“We are concerned about the degree of retaliation taking place,” said Comfort Ero, head of the International Crisis Group Gaza stripwhich led to the killing of more than 17 thousand Palestinians, and a number of innocent children, women and men, and that her group was one of the first organizations to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in order to avoid the catastrophe and “this humanitarian madness that we see.”
And on the sidelines Doha Forum Which was held last few days in the Qatari capital, Airo added – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that “we have never seen the scene of conflict in the world so bleak and disastrous,” and with the rise in geopolitical tensions and regional conflicts, the multilateral system is unable to deal with these issues. conflicts, and “we need to think about new ways to end human suffering.”
The International Crisis Group has been working for nearly three decades, during which it has spread to 55 countries around the world, as an independent, non-profit organization, and its financial resources depend on governments concerned with peace, European governments, institutions, and individuals.
We have never seen the scene of conflict in the world so bleak and disastrous, and at a time when we are witnessing the rise of geopolitical tensions, and the inability of the multilateral system to deal with them.
In this regard, the head of the Crisis Group says, “We are transparent, independent, and we are not at the mercy of anyone. We are at the mercy of only one group: those groups that suffer from the effects of the conflict, and these are the only people we respond to, and they are the ones we represent.”
And the details of the dialogue..
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What goals does the International Crisis Group seek to achieve?
Our interests focus primarily on early warning, conflict resolution and mitigation, and our goal is to provide policy analysis, while providing clear recommendations and options that help decision-makers on how to end fighting and conflict, how to stop violence and save lives.
Therefore, all of our analysts – located in the countries in which we work – spend a lot of time collecting field facts, focusing on policy options, identifying recommendations, and using them in order to try to move the parties towards the right direction, or towards the direction that we believe on the basis of field facts can be achieved. To help develop a solution to the conflict.
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Were these goals achieved despite the conflicts and disasters we see around the world?
We believe that prevention is better and less expensive, and we also believe that acting early and focusing on how to prevent and avoid crises is more costly and more important, and is the way in which we can deal with human value.
As I speak to you today, we have never seen such a scale of human suffering, nor such a scale of humanitarian catastrophe since the end of World War II, except perhaps Genocide In Rwanda.
We have to think about how to end the blockade, bring in more fuel, food, and electricity, and build a humanitarian corridor to help the Palestinians; You can’t hit an entire country like that
Today, we have seen 7 million people displaced in Sudan alone, and 19 million children are no longer able to go to school. As this country is on the brink of famine, we are watching its collapse. The same thing is in Yemen.
As for the situation in Sahel region African; There are 7 coups d’état, and we look at the situation in Haiti, where the rise of groups is trying to undermine efforts to rebuild the country. Then we see Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
For this reason, we have never seen the scene of conflict in the world so bleak and disastrous, and at a time when we are witnessing a rise in geopolitical tensions and the inability of the multilateral system to deal with the situation of conflicts that we see; This is a very dangerous moment and we need to think about new ways to end the human suffering that we see.
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What are the efforts of the International Crisis Group to end the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip?
I am very happy that Crisis Group was one of the first organizations to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, in order to avoid this disaster, and avoid this humanitarian madness that we are seeing.
“We were very clear that Israel had the right to defend itself and its territory, and the shock that Israel had to face made it necessary for it to take action.” However, we are concerned about the degree of retaliation taking place, which has led to the deaths of more than 17,000 Palestinians, and a number of innocent children, women, men, and youth.
It’s important to know that Crisis Group, in keeping with our mission of trying to find a way out of the crisis, came out last week with a briefing called “A Way Out of Gaza.” If we “show sympathy with Israel, we must also show sympathy and recognition of Palestinian ambitions.”
We are transparent, independent, and not at the mercy of anyone. We are only at the mercy of one group; These are the groups that suffer the effects of conflict, and these are the only people to whom we respond
For us today, we must find a way to return to humanitarian work, to think about how life-saving aid gets into Gaza, and to think about the prisoner exchange that Qatar, the United States, and others have been carefully working on as well.
Then we must “think about how to end the siege, how to bring in more fuel, food, and electricity, and build a humanitarian corridor to help the Palestinians; you cannot strike an entire country in this way,” and “we must think well about how to bring reassurance to Israel,” along with how to restore Governance also extends to Gaza.
We are also in a dangerous moment here because we have seen an increase in violence committed by him The settlers In the West Bank, there is a real pressure point in the area today, and avoiding the original disaster must be everyone’s focus in the future.”
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Was the International Crisis Group able to reduce violence and humanitarian disasters?
We are an independent non-profit organization, operating in more than 55 countries, in 6 regions, from Latin America to Africa, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and in Europe and Central Asia. What matters to us is only one thing; It is how to save lives.
So we talk to anyone who wants to talk to us, and it’s really important that we can collect information, analyze it and form a response to help all parties interested in peace.
This organization has been going on for about 3 decades. In 2025, we will complete 30 years of work. We have worked from the beginning in Bosnia, Rwanda, and Somalia, and our mission was to ensure that these disasters are not repeated. Today we find that we are in a moment where there is a crisis in peacemaking, and we are trying to help find a way to ease tensions.
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This expansion requires resources in order to achieve these goals. Where does the group’s financial support come from?
We are very transparent about the financial resources we get from governments that care about peace, as well as from European governments, foundations, and individuals, and it’s all on our website: “We are transparent, independent, and at no one’s mercy.”
We are at the mercy of only one group; These are the groups that suffer the effects of conflict, and these are the only people we respond to, and they are the ones we represent, and as a private organization we speak on behalf of the voiceless, and on behalf of the millions who find themselves in today’s conflicts; These are our audiences, and these are the people who hold us accountable.
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What contribution did the International Crisis Group make to the Doha Forum 2023?
We consider ourselves partners in peace and of any organization or country that places great emphasis on mediation and diplomacy. In the past decade we have seen a greater desire for military options, for combat, and for decisiveness across the battlefield. The Doha Forum was an opportunity in which we could really focus on the finer details of diplomacy.
Qatar has placed itself at the forefront of those seeking mediation, whether within its region or in Africa and other places in the world. So when we see countries and institutions focusing on diplomacy, dialogue, and considering peace options, we want to partner and engage with them; Because our focus is how to shape peace and how to influence decision makers. We believe that Qatar is a decisive decision maker.
