Talking to Groups that Use Terror.pdf - United States Institute of Peace

Peacemaker’s Toolkitduring, if not before, negotiations if an agreement is to endure.Don’t Insist on Perfect ComplianceTalks conditioned on the establishment and maintenance of a cease-fireor a cessation of violence should not let themselves be held hostage byspoilers. Terrorists are usually so decentrally organized that a leader’sagreement to a cease-fire is often broken by uncontrolled splinter groups.Despite the fact that the cease-fire may have been stated as a precondition,governments need to show that they will not be derailed by spoilers.Processes that make cease-fires a precondition should have mechanisms tohelp distinguish between violations by the negotiating partners andviolations by splinter groups. (For further discussion, see Step 6.)Work through or around the Problem of RecognitionA common type of precondition, but also a common stumbling block,involves the issue of recognition. One or both parties—the governmentand/or the PAG—may refuse to recognize the other as a legitimate entityor legitimate interlocutor, and the other party may refuse to contemplatenegotiations until such recognition is forthcoming. Such standoffs can lastmany years. American presidents played cat-and-mouse games for morethan a decade with Yasser Arafat, urging him to recognize Israel’s right toexist in exchange for negotiations. He always promised to amend hisorganization’s founding charter to accept the Jewish state, but in the end,both the United States and Israel effectively settled for his willingness toopenly negotiate with Israel—and fudged the question of the charter.Explicit mutual recognition is not necessarily essential at the start of anegotiation but it is essential if a peace agreement is to be agreed upon andimplemented. Fortunately, the process of talking may itself encourage suchrecognition, and if the mediator decides to proceed in that hope, he or shehas several options for launching talks in the absence of recognition. Forinstance, as discussed in Step 4, the mediator may shuttle between theparties, facilitate the exchange of documents rather than a face-to-faceencounter, enlist other actors to act as go-betweens or speak on behalf ofthe parties, or select a venue that indicates it is not a formal exchangebetween equals (such as a panel to hear complaints from each side ratherthan a negotiation).42