Captain selected for African mediation project

  • Published
  • By Annette Crawford
  • Air Force Recruiting Service Public Affairs
Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph. Texas --  Air Force officer. Operations Flight commander. Columbia University research fellow.

Capt. Omar Johnson of the 314th Recruiting Squadron fills all those titles, and can now add one more: one of 10 members of the African Union Mediation Capacity Project.

The project was hosted by the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) in Durban, South Africa, July 3-20. Johnson was one of two Americans on the team, which also include two representatives from South Africa, and one each from Germany, Canada, Kenya, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan.

As a research fellow, Johnson worked on the literature that built the African Union Mediation Capacity Project. He has a Master of Arts in Leadership and is working toward a Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. When he finishes his studies at Columbia next year he'll receive a Master of Science degree.

"This is the second year that Columbia has sent students to study in South Africa but the first time that they have become involved in building a project with ACCORD," said the Abilene, Texas, native. "I was excited, proud and humbled at being selected for the
mediation team project."

The captain said the project began when the African Union noticed an increase in violent conflicts on the African continent, and found the best way to deal with these conflicts was through mediation. Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution process through the use of a third party, either neutral or impartial, that facilitates the parties in dispute to come to a resolution.

"The African Union is using mediation for two reasons: it helps reduce the violence between parties and it is more cost-effective than other forms of dispute resolution," Johnson said. "However, the African Union understood that in order to be successful, mediators need to have the skills necessary for getting hostile parties to agree to resolve the dispute."

Additionally, that mediator needed to be someone who the parties would listen to, such as a fellow head of state or a top religious leader, supported by a mediation team, Johnson explained. So in 2008, the African Union created the Conflict Management Division which specifically deals with supporting mediation efforts on the continent.

"The first obstacle was their lack of capacity in terms of training, expertise and financing the process," Johnson said. "That's when ACCORD stepped up to provide the training and expertise they needed to support the mediation process across the continent."

African heads of state and other potential mediators were trained through simulations, course work, and role plays - all part of the mediation training curriculum that Johnson helped create.

"The goal was that at the end of training, all trainees would be able to fully operate as a mediator in resolving disputes across the continent. The first training class was able to begin on 29 July as a result of the team's hard work on the project," he said.

Before joining Air Force Recruiting Service in August 2012, Johnson served at the 437th Aerial Port Squadron at Joint Base Charleston, S.C., and the 52nd Logistics Readiness Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. He feels that having a basic understanding of mediation can assist anyone in their everyday life.

"Try and place yourself in the other disputant's shoes. Think about what they feel and why they could be feeling that way. Use active listening techniques to allow the person to express what their underlying interests are," Johnson said.

"Many get stuck in their positions and because of a lack of listening, the real interests are never brought to the surface and addressed," he said. "Instead of 'Do it my way' or 'Let's compromise' try the collaborative approach. This enables both sides to have a stake in the problem-solving process. When both sides have buy-in, both sides tend to fight for and defend the collaborative agreement. As much as possible, we should try and address disputes between parties at the lowest level."

Johnson joined the Air Force in 2007 because he wanted to "make a difference in our world." It looks like he got his wish.