International NGO, Concern Worldwide, Calls for Robust International Mechanisms to Prevent

International NGO, Concern Worldwide, calls for robust international mechanisms to prevent conflict and the escalation of humanitarian crises

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Ahead of the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) taking place in Istanbul on Monday, May 23 and Tuesday, May 24, international NGO, Concern Worldwide, is calling on world leaders to enforce robust international mechanisms to prevent conflict and the escalation of global humanitarian crises. Speaking at the launch of Concern’s submission to the WHS, Seize the Opportunity, CEO Dominic MacSorley said:

“The human impact of conflict is alarming. More than 172 million people worldwide are affected by conflict[i] and, each year, up to 180,000 people are violently killed as a result of more than 40 armed conflicts ongoing today. Syria, and ongoing violence in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Yemen, have contributed to the highest yearly death toll in the post-Cold War period. Globally, 50 per cent of the world’s poor now live in conflict-affected and fragile states, and that figure is set to rise to more than 80 per cent by 2025.

The international structures aimed at preventing conflict are antiquated and over-politicized: a prime example is the UN Security Council. The failure to prevent the rising level of conflict is evidence of the need for radical and dramatic change.”

In its submission, Concern calls on world leaders to make a number of interventions including:  The establishment of a more robust rapid deployment diplomatic mechanism based on the Elders model, to seek resolutions at the onset of emerging conflicts  The expansion of UN Resolution 2286, intended to prevent attacks on medical staff and facilities, to include all humanitarian workers, and to hold to account those who violate this resolution  Removal of the power of veto from the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council in relation to humanitarian crises  Reinvigoration of negotiations for a global, intergovernmental mechanism for compliance and violation monitoring of international humanitarian law

The INGO’s central message to national leaders at the Summit is that humanitarian aid cannot be used as a substitute for failed diplomacy or a lack of political will to find solutions to protracted conflicts. Concern’s submission points to the experience of Northern Ireland and the Balkans, where external political intervention was a major catalyst for peace, and insists that a renewed and radical approach to inclusive diplomacy must be a central outcome of the World Humanitarian Summit.

Concern highlights the desperate situation of internally displaced people and refugees and calls for a new deal: one which supports refugees’ integration into host countries.

On the issue of the huge gap in humanitarian funding, with a shortfall of $9.6 billion in 2015 and only half of humanitarian needs being met, Concern is calling on UN member states to honour their commitment to spending 0.7 per cent of GDP on overseas development aid, and specifies that humanitarian funding within ODA should be doubled to 20 per cent. Concern also urges OECD member states to identify new sources of funding to support the integration of refugees, rather than using ODA budget. 125 million people are dependent on an underfunded humanitarian lifeline for their survival. Concern’s submission cites the unacceptable consequences of underfunding, including cutbacks in food rations, children being deprived of education, girls being forced into early marriage and people being forced into destructive coping strategies.

Dominic MacSorley, who will be addressing a plenary session of the World Humanitarian Summit on Monday (May 23), added: “We must seize this historic opportunity for transformative change to address the deficit of humanity that has led to levels of suffering, cruelty and hardship that we thought we had left behind last century.”

You can read Seize the Opportunity, Concern Worldwide’s full submission to the World Humanitarian Summit here.

Follow Concern at the World Humanitarian Summit on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/concern.

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For further information or interviews with Concern CEO, Dominic MacSorley, please contact: Communications Officer, Catriona Loughran on 086 783 4846.

Notes to Editor: About Concern Worldwide Concern Worldwide is an international non-governmental humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries. For more on where we work visit https://www.concern.net/where-we- work. ______[1] Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) analysis indicated that 172 million people were affected by 33 conflicts across 25 countries in 2013. This number has only increased since then. [i][i] Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) analysis indicated that 172 million people were affected by 33 conflicts across 25 countries in 2013. This number has only increased since then.