Beyond Mediation and Arbitration

Tania Almeida
Consultant, Teacher and Supervisor in Conflict Mediation. Founding Partner and CEO of MEDIARE – Dialogues and Decision-Making Processes . Member of the Ethics Committee and Vice-Presidency of CONIMA – National Council of Mediation and Arbitration Institutions

Participation in the 2006 Congress of the Association for Conflict Resolution drew my attention to the diversity of instruments in ADRs (Alternative Dispute Resolution) used by contexts that have been using alternative methods of conflict resolution for a longer time.

There were lecturers from the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and the themes of the seminar went far beyond Mediation and Arbitration, with emphasis on the methods used under the umbrella of Restorative Justice.

I participated in a workshop dedicated to thinking about the scope of action of a mediator in the field of conflict resolution. The coordinator began the work by asking each participant to introduce themselves by name and description of their professional activity, adding to the presentation the citation of one or two other conflict resolution methods other than Mediation and Arbitration. The number of cited resources exceeded the total of twenty-eight workshop participants.

Keeping the necessary reservations regarding an abundance of conflict resolution methods that allow human creativity to recreate hybrid instruments of indisputable similarity, I highlight, in this scenario, the clear determination of practitioners and theorists in the subject to resolve controversies in a non-disputable way. confrontational.

This was the guide that I chose for the world of current affairs in conflict resolution after a panoramic reading of the summary of the two hundred presentations that occupied the three days of the Congress, without computing the themes of the pre-Congress that was dedicated to exhibitions that showed the work in field of ADRs carried out by different countries.

Seeking to resolve disagreement in a non-confrontational way, professionals in the field of conflict resolution have privileged dialogue as a primary resource. Different qualities of dialogue serve the purpose of promoting understanding between people, between community or work groups, between companies, between countries; between people with low or high levels of animosity, including crisis situations, of different ethnicities and different cultures; live or online; for day-to-day disagreements and for cases that include major or minor infractions, producing formal or informal agreements, using impartial third parties or not.

The indirect participation of impartial third parties is increasing in the practice of conflict resolution. Impartial third parties are increasingly using their communication and negotiation skills to prepare people for direct dialogue without them. The teaching of skills for dialogue in schools, communities, work environments and leadership training programs have privileged the expansion of human social competences to live in a century that strives for diversity and the consequent need to negotiate differences.

The proposal for non-confrontational resolution of disagreements and the preference for direct dialogue between people, groups or nations are responsible for the creation of a series of new instruments and approaches in the area of ​​conflict resolution. The search for peaceful and productive dialogues is growing in a world that is progressively threatened of being compromised in its health and in its existence by the absence of these dialogues and by the use of technological force, amplified every day by some nations.

Although we live in a context where Mediation and Arbitration are a novelty still unknown to many, it is worth knowing in which direction the world of conflict resolution is heading. Firstly, because we are part of this global system and we have established a working, cooperative or partnership relationship with other members of this system. Second, because, as with other topics, we can make good use of what other cultures have experienced before us and with good results.

Keeping the necessary cultural adaptations, we can also increasingly integrate the field of conflict prevention in addition to that dedicated to its resolution. Despite sharing the belief that conflicts cannot be extinguished and that there is also positivity in their existence, I also belong to the group of those who favor preventive actions on issues that cause pain or destruction.

The world trend in the field of conflict resolution is to work with a multi-port system of resources, in order to make it possible to adapt the instrument to the controversy. It is up to us, professionals in the area, to know the different doors so that we can guide those who come to us with the purpose of resolving a disagreement in a fair way.

The prior analysis of the dispute to identify the most appropriate resource is a natural consequence of this proposal and will enable the choice of the best available option. Being attentive to help clients choose the best option may mean indicating a resource that we do not technically master, as is the case in medical practice. However, as in medical activity, general knowledge is needed that allows us to know other interventions and to refer to other specialists.

When sharing this experience, I thought of reproducing the reflection that came to me during and after the passage through this Congress dedicated to alternative dispute resolution, which presented as the title Celebrating our past, Shaping the future. How good it is to be able to celebrate a past that made it possible to include alternative methods of conflict resolution in our culture! How nice to be part of this group of former visionaries who could foresee this reality, now growing in our country.

And how will we be contributing to designing our future in this field? Are we equally willing to surpass the achievements made? Or will we prefer to consolidate what is still incipient, Mediation and Arbitration? Wisdom, and pedagogy too, says that new processes need to be sedimented so that they gain the 'status' of belief and knowledge. Whatever our choice, it is worth considering that much exists beyond what we know and practice. This is the challenge and the driving curiosity of those who contribute to what we call the future.