The Annual General Meeting of the Mediation Support Network (MSN) was hosted by the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) in Accra, Ghana from 10 to 11th of October 2012. This is the first MSN meeting in a region from the global south. The Annual Meeting of MSN offers members the opportunity to share experiences on best practices in mediation and design ways through which members can support mediation process across the globe. The theme of this year’s meeting is; “Regional Intergovernmental Organizations [RIGOs] in Mediation Efforts and the Complementary Roles of International Actors”.
Mediation support Network (MSN) is a global network of currently 14 member-organisations that support mediation efforts.
The opening ceremony had in attendance the representative of the Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the Republic of Ghana, the Director of Political Affairs at ECOWAS Commission, a Representative of UNOWA, Civil Society Organisations, the media and members of MSN. The Representative of the Minister gave a welcome address and indicated the Ghana Government’s appreciation of the ideals of the network. The address of the representative of the Minister for Foreign Affairs was followed by a welcome address by the MSN secretariat and a keynote speech by the Executive Director of WANEP.
The first day of the meeting focused on Regional Intergovernmental Organisations in Mediation Efforts and the Complementary Roles of International Actors with two panelists from the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) respectively; and the second day focused on review of the UN guidance for effective mediation and the business session of MSN. Amongst the major outcomes of the meeting include but not limited to appreciation of the significant roles of regional intergovernmental organisations in mediation, collaborative approaches to foster maximum results and impacts, the admission of four prospective members from Africa and Asia to the network and a schedule of the next meeting in 2013, to be hosted by Center for Peace Mediation and Berghof Foundation in Berlin, Germany.
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