http://www.crisisgroup.org The International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict. en-us Copyright 2009 Crisis Group Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:33:54 +0100 360 http://www.crisisgroup.org/rss/CrisisGroup.jpg http://www.crisisgroup.org http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6393 Read op-ed ]]> Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6394 Read op-ed ]]> Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6395 Read op-ed ]]> Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6390 Read op-ed ]]> Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6386 The international community should take a firm decision to reinforce and transform its engagement in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) at the 18-19 November meeting of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) or risk growing instability. Since the end of the war in 1995, Bosnia's leaders, supervised by the Office of the High Representative (OHR), have made slow progress towards creation of a functional common state. The conflict between Serb leaders and the OHR now risks creating a real crisis and undermining the functioning of the Bosnian state. The PIC should reinforce the Bosnian state, close OHR and create strong alternative stabilising measures, including a reinforced EU Special Representative with a strong mandate, an extended EUFOR mandate and rapid NATO membership.

Read more ]]> Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6387 Read op-ed ]]> Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6383 President Mahmoud Abbas’s threat not to run in the next elections is only the latest sign of the crisis facing Fatah, the movement he heads.  Fatah’s challenge is to clearly define its agenda, how to carry it out and with whom.  While Fatah has begun long-overdue internal reforms to revitalise the movement, much remains to be done. In particular, Fatah’s leaders need to clarify its political strategy if it is to play an effective role in leading Palestinians toward a two-state solution.

Read full report ]]> Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6385 Read op-ed ]]> Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6382 Read op-ed ]]> Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6381 Read op-ed ]]> Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6376 Against the spirit of the constitution, President Hugo Chávez is accelerating his “Bolivarian Revolution” by implementing radical laws that affect basic rights and liberties and thwart the political opposition’s fair chances in the September 2010 legislative elections. This update briefing examines how in 2009 the Chávez government has progressively abandoned core principles of liberal democracy. The executive has increased its power and provoked unrest internally by further politicising the armed forces and the oil sector. The government’s lack of capacity to correct serious deficiencies in the management of the state is provoking increasing social protest.

Read more ]]> Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6379 Read op-ed ]]> Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6378 Read op-ed ]]> Wed, 4 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6375 Read op-ed ]]> Tue, 3 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6371 Read full report ]]> Mon, 2 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6370 China's internal debate following North Korea's most recent provocations was interpreted in some Western capitals as a sign that Beijing is finally getting tough with its neighbour. The latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines current Chinese policy toward Pyongyang in the wake of North Korea's latest round of provocations, including missile launches, the withdrawal from the Six-Party Talks, and the 25 May nuclear test. These events, together with succession worries, drew out an unusually public, and critical, discussion in China about its ties with North Korea.

Read full report ]]> Mon, 2 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6372 Three actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and four improved in October 2009, according to CrisisWatch. In Pakistan a military operation against the Taliban in South Waziristan triggered a brutal escalation in militant attacks. Over 150 were killed in Iraq by several explosions that hit government buildings in Baghdad, while parliamentarians failed to reach agreement on a crucial electoral law. In Zimbabwe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai disengaged from the unity government. The situation improved in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, Honduras, Armenia/Turkey and Mali. CrisisWatch again identifies a conflict resolution opportunity between Armenia and Turkey for November, and a conflict risk alert for Afghanistan.

Read full report ]]> Sun, 1 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6358 Read media release ]]> Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6361 Read op-ed ]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6357 Read op-ed ]]> Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6356 The military operation in South Waziristan is unlikely to succeed in curbing the spread of religious militancy in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), unless the Pakistan government implements political reforms in that part of the country. Crisis Group examines the Talibanisation in FATA, and argues that only reforms that encourage political diversity, enhance economic opportunity, and guarantee civil and political rights will address the problem. So far, short-sighted military policies have aggravated the conflict’s impact on inhabitants and fuelled Islamic militancy. The consequences are dramatic: over one million people – one third of FATA’s population – have been displaced, and the numbers are growing.

Read full report ]]> Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6355 Read op-ed ]]> Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6354 Read op-ed ]]> Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6352 Read op-ed ]]> Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6350 Read op-ed ]]> Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6351 Read op-ed ]]> Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6349 If military rule in Guinea is not rapidly ended, there is a serious risk the country will slide into a civil war that could destabilise all West Africa. Crisis Group’s latest policy briefing focuses on the events of 28 September – when security forces killed at least 160 people in a crackdown on opposition to the military regime - and their implications for the stability of the country and the sub-region. It discusses dangerous fractures within the military and signs that various members are raising ethnic militias, warns that Guineans will not accept an attempt by the army to remain in power and calls for the end of military rule and a re-opening of the democratic transition process.

Read more ]]> Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6353 Read speech ]]> Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6347 Read op-ed ]]> Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6346 Local elections on 15 November provide a key opportunity for Kosovo Serbs to choose their own representatives and push forward on decentralisation, if they do not listen to Belgrade’s calls to boycott. This latest briefing from the International Crisis Group focuses on the Štrpce municipality, one of southern Kosovo’s largest Serb enclaves, to demonstrate how Serb communities can protect their interests within Kosovo’s constitutional order. Belgrade, Pristina and the international community should encourage voting and thereafter equip the municipal government with the expanded powers and resources it needs.

Read more ]]> Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6348 Read op-ed ]]> Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6343 Read speech ]]> Fri, 9 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6338 Armenia and Azerbaijan should endorse a document on basic principles to end stalemate on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by the end of the year, or they will face an eventual return to full-scale hostilities. The International Crisis Group’s latest policy briefing examines the two-decades-old conflict and concludes there is reason for optimism that the political stalemate can be broken in today’s more supportive regional environment. However, it also warns that both governments and the international community must step up their efforts, as the status quo is increasingly untenable.

Read more ]]> Wed, 7 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6336 Read op-ed ]]> Fri, 2 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6337 Read op-ed ]]> Fri, 2 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6324 Read full report ]]> Thu, 1 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6335 Read speech ]]> Thu, 1 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6329 Read op-ed ]]> Thu, 1 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6334 Read speech ]]> Thu, 1 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6339 Read op-ed ]]> Thu, 1 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6341 Read speech ]]> Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6323 Read op-ed ]]> Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6332 Read speech ]]> Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6330 Negotiating Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders must join forces and embrace a collaborative, federal reunification of the island in the next few months, or see their efforts overtaken by the unstoppable dynamic of a hostile partition. Leaders now face a last brief window of opportunity to implement the 30-year-old idea that the large Greek Cypriot and the small Turkish Cypriot communities can live together in a federal republic of two constituent states.

Read full report ]]> Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6318 Arabs and Kurds must urgently agree to a power-sharing deal, joint patrols in disputed areas and protection of minority groups to prevent escalating violence in Ninewa from endangering what remains highly fragile and uneven progress in Iraq. The Iraqi government and the Kurdistan regional government must take steps to resolve bilateral issues, including the status of disputed territories, the management and allocation of resources, and the division of power. Ninewa’s key political actors, al-Hadbaa and the Brotherhood List, should agree on an interim deal that gives the latter a fair share of power, while allowing the former to govern effectively.

Read full report ]]> Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT