A delegation of 140 mediators from the three countries of Burundi, DR Congo and hosts Rwanda will converge in Huye District for a three-day conference on local mediation. The conference comes at time when the international community will be celebrating 10 years of mediation and its role in solving local disputes and finding common grounds for citizens without necessarily going to courts. A statement from the Ministry of Justice indicates that the conference is aimed at bringing regional mediators together to share experiences and best practices, and also marshal efforts to coordinate the work of mediators with what is done by government organs in making mediations a better conflict resolution approach. “It is of great honour for Rwanda to host the mediator’s conference, and sharing with regional states Rwanda’s best practices and success story on mediation,” the statement reads in part. Rwanda has for the past 10 years used community mediators, locally known as Abunzi, to solve conflicts within communities in the country as a way of reducing the number of cases that end up before the courts. The Abunzi have specifically been hailed for solving land disputes. “This style of conflict resolution (mediation), which involves our own tradition through our abilities, instills the desire the national development agenda of self reliance, without depending on foreign handouts,” reads the statement. The conference, which will be attended and conducted by legal experts, in various areas, will also be concluded by delegations visiting one of the local pilot sectors, where they will have experimental discussions with the local mediators. The conference will be the Abunzi, Burundi’s Abashingantahe and customary chiefs from DR Congo. The conference is supported by Search for Common Ground, an international NGO that supports capacity building of local mediators in Huye, Gisagara and Ruhango districts in the Southern Province.
