Originially from: World Arbitration and Mediation Review (WAMR) 

International Dispute Resolution
by
Senator George J. Mitchell
[The following article consists of excerpts from a speech given by Senator Mitchell on
February 26, 2004 at Penn State The Dickinson School of Law. From 1980 to 1995, George J.
Mitchell served as a United States Senator (D-ME). Additionally, from 1989 to 1995, he served
as the Senate majority leader. Throughout his career in the U.S. Senate, Senator Mitchell
enjoyed bipartisan respect. It was said, “there is not a man, woman or child in the Capitol who
does not trust George Mitchell.” For six consecutive years, a bipartisan group of senior
congressional aides named Senator Mitchell as “the most respected member” of the Senate.
After his tenure in the Senate, Senator Mitchell served as chair of the Peace Negotiations
in Northern Ireland. Under his leadership, the governments of the Republic of Ireland and the
United Kingdom, as well as the political parties of Northern Ireland, agreed to the historic Good
Friday Agreement, which ended decades of political and religious conflict in Northern Ireland.
In May 1998, the voters of Ireland, both in the North and South overwhelmingly endorsed the
agreement in a referendum. For his service there, Senator Mitchell received numerous awards
and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian honor the United
States government can give; the Philadelphia Liberty Medal; the Truman Institute Peace Prize;
the German (Hesse) Peace Prize; and the United Nations (UNESCO) Peace Prize.
At the request of President Clinton, Prime Minister Barak, and Chairman Arafat, Senator
Mitchell served as chair of an International Fact-Finding Committee on violence in the Middle
East. The committee’s recommendation, widely known as The Mitchell Report, received
endorsements from the Bush administration, the European Union, and by many other
governments.
Senator Mitchell is the author of four books. With his colleague, Senator Bill Cohen of
Maine, he wrote Men of Zeal, describing the Iran-Contra investigation. In 1990, Senator
Mitchell wrote, World on Fire, describing the threat of the greenhouse effect and recommending
steps to curb it. His next book, published in 1997, was Not For America Alone: The Triumph of
Democracy and The Fall of Communism. In 1999, Senator Mitchell wrote Making Peace, an
account of his experience in Northern Ireland.]
I’ve traveled throughout the world. I’ve been very fortunate in that respect and I’ve
found that people in every part of the world are drawn to and attracted by what they’ve come to
know as American values. They are not easily summarized but they surely include the primacy
of individual liberty, the concept of equal justice under law, and, perhaps most importantly, the
aspiration that there will be opportunity for every member of society—no matter his or her
background, no matter his or her circumstance.
At the same time many people around the world strongly disagree with some of our
nation’s policies. Not in my lifetime has there been so much hostility, in every part of the world,
toward the United States. Many object to what they believe is the unilateralism of the current