Mediating Ceasefire: Core Elements, Examples, and International Role

This essay examines the concept of ceasefire agreements, which are temporary stoppages of war aimed at terminating hostilities. It outlines the core elements of effective ceasefires, including the termination of conflict, separation of forces, and supervision, verification, and monitoring. The role of mediation, often by regional or international organizations, is discussed, along with the significance of third-party involvement in the peace process. The essay provides examples of ceasefire agreements, such as those from the Korean and Vietnam Wars, highlighting the factors that contribute to their success and durability, including political strategies, clear communication, legal obligations, and financial commitments. The references include scholarly articles that support the analysis of ceasefire agreements and their impact on international relations and conflict resolution.

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A ceasefire is an agreement to a temporary stoppage of a war that provides the termination of
hostilities between parties engaged in arm conflict. It can be an informal understanding between
opposing force, or a formal legal treaty contributes to permanent peace as well. Peace treaties are
the final stoppage after successful ceasefires by armistices. Restoration of trust between the
parties is the first step of a ceasefire.
There are some core elements of ceasefire from a comparative analysis of ceasefires. These
elements include 1) A termination of conflicts, 2) forces get separated, 3) the supervision,
verification & monitoring. This agreement prevents the conflicts to happen again by military or
non-military acts it can be prevented by firing on another party or propaganda. A process in
which parties will withdraw from contact and position themselves to put away from conflicts is
known as the separation of forces. Proper implementation of the agreement ensures by
monitoring, supervision, and verification of agreement. There are the different agreement of
ceasefire some of them are aiming to establish a framework for the peace process while others
are simply for the immediate end of hostilities. An effective ceasefire has some key elements as.
First, it planned to established strategies politically as well as geographically that prevent the
parties from coming in contact aggressively. Secondly, assigning rights and obligation to parties
to sorted out their bases of conflicts, makes communication possible and definite to remove the
uncertainty and to share the necessary information between the parties. Third, there is a formal
legal obligation, and effective ceasefire makes assured parties must follow it. Lastly, agreement
consists legal and financial obligation on violating the agreement to significantly increase the
legitimacy for engagement of the international community.
Mediation ceasefire has done by regional originations to solve the disputes among member's
countries. Within their own membership, they also have collective security institutions.

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According to the norms adopted by both members' countries, they operate with authorities in
dealing with conflict.
There is also a vital role of the third party in the ceasefire which mostly a non-government
organization or international origination or other entity involved in the conflict to assist one or
more parties at some stage of ceasefire process. The peace process becomes a strong and
political cost of undermining increases in the presence of the third party.
There are numbers of examples of a ceasefire, one of them is Korean War, on November 29,
1952, there was the meeting between US president Dwight D, Eisenhower in Korea to end the
Korean war with the United Nation. United Nation was accepting India's proposal to end the
Korean War, by legally ceased fire the battle line approximately at the 38 parallel, Korean
people's army, people's volunteer agreement, and UN command agreed on the ceasefire and
signed the Armistice agreement on 27 July 1953 to finally end the fight. The continuation of
peace talks took into the agreement with the government of South Korea, North Korea, china,
and UN.
Vietnam War also an example of the ceasefire agreement, On January 15, 1973, the USA
president Richard Nixon ordered a ceasefire to stop the aerial bombings in North Vietnam. The
decision suggested by the national security Affairs advisor to the president came along with
peace proposal while returning to Washington from Paris. However, the Combat mission was
continued in South Vietnam. Finally, all the warring parties involved in Vietnam War signed the
Peace Accord.

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Thus, a well-drafted ceasefire agreement have all the above factors and elements to increase the
compliance, however there are other external factor as well that’s confirms the durability of
agreement and strong financial obligation by third parties enforce the ceasefire agreement.
References
Lowe, P. (1989). The Significance of the Korean War in Anglo-American Relations, 1950–53.
In British Foreign Policy, 1945–56 (pp. 126-148). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Williams, D. C. (2016). The Fate of Armed Resistance Groups After Peace. Indiana Journal of
Constitutional Design, 1(1), 3.