Proud day for Singapore as it leads signing breakthrough international mediation treaty

A group photo with UN Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, ministers and representatives from the various countries. (MCI)

Singapore: Singapore led 45 other countries, including the United States and China, in signing a new international treaty on mediation named after Singapore.

The breakthrough treaty will enable the enforcement of mediated settlement agreements among the signatory countries.

The Singapore Convention Signing Ceremony and Conference, co-organised by the Singapore Ministry of Law and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, was attended by more than 1,500 delegates from across the world.

In his speech, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the breakthrough treaty demonstrates that countries with effort, creativity and leadership are capable of achieving consensus.

“The Singapore Convention is also a powerful statement in support of multilateralism,” at a time when multilateralism is under pressure, he said.

Singapore was the first country to sign the Convention on Mediation (MCI)

In comments he posted on his Facebook account, he expressed his immense pride and deep elation.

“A special and proud day for Singapore! Representatives from 46 countries met this morning to sign the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, a.k.a. the Singapore Convention on Mediation,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.

“It is the first UN treaty to be named after Singapore (and to have an orchid named after it)!”

The Singapore Convention will let parties involved in cross-border commercial disputes enforce mediated settlements in court, he added.

“It will provide more certainty to businesses, and advance international trade, commerce and investment. It will encourage the use of mediation to resolve disputes, instead of resorting to arbitration or litigation. It also affirms countries’ support for multilateralism. It shows that countries are capable of coming together to reach consensus, make binding commitments, and rely on international rules-based frameworks to settle disputes,” the PM said.

“This Convention took three years of hard work and negotiations. My thanks to our Ministry of Law and Ministry of Foreign Affairs teams for excellent work with their international counterparts, which made this breakthrough possible!”