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53-653: ICG states that it provides early warning through its monthly CrisisWatch bulletin, a global conflict tracker designed to identify both risks of escalation and opportunities to advance peace. The organisation says that it produces detailed analysis and advice on specific policy issues that are affecting conflict or potential conflict situations; that it engages with policy-makers, regional organisations and other key actors to promote peaceful solutions to major conflicts; and that it offers new strategic and tactical thinking on intractable conflicts and crises. The ICG has been characterized as "liberal". Its permanent field presence forms

106-729: A "full and independent public inquiry of the Lockerbie case". Köchler addressed the letter also to First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond , Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith . In November 2007, the conservative British magazine The Spectator drew some attention with its criticism of the Malloch Brown family's occupancy of a government-owned, so-called " grace and favour " apartment in London, previously used by former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott . On 18 November 2007, The Sunday Times fuelled

159-837: A backlash from the White House and some US conservative commentators, culminating in a call for an apology by the US envoy to the United Nations John Bolton . Bolton added to reporters, "I spoke to the secretary-general this morning, I said "I've known you since 1989 and I'm telling you this is the worst mistake by a senior U.N. official that I have seen in that entire time." John Podesta and Richard C. Leone wrote that Bolton's comment "distorted Mr. Malloch Brown's remarks by calling them an attack on 'the American people', and ... by conflating Rush Limbaugh and Fox News with

212-765: A conference in New York City, he criticised the United States administration for allowing "too much unchecked UN-bashing and stereotyping". He stated that much of the political dialogue in the US about the UN had been abdicated to its most strident critics, such as conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh and the Fox News cable channel and, as a result of this, the true role and value of the UN has become "a mystery in Middle America". These remarks resulted in

265-585: A government minister, The Observer reported he had resigned his position as vice-chairman of Quantum Fund. Following the decision by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) to refer the case of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi back for a second appeal against conviction, Dr Hans Köchler , UN-appointed international observer at the Lockerbie trial , wrote on 4 July 2007 to Malloch Brown reiterating his call for

318-581: A presence in Abu Dhabi, Abuja, Bangkok, Beirut, Caracas, Gaza City, Guatemala City, Hong Kong, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Juba, Kabul, Kyiv, Mexico City, Mogadishu, Rabat, Tbilisi, Toronto, Tunis and Yangon. As of September 2023, Crisis Group Board of Trustees has 44 members. Frank Giustra , founder of the Giustra Foundation and Acceso, became co-chair in 2020, and Susana Malcorra , former Foreign Minister of Argentina and former Chef de Cabinet of

371-593: A prolific entrepreneur and financier, and H.R.H. Prince Zeid Raad Al Hussein , UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Olympic Refugee and Paralympic Teams. The Swedish ONG Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research alleged in 2005 that the ICG board of directors' had close ties to Western governments, a lack of independent scholars, and an absence of an objective standard theoretical framework. In 2010, Tom Hazeldine argued in an article published in

424-463: A proposal for an annual budget of $ 8 million and 75 full-time staff. In mid-1995, the organisation was formally registered in the U.S. as a tax-exempt non-profit. From 1996 to 1999, Crisis Group had an annual budget of around $ 2 million and around 20 full-time staff; by 2017 its budget had risen to over $ 17 million. Crisis Group received funding under grants from governments, charitable foundations, private companies and individual donors. For

477-478: A smile". In May 2007, George Soros's Quantum Fund announced the appointment of Malloch Brown as vice-president. He was named vice-chairman of Soros Fund Management and the Open Society Institute , two other important Soros organisations. On 27 June 2007, it was announced Malloch Brown was joining the government of incoming Prime Minister Gordon Brown as Minister of State for Africa and

530-744: A television campaign to change perceptions of it as an arrogant institution unwilling to heed outsiders. To his credit, the institution gradually gained a reputation as a 'listening bank', unlike its more aloof sister institution, the International Monetary Fund ." Malloch Brown moved back to the United Nations as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in July 1999, remaining in this position until August 2005. He led

583-674: Is a British diplomat, communications consultant, journalist and former politician serving as president of Open Society Foundations since 2021, having previously served as Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations under Kofi Annan from April to December 2006. A former member of the Labour Party , he served as Minister of State for Africa and the United Nations in the Brown government from 2007 to 2009. Born in Marylebone , Malloch Brown studied at Magdalene College, Cambridge and

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636-405: Is not the amount but the sources of the ICG's funding which have opened Western policymakers' doors to its advocacy, while at the same time (possibly) compromising the ICG's political independence". She wrote that the ICG has "contradict[ed] the idea of simple, straightforward connections between donors and reporting" through the broad variety of its donors. Robert Malley , who previously served in

689-679: Is the President and CEO of the organisation with Richard Atwood as Executive Vice President. George Soros provided the organisation's seed funding and continues to support it. The first government representative to offer financial support was Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari , in March 1994. That same year, Gareth Evans , as Foreign Minister of Australia, pledged $ 500,000. As private individuals, Ahtisaari later became Chairman of ICG, and Evans became CEO of ICG. A January 1995 meeting in London brought many international figures together and approved

742-633: The New Left Review that the ICG "styles itself as independent and non-partisan, but has consistently championed NATO's wars to fulsome transatlantic praise". A 2007 piece in Foreign Policy described ICG as "liberal" and critical of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez . The ICG generated controversy in April 2013 as it awarded Myanmar President Thein Sein its "In Pursuit of Peace Award", with

795-484: The Iran Experts Initiative . Comfort Ero Comfort Ekhuase Ero is an analyst, policymaker and the President of the think-tank International Crisis Group . Her research has focussed on peacekeeping and international relations in conflict-ridden countries. Alongside her work in international diplomacy, Ero is committed to making peace-building more representative and inclusive. She was awarded

848-568: The London School of Economics , where she studied interventions in intra-African affairs. Specifically she focussed on the post-colonial states that emerged in 1957, and how international relations evolved during independence and the Cold war. She found that interventionist and non-interventionist practise represented a balance between dealing with short term contingencies and long term security. During her doctorate she completed an internship at

901-606: The Time 100 in 2005. Malloch Brown succeeded Louise Fréchette as United Nations Deputy Secretary-General on 1 April 2006, retaining the position until December 2006. In 2006, he was named a visiting fellow at the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization and announced plans to focus on writing a book on changing leadership in a globalised world while in residence during the spring semester. Malloch Brown publicly defended

954-531: The US State Department , a spokesman who stated "We are seeing a troubling pattern of a high official of the UN who seems to be making it his business to criticize member states and, frankly, with misplaced and misguided criticisms." Malloch Brown responded in an interview with PBS : When Bolton later announced his own resignation in early December, Malloch Brown made his delight clear, telling reporters "No comment – and you can say he said it with

1007-667: The United Nations Association – UK , which inspired her to work in policymaking and international diplomacy. After earning her doctorate she moved to King's College London as a research associate in the Conflict, Security and Development Group, which was supported by the Department for International Development . She moved to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in 1998. She

1060-545: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1979 to 1983, where he worked for Kofi Annan , and was stationed in Thailand (1979 to 1981) where he was in charge of field operations for Cambodian refugees and supervised the construction of camps at Sa Kaeo and Khao-I-Dang . In this period the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was awarded the 1981 Nobel Peace Prize ,

1113-670: The University of Michigan . He was a political correspondent for The Economist between 1977 and 1979 and then worked for the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1979 to 1983. After acting as a lead international partner at American public relations firm Sawyer-Miller , he was a development specialist at the World Bank from 1994 to 1999, administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 1999 to 2005 and United Nations Deputy Secretary-General from April to December 2006. Malloch Brown joined

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1166-719: The 2023 Sir Brian Urquhart Award for Distinguished Service to the UN. Ero was born in England to Nigerian parents. After completing their university degrees in the United Kingdom, Ero's parents could not return to Nigeria because of the Biafra Civil War . Ero moved to Lagos when she was two years old, where she lived until primary school. She lived with her uncle on the campus of the University of Lagos . She has credited her father and uncle with her decision to pursue an academic career. Ero earned her doctorate at

1219-487: The American people. ... Mr. Malloch Brown had to break with the niceties of diplomatic tradition to plead for such leadership. ... Mr. Malloch Brown is surely correct: the people of the United States deserve better leadership and diplomacy to represent their interests in the world’s most important international body." Malloch Brown himself rejected the need to apologise and received the support of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who said that his deputy's comments "should be read in

1272-474: The Cory campaign was to produce an exit poll that indicated that she had won". In 1994, Malloch Brown joined the World Bank as Vice-President for External Affairs, which included responsibility for relations with the United Nations. He used his experience to good effect at the bank, helping to transform its reputation: "under his guidance, the bank blitzed opinion-makers with full-page newspaper advertisements and

1325-984: The Group with three other partners. The Group was among the first communication consultants to use US-style election campaign methods for foreign governments, companies, and public policy debates. Malloch Brown "worked extensively on privatisation and other economic reform issues with leaders in Eastern Europe and Russia". Malloch Brown focused much of his public relations energies on advising politicians in Latin America. He advised Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada 's 1989 presidential campaign in Bolivia. In Peru , he assisted Mario Vargas Llosa with his 1990 presidential campaign , though Vargas Llosa did not heed his advice and lost to Alberto Fujimori despite having an initial lead in polls. In Chile , Malloch Brown advised

1378-678: The Obama administration as a senior adviser, became president and CEO of ICG in January 2018. Malley had his ties to the Obama electoral campaign severed in May 2008, when it became public that Malley had been in discussions with the militant Palestinian group Hamas , listed by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organisation. His predecessors in the position include former UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno , former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Justice of

1431-571: The Security Council, argued that, while the situation uncovered by the audit was "alarming", and that nearly $ 300 million out of a $ 1.6 billion budget was involved, it showed more that there was significant waste with only narrow instances of fraud. He noted that the UN Secretariat, based on the reservations expressed by the department being audited, did not entirely accept the auditor's conclusions. On 6 June 2006, while addressing

1484-763: The Supreme Court of Canada Louise Arbour , and former Foreign Minister of Australia Gareth Evans. The Crisis Group, and in particular its Iran Project Director, Ali Vaez, played an important role in advancing the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Crisis Group is headquartered in Brussels , with advocacy offices in Washington DC, New York and London. Other legally registered offices are based in Bogota, Colombia; Dakar, Senegal; Istanbul, Turkey; and Nairobi, Kenya. As of June 2018, Crisis Group has

1537-635: The UN Secretary-General, joined him as co-chair in 2021. Previously, the board was chaired by Mark Malloch Brown , former UN Deputy Secretary-General and Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. Past board members have included Sandy Berger and Stephen Solarz . Chairmen emeritus are Martti Ahtisaari, George J. Mitchell and Thomas R. Pickering. Gareth Evans remained President Emeritus as of 2023. Crisis Group's "In Pursuit of Peace Award”

1590-682: The UN's creation of the Millennium Development Goals which were adopted at the UN Millennium Summit in December 2000, later recounting the draft had gone to the printers without an environmental goal when Malloch Brown passed the head of the UN environment programme in a corridor, leading to the rapid addition of MDG number 7. While serving as United Nations Development Programme Administrator, Malloch Brown spoke beside George Soros in 2002 suggesting that

1643-636: The United Nations at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Following his appointment, he was created a life peer on 9 July 2007 as Baron Malloch-Brown , of St Leonard's Forest in the County of West Sussex . He was also appointed to the Privy Council . Plans for his appointment and peerage had been leaked to The Observer in November 2006. At the time, The Daily Telegraph said "While

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1696-430: The United Nations and Soros's Open Society Institute, as well as other organizations, work together to fund humanitarian functions. In late 2002, Malloch Brown offered to assist talks between Hugo Chavez 's Bolivarian government and the opposition, who was seeking to begin the process of attempting to recall Chávez a year later. His UNDP observers were chosen by Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) to supervise

1749-541: The aid agencies and liberals were still toasting the arrival of 'Saint Mark' to Whitehall, the neo-cons on both sides of the Atlantic were throwing darts at photographs of their devil. [He] divides opinion between those who see him as the great hope for Africa and a principled opponent of the war in Iraq, and those who believe that he is an anti-American egotist who defended Kofi Annan over the oil-for-food scandal." On becoming

1802-401: The award ceremony coinciding with the publication of a Human Rights Watch report of ethnic cleansing by Sein's administration. In 2014, the journal Third World Quarterly published a special issue about the ICG and its role in knowledge production about conflict, featuring 10 separate critiques about the ICG, ranging from its influence on foreign-policy makers, "manufacturing" crises, and

1855-664: The basis of the organisation's methodology. It has regional programmers covering over 70 actual and potential conflicts in Africa, Asia, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and the United States. As of September 2023, Crisis Group has approximately 150 staff members from various backgrounds, including academia, civil society, diplomacy and media. Since December 2021, Comfort Ero

1908-712: The board of directors of SGO Corporation Limited, a holding company whose primary asset is the election technology and voting machine manufacturer Smartmatic , in 2014. He has also served as chair of the Royal African Society and as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Crisis Group . In July 2014, he became co-chair of the Board of Trustees of the latter organisation. In December 2020, Malloch Brown

1961-695: The challenges multilateral agencies face when creating policy. In 2008 she moved to the International Center for Transitional Justice , where she was responsible for the Africa Program. Ero joined the advisory board of the Royal United Services Institute in 2020. In 2021 she returned to Crisis Group as the Interim Vice President. She was made President and CEO in December 2021. She was

2014-642: The controversy by reporting that "some see the hand of Miliband behind the savaging of Malloch Brown in The Spectator ". On 7 July 2009, Malloch Brown announced he was stepping down from his position as Minister of State for Africa, Asia and the United Nations at the end of July 2009, citing personal and family reasons. Malloch Brown was appointed chairman of global affairs for FTI Consulting in September 2010. Consultancy appointments to oil companies Vitol and SouthWest Energy Ltd (both approved by

2067-471: The financial year ending June 30, 2019, it received 43% of its funding from governments, 31% from foundations, 22% from the private sector, 2% from in-kind contributions and 2% from investment income. In a 2014 paper for Third World Quarterly , social researcher Berit Bliesemann de Guevara writes that ICG's significant budget was a requirement of its activities, though small compared to government research agencies. She wrote that "Critics have argued that it

2120-480: The first ever Black woman to lead the organisation. Crisis group conduct field research, analysis and advocacy to help policymakers prevent and resolve conflict. Ero was awarded the Sir Brian Urquhart Award for Distinguished Service to the United Nations in 2023. Mark Malloch Brown George Mark Malloch Brown, Baron Malloch-Brown KCMG PC (born 16 September 1953)

2173-587: The government of Gordon Brown in 2007 at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and was elevated to the House of Lords as a life peer . After stepping down from the government in 2009 due to family and personal reasons, he was appointed chairman of global affairs for FTI Consulting a year later. In 2014, he was appointed chairman of the board of directors of election technology manufacturer Smartmatic 's holding company. He served as president of Open Society Foundations from January 2021 until June 2024. Malloch Brown

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2226-605: The handling of the Oil-for-Food Programme by the UN in general, and Kofi Annan in particular. While he countered critics that "Not a penny was lost from the organization," an internal UN audit of the Oil-for-Food programme revealed that there had been overcompensation amounting to $ 557 million. A separate audit of UN peacekeeping procurement concluded that at least $ 310 million from a budget of $ 1.6 billion could not be accounted for. Malloch Brown, briefing

2279-550: The methodologies it deploys in gathering its research. The ICG's briefings and reports were described as having "a generally good reputation" among policymakers in the issue's introduction, which also notes that while academics working on conflict often cite the ICG's analysis, there is little academic research about the ICG itself. The ICG was criticised in September 2016 for its 2011 report entitled "The Syrian Regime's Slow-motion Suicide", with Nicholas Noe arguing: "Regrettably, ICG's overconfidence in regime suicide not only encouraged

2332-651: The opposition in its successful challenge to former dictator Augusto Pinochet . In Colombia , he advised the government on how to shed "its image as the political wing of the Medellin cartel" In the Philippines , Malloch Brown worked with Corazon Aquino in the campaign against Ferdinand Marcos . Malloch Brown wrote Aquino's victory speech which she recited days before voting results were to be released since her campaign assumed that Marcos claim victory as well. He stated that an "outstanding accomplishment during

2385-499: The premature and disastrous rejection of diplomacy that has helped prolong the Syria war. It also essentially abdicated the main role for which peace, promotion, and conflict mitigation NGOs exist in the first place: Advocating for strong international engagement and negotiated solutions that regard the safety of civilian populations as paramount". In 2023, several of ICG's staff, including Ali Vaez, Iran Project Director, were connected to

2438-451: The relevant parliamentary committee) were reported in 2010. In 2013, Malloch Brown and FTI Consulting came to a legal settlement with Israeli mining billionaire Beny Steinmetz , who had sued them claiming Malloch Brown had given confidential information to George Soros which led to a smear campaign against Steinmetz's mining company. The out-of-court settlement of €90,000 plus costs was without any determination of liability. Malloch Brown

2491-577: The right spirit". In July 2006, during the Israel-Hezbollah crisis in Lebanon, Malloch Brown said America should allow others to "share the lead" in solving the Lebanon crisis and also advised that Britain adopt a lower profile in solving the crisis, lest the international community see the negotiations as being led by the same team that instigated the invasion of Iraq . These comments again drew criticism from some American officials, including

2544-742: The second time it had been awarded the prize. In 1983, he returned to The Economist as the founding editor of the Economist Development Report , a position he retained until 1986. Malloch Brown contemplated running for the Social Democratic Party at the 1983 United Kingdom general election but was not selected as a candidate. Malloch Brown was the lead international partner at the US-based Sawyer-Miller Group communications consultancy from 1986 to 1994; he ultimately co-owned

2597-415: The signature collection for the 2004 Venezuela recall . In this role Malloch Brown co-ordinated the UN's response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami . In January 2005 he was appointed Chef de Cabinet to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, whilst retaining his position as Administrator of UNDP for much of 2005. Malloch Brown was listed 7th in the Leaders and Revolutionaries section of

2650-418: Was a member of The Guardian ' s global development advisory panel. He contributed to the panel beside U2 's Bono , the Center for Economic and Policy Research 's Ha-Joon Chang and Mark Weisbrot , Paul Collier and others. Malloch Brown's book The Unfinished Global Revolution came out early 2011 on Penguin Press. Among his non-governmental and private sector roles, Malloch Brown became chairman of

2703-434: Was a researcher in Freetown during the Sierra Leone Civil War . Ero joined Crisis Group as West Africa Project Director in 2001. She moved to the United Nations in 2004, where she spent 3 years as special representative to the Secretary-General in Liberia. The United Nations Mission in Liberia helped Liberia recover in the aftermath of the decade-long civil war and implement their peace agreement. Here she explored

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2756-423: Was born in 1953 in Marylebone , the only son of an exiled South African diplomat. He was educated at Marlborough College , and earned a First Class Honours Degree in History from Magdalene College, Cambridge and a master's degree in political science from the University of Michigan . Malloch Brown was the political correspondent at The Economist between 1977 and 1979. Following this he worked for

2809-414: Was established in 2005, and is associated with a gala event in New York City. Recipients include U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, former Brazilian President Lula da Silva, Nobel Peace Prize laureates Martti Ahtisaari and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and financier and philanthropist George Soros. Recipients for 2018 included Frank Giustra , founder of the Radcliffe Foundation and

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