Daniel Forti

Job alert: @CrisisGroup is hiring a new UN Analyst! Come work with me (and @RichardGowan1) to shape diplomacy on conflict prevention and resolution at the UN. Details ⬇️ apply by 31 March! jobs.crisisgroup.org/o/analyst-un-a…

This afternoon (19 March), #UNSC members are expected to hold emergency closed consultations to discuss recent developments in the Gulf region. ◻ Requested by @BahrainMsnNY ◻ No briefer is expected → Background: bit.ly/3XFd7Jq

My job is open! More on my exciting next steps very soon, but this is a dream role on the best team in the business. Please spread widely!👇

#الرياض | سمو وزير الخارجية الأمير #فيصل_بن_فرحان @FaisalbinFarhan يعقد اجتماعاً تنسيقياً مع وزراء خارجية كل من جمهورية باكستان، والجمهورية التركية، وجمهورية مصر العربية، وذلك على هامش الاجتماع التشاوري لوزراء خارجية مجموعة من الدول العربية والإسلامية.

Devastated to hear of the passing of Nicholas 'Fink" Haysom, @unmissmedia chief & inspiring human rights defender. From South Africa, where he served with the Government & alongside Nelson Mandela, to the @UN, he spent decades serving for peace & justice.

The Continuity of Fink Haysom Tribute to a Patriot. 18.03.2026 I met Fink Haysom and Mary Ann Calkin in 1979, at a time when South Africa was burning with repression and possibility. I was a young activist shaped by the aftermath of the Soweto Uprising and the brutal murder of Steve Biko. We had gone underground. Many were detained. Many others went into exile. It was in this crucible that I encountered Fink and Mary Ann, among the first white comrades who treated me as an equal in struggle and in life. I was 25. Through them, and through the emerging union movement, I began to understand organisation, discipline, and the deeper meaning of working class solidarity. Fink Haysom was, and remains to me, a deeply principled patriot. As a revolutionary, I bow my head to him. He carried integrity not as a slogan, but as a way of being, quiet, consistent, and unwavering. He sought common ground, mediated with humility, and stood firmly for justice without ego. Like Nelson Mandela, he understood that compassion and forgiveness are the lifeblood of freedom. But like all of us in the freedom struggle, the journey came at a cost. It was not easy on our families especially our children. Our long absences, the constant danger, the demands of the struggle these left deep wounds. Many families were stretched, some broken. This is the unforgiving side of politics that history does not always record. I know personally the pain that prolonged absence brings. The quiet cost carried by those who wait, who endure, who hold the home while we fight in the world. And perhaps this is why the inner journey mattered so much. Madiba often reminded us that the most difficult path is the one within from the cesspool of the mind, with its ego, cravings, and attachments, toward a place of pure compassion and forgiveness and seat of soul in a heart centered leadership. It is a lifelong journey. And in Fink, I saw someone who walked that path with sincerity. He had a good head and a good heart. And to hold both, in balance, is no small achievement. What is striking about Fink’s life is its continuity. There was no rupture between the struggle years and what came after. When he served alongside Madiba in the Presidency, it was not a shift into power, it was a continuation of service. The same values that guided him in the underground and in the labour movement integrity, dialogue, non-racialism, and justice remained intact. And when he moved into his work with the United Nations, that continuity deepened rather than diluted. He carried the lessons of South Africa into the global arena: •the understanding that peace cannot be imposed it must be negotiated •that dignity is the foundation of stability •that reconciliation is not weakness, but strength •and that humanity must always come before power In conflict zones and fragile states, he did not arrive as a bureaucrat. He arrived as a comrade of humanity someone shaped by struggle, grounded in humility, and committed to building bridges where others saw divisions. His life was not a series of roles. It was a single thread of service. From the streets of resistance, to the Presidency, to the United Nations there was a seamless arc. No contradiction. No loss of moral centre. This is what made him rare. In a world where many are changed by proximity to power, Fink remained anchored. His journey reminds us that true leadership is not about position it is about continuity of values across time, place, and circumstance. And perhaps that is his deepest lesson to us: That the struggle does not end when freedom is won. It simply changes form. And those who carry it with integrity become bridges between worlds. 🙏🏾❤️

This is dreadful news and an enormous loss. Fink was one of the most principled, courageous and kind people I have ever met around @UN.

Secretary-General @antonioguterres deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Nicholas “Fink” Haysom – a principled lawyer, tireless peacemaker & steadfast champion of the values of the @UN. Full statement: un.org/sg/en/content/…

The UN maritime agency is holding emergency talks on the Middle East. The @IMOHQ Council is meeting in London to assess risks to shipping and seafarers in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz. Follow this and more in our LIVE updates throughout the day: news.un.org/en/story/2026/…

SABC News has reliably been informed that South African diplomat and veteran senior U.N. official Nicholas "Fink" Haysom has died. Haysom served as President Nelson Mandela's Chief Legal advisor from 1994-1999 and later served in various senior roles at the U.N. including his latest as the SGs Special Representative to South Sudan. He also served in the U.N. Mission in Iraq, as SRSG in Afghanistan and Somalia in a long and storied career. Haysom was 73. We are awaiting an official statement from the U.N. #sabcnews

Great new piece from @CrisisGroup co-chair @SusanaMalcorra on the SG race and @StimsonCenter's @nudharaY making the case both for a woman SG and a diverse UN leadership team. justsecurity.org/133319/un-secr…

The IAEA has been informed by Iran that a projectile hit the premises of the Bushehr NPP on Tuesday evening. No damage to the plant or injuries to staff reported. Director General @RafaelMGrossi reiterates call for maximum restraint during the conflict to prevent risk of a nuclear accident.

@SCProcedure @PatrickButchard As always, you taught me something new @SCProcedure! Yes, I saw the document come across the wire this morning but I guess it as officially published yesterday :)

@FortiD @PatrickButchard Please forgive 😌 but a technicality: In lower lefthand corner, UN prints "release date" which in this case was "160326" or Monday. Docs can be found on ODS as of "release date" (esp. if you have an idea of symbol range) but aren't notified to subscribers until following workday.

Events moving quickly, so missed when this was published. US letter to UN Security Council, dated 10 March. Claims force against Iran is "self-defence" Art 51, and "ongoing" conflict since 2025. Lots to assess on claims. One thing clear - international law is back in the room.

Trump May Not Need a ‘Board of Peace.’ He Has the UN Under His Thumb. Me @WPReview. worldpoliticsreview.com/trump-board-of…

🔴 We are hiring a Deputy Program Director for our MENA Program to join our team at @CrisisGroup. 📍 Hybrid / Based in MENA region preferably. Learn more and apply here: jobs.crisisgroup.org/o/deputy-progr…

« The price of continued conflict, pitting an unconstrained U.S. president against a regime prepared to set the world on fire, is too high. Better to end it immediately… than run the risk of an ever more unmanageable, expanding & perilous war. » crisisgroup.org/stm/middle-eas…

@janekinninmont Can you please share the link?

@FortiD Rebecca Grynspan has just published a short paper on this

A noteworthy “maybe” from the UN. There is need for an impartial diplomatic channel, backed by technical expertise and a global mandate, to help mitigate the war’s global economic reverberations. There is some space for the SG even without an explicit UNSC mandate.

New @CrisisGroup statement calling for a ceasefire in the latest Middle East War⬇️ Key takeaway: crisisgroup.org/stm/middle-eas…