We are confronting some of the greatest challenges of our time. In 2015:
In 2015, the international community showed that it is possible to come together and tackle global challenges such as poverty and climate change, and to create a better world for future generations.
Now it is time to turn promises into action for this generation, and uphold people’s safety, dignity and the right to thrive.
This is why the United Nations Secretary-General has called for the first ever World Humanitarian Summit: to reaffirm our commitment to humanity and chart a course for change.
The Secretary-General’s Agenda for Humanity calls on global leaders to commit to five core responsibilities in the name of our shared humanity.
Preventing conflicts and finding political solutions to resolve them is our first and foremost responsibility to humanity.
Every day, civilians are deliberately or indiscriminately killed in wars. We are witnessing the erosion of 150 years of international humanitarian law.
But even wars have limits: leaders must recommit to upholding the rules that protect humanity.
The World Humanitarian Summit is the first test of our commitment to transform the lives of those most at risk of being left behind.
This means reaching everyone and empowering all women, men, girls and boys to be agents of positive transformation. It means reducing displacement, supporting refugees and migrants, ending gaps in education and fighting to eradicate sexual and gender-based violence.
Success must now be measured by how people's vulnerability and risk are reduced, not by how needs are met year after year. Ending need will require three fundamental shifts in the way we work:
Accepting and acting upon our shared responsibilities for humanity requires political, institutional and financial investment.
As a shift is needed from funding to financing that invests in local capacities, is risk-informed, invests in fragile situations and incentivizes collective outcomes. We must also reduce the funding gap for humanitarian needs.
I call upon global leaders to place humanity – the concern for the dignity, safety and well-being of our citizens – at the forefront of all policies, strategies and decision-making.
The World Humanitarian Summit must be for the people living on the frontline of humanity. They count on us. We cannot let them down.
