Laurence Jost’s Post

We must work for a better world. And a better world cannot be achieved without a peaceful world. We must figure out a way to end the increasing global conflicts.. We must not be the ones to destroy our world! Israel must be called to order. The attacks in Gaza must stop. Russia and Ukraine must be brought to the table of dialogue. The conflict must be resolved via diplomacy. ECOWAS must respect the sovereignty of Mali, Niger, Chad etc… The realization of democracy in these countries must be inspired via diplomacy and love. I have never seen anywhere in the world where conflict was resolved via fire power. If Fire power could Win a War, America wouldn’t have lost in Afghanistan. NATO wouldn’t have lost in Libya… And the War in South Sudan wouldn’t have lasted this long. We can secure a peaceful world. But only via diplomacy, respect, empathy, love and dialogue. Children and caregivers must not continue to perish because we want to prove a point. War has never proven any point anywhere… There is no where in the world where a point have been proven via War. But rather, we destroy ourselves, our livelihoods, our beautiful cities, our economies and our brotherhood. We must stop the conflict now. A Better Humanity is Possible. Christopher Chinedumuije (PhD, FBU), Professor of Disaster Management & Humanitarian Studies.

President Maduro's #BRICSSummit #Bombshell To United Nations President Maduro's remarks at the BRICS summit reflect a deep concern for the humanitarian crises unfolding in regions like Gaza, Beirut, and southern Lebanon. His statement highlights the devastating impact of high-precision missile strikes on civilian infrastructure, which not only results in the tragic loss of innocent lives—men, women, and children—but also undermines the very foundation of international cooperation and peace as embodied by the United Nations. Maduro suggests that these violent acts of warfare contribute to a cycle of destruction that threatens global stability and security. By asserting that "it sets fire and destruction to the United Nations system," he implies that such violence erodes trust in international institutions that are meant to promote peace, uphold human rights, and facilitate dialogue among nations. The reference to the "United Nations system" points to a broader critique of how global governance is failing to protect vulnerable populations in conflict zones. Moreover, his concluding remark, "A new world is possible," conveys a sense of hope and the potential for change amidst despair. It suggests a vision for a world where diplomacy and humanitarian considerations take precedence over military action. This notion of a "new world" implies a call to action for BRICS nations and the international community to reevaluate their approaches to conflict resolution, emphasizing dialogue, cooperation, and the protection of human rights as essential components for building a more just and peaceful global order. In this context, Maduro's statement serves not only as a critique of current military engagements but also as a rallying cry for collective efforts toward a sustainable and equitable future, where the dignity of every individual is respected, and the horrors of war are actively prevented through meaningful international collaboration. Video Credit EN VIVO

NEW BRIEF | EU engagement in the Sahel The #EU faces a dilemma in the #Sahel. Recent coups expose regional fragilities, revealing the limitations of its approach. Strengthened action in the region is crucial to prevent conflict escalation, violence and the spillover of terrorism and humanitarian crises. Our latest paper by Rossella Marangio, Ph.D. explores how the EU could reshape its engagement, highlighting effective strategies for supporting central Sahel countries, including: 🤝 Leveraging diplomatic ties; 👥 fostering a community-based approach; ⚙️ enhancing planning coordination. 🔎 More insights: https://lnkd.in/erTMe6QS

Continuing our publication and the last block of the results of the survey conducted by UCMC with Ukraine's 50 most prominent security, IR, energy, & economics experts on their perceptions of ally assistance during 2022-2024... Today we publish the fourth and final ranking of partner countries and international leadership’s assistance to Ukraine in 2022-2024: Humanitarian support and assistance for displaced persons Background... Four distinct categories of assistance were discerned based on the areas of focus: ✔Military-technical and other security assistance ✔Political and diplomatic support ✔Financial and economic assistance ✔Humanitarian support and assistance for displaced persons Based on the results of the expert survey, the TOP-10 partner countries were separately identified in each category and ranked

This article explores the escalating tensions in the Horn of Africa, with a focus on the geopolitical ramifications of recent military cooperation between Egypt and Somalia, set against the broader conflict involving Ethiopia. The Somaliland-Ethiopia agreement, which Somaliland has not fully honored and is disputed by Somalia, is identified as the immediate catalyst for these tensions. This study delves into how this situation has heightened the ongoing rivalry between Egypt and Ethiopia, especially concerning their strategic interests in Somalia and the wider region. It also examines Egypt’s historical difficulties in supporting faltering Arab nations, which raises doubts about the effectiveness of its involvement in Somalia and the potential for yet another strategic miscalculation.

Chad’s Civil Wars and the Ongoing Sahelian Conflicts In the past month I have read Nathaniel Powell’s ‘France’s Wars in Chad: Military Intervention and Decolonization in Africa’. This book studies Chad’s civil conflicts between 1960 to 1982, and its insights are important to understand the ongoing conflicts in the Sahel region. During the conflicts in Chad, its large borderlands were important in sheltering militants. Whilst the post-colonial border are porous, and thus accommodate trade and population movements between states, such areas are important for militant groups when smuggling troops and weapons into conflict zones. This was true during the battles between Chad’s transitional government (GUNT) and Hissène Habré’s FAN rebels during the 1970s, and is notable today in the Liptako Gourma region (the Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger tri-border). Here Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and other groups operate across international borders, which the armed forces of the Sahelian states cannot do out of respect for territorial integrity. The presence of external actors in 1970s Chad hindered peaceful conflict resolution. The Libyan occupation of Northern Chad and support for the GUNT, when combined with American, Egyptian and Sudanese support for the FAN, incentivised fighting as all sides constantly received arms supplies. External military assistance is also at play in Sudan, with the support of the United Arab Emirates for the Rapid Support Force and Iran for the Sudanese Armed Forces increasing the confidence of both sides in military victory. Vested interests, such as Muammar Gaddafi’s past ambitions to dominate Central Africa and the Russian Africa Corps’ mining operations, also encourage external powers to prolong hostilities for strategic gain. Political and economic exclusion also increases violence. Northern Chad was neglected by France in favour of the agricultural south during colonisation, and after independence in 1960 was heavily taxed and excluded from Francois Tombalbaye’s Southern dominated government. This resulted in the emergence of the FROLINAT rebel group and the Chadian government’s loss of towns across the north. Currently, in Liptako Gourma and other areas affected by terrorism, the inability of states to meet the needs of their populations have increased support for Islamist groups, who provide basic services and enforce Sharia punishments against criminals. The need for political inclusion is a common theme through Chad’s civil wars and the ongoing conflicts in the Sahel. To rectify the current situation, governments should increase basic service provisions in underdeveloped or border regions and pursue effective disarmament, demobilization and reintegration policies for combatants. Without economic development and education underdeveloped regions are prone to conflict and radicalisation, which only serves to impoverish these vulnerable areas further. Image credit: ISW 2024.

🌍🕊️ The latest news on the possible war between Ethiopia and Somalia has caused great concern, but the Ethiopian Prime Minister wants to reassure the world. Abiy Ahmed says Ethiopia seeks peace and a strong partnership with Somalia. 🤝✨ 💪 Additionally, Ethiopia recently signed an agreement with Somaliland to strengthen their relations. But what does this mean for Somalia? 🤔 🌊 Another important issue is the construction of the Ethiopian hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile. It is essential to find a solution that promotes cooperation and resource sharing in the region. 💦💡 ✅ Maintaining peace and fostering economic development in the Horn of Africa is a top priority. Diplomacy and peaceful solutions are essential to ensure regional stability. 🌍🕊️ #Peace #StrongPartnership #Somalia #Ethiopia #Diplomacy #RegionalStability

War has been on the rise since about 2012, after a decline in the 1990s and early 2000s. First came conflicts in Libya, Syria, and Yemen, triggered by the 2011 Arab uprisings. Libya’s instability spilled south, helping set off a protracted crisis in the Sahel region. A fresh wave of major combat followed: the 2020 Azerbaijani-Armenian war over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, horrific fighting in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region that began weeks later, the conflict prompted by the Myanmar army’s 2021 power grab, and Russia’s 2022 assault on Ukraine. Add to those 2023’s devastation in Sudan and Gaza. Around the globe, more people are dying in fighting, being forced from their homes, or in need of life-saving aid than in decades. On some battlefields peacemaking is nonexistent or going nowhere. The Myanmar junta and the officers who have seized power in the Sahel are bent on crushing rivals. In Sudan, perhaps today’s worst war in sheer numbers of people killed and displaced, U.S.- and Saudi-led diplomatic efforts were muddled and half-hearted for months. Russian President Vladimir Putin, banking on dwindling Western support for Kyiv, seeks to force Ukraine to surrender and demilitarize—conditions that are understandably unpalatable for Ukrainians. In all these places, diplomacy, such as it is, has been about managing the fallout: negotiating humanitarian access or prisoner exchanges, or striking deals such as the one that got Ukrainian grain onto global markets via the Black Sea. These efforts, while vital, are no substitute for political talks. The past few months’ ghastly turn in Israel-Palestine is perhaps the trend’s starkest illustration. Peacemaking efforts there petered out years ago and world leaders largely looked away. Several Arab governments struck U.S.-brokered deals with Israel that mostly ignored Palestinians’ plight. Israel ate up more Palestinian land, with settlers acting ever more brutally, often in concert with the Israeli army. The occupation became ever crueler. Palestinian hopes of statehood withered, as did the credibility of their leaders who had banked on cooperation with Israel. Nothing can justify Palestinian militants’ murderous rampage on Oct. 7. But the Israeli-Palestinian conflict did not start that day. Now, the Hamas-led attack and Israel’s retribution in Gaza—an assault that has razed much of the strip and could plausibly expel many of its inhabitants—may well erase hope for peace for a generation. So, what is going wrong? The problem is not primarily about the practice of mediation or the diplomats involved. Rather, it lies in global politics. In a moment of flux, constraints on the use of force—even for conquest and ethnic cleansing—are crumbling. The collapse of the West’s relations with Russia and China-U.S. competition shoulder much of the blame. Even in crises in which they are not directly involved, big powers dispute what diplomacy should entail and whether or how to throw their weight behind it. 👇

It is far from the first time in the post-Cold War era that the UN has gone through troughs of doubt and division. Similar periods of uncertainty followed the peacekeeping failures in the Balkans and Rwanda in the 1990s, as well as the debates about the 2003 Iraq war. But while those were bruising eras, the organisation’s members managed to rally, reconcile and institute important reforms on each occasion. It is not clear they will be able or indeed want to do so this time. While UN members will attend a special Summit of the Future to discuss reforming the organisation, in addition to their usual high-level week commitments, in September, major transformations of the UN’s peace and security work are unlikely to emerge any time soon. Negotiations leading up to the summit have, if anything, served to highlight the lack of common vision among states for the future of multilateralism.

As the UN General Assembly convenes in New York for its 79th session, world leaders face several obstacles to peace. The International Crisis Group breaks down ten challenges the UN will confront in the coming years, from peacekeeping to global crises. ➡ https://lnkd.in/eiUkfSaT How do we address these challenges? Digest our Advisory Council's recommendations for the U.S. Government priorities during the General Assembly. ➡ https://lnkd.in/ezWwNRgS #UNGA