Eight member states of the East African bloc is planning to adopt a draft mediation protocol during the two conference in South Sudanese capital, Juba.
The meeting which is intended to provide ground for policy formulation to adopt the decision to draft a protocol on the mediation process was organized by Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediation support unit.
In a statement byIGAD, the Unit said the concept behind the consultation with legal experts and the focal points from IGAD member states’ ministries of foreign affairs is to pave the way for discussing the benefits for IGAD to have it in place for conflict prevention and peacemaking.
“The first step is to share with member states’ representative’s arguments that warrant a policy, to debate on the need for such a protocol,” the statement reads in part.
Speaking during the opening of the conference, David Buom Choat, the director of the regional organization said the pre-policy consultative meeting on the mediation protocol was an important platform as it prescribes a roadmap for mediation interventions in political disputes and in accordance with the principles of international law of equal member states.
“We would want to see a Mediation Protocol that is comfortable and satisfied to all stakeholders, and which is in line with the policy of respecting the views of all member states in the region”, he said.
The programme manager for gender affairs at the IGAD Secretariat, Mubarak Mabuya stressed the importance of the workshop as key to strengthening IGAD’s role in mediation and the effectiveness of interventions.
“The importance of mediation as a tool for promoting sustainable peace and security in the region and creating harmony with the members as this will be another tool to avert conflicts in the region,” he underscored.
At the end of the workshop, however, a policy decision to establish a mediation protocol, and an Agreement on the outline of draft mediation protocol would have been attained as expected results.
The vision of the IGAD mediation support unit is to establish regional viable mediation structures, to which predictability of processes and outcome is ensured, and the objectives of any mediation are governed by collective will and interest of all member states.
IGAD which was founded in 1996 brings together eight countries – Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Eritrea.
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