Finnish Foreign Minister Tuomioja and Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoğlu promote mediation in the UN

Press release 237/2011
19 September 2011

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu of Turkey are jointly hosting the ministerial level Friends of Mediation meeting in New York, to be held on Tuesday, 20 September during the Opening Week of the UN General Assembly. The Friends of Mediation group was established in September 2010 to enhance the cooperation of countries active in mediation with international organisations. At present, 25 UN member States, the United Nations and seven regional organisations belong to the group

During the meeting, the ministers and the UN and regional organisation representatives will exchange topical experiences of mediation activities. The purpose, among others, is to provide the UN Secretary General with guidelines for increasingly effective mediation.

The UN Resolution on mediation presented by Finland and Turkey was unanimously approved by the UN General Assembly in June 2011. The aim is to increase support for mediation and strengthen cooperation and coordination between different mediators. The UN Secretary General has described the Resolution as a groundbreaking development that strengthens the role of the United Nations in developing mediation norms and offers a framework for effective cooperation among the member States, regional organisations and others. The new chair of the UN General Assembly has named mediation as the Opening Week’s main theme and as one priority of the entire General Assembly session.

Additional information: Katri Viinikka, Head of the Unit for UN and General Global Affairs, mobile tel. +358 40 753 2730; media arrangements Riitta Gerlander, Consulate General of Finland in New York, tel. +1 917 362 1350.