The Mediator’s Studio – Episode 0, Season 5

As a Peruvian diplomat with a 25-year career at the United Nations, Alvaro de Soto has dedicated fifty years of his life to diplomacy and conflict resolution across the globe. From negotiations with Hamas and the Quartet on the Middle East to shuttling between the FMLN and the El Salvador government, Alvaro de Soto shares a tour de force account that offers crucial insights into the craft of mediation. His first-hand narrative reveals lessons learned from his experiences and mentors, highlighting the significance of temperament over technique and effective ways to publicly spotlight agreements for ensuring accountability in their implementation.We value your opinion! Please take a moment to share your feedback by participating in our 1 minute listener survey.https://0lotay3liy7.typeform.com/to/BszSNdLfFind out more about the Oslo Forum’s journey over the past two decades.https://hdcentre.org/insights/the-oslo-forum-at-20-a-visual-journey-of-mediation-and-peacemaking/

South Africa’s first female deputy president, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, reflects on her journey as a member of the high-level African Union panel that facilitated the Pretoria agreement between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front. Beyond this process, she shares her experiences as the executive director of UN Women from 2013-2021, discusses her role as a female mediator, and reflects on the challenges associated with ensuring the engagement of women in peace processes in Colombia, Sudan, and South Sudan. Tracing her path as a student activist during the Apartheid era, she shares her story of finding courage and emphasises the need for perseverance to keep moving forward.We value your opinion! Please take a moment to share your feedback by participating in our 1 minute listener survey.https://0lotay3liy7.typeform.com/to/BszSNdLfFind out more about the Oslo Forum’s journey over the past two decades.https://hdcentre.org/insights/the-oslo-forum-at-20-a-visual-journey-of-mediation-and-peacemaking/

Veteran Lebanese intelligence chief Abbas Ibrahim takes us behind the scenes of some of his most sensitive negotiations. He recalls a secret mission to a Palestinian refugee camp in the hope of diffusing tensions, and the painstaking shuttle diplomacy that eventually led to a border agreement between Lebanon and Israel. He also reveals his political aspirations, and explains why he is trusted to broker deals to free Western detainees in Syria and Iran.We value your opinion! Please take a moment to share your feedback by participating in our 1 minute listener survey.https://0lotay3liy7.typeform.com/to/BszSNdLfFind out more about the Oslo Forum’s journey over the past two decades.https://hdcentre.org/insights/the-oslo-forum-at-20-a-visual-journey-of-mediation-and-peacemaking/

Climate mediator Nisreen Elsaim joins Adam Cooper to explore the intersection of activism and peacemaking. She recounts her role in the student uprisings that preceded the 2019 revolution in Sudan and reflects on how a shooting on campus changed her life. Now a self-confessed “climatolic,” she argues that climate mediation is crucial for conflict prevention, and looks ahead to a time when future generations won’t have to worry about climate change.We value your opinion! Please take a moment to share your feedback by participating in our 1 minute listener survey.https://0lotay3liy7.typeform.com/to/BszSNdLfFind out more about the Oslo Forum’s journey over the past two decades.https://hdcentre.org/insights/the-oslo-forum-at-20-a-visual-journey-of-mediation-and-peacemaking/

Karim A. A. Khan KC, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), reflects on his path leading to joining the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 1997 and, more recently the ICC. He shares the intricacies and dilemmas faced by the ICC in grappling with the scope of international law. He articulates his vision for the future of the ICC as an institution capable of effectively contributing to global justice.We value your opinion! Please take a moment to share your feedback by participating in our 1 minute listener survey.https://0lotay3liy7.typeform.com/to/BszSNdLfFind out more about the Oslo Forum’s journey over the past two decades.https://hdcentre.org/insights/the-oslo-forum-at-20-a-visual-journey-of-mediation-and-peacemaking/

Monica Juma, National Security Advisor to the President of Kenya, reflects on her extensive career in government and shares the lessons she has learned about peacemaking. She explains the challenges that the conflict in Sudan presents to mediators. She also discusses Kenya’s role in ending the Tigray crisis in Ethiopia. Additionally, she reflects on how meeting victims of the 2013 Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi affirmed the values she brings to her work.We value your opinion! Please take a moment to share your feedback by participating in our 1 minute listener survey.https://0lotay3liy7.typeform.com/to/BszSNdLfFind out more about the Oslo Forum’s journey over the past two decades.https://hdcentre.org/insights/the-oslo-forum-at-20-a-visual-journey-of-mediation-and-peacemaking/

Senior Qatari diplomat Mutlaq Al-Qahtani recalls his role in the 2020 Doha Agreement between the US and the Taliban, leading to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. He reflects on his visit to Kabul in 2021 as the Taliban closed in on the city, sharing insights into his involvement in evacuating people and narrowly avoiding a bomb blast at the Kabul airport. Al Qahtani sheds light on his motivations to address the root causes of conflict.We value your opinion! Please take a moment to share your feedback by participating in our 1 minute listener survey.https://0lotay3liy7.typeform.com/to/BszSNdLfFind out more about the Oslo Forum’s journey over the past two decades.https://hdcentre.org/insights/the-oslo-forum-at-20-a-visual-journey-of-mediation-and-peacemaking/

Welcome to Season 5 of The Mediator's Studio podcast.This special season marks the 20th anniversary of the Oslo Forum in 2023 – and its importance as the place where peacemakers meet.Over seven episodes – most of them recorded at this year’s Oslo Forum retreat – we delve into deep conversations with prominent mediators on what it takes to make peace.Because we sat down in June 2023, the interviews were done before the conflict in Gaza began. While some episodes reflect events predating the war, we are sure the insights are as relevant as ever about seeking peace in the region.

Journalist Ghaith Abdul Ahad reflects on 20 years of reporting from conflict areas including Yemen and Afghanistan. Recalling the 2003 US invasion of Iraq that made him leave his former career as an architect, he reveals how he once talked his way into Saddam Hussein’s palace and what it’s like to sit across the table from people who committed atrocities. He also reflects on the challenges of mediation – arguing that people are often less concerned with ideological narratives than sheer survival and how armoured convoys and green zones can get in the way of real connection with people on the ground.

EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, Annette Weber, provides us with a front-row perspective on her decades-long work in the region, beginning with her time as a young researcher writing about female combatants in South Sudan and Eritrea. She reveals why she still gets goose bumps when thinking about the recent revolution in Sudan, and discusses what it’s like to sit down in the evenings with people who have been fighting each other during the day.