“The usual thing for a politician is to control himself when he has a microphone in front of him and say whatever he thinks to someone else in private. In Venezuela no, here it’s the other way around: what you negotiate privately or say to a politician is amplified with a microphone in front of you. We are not a guarantee of discretion.” A high-profile Venezuelan politician often uses the anecdote to explain some of the reasons that make it difficult to negotiate a way out of the institutional crisis in the Caribbean country listens, she nods and doesn’t hide a smile as she looks at Idun Tvedt, Deputy Director of the Peace and Reconciliation Department at the Nordic Chancellery. Both in their different capacities have suffered from the complexity of Venezuelan politicians. And not only. They are part of the most discreet actor in the world’s recent peace processes: this is Norway’s peace diplomacy.
The first time Norway, a country of about 5.5 million people, got involved in a peace process was in Guatemala in the 1990s at the request of civil society groups. What they admit began with “many, many failures” was the foundation on which peace diplomacy was built. After Guatemala came the negotiations between Israel and Palestine; in Sudan, Mali, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Venezuela… At least 40 peace processes in the world involving about 120 Norwegian diplomats, including a special department created 20 years ago, in which 16 workers work, a kind of elite command for world peace and reconciliation. “We don’t travel the world, we seek conflict or put pressure on the parties [para que se sienten a hablar]but when they approach us and we see that we can do it, we share the moderation knowledge we have acquired,” says Huitfeldt happily.
Enable, not mediate. The Norwegian foreign minister made several distinctions during the talks, which took place recently in the Mexican capital in front of the Bosque de Chapultepec lake. A few hours from there, Norway just held a retreat for conflict resolution professionals; and closer to the gigantic urban forest, to the south of the city, a team is part of talks between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN), Latin America’s last active guerrillas. The previous trial in that country with the FARC is one of the greatest achievements of Norwegian diplomacy, the chancellor of which highlights one of the greatest achievements, perhaps because of its complexity: “We have spoken to all the actors in the conflict, including those we are condemning. At that time it was disputed whether we did it with the Taliban, Hezbollah, Hamas or the FARC itself. We can be criticized for that, but we believe that this is the only way to resolve a conflict.”
Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt speaks with Idun Tvedt, Deputy Director of the Nordic Chancellery’s Peace and Reconciliation Department. Hector Guerrero
Huitfeldt structures Norway’s work around four ideas: “The first is that we have to be discreet, we don’t usually appear in the media. If the parties want to say something, they can, but we only if they don’t agree. This is an exception,” he jokes. “For us as moderators, impartiality is a basic principle,” the Norwegian Chancellor continued. “We’re not pressuring, we’re a small country with an army and a small economy, we can’t push them to cooperate! What we can do is facilitate conversations and try to understand what solutions we can suggest. Peace can only be achieved if the parties are willing to work towards a political solution.” The fact that Norway is impartial in a negotiation does not mean that it is neutral. For example, with the Taliban, who they condemn. “At We cannot be neutral on issues such as women’s or children’s rights.”
One of the clearest examples of the achievements that have brought discretion, restraint and impartiality came from Venezuela. Norway was one of the few full-fledged democracies not to recognize Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president in 2019, a bet that brought the world’s greatest powers to their knees. “If we had done that, we would not have been able to take on the moderator role,” says Idun Tvedt.
The only case where impartiality becomes a chimera is Ukraine. “We can’t because we have a border with Russia,” notes Huitfeldt, who cites as an example the military support his country has given to Ukraine, the first time Norway has supplied arms since it occurred off Cuba’s push by Fidel Castro. “Defending Ukraine against invasion and the consequences of the war at world level requires our attention, we can support Ukraine with our experience of peace and reconciliation if they wish,” he adds.
Patience is another pillar on which the Norwegian chancellor structures the experience gained. The peace process between the government of Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC has been going on for at least a decade: first the secret phase; then the table in Havana and later the implementation of the agreement. Norway was present at all stages. “Patience is another key. The parties have to realize that Norway will be there in good times and in bad, they have to trust us.” These “moments” mean years of comings and goings, testing the terrain, the actors, making sure, the two diplomats explain, who the parties represent and whether they are the right representatives, something whose complexity is multiplied when one verifies who is whom the interlocutors of an armed group are.
Members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) wave white peace flags during a memorial ceremony to commemorate the completion of their disarmament process Fernando Vergara (AP)
After explaining Norway’s evolution in the peace processes and operation and the lessons learned over the years, the Chancellor comes to a point that she believes is key to explaining how it was possible to get here and that she doesn’t stop embarrassing interlocutors: “There are more chances to fail than to win,” he says without hesitation, which Tvedt complements with an optimistic vision: “Conflicts are becoming more and more complex, but there is also more demand for mediation, most of which end in Eventually a month of negotiations. Even if the efforts are not enough, they are not in vain. The chances of finding a peaceful solution later may have increased. And in the meantime, they may have saved thousands of lives.”
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