On Day 2 of the ORF Raisina Dialogue, a session was organized on the topic *Waging Peace: Looking Back to Look Ahead*. The session focused on the agenda of identifying the necessary actors for concluding a successful peace process, the role of a mediator, and what defines a natural mediator.
The panel included Musa Mara, former Prime Minister of Mali; Stephen Harper, former Prime Minister of Canada; Espen Barth Eide, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway; Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha; and Comfort Ero, President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Crisis Group. The session was moderated by Yalda Hakim, lead world news presenter at Sky News UK.
During the session, Shashi Tharoor made an important statement, emphasizing that the world needs to learn from the mistakes of the failed Iraq invasion and work towards creating a just world order. He also highlighted the necessity of international consensus for successful peace efforts. Tharoor cited India as one of the biggest contributors to peacekeeping missions worldwide, with nearly a quarter of a million Indian peacekeepers having served in more than 40 countries.
The panel agreed that for a peace process to be successful, all conflicting parties must reach a consensus and find a middle path for sustainable peace. They stressed that peace influenced by external forces tends to be short-lived.
On the question of what defines a neutral mediator, the panel concluded that a true mediator does not pursue self-interest in the conflict. They pointed out that one of the primary reasons for prolonged wars and ongoing conflicts is that every country tends to seek its own interests. The moment self-interest becomes entangled with conflict resolution, problems arise. A successful mediator, or a natural mediator, can separate personal or national interests from the core conflict and work towards an impartial resolution.
Aayush Pal is a freelance writer on contemporary geopolitical developments. The views expressed in his work are entirely his own.
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