In June 2022, more than 120 senior mediators, diplomats and conflict experts gathered at The Oslo Forum to assess prospects for peacemaking as seismic shifts reshape geopolitics, redraw alliances and challenge international norms.

The Oslo Forum 2022 report features a summary of two full days of discussions on issues ranging from food and energy security in the wake of the war in Ukraine to perspectives on resolving conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, Eurasia, Latin America and Asia in a polarised world.

Click here to read and download the report.

Alongside the summary and photos of the retreat, the report includes interviews with Fu Ying, the former Vice Foreign Minister of China, and Comfort Ero, President and CEO of the International Crisis Group.

Readers will also find background papers that informed sessions at the Forum, including essays on negotiating with jihadists in the Sahel by HD’s Francophone Africa Director Alexandre Liebeskind and on the challenges of humanitarian access in a multipolar world by HD Senior Advisor Michael Vatikiotis.

Just before the new season of The Mediator’s Studio podcast, the report includes a transcript of a previous episode with Lakhdar Brahimi about his early efforts in Afghanistan and the challenges of finding peace in Syria. With personal reflections, the veteran mediator and diplomat shares many lessons learned along the way.

The Oslo Forum, co-hosted by HD and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a headline event for the international mediation and peacemaking community to reflect on current practices, work on new approaches and advance their negotiations.

Born in 2003 from a modest meeting of mediators, the annual gathering has grown to become the pre-eminent mediation retreat.

It has hosted many distinguished guests, including Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, Federica Mogherini, John Kerry, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Juan Manuel Santos, Fatou Bensouda, Retno Marsudi, Thabo Mbeki, Martti Ahtisaari and Catherine Ashton.

The Oslo Forum returned as an in-person event in 2022 after being postponed twice by the pandemic. To foster informed and open dialogue, all discussions take place under the Chatham House Rule.

Contact the team at osloforum@hdcentre.org.