Ukraine: CMI conducts High-Level Dialogue Group meeting and seminars for parliament and executive authorities

In continuation of CMI’s work in Ukraine, we organised from 17 till 19 March 2015 another high-level dialogue meeting for Ukrainian political actors and intellectual leaders in Kyiv. At the same time, CMI also held two closed-door seminars for executive and legislative authorities in the country.

On 17 March, CMI’s high-level dialogue group members continued their internal discussions on potential ways forward out of the current crisis in Ukraine. The dialogue group includes Members of Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) and intellectual leaders, who together represent a broad spectrum of political views and opinions in different parts of the country, including Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

In addition to supporting ongoing dialogue among political and intellectual leaders, CMI also offers access to high-level international experts and practitioners for Ukraine’s parliamentary and executive structures. This part of CMI’s work aims to create opportunities for influential policy makers to get exposed to international experience in dealing with armed conflict and peace processes in order to expand the range of possible strategies available for dealing with the conflict in the country. The main method used is peer exchange – the sharing of experiences at closed-door seminars and informal discussions with international experts of similar political stature to their Ukrainian counterparts.

Therefore, on 18 and 19 March, CMI conducted two closed-door seminars in the Verhovna Rada of Ukraine and the country’s Presidential Administration. The aim was to inform groups of interested parliamentarians, executive agency representatives and civil society about the dynamics of the peace process in Northern Ireland, and to encourage a shared awareness of these experiences among key policy actors in Ukraine. These events also sought to make a contribution to promoting constructive discussion among Ukraine’s policy-makers, intellectuals and civil society leaders about the peace process in Ukraine. The seminar discussions were held under Chatham House Rules.

The following topics were covered by experts from Northern Ireland during the seminars:

• peace process and settlement, including reconciliation between communities divided by the experience of armed violence;
• engaging with groups that do not accept a negotiated settlement;
• reforming law-enforcement;
• negotiating with insurgents;
• economic recovery programmes and economic opportunities for demobilized combatants; and
• devolution of competencies.

This event was organised in partnership with the Causeway Institute for Peace-building and Conflict Resolution with funding support from the British Embassy in Kyiv, UK Conflict Pool Peacebuilding projects in Ukraine 2014-2015.