NGO that seeks to avert and resolve deadly conflicts around the world
The International Crisis Group (ICG) is an independent, non-profit NGO with nearly 120 staff members who work “through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict.” "Teams of political analysts," ICG explains, "are located within or close by countries at risk of outbreak, escalation or recurrence of violent conflict. Based on information and assessments from the field, ICG produces regular analytical reports containing practical recommendations targeted at key international decision-makers" -- which include prominent figures from the fields of politics, diplomacy, business, and the media. The organization’s 12-page monthly bulletin, titled CrisisWatch, provides updates on the status of both actual and potential conflicts in various hotspots around the world.
ICG is co-chaired by the former European Commissioner for External Relations Christopher Patten, and former U.S. Ambassador Thomas Pickering. Former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans has been the organization’s President and CEO since 2000. A key member of the ICG Executive Committee is George Soros, founder of the Open Society Institute.
One of ICG's more notable officials is Robert Malley, who in 2007 was named as a foreign policy advisor to Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama. Malley formerly served as President Bill Clinton’s Special Assistant for Arab-Israeli Affairs (1998-2001), and as National Security Advisor Sandy Berger’s Executive Assistant (1996-1998). The Malley family's longstanding close ties to Yasser Arafat are significant. (For more information on these links to Arafat, see the profiles of Robert Malley and Simon Malley.)
American Thinker news editor Ed Lasky identifies a few additional key staffers at ICG. One of these, analyst Issandr el Amrani, has accused the Bush Administration of promoting sectarian strife and fomenting opposition to Iran in an effort to create "a new regional security arrangement with the Jewish state firmly as its center -- the holy grail of the neo-conservatives who ... continue to craft U.S. Middle East policy." ICG project director Peter Harling has co-written with Robert Malley a number of op-eds critical of American actions in Iraq, and advocating U.S. diplomatic outreach to Muqtada al-Sadr, Iran, and Syria. And ICG senior analyst Nicholas Pelham has called for U.S. outreach toward Hamas.
While maintaining its international headquarters in Brussels, ICG also has advocacy offices in the District of Columbia, New York, London, and Moscow. Moreover, it operates 14 field offices (in Amman, Bishkek, Bogotá, Cairo, Dakar, Dushanbe, Islamabad, Jakarta, Kabul, Nairobi, Pretoria, Pristina, Seoul, and Tbilisi). And ICG analysts work in more than 50 crisis-affected countries and territories on four continents. In Africa, these include Angola, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Rwanda, the Sahel region, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. In Asia, ICG is active in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar/Burma, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In Europe, the organization has staff members in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, and Serbia. In the Middle East, ICG’s scope extends from North Africa to Iran. ICG is also active in Colombia, the Andean region, and Haiti.
