Evaluating Peace Mediation

Peace mediation operates in complex and dynamic contexts, making its multifaceted contributions challenging to evaluate and assess. Despite its critical role in conflict resolution, the field of peace mediation lacks established accountability mechanisms. This report proposes a general framework for evaluating international mediation activities, designed to provide observers, donors, and desk officers with a practical tool to enhance quality control in mediation processes while fostering critical reflection and facilitating lessons learned among mediators.

The report begins by addressing the inherent challenges of evaluating peace mediation. These challenges include the difficulty of quantifying outcomes, the diverse objectives and scopes of mediation activities, and the potential risks posed by evaluation processes to mediator flexibility and confidentiality. To navigate these issues, the proposed framework departs from traditional evaluation methodologies. Instead of assessing gaps between what "ought to be" and what "is," it employs a systematic yet flexible approach based on open-ended, non-suggestive questions. These questions explore the power-based, interest-based, and transformative dimensions of mediation while adhering to evaluation criteria outlined in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) guidance on peacebuilding and conflict prevention.

The framework assesses key dimensions, such as the relevance of mediation processes to broader conflict contexts, the direct and indirect effects of mediation efforts, the sustainability of their benefits post-termination, and the efficiency of resource use relative to their outcomes. It also evaluates coherence and linkages with other conflict management activities, the inclusivity of relevant stakeholders and regions, and the consistency of mediation efforts with international values such as confidentiality, human rights, and impartiality.