A. Background and purpose
The Convention on the Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation (“IOMed” or the “Convention”) is a multilateral Treaty designed to create the first standing intergovernmental organization dedicated to settle international disputes through mediation.
Its purpose is to promote and facilitate peaceful settlement of international disputes through mediation in connection with:
– inter-state disputes (Articles 3 and 24-25 of the Convention);
-disputes between a State and a national of another State, including investment and commercial disputes (Articles 3, 24 and 27 of the Convention); and
-international commercial disputes between private parties (Articles 3, 24 and 28 of the Convention).
B. Key features of the Convention
(a) Membership and structure
Open and inclusive for membership of all States and regional integration organizations (Art. 7 of the Convention).
Composed by a Governing Council and a Secretariat (Art. 9 of the Convention).
(b) Panels of Mediators
The Organization shall maintain two Panels of Mediators, one Panel for mediating State-to-State disputes, and the other Panel for mediating other disputes (Art. 19 of the Convention).
Mediators are designated by the Contracting States and Founding Members (Art. 20 of the Convention).
(c) Scope of disputes
Mediation is voluntary: IOMed can only act when all parties to the dispute consent before or after the dispute arises, and such consent may be withdrawn by a party unilaterally at any time, even during a mediation proceeding, except otherwise agree (Art. 24 of the Convention).
Alternative means: The Convention does not exclude parallel or subsequent resort to other means (negotiation, conciliation, arbitration, litigation), unless the parties agree otherwise in a specific case.
(d) Mediation framework
Confidential (Art. 33 of the Convention).
Private. No party shall be entitled in any other proceedings to introduce as evidence anything disclosed in the mediation (Article 34 of the Convention).
Legal status of outcomes:
If the parties reach an agreement on the terms of a settlement to resolve entirely or part of the dispute, a settlement agreement must be signed and authenticated by the Secretary-General, resulting in a binding settlement (Articles 39 and 40 of the Convention).
There is no automatic enforcement mechanism, by contrast with the NY Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards or the ICSID Convention (Art. 41 of the Convention).
C. Current status
The Convention entered into force on 29 August 2025 and is open for signature and ratification.
Contracting States: China, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Congo, Kiribati, Pakistan, Kenya, Dominica, Central African Republic.
Signatory States: Algeria, Angola, Belarus, Benin, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, China, Congo, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lao PDR, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar, Nauru, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Serbia, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Togo, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zimbabwe.
D. Relevance
– For international dispute settlement more broadly, the Convention is significant because it:
– Elevates mediation from a purely ad hoc dispute settlement mechanism to a treaty-based institutional option;
– Offers a forum and toolbox that can interact with other dispute settlement mechanisms;
– Reflects a wider movement in international law towards consensual and amicable methods of dispute resolution, not only adjudicative and adversarial ones.
E. Sources
Convention on the Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation
https://www.iomed.int/
https://www.ejiltalk.org/dripping-water-wears-through-stone-convention-on-the-establishment-of-the-international-organization-for-mediation-signed-in-hong-kong-china/