Shaping the future of the humanitarian sector

Ahmet Davutoğlu (Republic of Turkey Minister of Foreign Affairs), Ban Ki-moon (UN Secretary-General) and Valerie Amos (UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs) announce the World Humanitarian Summit 2016.

Last September, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that the first World Humanitarian Summit will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2016. The Summit, he said, aims to map out a humanitarian agenda for the future that is more effective and inclusive, and which addresses the significant challenges facing the world.

As a website for the Summit has been set up and staff for its secretariat is being hired, it is clear that the process is gathering steam, while preparations will begin in earnest early next year. They will include regional consultations facilitated by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), led by UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos.

Four major constituencies are to be involved: UN member states (both affected countries and donors); humanitarian organizations and experts; associated partners (including the private sector, religious charities and others); and affected people themselves – as first responders, communities and civil society organizations.

The Summit will take place 25 years after the UN General Assembly created the current humanitarian system, structured around the Emergency Relief Coordinator, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) and a set of established core guiding principles (UN GA resolution 46/182).

In the meantime, “the landscape of humanitarian action has changed considerably,” explains a key Summit document.

First, an increased demand for humanitarian action is foreseen. Currently, international humanitarian actors assist over 100 million people every year. By 2025, the population of disaster-prone countries is expected to nearly double that of 1990.

Another factor is a significant shift in the number and nature of the actors involved in humanitarian action. Notably, the number of NGOs operating in major emergencies has grown, including those from the Global South, while the military and the private sector have sought a greater involvement.

And no summary of humanitarian trends can afford to ignore the technological element. Mobile phones are everywhere (in a hundred countries there are actually more mobile phone subscriptions than people) and it is foreseen than by 2015, half the population in developing countries will be using the Internet.

Although it is arguable whether they can be a panacea for world problems, these fast-evolving technologies certainly have a growing impact on how humanitarian needs are dealt with.

“We need a better understanding of the impact of these interconnected trends and approaches. We need humanitarian systems which are more inclusive, effective, responsive and interoperable,” state the Summit planners.

“We need to share best practices and find innovative ways to make humanitarian action more effective and inclusive,” Ban said when announcing the Summit. To achieve this, the Summit will focus on four themes:

• Humanitarian effectiveness;
• Reducing vulnerability and managing risk;
• Transformation through innovation; and
• Serving the needs of people in conflict.

It is to the discussions around the first theme – effectiveness – that standards-setting initiatives can expect to make the most valuable contributions.

Precisely in relation to that theme, the Summit planners acknowledge the positive role played by initiatives like the Sphere Project: “Several initiatives, including the International Aid Transparency Initiative, the Good Humanitarian Donorship initiative, the Sphere Project and the IASC Transformative Agenda have contributed to change in elements of humanitarian action.”

Among those elements, they list accountability, transparency, professionalization and standardization. And yet, “humanitarian organizations agree that the system-wide response to emergencies must improve,” which calls for “more innovative approaches to strengthen response efforts and improve effectiveness”.

In the context of this sector-wide discussion, a strategic debate about the future direction and priorities for the Sphere Project is timely and will ensure a meaningful contribution. At its 21-22 November semi-annual meeting in Geneva, the will start the ball rolling.