From global think tanks
The analyses published here do not necessarily reflect the strategic thinking of The Global Eye.
Today’s about: Colonial Rule; Global Food System; Israel-West Bank; Middle East; Russia-Ukraine; Sudan; Trump’s Board of Peace; US-Iran
Colonial Rule
(UN News) More than 60 years after the UN launched its formal decolonization drive, Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday urged renewed commitment to completing the unfinished business of ending colonial rule. Since 1945, more than 80 former colonies comprising some 750 million people have gained independence. However, 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories remain on the UN list, home to nearly two million people. They range from Western Sahara in Africa to small island territories in the Caribbean and Pacific. –UN chief urges renewed push to complete decolonization as 17 territories remain | UN News
Global Food System
(UN News) Rising food prices and declining farm incomes are putting increasing pressure on the global food system, with up to 720 million people facing hunger last year, and billions more struggling to afford healthy diets. These numbers point to an even deeper crisis: in 2024, an estimated 2.3 billion people experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, and chronic hunger affected 96 million more people than in 2015. Against this backdrop, senior UN officials called for urgent investment and innovation to transform global agrifood systems. These systems encompass everything from farming and fisheries to food processing, transport, markets and consumption – the full chain that brings food from field to table. “Agrifood systems are at the heart of progress in our societies,” said Lok Bahadur Thapa, President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), opening a special meeting in New York. “They are the thread that links the environmental, social and economic pillars of sustainable development.” – UN forum calls for overhaul of agrifood systems | UN News
Israel – West Bank
(UN News) UN Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned Israel’s decision to resume land registration procedures in a large part of the occupied West Bank, his Spokesman said on Monday. The development follows an Israeli cabinet decision from May 2025 and applies to Area C of the West Bank, which encompasses some 60 per cent of the territory. This will mark the first time since the 1967 occupation that Israel will begin registering land as state property following approval announced by the cabinet on Sunday. – Guterres deplores Israel’s move to resume land registration in the West Bank | UN News
Middle East
(Institute for the Study of War) Counter-ISIS Efforts in Syria: The Syrian government is transferring all residents from al Hol internally displaced persons camp in Hasakah Province to Aleppo Province and Iraq. The government will close the camp in the coming days. ISIS and other Salafi-jihadi groups will likely capitalize on al Hol’s closure to increase recruitment efforts among escapees and residents who may be released in the future.
US-Iran Negotiations: Some Iranian officials and media have suggested that the United States has softened its position on the issue of uranium enrichment. US officials have not indicated a shift in the United States’ position on this issue, however.
Iranian Internal Politics: Iran analyst Hamidreza Azizi assessed on February 16 that Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani are maneuvering to consolidate their power and ensure their relevance in a post-Khamenei Iran. This assessment is consistent with CTP-ISW’s assessment that different factions within the Iranian regime are vying for influence to determine future Iranian policy after the Israel-Iran War.
Iranian Regime’s Crackdown on Protesters: The Iranian regime has sentenced Iranians who participated in the recent protests to death and killed numerous detained protesters, according to human rights organizations and Iranian sources speaking to Western and Israeli media. – Iran Update, February 16, 2026 | ISW
Russia – Ukraine
(Institute for the Study of War) Russian officials are unlikely to deviate from their original war demands during the upcoming February 17 to 18 trilateral US-Ukrainian-Russian talks in Geneva, Switzerland.
Russia may try to exploit another temporary moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure to falsely claim that Russia is making a concession.
Russia appears to be investing in centralized incubators for drone technology and is setting up bespoke roles and units to support specific drone capability development efforts. These drone capability development efforts include supporting drone units’ ability to conduct tactical tasks that support Russia’s battlefield air interdiction (BAI) campaign, as well as drone-based air defense.
The Kremlin appears to be adapting its tactics to conduct sabotage attacks in Europe.
At least one Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile did not cause damage to Russia’s Kapustin Yar launch site in Astrakhan Oblast in January 2025.
Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area. Russian forces recently advanced in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area and near Pokrovsk. – Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, Feb 16, 2026 | ISW
(UN News) As Ukraine prepares to enter the fifth year of the full-scale Russian invasion on 24 February, UN monitors say harm to civilians has “demonstrably worsened”, while energy attacks and freezing temperatures are making it harder for displaced families to return. “More people are killed and injured each year. Millions have only a few hours of electricity per day. Hundreds of thousands are suffering without heating in freezing temperatures,” said Danielle Bell, Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU). In 2025, the total number of civilian casualties was 31 per cent higher than in 2024 and 70 per cent higher than in 2023, with over 15,000 civilians killed since the conflict began. Early 2026 has signalled a continuation of this trend, according to the latest report by the HRMMU. – As conditions worsen in Ukraine, refugees struggle to return | UN News
Sudan
(UN News) The Tawila camp for internally displaced in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region is home to more than half a million people who live in makeshift huts of sticks, hay and plastic sheeting. Some families have survived in those harsh conditions for months. Among them, 17-year-old Doha and her brothers and sisters reached Tawila after a three-day long journey from El Fasher by foot and donkey cart, exhausted and frightened. Home in the key Darfur city had become too dangerous. Food was scarce. Health facilities were destroyed. School, once the centre of Doha’s days, was no more. “This girl caught our eye because she was smiling,” Eva Hinds, spokesperson for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Sudan told UN News. “And she so desperately wanted to speak English. I’m always so struck when I see someone who is beaming in the middle of such a hardship environment.” – Sudan: Thousands cling to a fragile hope in makeshift tents | UN News
Trump’s Board of Peace
(Eric Alter – Atlantic Council) The idea behind Trump’s Board of Peace shares traits with several earlier United Nations-led transitional administrations. One important lesson to take from previous cases ranging from East Timor to Kosovo is balancing top-down control with local leader involvement. While the board will likely move faster than the consensus-driven United Nations, it will need to navigate common pitfalls of its donor-led coalition-of-the-willing model. – The promise and peril of Trump’s Board of Peace – Atlantic Council
US – Iran
(Michael Rozenblat – Atlantic Council) The possibility of a military confrontation between Washington and Tehran is on hold, at least for now, as the two countries have begun talks mediated by Oman. However, a strategic breakthrough from these talks—which according to US President Donald Trump should be resolved in the coming month—remains unlikely without substantial concessions by at least one party on topics previously considered out of the scope of negotiations. Iran maintains that its ballistic missile program and the support it provides its regional proxy network are non-negotiable—precisely the areas where the Trump administration demands drastic concessions. That means diplomacy could stall or break down completely. So what will Trump, who has been steadily building up military forces in the region, do then? – Six reasons why Trump should choose the military option in Iran – Atlantic Council
