Eight Priorities for the African Union in 2025

As the African Union prepares to choose new leadership, it faces several forbidding challenges in the peace and security domain. This briefing points to eight areas where the organisation can put its diplomatic weight to particularly good use.

Read the full report here.

// On Our Radar

Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo Despite the Congo River Alliance coalition – headed by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group – declaring a unilateral ceasefire to go into effect Tuesday, it seized more territory in the country’s east, including the city of Nyabibwe, on Wednesday. UN agencies reported that around 3,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in fighting around the major city of Goma last week with cases of sexual and gender-based violence soaring. Crisis Group expert Richard Moncrieff says a lasting ceasefire requires more vigorous regional diplomacy and a firmer international stance against Rwanda’s aggression.

Israel-Palestine

Meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump proposed that the U.S. “take over” the Gaza Strip and resettle its 2.2 million Palestinians elsewhere, drawing fierce international condemnation, including from Arab states. Meanwhile, Israel continued an offensive in the northern West Bank, targeting Palestinian militants but displacing and harming many civilians. Crisis Group expert Amjad Iraqi says Trump’s statement could undermine the fragile ceasefire deal in Gaza and embolden Israel’s far-right government to try pushing Palestinians out of one or both of the occupied territories.

Ukraine

Amid heightened anticipation that peace negotiations may start soon, President Volodomyr Zelenskyy announced Tuesday that he is prepared to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who last week also signalled readiness for negotiations, but not directly with Zelenskyy. With the new U.S. administration saying it wants to help to end the war, Moscow and Kyiv have both been trying to make battlefield advances to ensure a better negotiating position, says Crisis Group expert Lucian Kim. Now almost in its fourth year, the war has killed over 45,000 Ukrainian soldiers and approximately 200,000 Russian soldiers, according to Zelenskyy. You can find previous editions of On Our Radar here.

You can find previous editions of On Our Radar here.

/// CrisisWatch

February?Alerts and January Trends

The latest edition of our monthly conflict tracker highlights conflict risks in Burundi, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Israel/Palestine, Rwanda, Sudan and?Yemen in February. It also highlights a resolution opportunity in Israel/Palestine. In January,?it spotlighted deteriorations in six countries and conflict areas and improvements in three locations.

/// Publications

Resurgent Crime Casts a Shadow over Ecuador’s Polls

Ecuadorians are voting on their next president and legislature as the country grapples with a violent crime wave and economic malaise. In this Q&A, Crisis Group expert Glaeldys González Calanche explains who is running and how the candidates plan to improve the country’s outlook.

The report is also available in Spanish.

/// Op-Ed

The Trump Administration’s Approach Could Make or Break U.N. Reform

By Richard Gowan, Crisis Group's Director for the UN and Multilateral Diplomacy.

Originally published in World Politics Review

Evincée du Sahel, la France continue de sous-estimer la portée de la rupture souverainiste actuelle

By Jean-Hervé Jezequel, Crisis Group's?Project Director for the Sahel.?

Originally published in Le Monde

Turkey’s tightrope in post-Assad Syria

By Dareen Khalifa, Crisis Group's?Senior Adviser for Dialogue Promotion, and?Berkay Mand?rac?, Crisis Group's?Senior Analyst for?Türkiye.

Originally published in?Turkey recap

/// Podcast

Trump’s Gaza Plan

In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwoord is joined by Crisis Group experts Amjad Iraqi, Mairav Zonszein, Michael Hanna and Rob Blecher to discuss President Donald Trump’s proposal to move Palestinians out of Gaza and for the U.S. to take over.

Listen to the series on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

/// Events

Big Priorities for the African Union in 2025: Zooming in on Sudan, DRC and Cameroon

The 2025 African Union (AU) heads of state summit on 15-16 February will unfold at a time of considerable tumult on the continent and beyond.?In this online event, we will discuss the eight priorities that Crisis Group has identified for the African Union in the year ahead and specifically zoom in on what it can do to help solve the crises in Sudan, the DRC and Cameroon.

The online event will be held in English and will be live-streamed on?YouTube.

Click here to register on Zoom.

10 Conflicts to Watch in 2025

In this event, Comfort Ero, International Crisis Group president and CEO, discussed today’s and tomorrow’s most pressing wars and crises with Samir Puri, Research Director for the Centre for Global Governance and Security at Chatham House.

The event recording is available on?YouTube.

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