International Crisis Group

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International Crisis Group
Type Non-profit
NGO
Founded 1995
Headquarters Brussels, Belgium
Key people Louise Arbour, President/CEO
Method international conflict prevention
Website http://www.crisisgroup.org/

The International Crisis Group is an international, anti-conflict non-profit, non-governmental organization.

Contents

History [edit]

The International Crisis Group was founded in 1995 by World Bank Vice-President Mark Malloch Brown, former US diplomat Morton I. Abramowitz and Fred Cuny, an international disaster relief specialist who disappeared in Chechnya in 1995. Their aim was to create an organisation, wholly independent from any government, to assist governments, intergovernmental bodies and the international community at large in preventing deadly conflict.

Organization and purpose [edit]

The International Crisis Group says it gives advice to governments, and intergovernmental bodies like the United Nations, European Union and World Bank, on the prevention and resolution of deadly conflict. Its primary goals are a combination of field-based analysis, policy prescription, and aggressive advocacy, with key roles being played by a senior management team highly experienced in government and by a highly active Board of Trustees containing many senior diplomats. By its own accounts, the International Crisis Group plays a major role in six ways:

  • Ringing early warning alarm bells, in the monthly CrisisWatch bulletin, and in specific ‘crisis alerts’, e.g., in Ethiopia-Eritrea, Darfur, Somalia and Pakistan;
  • Contributing, on both process and substance, behind the scenes support and advice to critical peace negotiations, e.g., in Sudan, Burundi, Northern Uganda, Aceh, Nepal and Kenya;
  • Producing highly detailed analysis and advice on specific policy issues in scores of conflict or potential conflict situations around the world, helping policymakers in the UN Security Council, regional organisations, donor countries and others with major influence, and in the countries at risk themselves, do better in preventing, managing and resolving conflict, and in rebuilding after it;
  • Providing detailed information unobtainable elsewhere on developments regarding conflict, mass violence and terrorism of particular utility to policymakers, e.g., on the Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia and Islamic Courts Union in Somalia;
  • Offering new strategic thinking on some of the world’s most intractable conflicts and crises, e.g., on the Iran nuclear issue, the role of Islamism worldwide, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the way forward in Kosovo, Iraq and the Western Sahara; and
  • Strongly supporting a rules-based, rather than force-based, international order, in particular significantly influencing UN Resolutions and institutional structures in relation to the new international norm of the ‘responsibility to protect’.

The International Crisis Group has offices or representation in 34 locations, with teams of analysts dispatched to areas at risk of outbreak, escalation, or recurrence of conflict. Based on the information these teams gather, the organization creates analytical reports with recommendations targeted at various world leaders and organizations. In addition to this work, Crisis Group publishes a monthly newsletter, CrisisWatch, which provides a brief overview of continuing or impending violence in the world. All of the Crisis Group's reporting is available on its website.

Current officers [edit]

Crisis Group is chaired by former US Ambassador to the United Nations, Thomas R. Pickering and co-chaired by Ayo Obe and Ghassan Salamé.

Its President and Chief Executive from January 2000 was former Foreign Minister of Australia, Gareth Evans. In July 2009 he was succeeded by Louise Arbour, formerly the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Funding [edit]

Crisis Group raises funds from mainly western governments, charitable foundations, companies and individual donors. In 2011/2012, 49% of its funding came from governments, 20% from philanthropic organisations, and 31% from individuals and private foundations. Philanthropist George Soros who is chairman of the Open Society Institute is on the Board of Trustees. And its Advisory Council includes corporations like Chevron and Shell. Since it's fund mostly comes from both the governments and the companies, it is often alleged to serve the interests of either the companies or the governments or both. For instance, it awarded President Thein Sein with its peace prize. It is however ironic that when it awarded the prize, Human Rights Watch has released a report which accused Mr. Thein Sein of ethnic genocide in Burma.

Offices [edit]

Crisis Group's international headquarters are in Brussels, with advocacy offices in Washington DC (where it is based as a legal entity), New York, London and Moscow. The organisation currently operates field offices in Abuja, Bangkok, Beijing, Beirut, Bishkek, Bogotá, Bujumbura, Cairo, Dakar, Damascus, Dubai, Gaza, Guatemala City, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jakarta, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Kabul, Kathmandu, Nairobi, Port-au-Prince, Pristina, Rabat, Sanaa, Sarajevo, Seoul, Tbilisi and Tunis.

Countries and territories with ongoing Crisis Group activity [edit]

Crisis Group is also currently covering some 70 areas of actual or potential conflict (through analysts operating from regional or field bases, or consultants).

Twitter [edit]

  • Listed as one of 50 Nonprofits Every U.S. Politician Should Follow on Twitter[1]

Other notable members and staff [edit]

Board of Trustees [edit]

Executive Committee [edit]

Chairman Emeritus [edit]

President Emeritus [edit]

Criticisms [edit]

There have been some critiques on the independence of Crisis Group's board members.[2] Crisis Group has also been criticised, along with the International Criminal Court, for serving Western interests.[3] Further critiques can be found in the following articles:

References [edit]

  1. ^ http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/50-nonprofits-every-u-s-politican-should-follow-on-twitter/
  2. ^ http://mediachecker.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/the-international-crisis-group-george-soros-mohammad-elbaradei-morton-abramowiz-mark-malloch-brown/
  3. ^ http://orientalreview.org/2012/01/27/independent-libyan-fact-finding-mission/

External links [edit]

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