Conciliation Commissions Successfully Mediate Diverse Cases

Conciliation Commissions in the nine target communities have mediated cases in the following areas, demonstrating the growing capacity and breadth of these groups to prevent and resolve community conflicts. The cases below are illustrative of the mediation work that the Commissions undertake:

Community: Neighbors disagreed on the time and volume of music coming from their residences, leading to arguments that disrupted the entire neighborhood. The mediation resulted in an agreement between the parties to limit the hours music can be played, and the community dispute has not resurfaced since.

Family: Arguments were frequent between a father and his son. During the mediation session, the father admitted to suffering from alcoholism, recognizing this problem as the source of their conflict. His family members are now working together to help him overcome his disease.

Housing: In a conflict between a housing superintendent and a cleaning service over the condition of building common areas, the parties agreed during mediation that the dwelling inhabitants would take greater responsibility in keeping the common areas clean and that the Housing Board would conduct cleaning crew performance reviews.

Education: A Roma student did not come to class because he felt a teacher picked on him and he was ashamed of his poor hygiene, and likewise, the teacher resented the student. A mediation with the teacher, student and parents succeeded in opening lines of communication between the parties involved, and a commitment by all parties to prioritize the child’s classroom attendance.

Discrimination: The dispute involved members of the Roma Minority Self Government and a local kindergarten. The school application form asked potential students to indicate whether they were Roma, which often determined whether these mentally sound children would be moved to “special schools,” institutions for children with severe learning disabilities. As a result of the mediation, the question was removed from the form.

Inter-ethnic conflict: Two Roma and non-Roma men lived together in a shelter and argued constantly; often these episodes led to violence. Mediation provided an opportunity for the two men to understand how to effectively communicate, and with the Commission’s assistance, the parties generated solutions to mitigate their everyday conflicts, and no longer use violence to solve their disputes.

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