Principles & Values

The Board of Directors, Committee Members and staff of Mediators Beyond Borders commit to acting in accordance with the following core values and principles, and to the extent that we fall short, to learn from our errors and do better in the future: 

Collaboration   Encourage communication, collaboration and improved interpersonal relationships, and increase the connections between people by strengthening webs of association; improving relationships, narratives, and paradigms; and creating a complex, adaptive environment that provides a positive context for conflict resolution initiatives. 

Compassion   Base all our decisions and interactions in compassion, humility, open-heartedness and grace.

Congruency & Consistency   Make all our actions congruent with our conflict resolution principles, including those of dialogue, forgiveness, reconciliation and restorative justice.  Consistency of voice and action in furtherance of its Mission, Vision, & Values. Clarity of roles, objectives, and assessments.

Cultural Respect   Affirm that all conflict takes place in a context of diverse cultural identities, and not presume that a particular orientation, especially Western or US ideas, are superior to all others.

Empowerment   Empower local individuals and communities to improve their unique peace-building capacities.

Equality   Recognize partners as full and equal participants in all relevant decisions, activities and relationships.

Flexibility   Be flexible and unattached to particular opinions, outcomes, think opportunistically and act strategically.

Hope   Act with authentic engagement to replace suspicion, indifference and hostility with belief in an improved future.

Humility   Show respect in understanding and recognizing there is always more to know and learn.  

Inclusiveness   Exclude no one from participation, especially those who have been marginalized and must be included for any resolution to last. 

Lack of Bias   Be unbiased and “omni-partial” toward all participants and cultures, and elicit understanding of past actions and current interests.

Lifelong Learning   Support lifelong learning and the integration of conflict resolution values and skills into daily life.

Patience   Understand that changing people, processes and relationships takes time and may not proceed in a straight line.

Partnering   Recognize that the collaborators are full and equal partners in any activity and relationship.

Perceptions; Suitability   Recognize that all peace is political and any action may be viewed by stakeholders, all with plural identities, through the lenses of caution, suspicion, mistrust, and ethnic and cultural prisms. 

Popular Sovereignty   Respect the right of all individuals, cultures and groups to participate in making decisions that affect their lives, and shaping solutions to their conflicts. 

Process Awareness   Design and implement “elicitive” models that can be integrated into local cultures, since dispute resolution models and techniques that work in one context may not work in others.

Recognition   Give voice to people at all levels, especially to those who are disempowered and vulnerable, and assist them to see and listen to each other.

Reflective Practice    Integrate reflective and contemplative practices into all activities by encouraging feedback, mindfulness, equanimity and ethical involvement. 

Relationship Building   Recognize that empathy and the ability to create honest relationships over time are as important in conflict resolution as skills, techniques and technical support.

Safety   Minimize potential dangers to teams, stakeholders and local participants who may be at economic or personal risk by engaging in peace-building activities. 

Self Determination   Emphasize interpersonal relationships, since while governments and NGOs may negotiate formal agreements, only people can transform discordant relationships or make peace a way of life.

Sustainability    Develop long-term relationships among stakeholders so as to encourage sustainable transformation and development.

Transparency   Work transparently on all levels, including substantive, procedural and financial openness, and address any issues that may arise in an open, honest and clear manner. 

Trust   Earn people’s trust, credibility, respect, and partnership through performance and actions. 

Understanding   Recognize that peace is political and conflict resolution may be viewed through lenses or cultural prisms that encourage suspicion of outsiders and conflict resolvers. Understand that social memories of colonization and imperialism create engrained mistrustful “default” attitudes toward conflict interveners.