The evolving field of international mediation — Reflections on the Uppsala mediation days 2008

摘要

The Uppsala mediation days were set up for 17 and 18 September2008, highlighting the memory of two towering individuals in thefield: Count Folke Bernadotte (who died on 17 September 1948) andUN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold (who died on 18 Septem-ber 1961). There is a strong tradition of Nordic involvement in me-diation in armed conflicts, at least since Bernadotte's time. Indeed, itgoes further back, as shown by the awarding of Nobel Peace Prizesto Swedes and Norwegians before and after the First World War: Ar-noldson, Branting, Lange and Nansen. There is continuous interna-tional resort to Nordic minds for difficult assignments, today reflectedin Norway's innovation in the Middle East – the Oslo process – de-scribed in this volume by Ambassador Mona Juul, Sri Lanka and inhumanitarian diplomacy; former Swedish Foreign Minister Jan Eli-asson's recent assignment to the Darfur conflict and former FinnishPresident Martti Ahtisaari's achievements, notably in Aceh (see hiscontribution in this volume). Martti Ahtisaari also delivered the an-nual Dag HammarskjOld Lecture on 18 September 2008.