Key points

• The mediation and implementation of the Maputo Accord for Peace and
  National Reconciliation (Maputo Accord) in Mozambique (signed in 2019)
  offer lessons on breaking with conventional and traditional approaches to
  peace processes in order to achieve success.
• The mediation of the Maputo Accord put Mozambican actors in the driving
  seat of the process. This approach foregrounded the agency of the parties
  through a human-centred process design that prioritised the dignity of
  Mozambican actors and the country itself.
• The mediation was underpinned by a flexible and agile approach built on
  networked dialogue, adaptive mediation, and incremental implementation
  based on trust and relationships between mediators and the Principals.
• The strategic leadership of the mediators was a core component of the
  success of the mediation process and emphasised the values of humility
  and empathy, and the centrality of working in a team.
• The process leading to the signing of the Maputo Accord was made possible
  by effective financial coordination between international actors such as
  donors, contact groups, and embassy staff that prioritised core trust-based
  funding over project-based short-term support.
• The process prioritised an approach of “bespoke inclusion” that was co-created
  with the parties.
• These flexible, agile, and creative approaches to mediation process design
  decentre mediation actors and centre the parties themselves. These principles
  can offer lessons for a mediation field characterised by fragmentation,
  mistrust and polarisation.