'Global efforts to tackle violent conflicts get low grades'

International efforts to tackle violent conflict among nations, including the "skirmish" between India and Pakistan last year and the "historic conflict" between Russia and Ukraine, have received low grades in a report card prepared by the heads of global thinktanks.
The Council of Councils Report Card on International Cooperation found that multilateral action on most of the critical transnational threats was sorely lacking as countries around the world struggle to combat major global challenges from terrorism to climate change.
The Council of Councils, a Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) initiative, comprises 26 major international policy institutes including India-based Observer Research Foundation. It aims to facilitate dialogue on global governance and multilateral cooperation.

The report card put preventing and responding to violent conflict between states among the top 10 global challenges, along with preventing nuclear proliferation, combating terrorism and mitigating and adapting to climate change.
It awarded a 'C-' to international efforts to prevent and respond to violent conflict between states.
"Despite the declining incidence of major interstate war, a historic conflict between Russia and Ukraine constituted the first instance in which a great power altered a European national border by force since 1945," it said.

It also noted the violence in Kashmir in October in which 18 civilians were killed and many forced to leave their homes.

"Also in October, the disputed Kashmir region experienced some of the worst violence since India and Pakistan enacted a ceasefire in 2003, killing at least eighteen civilians and prompting tens of thousands to flee their homes.
"Although the ceasefire officially remained intact, the skirmish provided a stark reminder of the volatility of this dispute between nuclear-armed neighbours," it said.
India-based think tank Observer Research Foundation Director Sunjoy Joshi said: "In the case of conflict between states, multilateral organisations -- when allowed to function -- can play a role."
Combating transnational terrorism received a 'C-' in the report card, reflecting a sharp surge in extremist violence.

"Most concerning, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a militant Sunni extremist group, captured swathes of land in Iraq and Syria-in part because the weak multilateral response to Syria's civil war allowed ISIS to consolidate power.
"Although a US-led coalition prevented ISIS from seizing more territory, it struggled to roll back the group's gains," it said.