Insider Mediation

Strengthening Peace from Within

Insider mediation is a recognized approach to preventing and resolving conflict from within societies affected by crises. It acknowledges that sustainable peace is often built by trusted local actors, women and men who are embedded in their communities, understand local dynamics, and are able to bring people together when tensions arise.

Insider mediation can take many forms and complements both official initiatives and community-based actions. Working across different levels, insider mediators help facilitate dialogue, ease tensions, and support inclusive solutions before disputes escalate, including in situations shaped by inequality, climate pressures, misinformation, and exclusion from decision-making. Their connections within communities, across networks, and within institutions allow insider mediators to engage early and respond quickly as situations evolve.

UNDP supports insider mediation as a core element of its approach to conflict prevention and peacebuilding. Through partnerships with national actors, the European Union, UN entities, and global networks of practitioners, UNDP helps strengthen the skills, connections, and visibility of insider mediators, with a strong focus on women and youth. By investing in locally led solutions, insider mediation contributes to more inclusive and resilient societies and to lasting peace.

Coming Soon: The Insider Mediator's Playbook

A curated set of insider mediation “plays” that highlight how local mediators act early to build trust, open dialogue, and prevent escalation, based on real experiences from fragile contexts worldwide.

Available Soon

STRENGTHENING INSIDER MEDIATION AT THE COUNTRY LEVEL

Through the EU–UNDP Partnership on Strengthening Insider Mediation, UNDP supports insider mediation in eight conflict-affected contexts, working through UNDP country offices to strengthen locally led dialogue, conflict prevention, and peacebuilding efforts.

The Gambia

In The Gambia, insider mediators are trusted community members who help calm tensions before they turn into conflict. They mediate disputes over land and boundary disputes, family and inheritance matters, community leadership disagreements, political tensions, and other local conflicts, helping communities solve problems peacefully, while linking local voices to national peace efforts.  Kanyelengs, who are traditional communicators, have also been trained in insider mediation to act as peace agents. Through their respected cultural role and influence within communities, they use their art and performances to support dialogue, raise awareness, de-escalate tension and work alongside insider mediators to promote peaceful conflict resolution and strengthen community-based peacebuilding.

Guatemala

 In Guatemala, insider mediators support Indigenous communities, women, and young people to participate in decision-making processes. They help address disputes, prevent violence, and strengthen peaceful ways of resolving conflicts at the local level. Indigenous leaders involved in the project also engage in regular dialogue with national authorities, connecting community perspectives with national decision-making. 

Two women in red and pink hijabs converse in a sunny outdoor courtyard.

Mali

In Mali, insider mediators help communities resolve disputes over land, water, and family matters. By working with local leaders and authorities, they help people settle disagreements early and avoid violence, especially in rural areas.

Moldova

In Moldova, insider mediators help people from diverse backgrounds better understand one another and rebuild trust in communities facing social and political tensions. They also support thematic platforms connecting stakeholders from both banks of the Nistru River. 

Papua New Guinea

In Papua New Guinea, insider mediators help stop cycles of tribal violence. Working in mixed teams of women, men, and young people, they bring rival groups together to talk, agree on peace, and rebuild relationships after conflict.

Peru

In Peru, insider mediators are social leaders who promote dialogue and conflict prevention in their territories. Through the course “Mediation and Consensus-Building,” they strengthened their capacities and contributed to the Tejiendo Ciudadanía initiative, which brought together government representatives, civil society organizations, media outlets, Indigenous communities, and young people. This process supported the development of a Citizen Agenda that incorporates citizens’ priorities into the national political debate.

Sri Lanka

Insider mediators are supporting post-cyclone recovery, strengthening locally informed strategies and inclusive planning. 

Yemen

In Yemen, insider mediators help communities solve disputes linked to access to water. By supporting local groups that manage water resources, they reduce tensions, prevent violence, and help communities work together despite the ongoing conflict.

The Insider podcast, stories of building peace

The series amplifies insider mediators’ voices through real stories of local mediation and peacebuilding.

Listen here

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The Global Community of Practice of Insider Mediators

Serves as global platform of peer-exchange, connection and knowledge transfer.

The Global Platform of Women Insider Mediators

The Global Platform a is practice-focused, demand-driven initiative, co-created with participating women insider mediators and shaped by their priorities and insights.