A mediator, Victor Emmanuel, has said that mediation plays a key role in resolving conflicts and boosting investor confidence, noting that strong dispute resolution systems help prevent breakdowns in relationships and support economic growth.
Speaking during a Radio Generation interview on Tuesday, he described mediation as a structured system that works through three stages: preventing disputes, managing those that arise, and resolving those that cannot be avoided. He said this approach helps reduce conflict across different levels of society and business, while also improving trust in institutions.
Emmanuel explained that his work involves engaging with different stakeholders, including governments, communities and organisations, to address disputes at various points before they escalate.
“I work with various actors helping them prevent disputes, manage disputes and resolve disputes,” he added, noting that mediation and negotiation remain central to his practice.
He shared that he entered mediation after a short time in legal practice, saying the shift was driven by a search for more purpose in his work. “I went to law school and I did practice for one year, but I wasn’t getting the kind of fulfillment and so mediation came to mind,” he said.
Emmanuel pointed to global leaders who shaped his thinking on peaceful conflict resolution. “During my formative years, I always looked up to men like Martin Luther King of USA, Mahatma Gandhi of India, Nelson Mandela,” he said, adding that they “used this amazing art of mediation to bring their people together.”
He described mediation as a process of repairing broken ties in society and business. “We pick up pieces of families, we pick up pieces of business ventures and try to put together a masterpiece,” he said. “The masterpiece could be a solution, a handshake, a hug between a wife and a husband.”
He stressed that conflict is unavoidable in human life. “there is no immune or vaccine against disputes or conflicts,” he said, noting that disagreements are a natural part of everyday interactions.
On investment and legal systems, Emmanuel said there is “a close relationship between rule of law and investment,” arguing that investors tend to avoid environments where legal systems are weak or inconsistent.
“Any rational investor is not likely to put the money in a country where the rule of law is fragmented,” he said.
He added that strong dispute resolution systems make countries more attractive to investors by ensuring fairness and access to justice when disagreements arise. “If you’re an investor, you want to invest in a country where, in the event a dispute arises, you have access to courts [and] procedural justice fairness,” he explained.
Emmanuel also highlighted the role of the Singapore Convention on Mediation, which supports enforcement of cross-border mediation agreements. He said it addresses a key gap where settlement agreements reached through mediation can be enforced in other countries.
“The problem it’s trying to solve is that you can have a mediation and this mediation agreement can actually be enforced” in another country, he said.
The United Nations-backed treaty, formally known as the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, was adopted in December 2018 and opened for signature in Singapore in August 2019. It provides a global framework for recognising and enforcing mediated commercial agreements across borders.
He noted that countries such as Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda have already ratified it, while others are still in the process. He called for wider adoption, saying, “it’s about time that we ratified the Singapore convention.”
Reflecting on recent discussions in the mediation field, Emmanuel said dialogue remains central in building trust in the process. “This is how we consolidate and build confidence of the public into such kind of processes,” he said.
He added that mediation continues to grow and must adapt to changing global realities. “mediation is an evolving profession, laws that must evolve to new realities,” he said, noting its expansion from community disputes to complex international commercial cases.
Emmanuel concluded that as global economies become more connected, stronger mediation systems will be key in reducing conflict, improving stability and attracting investment.
https://x.com/RadioGenKe/status/2046481762197389478?s=20