Leaders Statement, World Humanitarian Summit
Istanbul Congress Centre, Turkey, 23rd May 2016
It is the initiative of Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon which has gathered us all here in Istanbul. Through his report Agenda for Humanity, he has made a moving appeal, in the final year of his office, to the leaders of the world to turn words into action, to move beyond describing, again and again, the great suffering, the loss, the diminished lives of so many members of our shared human family.
I know that he is reflecting the views of so many on our fragile planet. As heads of State or Government, we must be aware of all those women, men and children who yearn for, even weep for, a United Nations that would be supported, resourced and enabled by its members beyond any competing set of narrow interests, to act decisively against the interrelated issues of global poverty and hunger, conflict, climate change and their ensuing displacement.
To achieve the changes which the Secretary General calls forth requires much more than any re-statement of aspirations. It requires a profound and integrated rethink of international politics, and of our theory and practice of economics, development and trade; it requires a reform of the representational structures of the world’s peoples; and indeed it demands little less, I suggest, than a new paradigm of thought and action, grounded in a reconciliation between ethics, economics, ecology and cultural diversity.
“Leaving no one behind” is the humanitarian imperative and the central commitment of the Sustainable Development Goals. It is also, rightly, one of the Secretary General’s five Core Responsibilities in his Agenda for Humanity.
For too long, empty pledges and fine words have died in our mouths – now is the time to turn promises into action for this generation.
So, let us honour those who have worked so hard to prevent, reduce and respond to conflicts, who have helped pick up the pieces in a broken world, but let us not shrink from the reality of the deep political and intellectual failures, with which we must deal, from which we must depart.
This is our opportunity to restore hope, to demonstrate the relevance of our multilateral system, our capacity and our courage. This is for us a moment of truth, a moral test.
Let us then not seek evasions. Let us strive to realise the great promise of security, prosperity and human flourishing that can flow from a comprehensive and positive shared global solution to the great challenges and the great opportunities of our times.
Changing People’s Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
Istanbul Congress Centre, Turkey, 23rd May 2016
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
“From Delivering Aid to Ending Need”. This is a powerful, and necessary, rallying call. It implies – indeed it demands – fundamental reform in the work of sustainable development and the practice of humanitarian action. It speaks to the need for coherent, collaborative and ethically grounded action at national and international levels – recognising that the necessary emergency response, while flexible and efficient, must lead to the empowerment of vulnerable communities over the longer term, through inclusive, culturally respectful, and gender equal institutions.
Fire-fighting must not impair, indeed must be part of, society building; to move from charity to solidarity, from responding to discrete crises to deep structural change, that surely must be our journey.
We must be focused in Istanbul on the needs of men, women and children who have endured suffering, deprivation, displacement, disappointment and abuse. We must have as a central concern the civilian casualties of conflicts. Let us take their reality, ideas and aspirations as our starting point.
For too long now, empty pledges and fine words have died in our mouths – now is the time to turn promises into action for this generation.
Ireland strongly supports the central thrust of the Secretary General’s report. In response, we will deepen our focus on forgotten crises and fragile states with targeted investment in state-building and peace-building. We will build on existing structures, strengthening national systems and local institutions. We will reinforce the role and resilience of states so they can provide for their own citizens, and reduce their dependency on foreign aid by building their own effective and just tax bases.
Ireland has prioritised a number of elements of resilience in its programmes – nutrition, gender and capacity to deal with disasters. We have had considerable success in these areas and the Secretary General's report now provides us with a comprehensive vision of how we should channel our efforts to deliver a shift from reaction to crises to building futures that are inclusive and sustainable. This is ultimately how the most fundamental trust – between State and citizen – can be rebuilt. In doing so, we recognise, however, that we must give a lead in promoting necessary reforms.
We must recognise that what is required of us all is a fundamental restructuring of our economic and development models – to models that are appropriate for preventing and addressing pressing humanitarian needs; models that will be empowering, gender proofed, sustainable and based on food security for all. Such a model must not be undermined by anything we do to enhance humanitarian capacity or response. They must rather be supportive of each other. Integrating emergency humanitarian responses with long-term sustainable development is possible, if made fully transparent.
It is my firm belief that we will only realise the goals of Agenda 2030, and in particular the goal of peaceful and inclusive societies, if we put people, especially the most vulnerable, front and centre in our deliberations and decision making. Ireland will promote humanitarian responses that are empowering, that put decisions into the hands of affected people; that helps to build strong communities; and that supports resilient and robust states.
We all share this fragile planet and thus we share the moral obligation to realise the full potential and dignity of all those who dwell on it. That can be our shared life and joy.
Thank you.
High Level Leaders’ Roundtable 4: Humanitarian Financing – Investing in Humanity
Istanbul Congress Centre, Turkey, 23rd May 2016
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
At this Summit, we are asked to re-commit to a vision of our shared humanity based on the right of all people to a life of dignity.
We live at a time when our common humanity is tested as rarely before, through our response to conflict, mass migration, poverty, disease and ecological degradation. Humanitarian needs have reached an all-time high.
Although we signed up, as world leaders, to “leave no-one behind” when we gathered at last year’s UN Summit in New York, we are gravely failing those most vulnerable on our planet.
I am not convinced that we drew the necessary lessons from the areas of failure of the Millennium Development Goals.
In this Round Table, we can begin our discussions with the scale of the financing required to adequately respond to these enormous challenges. The numbers are well known: at the beginning of this millennium, $2 billion was raised globally in humanitarian assistance. By 2015, the amount had increased more than twelvefold to $24.5 billion. Yet, there was an assessed demand calculated at $40 billion, leaving a financing gap of $15.5 billion.
How we fill that gap challenges us. For instance if we are to rely to a greater extent on private sources we must ensure that it is done with integrity, ensuring that a humanitarian mask is not provided, for example, for those industries that undermine poorer countries' attempts to establish a national tax base.
If we take the Syrian crisis as example, we see chronic underfunding of food, shelter and health programmes, with devastating consequences for individuals – particularly for women and children – and which fuels the further onward flow in misery for refugees as well as contributing to regional destabilisation.
We are not providing nearly enough assistance, and the assistance we are providing is not having the impact that is needed. The consequence of a mere 14% of what is necessary being provided meant that since August 2014 food vouchers to Syrian refugees were cut from $31 to $19, with 15% of refugees receiving nothing.
We now all agree that it is not a mere rhetorical question as to why we cannot have a bond issue to deal, for example, with the refugee issue.
Our international humanitarian assistance must recognise, reinforce and complement the capabilities which already exist in crisis-hit countries. Our support must be flexible, empowering those most closely representative of the affected communities to make choices, and set parameters. Humanitarian assistance must enable long-term sustainable development and allow for the emergence of new development approaches and models.
The existing models of development have to be restructured and given a chance to breathe to life, by being given space in areas of trade, debt and a globalised system of financial goods. The capacity for new development models must not be put at risk by being raided to heal the humanitarian deficiencies.
For these reasons, Ireland is committed to adapting our development funding to support fragile and crisis affected contexts, reinforcing national leadership and accountability where possible. Starting from this year, Ireland commits to providing at least 30% of its humanitarian funding as non-earmarked. Ireland will also seek to channel more of our support to local and national humanitarian actors, through our support for the UN pooled funds and the vital UN Central Emergency Response Fund.
But crucially, our support must be reliable and consistent, a source of confidence to our partners as they face ever-changing challenges. Our support must constitute a tangible demonstration that the international community keeps its word, and that our pledges are sincere. That we are committed to a long-term partnership for development, and not just to short-term responses.
We are facing a global situation of great complexity and deepening crisis in many regions. The cost of failing to act now cannot be measured in dollars alone, but in its consequences for the future of humanity.
Thank you
