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Geography, economics and migration patterns dictate that Colombia and Venezuela, which severed diplomatic ties in 2019, will confront the coronavirus pandemic together. The two countries should temporarily mend their relations, and the Venezuelan factions should pause their duel, to allow for a coordinated humanitarian response.

 This week on The Horn, Alan joins five Crisis Group analysts to analyse the pandemic's political and economic implications.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Ethiopia has delayed elections slated for August and declared a state of emergency. Authorities should now consult with the opposition on how to manage the period ahead in order to smooth the country’s stuttering transition to multi-party democracy.

COVID-19 could cause enormous damage in fragile states, trigger unrest and undermine international crisis management systems.

At least twelve conflict parties have signed on to UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s appeal for a worldwide cessation of hostilities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a promising start, and despite setbacks in some places, the Security Council should endorse the call wholeheartedly.

This week on The Horn, Alan is joined by Kenyan diplomat Ambassador Mahboub Maalim to discuss the implications of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations, the threat to multilateral institutions and the limits of virtual diplomacy.

This week on War & Peace, Olga Oliker and Hugh Pope talk to Claudia Gazzini, Crisis Group's Libya expert, about the role of foreign powers in the Libyan conflict and the fighting around Tripoli after the UN called for a global ceasefire to mobilise against the pandemic.

Disease has long been a daily concern at al-Hol, a detention camp in north-eastern Syria for families of ISIS militants, but now each death raises anxiety about COVID-19. With repatriations on hold, the UN and other international bodies must step up medical and humanitarian aid.

COVID-19 is ravaging Iran, due to government mismanagement exacerbated by the effects of U.S. sanctions. Instead of pointing fingers at each other, and again risking heightened military confrontation, Tehran and Washington should pursue humanitarian diplomacy aimed at containing the virus and releasing detainees.

The coronavirus is now present in Gaza, the populous Palestinian enclave blockaded by air, land and sea since 2007. An epidemic would be calamitous. Hamas should tighten public health measures; Israel should loosen restrictions so that medical supplies can enter and afflicted Palestinians can leave.