Mediation Support
COMESA undertakes conflict resolution through the COMESA Committee of Elders (CCoE). The Committee was established through a Decision of the Seventh Meeting of the COMESA Ministers of Foreign Affairs and adopted by the COMESA Authority (Heads of State) during its 11th Summit, held in Djibouti in November 2006. The Elders serve as mediators for deployment by the Office of the Secretary General.
The first set of the COMESA Committee of Elders was elected by the Ninth Meeting of the COMESA Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Zimbabwe in 2009 and appointed by the Thirteenth Summit of the COMESA Authority on 8 June 2009 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe to serve for a four-year term. Since then, other appointments have been made and the maximum number of Elders at any given time is nine. To support the work of the Committee, the Secretariat has developed a number of documents to guide their work, including the Rules of Procedure, Mediation Guidelines, and Mediation Handbooks. COMESA has also developed a Mediation Strategy to guide the work of the Committee, Member States, and other stakeholders.
Once appointed, the COMESA Committee of Elders mostly undertake preventive diplomacy assignments in the form of pre-election assessment missions, which have in some cases been done in close collaboration with the African Union Panel of the Wise (PoW). The Elders have also supported the resolution of conflicts in the region through fact-finding missions and have served as Mission Leaders for the various COMESA Election Observer Missions.