Comfort Ero

🔴@crisisgroup.org’s 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2026 is out. From the battlefields of Ukraine & Sudan, to the crisis in Venezuela, to the tentative ceasefire in Gaza, we lay out the global hotspots to pay attention to this coming year with @foreignpolicy.com ⬇️ 1/3 www.crisisgroup.org/global/10-co...

🚨 Global conflicts are escalating, and EU foreign policy faces a turning point. Today @crisisgroup.org published our Autumn EU Watch List. From Ukraine to the Amazon, here's where Brussels can make a real difference. 👇 www.crisisgroup.org/euw/europe/e...

For the first time since 2000, when Ethiopia & Eritrea ended their last war, these neighbours now seem poised to engage in frontal combat. Should the two states lock horns, war could also extend across the region. It's not too late to avert an ominous scenario. www.crisisgroup.org/alr/africa/e...

Israelis go to the polls next month in what some are calling the most important elections in Israel’s history. But three years after the 7 October Hamas attacks and the chain of wars that followed are the most important issues to the outside world are actually being discussed? My latest newsletter.

“We have to be clear that this is a war of choice among the various contending elites.” @crisisgroup.org's Africa Director on the latest Hold Your Fire! Episode on escalation in northern #Ethiopia.

🚨Latest on Ethiopia: Beyond the risk of setting off an unpredictable spiral, a major escalation could push fighting close to the Ethiopia-Eritrea border, creating the potential for interstate conflict. www.crisisgroup.org/stm/africa/e...

In my new piece for @elpais.com, I look at how world leaders are gathering in New York this week praising multilateralism, but the UN is in severe distress. As the race for a new UN Secretary-General heats up, a new leader alone won't save the organisation.

✍️ NUEVO OP-ED | El declive de la ONU depende de una decisión "Casi todos [los gobiernos] se declaran partidarios de la ONU. Muy pocos actúan como si lo fuesen." @comfortero.crisisgroup.org en @elpais.com

"Aunque resulte fácil para otros gobiernos culpar a Washington, Moscú y Pekín por los males de la ONU, pocos han dado un paso al frente para ayudar a la debilitada institución." ✍️ @comfortero.crisisgroup.org en @elpais.com elpais.com/opinion/2026...

NEW OP-ED | The UN’s decline is a choice The selection of a new chief is an opportunity for governments to rally round the ailing organisation and choose a ‘general’, not a ‘secretary,’ to lead the charge, writes @comfortero.crisisgroup.org in @elpais.com. english.elpais.com/opinion/2026...

Great dialogue with DPM Mouauni, @liechtensteinun.bsky.social & @crisisgroup.org during #UNGA week. Appreciate the level of engagement and sharing of ideas at such a crucial time. Here’s to all our efforts to cause peace. @enripicco.bsky.social @fortid.crisisgroup.org @gingermjacobs.bsky.social

Is the United Nations still fit for purpose? As world leaders gather in New York for UN General Assembly, I discuss with Caitriona Perry on BBC key challenges for the next leader of the UN.

Good 3 heads defend necessity of multilateralism: “As we contend with a world order that is transforming fast, we call on other international leaders to join us in choosing co-operation over fragmentation by, law over power and shared responsibility over division.” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Sweden’s center-left political parties squeaked to victory in elections this week, according to results released on Thursday, making the country one of the first in Europe to tap the brakes on the far right’s march toward power.

What's going to be on top of the agenda at the UN General Assembly? @fortid.crisisgroup.org, our new @crisisgroup.org colleague Mariea Sekijima and I have ideas @justsecurity.org 👇 www.justsecurity.org/157177/un-ge...

With news that the Trump administration is advancing a sale of tens of thousands of 2000lb bombs to Israel, I'm reposting my article in @foreignaffairs.com from the fall of 2023. www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/washi...

It's out! @crisisgroup.org's annual reckoning with the state of the UN is here. Big congrats to @fortid.crisisgroup.org for pulling it together this year. www.crisisgroup.org/sbr/global/s...

NEW SPECIAL BRIEFING | Ten Challenges for the UN in 2026-2027 Leaders gathering at #UNGA will find a United Nations in need of revival. A new Secretary-General cannot resolve the world’s crises overnight, but they should work to address immediate challenges. www.crisisgroup.org/sbr/global/s...

Myanmar possesses some of the world’s most valuable deposits of jade, tin, gold and heavy rare earth elements. In our new investigation, my colleagues show how international demand for these key critical minerals is helping sustain war economies. A must-scroll: crisisgroup.org/visual-expla...

Brian Finucane, from the International Crisis Group NGO, says another deadly US military strike on Venezuelan boats "implicates murder statutes under US federal law.”

NEW VISUAL EXPLAINER | How Critical Minerals Link Myanmar’s Civil War to the World Electric vehicles, data centres, missiles and luxury goods rely on resources from Myanmar. @crisisgroup.org's new visual investigation shows how four key resources are intertwined with the civil war.

NEW OP-ED | Peacemaking Is Power Politics Again The post-Cold War model of institutionalised peacemaking has waned. But influential capitals are still looking to end and avoid conflicts, writes @comfortero.crisisgroup.org in @foreignpolicy.com.

Hollowed out by funding cuts just as the global order fragments, the UN faces a pivotal moment at this year’s General Assembly. In my newsletter, I look at how the UN can stay relevant, and why world leaders must demonstrate a real commitment to strengthening it before it's too late.

New @foreignpolicy.com from @comfortero.crisisgroup.org and me: "Peacemaking is Power Politics Again". foreignpolicy.com/2026/08/25/p...

"The travails of middle powers in an age of US unpredictability...Such is the fate of middle powers: planning for autonomy until the harsh reality of conflict compels them to call their distrusted patron." giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

"The average UN-related social media feed is a mish-mash of repetitive slogans about the virtues of global cooperation and photographs of middle-aged officials in suits in conference rooms in the UN basement (I am one of them)." cirsd.org/horizon-arti...

Five years after taking power, the Taliban remain global pariahs, largely of their own making. The last time the Taliban were in control, the world simply looked away. We cannot let Afghanistan be forgotten again. My latest edition of The Month Ahead 👇

NEW: Kevin Keegan, Liverpool legend, dies aged 75 #lfc

My reflections from last year on a possible U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal. Most notable features remain the same: the decoupling of nuclear issues from normalization with Israel and Trump’s political latitude in this space in comparison to a Democratic president. www.crisisgroup.org/alr/united-s...

“After more missiles are fired, ships attacked, infrastructure destroyed and civilians killed, the parties will return to the same negotiating table — only angrier and less capable of compromise.” ~ @crisisgroup.org @alivaez.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/o...

Hamas said this week that it's dissolving its government in the Gaza Strip as part of the U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement with Israel. "In practice, Hamas is still the de facto governing authority," says Amjad Iraqi, senior Israel-Palestine analyst at the International Crisis Group.

NEW BRIEFING | New Chapter, Same Stalemate: Somalia’s War with Al-Shabaab Neither side is gaining a decisive advantage. Mogadishu needs to bolster its military, alleviate suffering in areas under insurgent control and look for openings for dialogue. www.crisisgroup.org/brf/africa/s...

In Venezuela: “Every moment, every action matters. It is a race against time to find survivors.” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

📩 The Month Ahead | NATO’s Awkward, High-Stakes Summit @comfortero.crisisgroup.org unpacks what to watch in the looming meeting between Donald Trump and other alliance members in Ankara. Can NATO keep it together?

NATO leaders will convene this month. Here’s why the high-stakes meeting between Donald Trump’s White House and the transatlantic alliance, coming at a time of tremendous upheaval, could be awkward and tense. Can the alliance hold it together? My latest: www.linkedin.com/pulse/natos-...

“Dialogue is a necessary step toward addressing the grievances that have driven citizens to take up arms and enabled jihadists to expand their influence in Mali and the broader Sahel.” @franklinnoss.bsky.social in @justsecurity.org www.justsecurity.org/140398/could...

NEW REPORT | Countering Israel’s Grip on the West Bank Economy Harsh Israeli restrictions since 2023 have made matters much worse, risking instability. Outside powers should push Israel to take remedial steps so that Palestinian livelihoods can recover.

As ties between North Korea and Moscow deepen, Beijing is aggressively moving to reassert its grip. Excited for tomorrow's conversation on the high-stakes Xi-Kim summit and what it means for the security of the Korean Peninsula. us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...