Weekly Update for the Week of 4 December 2011

REPORTS

Brčko Unsupervised
The international community should start a process to close its supervision of Bosnia’s Brčko District at its meeting next week and develop a new strategy to better help domestic institutions address governance challenges and corruption, while retaining the ability to sanction any attempts to undermine security. Босански (8 December)

Waging Peace: ASEAN and the Thai-Cambodian Border Conflict
The violent border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia earlier this year have challenged the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to turn its rhetoric into action, but to achieve peace and security more robust diplomacy is required to end a still unresolved conflict. ไทย (6 December)

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URGENT MEDIA RELEASE

DR Congo: Saving the Elections
A week after presidential and legislative polls, the Democratic Republic of Congo faces a political crisis that could plunge it back into major violence. Preliminary results, expected today, risk sparking opposition protests that, in turn, prompt heavy-handed repression by Congolese security forces and wider disorder. To avert violence, Congolese authorities must take urgent measures to salvage a reasonably representative result out of a badly flawed process. The United Nations, African Union and European Union must work together to mediate with Congolese leaders a way out of the crisis. Communiqué en français (8 December)  

COMMENTARY

Côte d’Ivoire : Laurent Gbagbo, la CPI et le “gban-gban” salvateur
Gilles Yabi, Jeune Afrique, 9 décembre

La guerre et la décomposition planent sur le Soudan d’Al-Bachir
Alain Délétroz, Le Temps, 8 décembre

Ethnic Interests Could Trump Economic Sense
Joost Hiltermann, Financial Times, 7 December

US Troop Withdrawal from Iraq
Joost Hiltermann, Conservative Middle East Council, 5 December

Más allá de la diplomacia: retos en la frontera Colombo-Venezolana
Silke Pfeiffer & Hugo Eduardo Ramírez, La Razón Pública, 4 de diciembre

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PODCAST

CrisisWatch N°100
This month’s podcast reviews developments for the month of November, highlighting conflict risk alerts in DR Congo and in Syria, and deteriorated situations in Afghanistan, Burundi, Kosovo, Pakistan, South Sudan and Sudan. Situations improved in Burma/Myanmar, Morrocco, Nepal and Tunisia. (6 December)

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INTERVIEWS

Invité Afrique: Gilles Yabi
Gilles Yabi, directeur du projet Afrique de l’Ouest d’International Crisis Group, analyse la stratégie et l’attitude de l’ancien président ivoirien Laurent Gbagbo, lors de sa première audience lundi à la Cour pénale internationale à La Haye. (7 décembre)

Invité spécial de la rédaction: Alain Délétroz
Alain Délétroz, vice-président d’International Crisis Group, analyse les conflits en Libye, Syrie et Côte d’Ivoire. Il déplore notamment le dernier discours du président syrien Bachar Al-Assad, dans lequel aucune réforme n’a été annoncée. (6 décembre)

Invité Afrique: Thierry Vircoulon
Avant la proclamation du vainqueur de l’élection présidentielle en République Démocratique du Congo, Thierry Vircoulon, directeur du projet Afrique centrale d’International Crisis Group, revient sur la crédibilité des chiffres de la Commission électorale nationale indépendante. (6 décembre)

VIDEO

Sudan: The Rebel Alliance
A new alliance of Darfur rebel groups with the declared goal of regime change threatens the Doha peace process. Fouad Hikmat, Crisis Group’s African Union and Sudan Special Adviser, explains that if the peace process is to have any chance of success, it must be inclusive. (7 December)

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SUPPORT CRISIS GROUP

A Message from Louise Arbour

Invest in peace today with a contribution to Crisis Group and have five times the impact with our 5 to 1 year-end challenge that will match gifts up to a total of $100,000 received before 31 December. Your support is critical to our efforts to prevent deadly conflicts worldwide. Thanks to those of you who are making our cause your own.

To make a contribution, please click here or contact Danielle Gimblett at +1 212 813 0820.  

EVENTS

In Pursuit of Peace Award Dinner
New York, 16 December 2011

Reserve your ticket or table today for Crisis Group’s In Pursuit of Peace Award Dinner in New York on 16 December 2011. Limited spaces available.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on the vital role that women play in advancing international peace and security. With CNN’s Wolf Blitzer presiding as master of ceremonies and a special performance by Grammy Award-winning recording artist Sarah McLachlan, it promises to be a spectacular evening. Join Crisis Group President Louise Arbour and event co-chairs Frank Giustra, Rita Hauser, Marc Lasry, and Mark Malloch-Brown, as well as many others from the business and diplomatic communities for a most memorable occasion in support of Crisis Group’s mission to prevent and resolve deadly conflict.

Click here for event details and more on our honorees. Register or make a gift online today.

Save the Date: Crisis Group Asia Briefings 2012
Singapore & Jakarta, 21 - 23 February 2012

Crisis Group is pleased to announce its next Asia Briefings will take place in Singapore and Jakarta on 21 and 23 February 2012. These one-day, high-level events will be led by Crisis Group’s senior staff and examine urgent issues and solutions concerning major conflict flashpoints across the region. The briefing offers participants the opportunity to hear from and interact with specialists on a wide range of issues including extremism and conflict in Indonesia, political reforms and polarisation in Myanmar and Thailand and security concerns across the Korean Peninsula and South China Sea.

For more information and to reserve your seat, please contact events@crisisgroup.org. Early-bird registration available at a discounted rate through 31 December 2011.