Crisis Management Initiative (CMI)
Profile
| Country/Territory | Finland |
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| Website | http://www.cmi.fi |
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| Founded | In 2000 by Nobel Peace laureate and former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari. |
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| In their own words | “an independent Finnish organisation that works to prevent and resolve violent conflicts through informal dialogue and mediation.” |
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Funding
- In 2015, total income was €7.5 million. In 2014, total income was €7.8 million; total expenses were €7.6 million.
- In 2015, the Finnish government provided CMI with €4.8 million (65% of total income) in direct funding.
- 18% of CMI’s expenses in 2015 were for projects in the “Middle East and North Africa.”
- Direct government funding was provided by: Finland, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, Sweden, UK, and the European Commission.
- Private funding was provided by: George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Robert Bosch Stiftung. (See table below for detailed funding information.)
- Between 2015-2017, CMI received $200,000 from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund for its “Middle East Program.”
Activities
- CMI claims that projects in the Middle East and North Africa aim to “foster inclusive dialogue and to support and complement nationally-led peace efforts”
- CMI’s claims “that its added value is in its ability to facilitate, enable and support unofficial dialogue together with local actors.”
- Since 2010, CMI and its local partner Masarat “have supported the national reconciliation process in Palestine.”
- CMI’s project titled “Palestine” focuses on informal dialogue between Palestinian actors from Gaza, the West Bank, the Palestinian community in Israel, and the Palestinian diaspora.
- These dialogues have included meetings with members of Hamas and Fatah, as well as other individuals that have been involved in terrorist activities targeting civilians including suicide bombings, hijackings, and assassinations. The U.S., EU, Canada, and Israel designate Hamas as a terrorist organization.
- CMI acknowledges that “efforts to create reconciliation in Palestine remain hampered by internal disputes.”
- According to articles published on January 16, 2017 by Basler Zeitung (Pierre Heumann, Palästinenser kritisieren EDA,) and the Jerusalem Post (Benjamin Weinthal, Swiss government hosts $85,000 event aiming to unify Hamas and Fatah), the Swiss government and CMI together spent $85,000 on a workshop in Geneva. The purpose of the workshop was “to promote reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.”
- According to the articles, CMI’s partner, Masarat, “played a key role at the workshop.” Director General of Masarat Al-Masri supports anti-Israel BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions), and published an article in 2015 titled “Boycott: an Effective Weapon.”
- Masarat is also a partner organization in the Oxford Research Group’s Palestine Strategy Group. The Palestine strategy group supports “resistance in all its forms including the growing global movement for boycott sanctions and divestment,” as well as a “right of return” for Palestinian refugees.
European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
2014-15 Funding (partial list), based on information released by donors
All Articles about Crisis Management Initiative (CMI)
