World Leaders Meet in the Istanbul to stand up for a Common Humanity and Take Action to Prevent and Reduce Human Suffering

The Istanbul Congress Center (ICC) and the Lutfi Kirdar Convention Centre (LKCC), Turkey, was full to capacity with global leaders from government, business, aid organizations, civil society, affected communities, faith-based organizations, international and national NGOs, academia, diaspora and youth coming to attend the First World Humanitarian Summit to announce major commitments to action, launch new partnerships aimed at saving lives, and highlight innovations which help reduce suffering and uphold humanity in times of crisis.

The summit which officially opened on 23 May 2016, was a crowd puller … The African Union Commission (AUC) took active part in all the major activities and high level discussions during the historical global event. The AUC delegation to the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) was led by H.E Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of the AU Commission. H.E. Dr. Aisha Laraba Abdullahi, Commissioner for Political Affairs of the AUC was part of the strong AU delegation to the summit. The AU's theme at the WHS is: “One Africa, One Voice, One Message at the World Humanitarian Summit”.

Meanwhile, the World Humanitarian Summit is a global call to action by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Held at the highest level, the Summit brought together the global community to reaffirm solidarity with people affected by crises, and our collective commitment to humanity.

In his inaugural speech, UN Secretary-General asked that the search for solutions to the growing challenges facing the humanitarian system be based on and informed by the experience of all relevant stakeholders. He said over the course of eighteen months, a worldwide consultation process took place to gather the views of affected people, governments, civil society, humanitarian organizations, the private sector and other partners. The consultation reached more than 23,000 people in 153 countries making it the most comprehensive consultation on humanitarian action ever done.

Some African Union Heads of State who spoke during the opening ceremony echoed the determination of the continent to end violence and silence the guns by 2020 as stipulated in the Africa Agenda 2063. They highlighted the theme of human rights with a particular focus on the rights of women adopted by the African Union Heads of State and Government during the January 2016 Summit held in at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Speaking at the High Level Leaders' roundtables that followed the opening ceremony of the WHS, AUC Deputy Chairperson thanked the UN SG for the good initiative of organizing such an important event and welcomed the opportunity given to the AU to share its perspective on the role of leadership in providing elements of stability to prevent fragility by putting in place structures of governance to enhance development and create a stable community which is at peace with itself. “In Africa, we have 15 million people displaced, 4 million of which are refugees and the rest are internally displaced persons”, underlined Mr. Mwencha. He further emphasized that the primary role of the state is to protect and provide for its citizens. “States must build up their capacities to be able to predict humanitarian crisis and prevent human suffering by taking mitigating action against their consequences” noted the AUC Deputy Chairperson during the High Level Leaders' roundtable. He added that, where humanitarian crisis occurs, the state must be able to guarantee the humanitarian space for the delivery of relief and assistance to the affected population. “In this respect, the state must assume a central role in ensuring that in collaboration and cooperation with external actors, the needs of the population are met timeously” stated the AUC head of delegation at the WHS. Mr Mwencha seize the opportunity of the roundtable to present the Common African Position on Humanitarian Effectiveness .

Deputy Chairperson Mwencha and Commissioner Abdullahi later joined the other world leaders for a visit to the exhibition site where the African Union stand was very prominent in symbols and strong messages displayed in the publications, flyers and handouts that were put at the disposal of the visitors.

On 24 May 2016, Commissioner Abdullahi is expected to animate an African Union High Level Panel on the theme: “Humanitarian Effectiveness in Africa” to unveil Africa's proposed reforms to its humanitarian architecture. The panelists will exchange views on how to achieve effective humanitarian response and durable solutions to the humanitarian crises in the continent.