The Policy Unit

Given the scale that human trafficking has reached, the drive to eliminate the phenomenon will be a long road, but that is never an excuse for complacency.

The key prerequisite for any future move towards a more co-operative relationship – that both sides are genuinely interested in bringing the current tension to an end – appear increasingly remote.

Western governments in particular must wake up to the reality that radicalised Western women and girls are neither less likely to join ISIS, and nor do they pose a lesser threat because of their gender.

The prospect of another frozen conflict thus appears increasingly likely, with significant implications for long-term stability and security in Europe.

Large-scale changes within the Nigerian government are needed to defeat Boko Haram.

More attention needs to be given to the destabilising impact that ransom funding provokes. This could entail a network of sanctions that would categorically link ransom payments to the illegal act of funding terrorism.

The grounds for an alliance between European far right and Russia have been motivated by and shaped along the lines of opposition and counteraction to the idea of a “common enemy” in the EU and the US.

Minority abuse and impunity in the face of grave violations of human rights should not be accepted in silence and the plight of the Crimeans must be given the attention it deserves. It must be possible to hold Russia responsible for its illegal actions while simultaneously recognising that Crimea, and in particular the Crimean population, is the victim.

We are guilty, notably in the developed world, of focusing our attention on issues we deem of immediate importance at the expense of long term intractable conflicts. However, what we continuously fail to recognise is how those issues we have never prioritised, and those we long ago forgot, continue to drastically shape our economic stability and security.

As potential contacts are monitored in places such as the United States and Spain, the sickness is very suddenly falling off the political radar. But West Africa still faces a multitude of challenges and infections, and the West must take this opportunity to be better prepared for future outbreaks.