responsible and credible mediation requires, inter alia, national ownership, the consent of the parties to a particular dispute or conflict, respect for national sovereignty, the impartiality of the mediators, their compliance with agreed mandates, compliance with obligations of States and other relevant actors under international law, including applicable treaties, the operational preparedness, including process and substantive expertise, of the mediators, and coherence, coordination and complementarity of mediation efforts,

Stresses that the prevention of conflicts remains a primary responsibility of States and actions undertaken within the framework of conflict prevention by the United Nations should support and complement, as appropriate, the conflict prevention roles of national Governments;

Reiterates the critical importance of prevention of armed conflicts in a timely and effective manner, and to that end encourages Member States, as well as the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations, to promote the use of appropriate peaceful means, primarily preventive diplomacy and mediation, in accordance with the Charter;

Acknowledges the importance of system-wide coherence, coordination and sustained engagement in mediation for the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution within the United Nations, as appropriate, and in this regard encourages closer cooperation among relevant United Nations organs and representatives, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter and respective mandates, while avoiding duplication of efforts;

Emphasizes the importance of coherence, coordination and complementarity of mediation efforts between the United Nations, regional and subregional organizations and other relevant actors, in view of the needs of a specific mediation context, including strategic coordination by lead mediators with other actors in support of a peace process and the development of a common approach, in accordance with agreed mandates;

Appreciates the work undertaken to enhance the cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations on mediation, and encourages further development of these partnerships in order to enhance mediation, preventive diplomacy and conflict prevention;

Invites Member States, as well as the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations, as appropriate, to continue to enhance the use of mediation and other tools mentioned in Chapter VI of the Charter for the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution, and in this regard encourages devoting further support and resources, as necessary, to the efforts to further professionalize mediation support for the mediation initiatives of Member States, the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations;

Encourages Member States, as well as the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations, to continue to develop, where appropriate, their mediation capacities in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution, to enable a professional approach in their mediation activities and the effectiveness of mediation, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to work with Member States and relevant regional and subregional organizations, upon request and in accordance with agreed mandates, in mediation capacity-building, including in broadening the capacity of the developing countries;

Further recognizes the increasing contribution by the African Union in efforts to peacefully settle conflicts of its members, and the peace initiatives conducted by the African regional and subregional organizations;

Welcomes and further encourages regional initiatives by Member States, as well as the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations, to strengthen mediation in their regions, as appropriate, such as the Mediation in the Mediterranean initiative with its continued activities;

Welcomes the good offices of the Secretary-General and the contribution of the Secretariat to the United Nations mediation efforts, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to offer his good offices, in accordance with the Charter and the relevant United Nations resolutions, and to provide mediation support, where appropriate, to his special representatives and envoys, as well as, upon request, to Member States and regional and subregional organizations;

Encourages the use, as appropriate, of the United Nations Guidance for Effective Mediation in mediation efforts, in accordance with the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter;

Acknowledges the importance for the United Nations field missions to work closely with national stakeholders and local communities in accordance with mission mandates, and to further encourage, as appropriate, confidence-building measures and dialogue, including at the community level, in order to prevent conflict and support reconciliation, in line with the principle of national ownership and with a view to sustaining peace;

Further encourages Member States and regional and subregional organizations to promote the equal, full and effective participation of women in all forums and at all levels of the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution, particularly at the decision-making level, as well as in the implementation and monitoring of peace agreements;

Encourages the Secretary-General to continue to appoint women as chief or lead mediators and as members of mediation teams in United Nations-sponsored peace processes, as well as to ensure adequate gender expertise for all United Nations processes, and invites similar efforts by Member States as well as by regional and subregional organizations, in order to address the frequent underrepresentation of women in peace processes;

Calls upon all those engaged in mediation activities to promote the integration of women’s needs and gender perspectives in all policy development, planning and carrying out of mediation processes and implementation of their outcomes, inter alia, through conducting conflict analyses in a gender-sensitive manner, including on the occurrence of sexual violence in conflict where pertinent;

Encourages Member States, as appropriate, to use the mediation capacities of the United Nations as well as those of regional and subregional organizations, where applicable, and to promote mediation in their bilateral and multilateral relations;

Invites all Member States to provide sustained political support, expertise and timely and adequate resources, including through the United Nations, for mediation and, as appropriate, for the implementation of agreed outcomes of mediation processes, in order to assure their success, as well as for mediation capacity-building activities of the United Nations and of regional and subregional organizations;

Emphasizes the importance of facilitating interaction by mediators between concerned parties and other stakeholders, as appropriate, as well as inclusive national processes in the implementation of the agreed outcomes of mediation processes;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the General Assembly at its seventy-second session on United Nations activities in support of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution;

Invites the Secretary-General to regularly brief Member States on the mediation activities of the United Nations, in order to promote closer consultation with Member States and to increase transparency;

Decides to continue its consideration of the question “Strengthening the role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution” at its seventy-second session.

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