Global Policy Forum

Mediation is often defined as an attempt to bring about a peaceful settlement or compromise between disputants through the objective intervention of a neutral party. As such, the process tends to be seen as a last- ditch attempt to salvage a highly compromised situation. Critical to the success of any mediation is the willingness of the protagonists to agree on the mediation and their readiness to examine avenues proposed to solve the dispute and to apply them, should they be seen as furthering the peace agenda. But most importantly, the mediator should have the ability to remain strictly neutral, even if his or her proposals seem to support the position taken by one or the other protagonist or belligerent. Should one of these elements be missing, the whole process stands a good chance of being compromised.

The political crisis in Cí´te d'Ivoire is a classic example of a mediation process gone wrong. Since the aborted coup in September 2002, the West African country has been in a state of political chaos. Mediation teams have tirelessly tried to ease tension -- to no avail. The first mediation attempts took place in Lome, Togo, barely a month after the conflict started. There, former president Gnassingbe Eyadema narrowly missed the opportunity of obtaining from the rebels a promise to disarm. Then came the Ivorian peace conference in Marcoussis, a suburb of Paris, in January 2003. It ended with the signing of the Marcoussis peace agreement. The accord was, however, never implemented as Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo claimed it favoured the rebels. The upshot was that Gbagbo rejected the Paris mediation.

Three peace conferences followed in Accra, Ghana, during the course of 2003. Commitments were made by both parties, only to be rejected, with all parties claiming that the other had breached the peace agreements. Then came the South African mediation, which recorded an early success with the signing of a peace agreement in Pretoria. Abidjan accepted opening the presidential race to all candidates, a key demand from the rebels, while the latter agreed to disarm within a two-month window.

However, it soon began to unravel as Ivorian leaders went back to what they do best: procrastinating over respecting their own commitments. Ultimately, as long as the parties fail to negotiate in good faith, peace will continue to escape Cí´te d'Ivoire. It is now incumbent on the United Nations to take up its responsibilities to organize elections. This is the only way out of a conflict that has lasted too long.

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