Political Science Report: Analyzing Ceasefire Mediation and Agreements

This report provides an overview of ceasefire mediation, defining it as a temporary cessation of hostilities in armed conflicts. It explores the role of regional organizations in mediating ceasefires, emphasizing the importance of mutual interest between mediators and disputants. The report outlines core elements of a ceasefire, including termination of conflict, separation of forces, and supervision/verification. It discusses key elements of effective ceasefires, such as strategies to prevent contact, assigning obligations, and legal obligations. The role of third parties, such as NGOs or international organizations, is also highlighted. Examples of ceasefire agreements, including those in Lebanon and Uganda, are provided to illustrate the practical application of these concepts. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of well-drafted agreements and external factors in ensuring the durability of ceasefires.

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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 (Public International Law & Policy Group, 2013).
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.
According to the norms adopted by both members' countries, they operate with authorities in
dealing with conflict (Zartman, 1992). Thus, the conflict management activities of regional
organization embody all the contradictory elements of the current debate over the role of
institutions in anarchic world of international politics
When both the mediator and the disputants perceived their respective interest, mediation took
place. And then when mediator is able to generate a prospective outcome that is attractive to both
the parties and in which they find themselves and attractive enough to minimum or redefined
goals. Regional organization only undertake to mediate when their members see in their interest
to agree for ceasefire. The decisions doesn’t depends on individual sovereign this a sum of the
members self-interest combined with their judgment between two conflicts (Zartman, W. 1992).
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

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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 (Public International Law & Policy Group, 2013).
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 (Public International Law & Policy Group, 2013).
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 (page, 2014).
There are numbers of examples of a ceasefire, one of them is a ceasefire agreement, after the
Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in 2006, and a resolution in 1701 was passed by the United
Nations Security Council (Public International Law & Policy Group, 2013). The resolution
required a third party Hezbollah, the non-state armed group, to disarm. This allow Israel to retain
their armaments and ability to protect their sovereignty.
Similarly there was ceasefire agreement between the Ugandan government and the insurgent
Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which consist obligations to be filled by the LRA, a non-state
armed group (Public International Law & Policy Group, 2013).

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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
Page, R. (2014). Gaza ceasefire agreement International Affairs and Defence Section.
Public International Law & Policy Group,. (2013). The Ceasefire Drafter’s Handbook An
Introduction and Template for Negotiators, Mediators, and Stakeholders.
Zartman, W. (1992). "mediation by regional organizations: the OAU in Chad and Congo", 81-93.

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