Chief negotiators Wiryono Sastrohandoyo (left) of Indonesia and Zaini Abdullah (right) of the rebel Free Aceh Movement shake hands after signing a peace accord in Geneva Dec. 9, 2002, under the watchful eye of the HD Centre's Martin Griffiths (center). (Denis Balibouse/Reuters)

Orchestrating peace

Why should governments deal with troublesome combatants when they can outsource conflict resolution?

By William Dowell - GlobalPost
Published: June 2, 2009 22:59 ET

GENEVA — The Center for Humanitarian Dialogue is one of a handful of places to go if you want to kick start a negotiating process with pirates in Somalia or a rebel army in Sudan. It is part of a new trend: outsourcing the mediation of hot conflicts, which often involve unsavory characters.

“Others are into peace building,” said Martin Griffiths, a former U.N....

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