osloforum

Oslo forum | Africa 11 - Africa Mediators' Retreat

23-25 November 2011, Zanzibar, Tanzania

The Africa Mediators’ Retreat 2011 took place from 23-25 November in Zanzibar, Tanzania. It was co-hosted by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation.

The forty two participants included representatives from the African Union,the United Nations, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and other regional organisations as well as governments, and African and international NGOs. Forty per cent were women with a wide range of experience as mediators, human rights defenders, diplomats, and in community-based approaches to peacemaking.

Participants at the retreat addressed some of the key conflicts and issues facing peacemakers in Africa including the situations in Sudan and South Sudan, Somalia, West Africa, Libya, Burundi and Liberia. Thematic sessions focussed on the future of the African Peace and Security Architecture, the challenges posed by land and water disputes, as well as the role of civil society in peace mediation across the continent.