International Organization for Mediation

The International Organization for Mediation (IOMed; simplified Chinese: 国际调解院; traditional Chinese: 國際調解院) is an intergovernmental mediation council for international disputes. It is headquartered in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. The founding members include China, Algeria, Belarus, Cambodia, Djibouti, Indonesia, Laos, Pakistan, Serbia, and Sudan.

According to the government of the People's Republic of China, the establishment of IOMed came out its efforts to mediate a dispute between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan that started with Ethiopia's decision in 2011 to begin work on its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.^[1][2][3]

In October 2022, Ma Xinmin, ambassador of the PRC to the Republic of Sudan, and Ali Al-Sadiq Ali, the acting foreign minister of Sudan, held a signing and handover ceremony for the "Joint Statement on the Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation" at the Sudan Friendship Hall in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.^[4]

In December 2022, the Hong Kong Chief Executive in Council enacted the International Organizations (Privileges and Immunities) (Amendment) Bill 2022 in accordance with the International Organizations (Privileges and Immunities) Ordinance (Chapter 558) of the Laws of Hong Kong, with the purpose of providing privileges and immunities to the Preparatory Office of IOMed and its associated persons, and to allow Hong Kong to host the organisation itself.^[5] Hong Kong was chosen as the official headquarters due to its bilingual common law framework—Hong Kong is the only jurisdiction in China that follows common law^[6]—and due to the one country, two systems principle, under which Hong Kong has to also work with the civil law of mainland China.^[7][8]

On 16 February 2023, IOMed's Preparatory Office was established with Sun Jin appointed as its director-general^[9][10] and on 17 February 2023, representatives of the signatories of the Joint Statement on the Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation attended the inauguration ceremony, which Qin Gang, then Chinese state councillor and foreign minister, delivered a video speech.^[11]

In early 2024, it was decided that the headquarters of IOMed is to be located at the Old Wan Chai Police Station.^[12]

On 30 May 2025, the signing ceremony for the establishment of the organisation was held in Hong Kong at Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.^[13]

On 19 August 2025, the chargé d'affaire of Togo Tchaa Batchassi Gnama signed the IOMed convention in Beijing.^[14]

On 28 August 2025, the ambassador of Myanmar Tin Maung Swe signed the IOMed convention in Beijing.^[15]

On 29 August 2025, the chargé d'affaire of Central African Republic Wilfrid Emery Perks-Buwamba signed the IOMed convention in Beijing.^[16] On the same day, IOMed announced that the convention has entered into force for China, Nicaragua and Venezuela.^[17]

On 18 September 2025, the ambassador of Angola Dalva Maurĺcia Calombo Ringote Allen signed the IOMed convention in Beijing.^[18]

The central office was inaugurated in October 2025.^[19] Thirty-three countries had at that time signed the IOMed convention, with many of them being part of the Belt and Road Initiative. The opening ceremony's speaker, Wang Yi, the minister of foreign affairs, indicated that IOMed wishes for more countries to join as the it grows.^[20][21] Former Secretary for Justice and Senior Counsel Teresa Cheng was appointed as the new secretary-general at the ceremony, with the previous secretary-general Sun Jin being re-appointed as deputy secretary general.^[22]

IOMed consists of a governing council, a secretariat and a two panels of mediators.^[23] The council serves as the mediation body's primary decision-making body (responsible for policy formulation and strategic direction), is composed of one representative per member state (with alternates permitted in case of absence) and elects a chairperson and optional vice-chairpersons annually.^[23] The Secretariat handles daily operations and consists of a secretary-general (chief legal representative), one or more deputy secretaries-generals and additional staff as required.^[23] The panels of mediators consist of members who are appointed for five-year terms (which may be renewed) and serve on either the "State-to-State Mediation Panel" (handling intergovernmental disputes) or "The General Mediation Panel" (addressing other disputes covered).^[23]

Members of the International Organization for Mediation include the following countries:^[24]

According to John Lee, the chief executive of Hong Kong, IOMed would help cement the city's reputation as a top destination for resolving international disputes and would have a status that would be on par with the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration.^[28] According to Paul Lam, the secretary for justice of Hong Kong, the body's establishment came as "hostile external forces are attempting to de-internationalise and de-functionalise" the city.^[28] Nikkei Asia reported that IOMed was "backed by mostly friendly states [of China]", and that while its history dated back to 2022, its formal establishment only came "with the second Trump administration pushing a raft of unilateral trade and foreign policies."^[12]

• Official website