International Experience

Hassan (12) and Emir (8) Muhtasseb arrested by the Israeli Military

Palestine/Israel 2010/11

• Gerry OSullivan was contracted to become an Ecumenical Accompanier in Israel/Palestine for 3 months from 2nd January 2010. The EAPPI is an ecumenical initiative whose mission is to accompany Palestinians and Israelis in their non-violent actions and concerted advocacy efforts to end the occupation. Participants of the programme monitor and report violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, support acts of non-violent resistance alongside local Christian and Muslim Palestinians and Israeli peace activists, offering protection through non-violent presence, engaging in public policy advocacy.

  Gerry O’Sullivan presented as a witness to the Joint Oireachtas (Government) Committee on European Affairs on the 27th July 2010 regarding the arrests and torture of Palestinian children. Webcast recording: Committee Debate (27 July 2010)

  She travelled to Brussels with an EAPPI delegation on the last week of October 2010 to lobby members of the European Parliament and the European Commission.

 Download Gerry's diary of her 3 months in The West Bank in 2010



Stolen Children, Stolen Lives

is a documentary filmed and produced by Gerry O'Sullivan after her second visit to Hebron in 2011. Stolen Children, Stolen Lives is edited by Cara Holmes.

Serbia 2009

• She is a member of Mediators Beyond Borders - Partnering for Peace & Reconciliation.This is an international non-profit, humanitarian organization established to partner with communities worldwide to build their conflict resolution capacity for preventing, resolving and healing from conflict.
• Assisted Lynn Cole, U.S. lawyer, mediator and arbitrator and founding member of Mediators Beyond Borders, in the delivery of an advanced commercial mediation course to Serb mediators in Beograd, Serbia.
• Assisted in the initiation of a Mediators Beyond Borders University Chapter in Beograd University.
• Researched the possible development of a training intervention on mediation with Serbs in Kosovo.

Northern Ireland 2001

• Gerry engaged, and was invited to live, with the Loyalist Community in the Glenbryn Estate (the heart of the conflict) during the Ardoyne school/community dispute in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2001. Assisted the Mediator in conflict resolution work with the committee from the Loyalist community that was managing and directing the events during the street protests.  These protests were against the Catholic families using the route through the Loyalist enclave in order to bring their children to school.  This work included assisting the Mediator in interviews with the leaders of loyalist paramilitary groups.

Accredited Training in the area of International Conflict Dispute Resolution

• “Inter-community Mediation in Post Conflict Countries” CSSP Project for Integrative Mediation, Berlin. 2009
• “Evaluation and Assessment of Peace Interventions” INCORE, University of Ulster . 2003
• “An Introduction to Conflict Management” Iwaskiw & Associates. Hosted in Belfast in conjunction with Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation. 2001
• “Negotiating in Conflict Situations” L. Prevost, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Washington. Hosted in Belfast in conjunction with Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation. 2002

Membership of Professional Bodies

• Member of Mediators Beyond Borders - Partnering for Peace & Reconciliation. This is an international non-profit, humanitarian organization established to partner with communities worldwide to build their conflict resolution capacity for preventing, resolving and healing from conflict. This partnership involves the design and implementation of sustainable peace building initiatives responsive to the needs and culture of the communities, and to the history of each conflict.
• Panelist mediator/trainer with CSSP Project for Integrative Mediation, Berlin. CSSP is a non-profit organization working on improving interethnic relations in conflict areas. The organization developed out of the Office of the International Mediator in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Out of the Bosnia experiences, CSSP developed Integrative Mediation, a comprehensive approach to mediation that includes various levels of responsibility, multiple actors and a variety of mediation tools.