Asia Pacific Mediation Leadership

Cross-Cutting and Mediation Action Group Themes

Do let us know which cross-cutting mediation themes and mediation action group themes have your interest by submitting your preference through the link below. You can also send us your ideas through the contact us page. We will take your preferences and ideas into account in the further development of the summit!

For more information on the cross-cutting and themed Mediation Action Group Collaborators and Sponsors, please refer to the web-page on Collaborators and Sponsors.

Which mediation themes have your preference? Let us know!!

Click on this link to let us know your interest and preferences.

Cross-Cutting Mediation Themes

Cross-Cutting Theme: Addressing Human Rights Issues in Mediation Processes

Human rights issues frequently arise in conflict-resolution processes. These issues may be quite evident in negotiations where mediators facilitate dialogues between stakeholders - including victims and perpetrators of human rights violations - to end violent conflict. It is in situations like these that tension can occur between human rights and conflict-resolution approaches towards ending a conflict, preventing further human rights violations and rebuilding the rule of law.

The different approaches appear to contradict each other - one seeking to tackle impunity by prosecuting alleged perpetrators, the other one seeking lasting peace via reconciliation for all citizens. Both approaches should synergise however, as human rights principles can be used as tools to create solutions for lasting peace, when incorporated into the mediation process.

Although less visible at times, human rights issues also arise in other mediation processes, such as commercial mediation, family mediation, court mediation, workplace mediation, health-care mediation and climate-change mediation. The human rights principles pertaining to these conflicts are often based on economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to housing, the right to health care, the right to work and the right to education.

Given the fact that human rights issues are prominent in many forms of conflict, mediators facilitating conflict-resolution should be aware of underlying potential human rights issues, in order to fully establish the interests and needs of all parties. Awareness will increase if mediators have a sound knowledge of human rights, including social, economic and cultural rights. With this additional knowledge in their toolkit, mediators can creatively use human rights principles hand in hand with mediation methodologies to seek successful results.

Mediation Action Group Themes

Action Group: Community Mediation (Track Two) in the Asia Pacific Region

The evolving Community Mediation (Track Two) in the Asia Pacific Region Action Group is currently being designed by engaged/ing core and themed Collaborators and registered Delegates. The current design process includes, but is not limited to, the following: web brief composition, agenda and methodology design, co-facilitator identification and preparation, best and lessons learned case studies collection and selection for presentation to overall plenary, resource collection, forthcoming forum development and facilitation, regional to international networking with a cross-section of professionals throughout the region and internationally.

If you would like to proactively contribute, please complete and submit the Summit Registration and Fees Form and identify your interest in collaboratively evolving the Community Mediation Action Group. The Summit Coordinator will immediately connect you to the Community Mediation Action Group design process.

Please note, core and themed Collaborators and actively engaged Delegates are among those most likely to be chosen to co-facilitate or present best and lessons learned case studies in plenary sessions. Do not miss this dynamic opportunity to engage as a leading Community Mediation change maker.

Action Group: Court Annexed and Judicial Mediation in the Asia Pacific Region

The formal Courts around the Asia-Pacific region are constantly faced with the problem of backlog in the respective lists and the length of time it is taking to resolve the cases that go before them. Delays and backlogs form the foundation for criticism and an erosion of confidence in the Court systems ability to delay justice in a manner that is fair, efficient and effective. Most of the Courts in the region have accepted ADR and in particular Mediation as an answer to the problem and have adopted ADR/Mediation as a case management tool and even as the case of Papua New Guinea, also as a tool for nation building. They are now implementing legislative and Court reforms to make ADR a necessary part of the formal Court process and not necessarily as an alternative but as an appropriate form of dispute resolution. While the region contains a diverse mix cultural and traditional system with varied legal and government systems, a common theme is the need to reform and implement legislative reforms and frameworks in ways that are time and costs efficient and effective and culturally appropriate supporting the diversity of mediation practices in the region.

The ability of the Courts to accept change and reform the way in which they handle disputes before them, is making ADR/Mediation a very important and useful tool that has integrity and respect. This highlights the need to have a judicial environment that supports, promotes, upholds, and encourages ADR/Mediation. In some systems, judges will be active mediators. In others, judges can use other non adversarial ADR practices to facilitate and encourage the use of other more appropriate forms of dispute resolution (ADR) processes. In either system, judges will be called upon to endorse, uphold, enforce and encourage mediated or negotiated agreements or outcomes.

The Court Annexed- and Judicial Action Group will discuss a range of issues, which will include without limiting the list, the following questions:

How can ADR/Mediation be best integrated into existing Court processes and procedures in the Asia Pacific Region?
How can the misinformation of ADR/Mediation being a threat to the Courts and lawyers jobs be eliminated and the support for ADR/Mediation secured and mobilised from within the judiciary?
What are some of the considerations in designing a legislative framework to support ADR/Mediation?
What are experiences of the Courts in the Asia Pacific Region and else where and what can we learn from the experiences?
How can international best ADR/Mediation practices be integrated in a legally and culturally appropriate manner in the Region?
What kinds or types of support are needed by the Courts and their ADR/Mediation practitioners to make their system of Court Annexed ADR/Mediation work efficiently and effectively?
How can the kind of support needed by each Jurisdiction in the Region be identified, secured and delivered?
What kinds of measures or process need to be developed and set in place to ensure the reform agendas are sufficiently and effectively implemented to make Court Annexed ADR/Mediation work efficiently and effectively alongside the Courts?

For related resources, please click here: Court Annexed and Judicial Mediation Resources. To contribute resources, please contact the Court Annexed and Judicial Mediation Action Group at: info@mediation-leadership.com.

To actively engage, please review, complete and submit the Summit Information and Registration Form, and identify Court Annexed and Judicial Mediation as your preferred Action Group. The Summit Coordination Committee will connect each registered Delegate to the evolving Court Annexed and Judicial Mediation Forum, e-mail dialogues and agenda planning sessions.

Action Group: Disaster Mediation in the Asia Pacific Region

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The Asia Pacific is the world’s most disaster-prone region where, on average, 40 per cent of the globe’s “natural” catastrophes occurs. Witness such events as 2010’s Pakistan superflood, 2009’s ravaging typhoons in the Philippines, or 2008’s Cyclone Nargis and Sichuan earthquake. Mind-numbing catastrophes; Cyclone Nargis and the Sichuan earthquake accounted for 93 per cent of the world’s total disaster deaths that year. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 provided a similar statistic (1) and statistics on Japan’s March 2011 three-pronged disaster will probably paint a similar picture.

The impact of disasters creates an extreme level of stress, uncertainty and fear that generates immediate responses from people who suddenly find that they are the victims of a disaster. These responses range from high energy and quick action to stunned immobilization. For the survivor, this vulnerability and life-and-death struggle against the forces of the disaster turn into the joy and gratitude of survival. For many this euphoria will be followed by the jolting reality of their loss of loved ones, possessions, homes, wealth and jobs. This may even provoke feelings of guilt because they survived and others did not. Survival is a day-to-day struggle for water, food, shelter and security for themselves and their families. Too often, the long process toward recovery turns hope into despair and falls short of its goals.

The rescue and recovery workers also are impacted by the disaster. Working against time in dangerous and difficult circumstances, they see and feel the pain of the victims they desperately try to help. They must operate at a high level of energy, stress and anxiety while taking risks that threaten their own lives and future health. They also may feel despair at the enormity of their tasks and from those instances of failure.

For those involved in disaster response but removed from the scene of the disaster, life may be more comfortable and free from threat but still filled with intense anxiety that comes from the responsibility for managing the response and dealing with the disaster. Decisions they make do have life-or-death consequences. Incompetence, mistakes or the failure to do their job can have immediate detrimental consequences for those at the scene and even for others remote from that location. They carry a constant and heavy burden and experience relief and triumph in the success of their actions. (2)

The extreme circumstances created by disasters produce extraordinary challenges for the men and women who have to cope with and overcome them. Personal interactions are often tense, conflicting, emotional and dictatorial. Conflict can slow decisions and impede progress at critical times. Resolution may not take the best or even most expedient directions. Biases and mistrust can distort more rational thinking. Political alignments, economic consequences and existing power structures may skew decisions. Often participants are from different cultures and countries, increasing the chances for misunderstanding, disagreement and anger. Decisions have to be made without enough information or time to think about them and when people are exhausted. The opportunity for conflict increases over normal times and situations.

In the context of these challenges, the purpose of mediation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and the role of mediators and alternative dispute resolution professionals is to provide a calming, facilitative influence to help bring people together to perform at their best in all disaster phases; disaster risk management, pre-disaster planning and preparations, first responders and rescue operations, disaster coordination, emergency relief and recovery and beyond.

The objective of this Action Group is to identify, develop and implement ways in which mediators and alternative dispute resolution professionals can use their skills, knowledge and understanding of people with empathy, impartiality and diligence to achieve win-win solutions that will enable mutual agreement, facilitate decision-making and produce more effective results.

More in-depth information on this theme and the 6 Action Group sub-objectives can be found through this link!

(1) IFRC, Disasters in Asia: The case for legal preparedness – as part of Strategy 2020, 2010
(2) WHO Regional office for South Asia, Caring for Your Own Emotional Well-being - Guidelines for (red: Tsunami) Relief Workers, WHO Project: ICP EHA 011 XD 04, 2005

Action Group: Environment and Climate Change Mediation in the Asia Pacific Region

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Asia contains some of the most beautiful and biologically diverse ecosystems on earth. While Asia’s natural resources have supported sophisticated civilizations for millennia, their rise and fall has often been determined by the availability and use of natural resources.

The 21^st century will see much more pressure on the environment in Asia, home to 50% of the world’s population and its fastest growing economies. These trends will be made worse by the effects of climate change. They will provoke serious tensions, conflicts and disputes, ranging from localised problems (such as severe local flooding, drought, property damage and loss of life) to broad-scale disasters (wars over water, frontier disputes and mass movements of desperate environmental refugees).

Efforts have been undertaken at the international, regional and local level to address environmental and natural resource-related conflicts. Internationally, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has been negotiating agreements on emission reductions, adaptation strategies, and a financing mechanism.

India’s economy and societal infrastructures are vulnerable to even small changes in monsoon rainfall. Climate change may increase the intensity of heavy rainfall events whilst the number of rainy days may decrease. Combined with an increased risk of critical temperatures this can significantly change crop yields. (1)

Melt-water from Himalayan glaciers and snowfields currently supplies up to 85% of the dry season flow of the great rivers of the Northern Indian Plain. This could be reduced to about 30% of its current contribution over the next 50 years, if forecasts of climate change and glacial retreat are realised. This will have major implications for water management and irrigated crop production, as well as introducing additional hazards to highland communities through increasingly unstable terrain. (1) (2)

Climate change is expected to increase water scarcity in China's northern provinces such as Ningxia, Gansu, Shanxi and Jilin province. An increase in average rainfall in southern provinces such as Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi is anticipated over the next 50 to 100 years leading to more instances of flooding. (3)

The Mekong River Commission is seeking to ensure that upstream and downstream users of one of the region’s mightiest rivers collaborate in making decisions over its management. Climate change in the Mekong River Basin will significantly reduce the annual water supply in the upper Mekong region. More severe flooding in the Korat Plateau and the Southern Lowland areas will pose a potential threat to urbanization here, as there will be a significant increase in rainfall especially in September-October in these areas. Generally shorter and more intense rainy seasons imply that the varieties of rice and other crops currently grown in each area of the Mekong Basin may not be suitable in the future. (4)

Locally, community groups throughout the Asia Pacific region have been asserting their roles, rights and responsibilities over the use of forests, fisheries and other natural resources. What we learn from these experiences and how we address emerging issues over resource use will shape development in the region.

The issues and incompatibilities that arise in environmental conflict and decision situations, are "rooted in different values of natural resources and environmental quality" and "incited by different stakes in the outcome of environmental and natural resource management decisions". The uncertainty surrounding various environmental actions and the different assessments of the risks associated with these actions can contribute to or cause environmental / climate change conflict. (5)

The broad question is: how can mediation and other ADR tools help?

Reflecting on specific initiatives and insights from around Asia, we will explore how mediation can best assist. In particular:

What are the main trends and key points in natural resource, environmental and climate change conflict in Asia?
How can mediators’ specialist skills support people experiencing and managing these conflicts?
How can mediation help avoid or minimize environmental damage and climate change?
How can we help people build the capacities, skills and resources that would help them resolve the issues themselves?
What can we learn from experiences so far, and what else do we need to learn?

This Leadership Summit Action Group will be particularly interesting to:

Mediators wanting to refine their skills and apply them in this area;
Policy makers and practitioners who want to learn and apply mediation skills and principles in their work;
Educators and students in the field of the environment and mediation.

To contribute resources or collaborate on this theme, please contact the Environment and Climate Change Mediation Action Group at: info@mediation-leadership.com.

(1) Challinor, A., J. Slingo, A. Turner, and T. Wheeler, Indian monsoon: contribution to chapter 4 of Stern Review, University of Reading, 2006

(2) Roy, J., The economics of climate change: a review of studies in the context of South Asia with a special focus on India, 2006

(3) Erda, L. and Ji, Z. et al, Climate Change Impacts and its Economics in China, 2006

(4) Suppakorn Chinvanno, Information for Sustainable Development in Light of Climate Change in Mekong River Basin, SE Asia START Regional Center, Chulalongkorn University, 2003

(5) Crowfoot, J. and Wondolleck, J., Environmental Disputes: Community Involvement in Conflict Resolution, 1990

Action Group: Family Mediation in the Asia Pacific Region

This Summit provides participants with expertise or an interest in family mediation with an opportunity to explore a range of traditional and more recent approaches to resolving family conflicts, the dynamics of familial relationships in different cultures and how, and under what circumstances, mediation can prevent, transform, manage or resolve conflicts at different stages of the family life cycle.

As the number of parental relationship breakdowns and cross-cultural marriages increase and with the increased longevity and vulnerability of family members, increased pressure to respect the rights of children and to include their voices and the voices of other vulnerable people in decision-making, as well as the increased awareness of the nature and impact of family violence and its prevalence during separation and divorce and toward older people, what is the role of mediation in family conflict and what are the key issues for mediators in the region?

This Asia Pacific Mediation Leadership Summit will enable participants who are researching, teaching and practicing as family mediators in the Asia Pacific region to come together to:

Compare legislative and other policy frameworks for family mediation across the region and analyse their strengths and limitations
Identify cultural, religious and social values, norms, trends and challenges that impact on families and family mediation in the region
Analyse traditional and Western mediation assumptions, theories, models and practices – what works and what doesn’t, for whom and under what circumstances?
Share our collective knowledge, skills, ethical concerns and insights to improve our mediation practices
Establish a network of family mediators, academics and researchers who can continue on-line discussions beyond each APMF Conference or Summit meeting and who can contribute information and resources to the APMF website.

Reflecting on specific initiatives and insights from around the Asia-Pacific region, we will share our experiences and perspectives on the strengths and limitations of family mediation in family conflicts in different cultural contexts. In particular some beginning questions to guide our discussions might be:

What are the main trends and key factors facing families in conflict in the Asia Pacific region?
What are the strengths, limitations and boundaries of mediation as an approach to family conflict in different cultures in the region?
In what ways can cross-cultural knowledge and discussions contribute to the development of new or blended models of mediation and to mediators’ knowledge and skills?
How can mediators in the region build capacity, skills and resources that can empower families to prevent, transform or resolve conflicts themselves?
What relevant research has been undertaken in the region and where are the gaps (e.g. research into family mediation, family violence (child abuse and domestic violence), child-inclusive mediation, family law and family mediation, mediation involving older people, culture, religion and family mediation, gender, power and mediation etc)?
Where to from here? What can we learn from our experiences so far, and what else do we need to learn?

These questions formed a beginning foundation for our online conversations prior to the Summit and can guide collaborators to construct their contribution to the APMF Summit via the submission of a written paper and/or a short presentation to a round table of participants from diverse disciplines and cultural backgrounds and with similar interests.

Dale Bagshaw

More in-depth information on the Family Mediation theme can be found through this link!

Action Group: Financial Mediation in the Asia Pacific Region

The present financial crisis has had significant repercussions throughout the global economy. The investigation of factors that give rise to effective financial institutional dispute resolution mechanisms is a pressing need, not only in the Asia Pacific region, but also in the wider global community.

Many countries in the Asia Pacific region have increased their use of alternative mechanisms of dispute resolution to resolve a growing number of financial and commercial disputes. This trend has been supported by civil justice reforms taking place throughout the region, including those within the Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.

The benefits of such alternative mechanisms of financial dispute resolution are well documented. These include: efficiency, satisfactory results and resource savings. Yet such approaches are not without their challenges. Some observers have noted that the lack of legal representation may disadvantage some claimants who face information asymmetry and are unfamiliar with their rights. From a policy perspective, the potential disconnect between individual case investigation and policy making may limit comprehensive reform. Determining how best to overcome such challenges while addressing a growing number of financial related disputes are pressing questions facing governments, legislatures and aggrieved citizens.

This Action Group may choose to explore:

Explore institutional dispute resolution mechanisms used in major financial centers;
Discuss the design and evaluation of effective financial dispute resolution systems;
Develop policy recommendations, including investigating the efficacy of financial ombudsmen, mediation process reforms and educational programs in order to strengthen the capacity of such approaches to address both the prevention and after effects of financial turmoil.

Action Group findings will be applied to the creation of policy recommendations oriented to the development and strengthening of financial dispute resolution in Asia Pacific.

To actively engage, please review, complete and submit the Summit Information and Registration Form, and identify Financial Mediation as your preferred Action Group. The Summit Coordination Committee will connect each registered delegate to the evolving Financial Mediation Forum, e-mail dialogues, agenda planning sessions, etc.

Action Group: Gender and Mediation in the Asia Pacific Region

This theme group provides participants who have an interest and/or expertise in gender and conflict mediation with an opportunity to explore:

Gender perspectives in peacemaking
Women’s under-representation in peace negotiations
Peace agreement text and gendered language, and outcomes

Incorporating gendered perspectives is a fundamental though neglected aspect of peacemaking. Such perspectives can facilitate a deeper understanding of the impacts of violent conflict – and the different impacts on women and men, boys and girls – so that agreements reached can better represent the very specific needs of people and hence have a greater chance of sustainability and success. In addition they promote a broader and deeper view of peace processes, and one which insists on deeper analysis of the roots of conflict to enable more responsive and inclusive strategies to resolve it.

The roles and contributions of women in conflict resolution have consistently been highlighted as an important aspect of peace processes. Yet men dominate the resolution of violent conflict as mediators, negotiators and advisers. In all areas of a peace process –cessations of hostilities; sustainability and credibility of peace on the ground; security and violence reduction dimensions; power-sharing; justice and truth-seeking processes; redressing the impacts of violent conflict – the participation of women is vital for ensuring that such efforts and any agreements reached reflect the needs, and include the views, of half of the population. Yet to date there has not been a single peace process where gender parity, or anything approximating it, has been attempted.

In October 2010, the groundbreaking UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (SCR 1325) celebrated its tenth anniversary. The first Security Council resolution to acknowledge women's needs and contributions across a range of ‘peace and security’ issues, SCR 1325 built on decades of work from the 1979 Convention to End Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action as well as numerous UN resolutions and additions to international law to secure and extend women’s rights. Recent years have seen further developments in this area with the passing of SCRs 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), and 1960 (2010) which all build on, and reinforce, SCR 1325.

Despite this ‘architecture’, women are woefully under-represented in conflict mediation, and peacemaking more broadly. However, there are reasons to be optimistic. As the growing and strikingly consistent body of work on women in peace processes demonstrates, despite not always being present around the peace table, women are making robust contributions, getting their voices heard, and creating their own forms of peace processes. This theme at the Summit will explore some of the challenges in this area, as well as pathways for action.

This Leadership Summit will provide an invaluable opportunity for exchange of experiences and networking for those interested in gender and mediation as well as a chance to participate in a set of activities aimed to stimulate and provoke debate; generate policy relevant ideas and suggestions; and, refine personal and organisational practice.

The Participant should have:

Demonstrated leadership capacity on issues related to women’s rights in conflict and post-conflict recovery and/or on planning or peace building and mediation activities, at national and community levels;
Proven track record of concrete involvement in the mediation/peace process at the national level;
Ability to participate in discussions and dialogues during the Summit and to share experiences related to women’s issues and roles in peace building in their respective country;
Fluency in English.

Participants will include representatives from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Other country representatives present at the Summit are welcome to join the sessions.

Rotation 1

Activity 1: Overview of the women and mediation theme group

Purpose: To provide the objectives for the theme group.

Activity 2: Short film screening and discussions

Purpose: This will serve as an ice-breaker- It will highlight the common issues that one needs to discuss (re: gender and mediation) and serve to identifying best practices from the region.

Rotation 2

Activity 1: Presentation on the current trends in gender and mediation.

Purpose: Describing current trends and ongoing initiatives from the UN.

Activity 2: Discussion on what it means to engender the practice of mediation (issues), and the challenges encountered in doing so.

(1) Working group (2) Plenary discussion

Purpose: Identify practical, concrete means to engender the practice of mediation.

Rotation 3

Activity: Conclusions and recommendations for regional action.

(1) Working group (2) Plenary discussion

Purpose: Defining regional actions related to gender and mediation by: (i) Influencing policy and (ii) improving the mediation practice

Final conclusions and recommendations will be presented to the wider Summit's plenary session.

Action Group Evolving: WAction Action Group: Labor and Workplace Mediation in the Asia Pacific Region

The spectrum of the practice of Labor Mediation in Asia is very broad and is uniquely informed by the status of labor relations, collective bargaining and law as well as the political/economic development of each country.

It varies greatly from Australia and New Zealand where it has been well integrated into labor relations and various commissions for decades, to relatively newer situations such as Korea, Thailand, China, Mongolia and Vietnam.

We invite those mediators who are involved with labor and employment mediation to give us their ideas and suggestions for topical themes they would like to have discussed by those of us in this area of mediation. One possible workshop could be the following:

How do Mediation and Negotiations in the Workplace Impact Democracy in Civil Society? Cases of: Singapore, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand , China and Mongolia (and any other countries that would interest you as a delegate)

This forum would have colleague from all these countries and some regional ILO representation as well.

The proposed Action Outcome would be to see if we could develop a consensus on this thesis, and form an ongoing Asian Pacific network/forum to link professionals and academicians who are involved with labor mediation.

Action Group: Peace Mediation (Track One) in the Asia Pacific Region

The evolving Peace Mediation (Track One) in the Asia Pacific Region Action Group is currently being designed by engaged/ing core and themed Collaborators and registered Delegates. The current design process includes, but is not limited to, the following: web brief composition, agenda and methodology design, co-facilitator identification and preparation, best and lessons learned case studies collection and selection for presentation to overall plenary, resource collection, forthcoming forum development and facilitation, regional to international networking with a cross-section of professionals throughout the region and internationally.

If you would like to proactively contribute, please complete and submit the Summit Registration and Fees Form and identify your interest in collaboratively evolving the Peace Mediation Action Group. The Summit Coordinator will immediately connect you to the Peace Mediation Action Group design process.

Asia Pacific Mediation Leadership From Talk To Action