CMI Collaborates with EU on a Conference to Build ASEAN’s Peace Mediation Capacity

For the second time, CMI has collaborated with regional organizations to bring the various actors into a discussion on best practice in peace mediation. CMI organized a high level conference together with the European Union and the ASEAN Chairmanship, with the kind support of the ASEAN Secretariat. The conference was titled Regional Organisations as Vectors of Peace: Building ASEAN’s Capacities in Preventive Diplomacy and International Peace Mediation. The conference took place in Bali on October 11^th, 2011.

This event follows the EU-ASEAN High-Level Expert Workshop on International Peace Mediation co-hosted by CMI and EU in Jakarta in July 2010, which brought particular focus on the roles of ASEAN and the EU in preventive diplomacy and international peace mediation.

The ASEAN representatives were joined by high level officials from other Regional Organizations, such as the EU (EU External Action Service and the EULEX), UN, OSCE, and SADC. Various civil society representatives, including from Berghof Peace Support and the SADC Council of NGOs, brought in a ground perspective. The participants shared their experiences of good practices in mediation and mediation support. The conference concluded with a discussion of strategies for furthering capacities and cross-regional cooperation in peace mediation.