British News Agency

Qatar’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi, attended the opening session of the Geneva Peace Forum on Monday. In his remarks, Al Khulaifi highlighted the importance of the rules and standards governing mediation in peace processes.

Al Khulaifi said mediation was not merely about bringing the parties together in the same setting, adding that trust, neutrality, confidentiality, inclusiveness and commitment to a peaceful solution were essential conditions for sustaining negotiations.

Al Khulaifi noted that it was becoming increasingly difficult for wars to end in a decisive victory and to be resolved permanently, emphasizing that mediation was a tool that kept the path to an agreement open. He said the parties needed to trust that negotiations would not create new risks.

Al Khulaifi said the pressures Qatar had faced had not weakened its commitment to mediation but had instead strengthened it, adding that the need for mediation increased as dialogue became more difficult.

Al Khulaifi said the United Nations should be prepared to defend the mediation process when it was at risk, recalling that Article 33 of the UN Charter lists negotiation and mediation among the peaceful means of settling disputes.