Multilateralism: Challenges of International Mediation in Regional Conflicts

Editor's Note: This briefing was adapted from Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari's opening speech at the 2009 conference of the West African Research Association (WARA) in Dakar, Senegal, "Peace Making in West Africa: Historical Methods and Modern Applications." As part of the larger West African Peace Initiative, this was the first of three regional conferences. The second, scheduled for Freetown, Sierra Leone, in December 2010, addresses issues of faith communities and their roles in conflict. The third conference, scheduled for Praia, Cape Verde, in December 2011, will address the role of the media. Selected papers from these conferences are being serially published by Africa Conflict and Peacebuilding Review, with the first item appearing in this issue. Ambassador Gambari's remarks serve as the introduction to the series.