Photograph — CDN

The United Nations first-ever humanitarian summit, initiated by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to hold from the 23rd to 24th of May, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. An event which is expected to gather about 6,000 participants, including heads of state, bureaucrats and diplomats, corporate leaders, aid workers, civil activists and affected communities. The summit is expected to bring together stakeholders for potent global action aimed at tackling the current refugee crisis that is said to be the worst of its kind since the second world war.

Since his speech four years ago, more than 23,000 people in 153 countries have been consulted during extensive preparations ahead of the summit. There will be plenary sessions, round-table discussions, interactive sessions, special briefings while leaders will be invited to announce commitments for the millions of people affected by disasters and conflicts.

Ban Ki-moon’s five commitments

  1. Global leadership to prevent and end conflict.
  2. Uphold the norms that safeguard humanity.
  3. Leave no one behind.
  4. Change people’s lives: From delivering aid to ending need.
  5. Invest in humanity.

Turkey is at the centre of this summit and it’s not just because it’s hosting the event. The country has received the lion share of refugees as it hosts 2.7 million refugees from Syria alone. According to Levant Murat Burhan, the deputy under secretary of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, financing is a critical issue, as “the world’s economic output is $78 trillion per year, but an extra $15 billion is needed to help 125 million people worldwide requiring emergency relief.”

“One major reason for hosting the summit is to address the widening gap between what Turkey can provide and the increasing burden we are faced with,” he emphasised. “We should try to help the displaced help themselves. Building their long-term resiliency would turn them into productive forces of society. We need to properly balance humanitarian assistance with self-reliant capacity-building.”

The three main goals of the summit

  1. To re-inspire and reinvigorate a commitment to humanity and the universality of humanitarian principles.
  2. To initiate a set of concrete actions and commitments aimed at enabling countries and communities to better prepare for and respond to crises, and be resilient to shocks.
  3. To share best practices which can help save lives around the world, put affected people at the centre of humanitarian action, and alleviate suffering.

Globally, the number of those forcibly displaced is at 60 million and last year alone, 8.6 million more people became IDPs. Among this number, 1.5 million were Syrians who have been affected by the five-year civil war which is still going on in the country. In addition to this, there are the estimates from the UN that more than 130 million people need humanitarian help and only $5 billion of the $20 billion needed to cover this has been given.

As more help is required, humanitarian workers and agencies need more money and support to do their work and there is no better time and place to rally support. However, success would be possible if key players are in attendance and above all, willing to commit. The distressing atmospherics in the weeks running up to the summit, is a sign that some are not taking the summit seriously and have voiced their concerns. One of the world’s most important humanitarian organisations, Doctors Without Borders, pulled out of the gathering with a bitter denunciation of the world’s failure to protect civilians.

Turkey is supposed to be the perfect location for a humanitarian summit, as it hosts an enormous population of Syrian refugees, and by most accounts has dealt with that influx reasonably well. However, there have been growing concerns that President Erdogan’s government is increasingly resembling the kind of autocracy that triggers humanitarian emergencies in the first place. In the fight against “terrorism,” his armed forces and police have relentlessly gone after his political opponents, particularly the Kurds. Fewer and fewer heads of state want to be seen standing by his side.

Some human rights groups still object to the EU-Turkey deal on managing the current wave of refugees, feeling that the deal allows the European Union to skirt its responsibilities under international law to provide refugees with safe haven. Amnesty International has called the deal “a historic blow to human rights” and a wilful violation of International and European law.

Considering the mixed feelings about the summit, we hope that the summit will mark the beginning of the reconciliation process between aggrieved parties, while serving as an avenue to implement the necessary reforms the humanitarian sector desperately needs.

Elsewhere on Ventures

Triangle arrow