CMI turns 15
Today marks the 15th anniversary of CMI’s establishment. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Martti Ahtisaari founded CMI in 2000 after his term as President of Finland.
What began as a small supporting unit has become one of the world’s leading independent conflict resolution organisations. CMI currently employs some 70 specialists and has projects in Ukraine, Iraq, Yemen and South Sudan among others. Today, CMI brings conflict parties around the same table to resolve their differences.
Peace mediation is an integral part of responsible foreign and security policy. Peace and stability are prerequisites for any societal development. Military means can end the violence but they do not bring peace. Peace is only achieved through negotiations and political solutions,” says CMI’s executive director Tuija Talvitie.
By helping to solve conflicts we lessen the influx of refugees and prevent terrorism, which currently pose a threat to European and broader international security. Peace mediation is also cost-effective. “Armed interventions cost billions of euros while the fee for successful peace mediation rarely tops a million,” Talvitie stresses.
“Peace is only achieved through negotiations and political solutions.” – Tuija Talvitie, CMI’s executive director
CMI is currently facing drastic cuts to its funding from the Finnish government amounting to approximately 20% of the overall turnover as of 2016. These cuts will seriously impair our long-term peace efforts in Ukraine, Africa and the Middle East. Any public and private support for our continued work would be much appreciated.
Learn more about our work
Watch a new video introduction of our work:
The video has been produced by Franck Media.
Support us
In August, CMI carries out a Peace Table campaign with the aim of increasing the awareness of our peace mediation work and to raise private funds.