Oslo forum 2012 - Annual Mediators' Retreat
18-19 June 2012, Oslo
Over one hundred of the world’s eminent senior mediators and peace process actors attended the 2012 Oslo Forum, sharing practical experiences and engaging in lively debates on current peacemaking practice and mediation trends. Participants included the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy in Myanmar, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; lead singer of U2, Bono; Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre; Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Bildt ; Myanmar’s Minister of Industry, U Soe Thane; President of the International Crisis Group Louise Arbour ; and Head of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process in the Philippines, Teresita Quintos Deles.
With major political change continuing across the Middle East and Asia, the retreat focused on the role of dialogue in transition, examining, among other things, the function of mediation in political transition and democratic consolidation, and the challenges commonly faced in peacebuilding and institution-building processes.
Specific discussions throughout the retreat addressed the political transitions underway in Eygpt, Libya and Tunisia; the role of mediation in Syria and Yemen; Myanmar’s nascent peace process; the security threats in the Sahel; the future of Afghanistan in the context of evolving regional dynamics; the current challenges to the two state solution in Israel/Palestine; the results of peace mediation and the means used to communicate these results; the politicisation of humanitarian space; as well as the peace talks in the Philippines.
The views expressed in papers posted on this website are those of the authors, and not necessarily those of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the HD Centre.