"Today’s mediators need to have integrity, empathy and courage"

Hans Grundberg, United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen

United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg spoke with the Berghof Foundation at The Berlin Moot on what it takes to be a good mediator.

In Yemen 80 per cent of the population – 24.1 million people – are in need of humanitarian aid due to the dire political and humanitarian crisis the country is facing. Since 2014 Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, have been fighting Yemen’s internationally recognised government that is backed by a Saudi-led coalition. Over almost a decade, numerous organisations like the GCC or the UN and countries like the US or Qatar have attempted to mediate between the conflict parties to end the civil war.

Since 2021, Hans Grundberg acts as Special Envoy of the UN Secretary- General for Yemen. At The Berlin Moot in April 2024, we spoke with him about prospects for mediation in Yemen. We also asked him which qualities a good mediator needs to be successful in light of today’s wars and geopolitical challenges. Watch the interview or read his answers below.

Berghof Foundation: Mr Grundberg, from your experience, what makes a good mediator?

Hans Grundberg: I think that for being a good mediator, some obvious characteristics will come into play, such as being a good listener, having creative ideas or being knowledgeable about a particular file. But I think that there are a couple more characteristics that come into play, especially in the very difficult and complex environment that we are working in right now.

One of them is integrity. If you want to achieve results as a mediator, integrity will have to be a guiding star. Secondly, I think you cannot do it unless you have some real empathy as well. You need to feel. The often very complex questions that you deal with and the people that you meet need to understand that you are also a human being who understands their sufferings. And that, I think, is absolutely critical. The third element that I would add is courage. Without courage, you cannot force or outline visions or get parties to agree to compromises, which is probably the most difficult decision that they will take. Even more difficult than actually taking the decision to go to war.

Berghof Foundation: Do you have an example of what taking courage means as a mediator?

Hans Grundberg: I do not want to expose the discussions that I have at the moment, but it is about trusting your vision and being ready to stand up for it, even when you are faced with quite difficult interlocutors. I am not only talking about the conflict parties themselves, I am talking about some heavyweights in the international community, for example some [UN] member states that will try to affect and influence you, and they should. But you need to stand ready to tell these parties within the international community when you believe that they are wrong and you should be able to stand up for what you think is the right approach.

Berghof Foundation: You are the UN Special Envoy for Yemen. What are the prospects of mediation in the current situation in Yemen?

Hans Grundberg: [In Yemen], we are engaged in a long-term work that began several years back and we are building a process brick by brick and layer by layer. Up until recently, we have made some significant progress on that journey. Clearly, at the time of this recording, the region is going through some very complex and difficult developments and we are witnessing a destabilisation that goes through the whole Middle East. That obviously affects everything we can do now because anyone who lives in any country in the Middle East will have to adapt his or herself to what is happening in the region right now. This goes for Yemen and also for our mediation efforts. But while we are faced with challenges at this moment, it does not mean that the trajectory that we have outlined is the wrong one.

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