Center for Civil Society International ([email protected])
Mon, 12 Oct 1998 11:34:40 -0700 (PDT)
THE UKRAINIAN MEDIATION GROUP
The Ukrainian Mediation Group (UMG) is a network of independent non-profit
organizations which provide conflict resolution services throughout Ukraine.
The mission of the UMG is to promote mediation and dispute resolution in
Ukraine and, in the process, strengthen civil society and democratic reform.
Given Ukraine's over-burdened and problem-ridden legal system and the
inevitable conflict that has accompanied the country's political and
economic transition, the UMG has taken on a difficult task.
In 1994, the Ukrainian Mediation Group joined into a partnership with Search
for Common Ground, an international non-governmental organization dedicated
to transforming how the world deals with conflict - away from adversarial
approaches toward cooperative solutions. The working partnership has been
supported with grants from the ARD/Checchi Rule of Law Consortium, Carnegie
Corporation of New York, Eurasia Foundation, International Renaissance
Foundation (Soros), MacArthur Foundation, C.S. Mott Foundation, Ira Wallach,
and the United States Agency for International Development. The SCG-UMG
collaboration has led to a series of professional exchanges, mediation
training seminars, and project developments which have encouraged the
Ukrainians' efforts to influence the ways in which their society deals with
conflict.
Training Programs
The Ukrainian Mediation Group has designed a training program to certify
conflict resolution specialists. Graduates mediate labor, family,
commercial, and consumer disputes. In the last year, the training program
has involved nearly one hundred participants including judges, lawyers,
psychologists, teachers and students.
Promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Legal System
The UMG has been working with a core of Ukrainian judges who understand
mediation and are outsourcing cases to UMG mediators. In Donetsk and Odessa,
UMG mediators have established a noticeable presence in the district courts
and have gained the support of local judges. The UMG is working to expand
its experience in court-annexed mediation as a means to complement and
contribute to the legal reform process taking place in Ukraine. In the
coming months, SCG-UMG will be working with US judges and ADR specialists to
develop a system of rules and procedures by which cases are outsourced from
courts to mediation in Ukraine.
Conflict Resolution in Enterprise Restructuring
The challenges facing privatized and privatizing enterprises in Ukraine are
enormous. At the same time enterprises lack investment capital, modern
management skills, and markets for their products, they are hampered by
Soviet legacy expectations to provide salaries and social services to their
employees no matter their economic situation. Conflicts between management
and labor (and outside ownership where it exists) are inevitable. In this
context, the UMG has worked to provide consulting services for enterprises
in various stages of the privatization process.
School Mediation
The UMG has worked closely during the past two years with individual high
schools to develop conflict resolution and peer mediation programs. The goal
of these programs is to reduce the level of conflict at the schools in order
to create a healthier educational environment and to give students new and
useful dispute resolution skills. Currently, the program is operating
without any funding. There is a strong demand to continue the program:
children who recently completed the Donetsk program are now coming to the
office of the Donetsk Regional Mediation Group once a week to role-play
historical scenes. They are determined to mediate between the Mongol Tatar
Sultan and the Kievan Prince!
Conflict and the Mass Media
In order to build awareness about alternative dispute resolution, the UMG
has recently begun providing conflict-resolution training for journalists.
In May, a seminar entitled "Mass Media: Approaching Conflict" was held in
Donetsk to encourage media operators to consider the ways in which
television, newspapers and radio can effect and change conflict situations.
In Crimea, the Regional Mediation Groups have spoken about mediation on
local radio shows. As a result, the number of mediation cases has steadily
increased. Plans are being made to hold a conference in Kiev to discuss the
role of the media in conflict situations.
The Dialogue on Crimea
Crimea today remains threatened by competing ethno-political ambitions,
which continue to exacerbate the severe economic conditions on the
peninsula. The tension continues to rise among the various national and
ethnic groups, most notable the Russians, Ukrainians and the recently
returned Crimean Tatars (though, to be sure, ethnic Greek, Armenian, and
other native populations are also important stakeholders in Crimea's
future). Cultural differences are at the core of the conflict. The potential
for further unrest is significant and troubling. With two mediation centers
in Crimea, the UMG is strategizing to build an inter-group dialogue between
civil society leaders representing each of the ethnic groups. This is slow
and delicate process, and SCG-UMG is only in the beginning stages of its
difficult work in this region.
For more information about the Ukrainian Mediation Group, please contact:
Scott Adams, Project Director
The Ukrainian Mediation Group
Search for Common Ground
Kiev, Ukraine
Tel./Fax. (38 044)246-4813
E-mail: [email protected]
www.sfcg.org/mainukr.html
Nikolai Borisov, Director
The Ukrainian Mediation Group
340100 Donetsk
ul. 50-Letiya USSR 143
Tel./Fax. (380 622)35 74 33
E-mail: [email protected]
Gillian Huebner, Project Coordinator
Search for Common Ground
1601 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 200
Washington, DC 20009
Tel. (202)265-4300
Fax. (202)232-6718
E-mail: [email protected]
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