Govinda Clayton – CSS Blog Network

Mediation Perspectives: MSN Commentary on the UN Guidance on Mediation of Ceasefires

Image courtesy of the National Library of Scotland / Flickr, Open air cookery near Miraumont-le-Grand, Western Front, during World War I.

Mediation Perspectives is a regular series of blog contributions by the CSS Mediation Support Team and occasional guest authors.

In this blog, we discuss what ceasefires are and how they related to peace mediation. The Mediation Support Network (MSN) met online on the 16th of February 2023 to discuss the recently published UN DPPA “Guidance on Mediation of Ceasefires”. After reflecting on key points from the Guidance, the MSN members grappled with the questions: what insights and challenges do MSN members face in their work related to ceasefires? What are the gaps and ideas that might carry the Guidance forward?

The UN Has Appealed for a Global Coronavirus Ceasefire: But Is It Possible to Quarantine Conflict?

Image courtesy of U.S. Department of State/Flickr.

This blog belongs to the CSS’ coronavirus blog series, which forms a part of the center’s analysis of the security policy implications of the coronavirus crisis. See the CSS special theme page on the coronavirus for more.

This article is a slightly adapted version of a piece originally published by The Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog on 13 April 2020.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres made an unprecedented appeal on March 23 for “an immediate global ceasefire” to facilitate humanitarian access to the populations most vulnerable to the spread of covid-19. This was the first global ceasefire request in the 75-year history of the United Nations.