UN General Assembly
2011

Organization of African Unity used meditation almost systematically. Today, the African Union continues to benefit from it. Furthermore, mediation is consistent with the African culture and tradition of dialogue. It is by drawing from the very source of this tradition that the Congo was able to launch a productive internal dialogue that enabled it to overcome the socio-political turmoil of the 1990s. The relevant provisions of the United Nations Charter enshrine the obligation of Member States to seek, in any dispute, “a solution by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice”. These provisions offer a wide range of possibilities from among which to select the means appropriate to bring about a peaceful settlement. Today more than ever, the quest for peace by negotiation remains the only way to guarantee lasting peace. The threat or use of force should be considered only after having exhausted all possible political solutions. The Security Council should therefore strictly limit the conditions under which the use of