Paul Dziatkowiec is Director for Mediation and Peace Support at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). He is an experienced diplomat and conflict mediator. After over a decade in the Australian diplomatic service in various conflict environments, he has since pursued a career in mediation and peacemaking for the last twelve years.

Paul’s diplomatic career included deployments to Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific, with his most recent diplomatic posting as Australia’s Deputy Ambassador to Kenya (2009-12), during which he was the Acting Ambassador for approximately a year to Kenya, as well as Somalia, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and Tanzania, and deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Nairobi.

Earlier Paul was posted as a diplomat in Israel, and periodically served as Acting Representative to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, during the second intifada. He was also a Peace Monitor in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea following the civil war there, for which he was awarded an Australian Service medal for his efforts in ceasefire monitoring, weapons disposal and promoting reconciliation. Separately Paul has engaged in multilateral negotiations at the UN in New York, Geneva and Nairobi.

Following his career as a diplomat, Paul transitioned into conflict mediation, joining the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) in Geneva, an organisation that mediates in armed conflicts. At HD Paul was involved in mediation in diverse conflict settings including Nigeria, Myanmar, Thailand and Ukraine. He led HD’s Ukraine program for six years and engaged in peacemaking efforts in other parts of Eurasia, including at the regional and geopolitical (Europe-Russia-US) level.

For five years Paul managed the Oslo Forum, the pre-eminent global gathering for conflict mediation, where he engaged with assorted conflict and peace actors including prominent mediators like Kofi Annan and Jimmy Carter, as well as non-state armed groups, heads of state and others involved in efforts to end conflict.

In his current role at the GCSP, Paul has launched and facilitated a number of discreet dialogue processes, including on Eastern Europe/Ukraine, the Caucasus, the Middle East, the Arctic, Northeast Asia, and other regions. He also advises or provides mediation support to other organisations engaged in peacemaking.

Paul has published on various aspects of mediation and peacemaking, including with regards to Africa, the Middle East, the Arctic, and US-China relations; and he has delivered seminars on these subjects in various countries, including China, Oman, Ukraine, Japan and Switzerland.

He holds three Masters degrees, in International Law (Australian National University), International Policy Studies (University of Sydney), and International Relations (University of New South Wales), as well as a Bachelor in International Business.