Merging Ethiopian Wise-Counsel Mediation and Facilitative ...

II.1An Overview of Mediation in the Ethiopian Context: What is Mediation?Conflicts exist in all human settings—in the family, between communities,nations, within institutions or in labour relations—and theyare part of our daily life. Although a universal definition for conflictdoes not exist, it can be defined as “A relationship between two ormore parties who have, or think that they have, incompatible goals”. 5Conflict may also be a very useful and productive processbecause it bears new opportunities for change. Nevertheless, thereare times and occasions when conflicting parties are stuck in a deadlockand a constructive solution is not in sight. In such cases, theoption of inviting support from outside, called “third party intervention”,can be considered in order to identify a solution which servesthe interests of the conflicting parties and other stakeholders.Dispute-resolution systems, be it formal (judicial) or alternativedispute resolution (ADR) methods, have been significantcomponents of the development and evolution of all cultures andsocieties. In contrast to the formal judicial approach, where the resolutionprocess is shifted from the private and voluntary to the publicdomain and where a third party makes a binding decision includingsanction mechanisms, the ADR mechanisms—especially mediation—promotemore voluntary conflict-resolution processes. Theterm “mediation” comes from the Latin word mediare, meaning “tobe in-between”. Hence, the role of the mediator is to serve as a bridgeof communication and understanding between conflicting parties.With the evolution of the nation state, formal dispute-resolutionsystems such as courts have become dominant. Governments, fora variety of reasons, have made efforts to replace previous, moreinformal and community or religious-based dispute-resolutionmechanisms. On the African and Asian continents, the so-called“indigenous” conflict-resolution mechanisms and systems haveupheld, while in Western societies traditional conflict resolutionsystems are almost forgotten. It is only in recent years that ADRmechanisms have been rediscovered, especially mediation. Today,mediators are involved in a wide range of conflicts involving families,businesses and international communities. Since the aim androle of mediation and mediators can be culture and context-specific,mediation can be defined in different ways.Facilitative and Transformative MediationModern or, as some people prefer to refer to it, Western-type mediationis a conflict-resolution mechanism where an impartial personintervenes and facilitates the discussion between the parties. Theoutcome is based on the parties’ consensus on the solution. The aimis that both parties benefit from the way of solution-making and thesolution itself. 6 This process is called facilitative mediation since therole of the third-party mediator is limited to facilitating the processso that the conflicting parties are the owners of the outcome. It is aconflict-resolution concept that came from peoples’ dissatisfactionabout how the formal court system was dealing with their conflicts.In most Western countries, mediation also contains transformativeelements, where transformative mediation focuses on enablingunderstanding and empathy among the conflicting parties and ontransforming their relationship rather than on the solution. 7Wise-Counsel MediationIn most African traditions, community elders are key decisionmakers in all matters of society as well as conflict mediators. Theyare recognised as solution makers who have the desired attributes ofa good listener, a just decision maker and an experienced situationanalyst. Wise-counsel mediators are more like traditional judges orarbitrators since they have the power to make binding decisions andimpose solutions on behalf of the parties. They can sanction socialmeasures in case one of the parties fails to comply with the ruling oragreement.Wise-counsel mediators are not professional service providers.They are stakeholders within their community since they are closelytied with the parties in kinship, direct blood relation or as membersof an interdependent community. Hence they often follow up agreementsand strive to improve relationships in post-mediation sessions.5 Mitchell, C. (1989).6 Compare the classical definition from Chris Moore (2003) "...mediation is generally defined as the intervention in a negotiation or a conflict of an acceptable third partywho has limited or no authoritative decision-making power, who assists the involved parties to voluntarily reach a mutually-acceptable settlement of the issues in dispute".7 Bush, B. R. A. & Folger, J. P. (1994).Merging Ethiopian Wise-Counsel Mediation + Facilitative Mediation13