China encourages wider membership in a new mediation organization

A side event introducing the newly established International Organization for Mediation was held Wednesday at the United Nations Headquarters in New York as part of International Law Week. China's envoy to the UN called to raise awareness among UN member states of the organization and invite broader participation.

Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, noted that three years ago, "China and like-minded countries initiated the establishment of an International Organization for Mediation" to promote "the peaceful settlement of international disputes and foster friendship and cooperation among nations".

The Convention on the Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation was signed in May this year, entered into force in August, and started operating in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in October, according to Geng.

As the initiator and host country, China co-hosted a side event at the United Nations to introduce the new organization to member states. "We would like to present this new intergovernmental legal organization to UN member states and encourage more countries to join the IOMed in advancing the peaceful settlement of international disputes," Geng said.

"The IOMed embodies the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and thus will help maintain a stable and harmonious international order.

"The IOMed's vision is highly consistent with China's Global Governance Initiative, and thus will contribute developing countries' strength to better global governance," said Geng. "The IOMed focuses on real results and high efficiency, and thus will offer a valuable complement to existing dispute-settlement mechanisms."

The IOMed aims to complement existing mechanisms for litigation and arbitration, providing a platform that emphasizes autonomy, flexibility and efficiency in mediation, Geng said.

Sun Jin, deputy secretary-general of the IOMed, said the new body will promote cooperation in mediation and support member states in building capacity. The IOMed offers an "open, inclusive, affordable and efficient" mechanism dedicated to mediation, Sun said. "It is designed to complement existing peaceful settlement mechanisms and to stand as a new public good for the international community."

He added that the organization will maintain panels of mediators for different types of disputes, organize training and exchanges, and establish a mediation fund to support related activities, particularly for developing countries.

"We underscore our shared belief that diplomacy and mediation remain indispensable for sustainable peace and security," said Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan's permanent representative to the United Nations.

"IOMed provides a principled, impartial and rule-based mechanism to resolve interstate, commercial and investor-state disputes peacefully, by reinforcing predictability, fairness and cooperation. It strengthens confidence in international law, including the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and global economic governance," he said.

Jaime Hermida Castillo, Nicaragua's permanent representative to the United Nations, said the IOMed "is a new multilateral body, a gesture of legal dignity for the Global South, promoting voluntary mediation with mutual respect, without any threat or condition of sponsorship."

He said the organization aims to offer "a more humane, more balanced and more truthful approach" to resolving disputes, and that it "establishes a solid institutional framework for addressing conflicts through international mediation as a suitable alternative to judicial or arbitral proceedings."

minluzhang@chinadailyusa.com