Can mediation cut through conflict in the Middle East?

Can mediation cut through conflict in the Middle East?

In Gaza, a fragile ceasefire comes with great uncertainty for the future. In Yemen, the Houthis are abducting humanitarian workers and journalists in a witch hunt for alleged spies. And in Syria, a new and unstable political landscape could go either way.

“It's not easy to build peace. It's much easier to stop a war,” says Martin Griffiths, executive director of Mediation Group International.

The former under secretary general for humanitarian affairs at the UN speaks to The National’s editor-in-chief Mina Al-Oraibi in this special episode of Beyond the Headlines.

They discuss the instrumental role of mediation, not only to resolve conflicts in the Middle East, but to ensure peace will follow. Mr Griffiths draws insights from his decades-long career in the humanitarian field to reflect on current events in the region. He talks about the diplomacy model set by Gulf countries and about opportunities to reform a UN in crisis.

Episoder(480)

Lebanon explosion: What will Lebanon do now?

Lebanon explosion: What will Lebanon do now?

In this episode, we talk to Bassam ZaaZaa, a reporter with The National, and Zina Malas, a student at the American University of Beirut about their experience of the explosion. We also talk to Mariann...

13 Aug 202024min

What happened when Beirut exploded?

What happened when Beirut exploded?

James Haines Young pieces together the explosion and the immediate aftermath. He talks to The National’s Sunniva Rose and Lina Mokadden, a resident in Lebanon, who explain what the explosion felt l...

6 Aug 202024min

How Hajj will be different during the coronavirus pandemic

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In this episode, we talk to Mohammed Mushfiq Uddin, a lead guide and scholar for a UK Hajj and Umrah operator, and Balquees Basalom, a social media journalist at The National, who is in Makkah about H...

29 Jul 202023min

The global sand trade: Are we running out of sand?

The global sand trade: Are we running out of sand?

This week, we talk to Vince Beiser, author of the book The World in a Grain of Sand and Arora Torres, fellow at the Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium) & Michigan State University about the glo...

23 Jul 202021min

The Hope Probe: UAE's mission to Mars

The Hope Probe: UAE's mission to Mars

In July 2020, UAE’s Hope Probe will blast off from Japan to study Mars. This week, Mohsen Al Alwahdi, the Mission Systems Engineer at Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre tells host Suhail Rathe...

16 Jul 202017min

USA: The world's epicentre of the coronavirus

USA: The world's epicentre of the coronavirus

The United States of America is setting grim records. The number of daily cases of the coronavirus in the US are ahead of every other country in the world. It took the US over 3 months to reach 1 mill...

9 Jul 202022min

How do you solve the great Nile Dam dispute?

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The Nile is Egypt and Egypt, for many, is the Nile. For over 8,000 years, this historic River has nurtured civilization. But now, Cairo says that’s under threat. Hundreds of kilometres upstream, Ethio...

2 Jul 202024min

Should internet access be declared a human right?

Should internet access be declared a human right?

On the 1st of October 2019 mass protests spread through Iraq. People demanded an end to widespread corruption and access to basic services, like water and electricity and access to jobs. Within days h...

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