2026 Concilium Insights – Panel II: Operating in Conflict Zones

Operating in or around a conflict-affected market forces companies to make decisions in circumstances where legal requirements, operational realities, security concerns, ethical expectations, and reputational considerations may point in different directions. Traditional compliance frameworks remain essential, but they are often only one component of a much broader assessment involving personnel safety, sanctions, supply chains, counterparties, government instability, contractual enforceability, and board-level risk tolerance.

The contributions in this section bring together practitioners working in markets affected by armed conflict, political instability, regional security threats, cartel influence, and other forms of acute geopolitical risk. Their perspectives demonstrate that “conflict-zone risk” is not a single legal category and cannot be addressed through a standardized checklist. The relevant conditions, opportunities, and limits of mitigation differ substantially by jurisdiction.

At the same time, these markets may present legitimate commercial opportunities involving reconstruction, infrastructure, logistics, energy, natural resources, and distressed or undervalued assets. The central challenge is determining when risk can be responsibly managed and when it cannot. This panel will examine what meaningful diligence and governance look like under real operating pressure, which risks sophisticated companies still underestimate, and when a board should conclude that even a legally permissible opportunity is not responsibly actionable.