VIENNA, 7 December 2010 - Senior representatives from the United Nations and key regional organizations shared experiences in the area of preventive and quiet diplomacy, dialogue facilitation and mediation during a workshop hosted by the OSCE Secretary General with UN support, which concluded today in Vienna.

The two-day event aimed to foster closer co-operation and knowledge-sharing among regional organizations. More than 30 participants shared best practices in mediation and mediation-support capacity building, and identified and discussed lessons learned from previous efforts in the prevention and settlement of conflicts. They examined the advantages and limitations of quiet diplomacy, the specifics of mediation and facilitation at the local level, including via field operations, and spoke about how regional organizations can structure support to mediators and develop effective synergies between various qc.

The OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut in his closing remarks noted the common challenges and problems organizations face, regardless of their geographic and institutional differences, such as lack of political will, concerns over continued effectiveness and efficiency in mediation efforts, and the need for more capacity building.

"Mediation is a subtle combination of a technique and an art," he said. "Regional organizations have ample expertise on mediation-related activities, and what is required is interaction, and above all synergy between the regional and international actors in making best use of these experiences and potential. It is important to continue our consultations, networking and sharing of mediation-related approaches at expert and practitioners’ levels, as well as to organize joint training courses. The outcome of this workshop could serve a good basis for the continued networking."

"One of the key challenges that we face is how to translate the existing instruments of early prevention into early actions, how to prevent conflicts before they break out," said Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs. "It is essential to be able to make a collective case for more resources for preventive diplomacy, to secure political support for building effective mediation capacity, especially at the national level in the conflict areas, and to expand the network of partnerships, including with the engagement of international financial institutions."

"Coherence and consistency of the work carried out both within the UN and between international and regional organizations is instrumental in building political will in our states. The co-operation between the UN, the OSCE and the EU in Kyrgyzstan is an example of such an effective collaboration," Fernandez-Taranco said.

The workshop was carried out in follow-up to the United Nations Secretary-General’s retreat with heads of regional organizations held in January 2010 in New York. The participants agreed to hold a new workshop in 2011.

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