ABSTRACT
The mediation efforts by the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) and Vance offer some strong similarities. This chapter offers a set of categories into which the actions of the EPG and the United Nations can be characterized. The EPG’s basis objectives were in the Commonwealth Accord on Southern Africa. The EPG had the powers to punish; before the mission went underway, the Commonwealth had agreed on an arsenal of punitive action against South Africa: an arms embargo, discouraging sports contacts and various economic measures. By contrast, the UN was operating in a very different political environment. As for the South African case, while South Africa’s players did initiate the negotiation process on their own and on their own terms, and in the process were able to resolve their conflict, international mediation did play an important role in crucial stages of the conflict-resolution process.
