29 August 2018, New York

Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the UN, Ambassador Ali Naseer Mohamed, said today that “mediation, as a tool of pacific settlement of disputes, will be effective only if the mediators and the mediation process is objective, inclusive, and most importantly, impartial”. The Ambassador made the remarks in his Statement to the UN Security Council open debate on Mediation and the peaceful resolution of conflicts held today at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Ambassador Mohamed rereferring to instances where skilled UN mediators have used the same tool-box in addressing political disputes said that the UN must enhance its own diagnostic capabilities to ensure that right tools are used for right situations.

In his statement, Ambassador Mohamed emphasized on the role of women mediators and said that UN can do more to appoint more women mediators who have the local knowledge, who understands the political and social relationships in a given situation. Ambassador Mohamed also said that inclusiveness must also be achieved at the UN Headquarters through the efforts of the Security Council and the General Assembly as a “One-UN”.

Ambassador Mohamed underscored the need to ensure maximum objectivity and impartiality in managing and implementing mediation efforts, both in Department of Political Affairs and in the field. Ambassador Mohamed also said that any mediation effort, should seek to build capacities of a target country to govern and then to establish a governing order rooted in the principles of the rule of law and good governance.

ENDS