Joint NGO statement ahead of the European Council of 28-29 June 2016

At the upcoming European Council, European Union (EU) leaders will discuss the European Commission’s Communication on a new Partnership Framework with third countries. The Communication proposes an approach which aims to leverage existing EU and Member States’ external cooperation instruments and tools in order to stem migration to Europe. The undersigned organisations express their grave concern about the direction the EU is taking by making deterrence and return the main objective of the Union’s relationship with third countries. More broadly, this new Partnership Framework risks cementing a shift towards a foreign policy that serves one single objective, to curb migration, at the expense of European credibility and leverage in defence of fundamental values and human rights.

The proposed approach is inspired by the EU-Turkey deal which although touted as a successful example of cooperation, has actually left thousands people stranded in Greece in inhumane and degrading conditions. This has particularly affected children, with the result that hundreds of unaccompanied children have been held in closed detention facilities on the islands or forced to sleep in police cells on the Greek mainland. The wider repercussions of this should not be underestimated. It is hard to see how Europe can ask partner countries to keep their doors open, to host large-scale refugee populations and prevent further movements while at the same time Member States refuse to shoulder their fair share of responsibility for protecting people who flee their homes. The right to asylum is being significantly undermined, and it will become more and more challenging for civilians in conflict zones to seek international protection.

The Commission’s proposal ignores all the evidence on the ineffectiveness of deterrence strategies aimed at stopping migration. This approach will not only fail to “break the business-model” of smugglers but increase human suffering as people are forced into taking more dangerous routes. Moreover, despite the stated commitment to respect the principle of non-refoulement, there are no safeguards envisaged to ensure that human rights, rule of law standards and protection mechanisms are in place.  As a result, people risk being deported to countries where their rights are not safeguarded.  Responsibility and liability for human rights violations do not end at Europe’s borders.

We are disappointed to see that once again the emphasis on deterrence leaves no clear commitments to open up safe and regular channels to Europe for those in need of international protection and for other migrants, e.g. through resettlement, humanitarian admission schemes, family reunification, educational visas, labour mobility and visa liberalisation. Resettlement, labour migration and visa liberalisation are only mentioned as possible leverage with partner countries in a quid pro quo approach.

Another major concern is the financing of the proposed Partnership Framework which would represent a wholesale re-orientation of Europe’s development programming towards stopping migration. This is an unacceptable contradiction to the commitment to use development cooperation with the aim to eradicate poverty, as enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty. Aid is for the benefit of people in need, and should not be used as a leverage for migration control.  EU funding should be transparent and adhere to clearly established principles, such as the Busan principles on effectiveness and the Paris principles of ownership by and alignment to partner countries’ strategies. In addition, striking ‘migration management’ agreements with countries where grave human rights violations are committed will be counter-productive in the longer term – undermining human rights around the globe and perpetuating the cycle of abuse and repression that causes people to flee.

Migration has many drivers; people may be on the move in search of new livelihood opportunities, an education or to reunite with family, while conflict and violence, human rights violations, climate change, poverty and unemployment can all trigger migration and forced displacement. Any cooperation to manage migration should take into consideration this complex and multi-faceted reality, be evidence and needs-based, and ensure that the benefits of migration are maximised and the risks are mitigated.

If the EU wants to call for more global solidarity, it needs to set the right example. The EU, a project built on the rubble of a devastating war, is about to embark on a dark chapter of its history. We urge EU leaders to choose a rights-based system to manage migration, based on a viable long-term strategic vision, rather than pursuing an unattainable and inhumane deterrence objective and thereby abandoning its core founding principles.

As human rights, humanitarian, medical, migration and development agencies, and key implementing partners of development programmes in third countries, we call on European leaders to:

1. Reject the current Commission Communication and develop a sustainable long-term and evidence-based strategy for migration management, in consultation with civil society and experts.
2. Facilitate safe mobility by opening and strengthening safe and regular channels to Europe both for those in need of international protection and other migrants including through resettlement, humanitarian admission and humanitarian visas, family reunification, worker mobility across skill levels and student visas. Member States must commit to clear benchmarks and appropriate timelines for implementing a migration framework that meets the needs of migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees, their families, as well as the needs and obligations of Member States.
3. Exclude any conditionality based on migration control indicators in the allocation of development aid to third countries. Development aid is a tool to fight poverty and inequality, not to manage migration. Vulnerable populations should not be punished because of concerns that are largely political.
4. Stop any readmissions or removals of people by the EU to a third country that violate – or risk violating – fundamental rights and rule of law, including the principle of non-refoulement. Ensure access to protection, justice and effective remedy for all people in migration and asylum procedures.
5. Ensure transparency in the development of any instruments to manage migration and accountability for human rights violations resulting from EU migration policies.
6. Commit to a foreign policy and action focused on preventing and unlocking protracted crises. While the Communication mentions the need to address root causes of displacement in the long term, it does not include engagement to prevent and manage crises.

Signatories

PRESS RELEASE

Governments must act now to address economic and social inequalities that divide people and countries, benefiting only a few and forcing the many into cycles of poverty, vulnerability and marginalization, international humanitarian and development network ACT Alliance has said.

Commenting as the World Wealth Report from CapGemini was released today, ACT Alliance said that there is an urgent need for governments to close the gap by promoting policies known to lower income and wealth disparities.

“Ending inequalities between countries and between people represents addressing issues of justice, issues of human rights, and issues that speak to the kind of society that people want to live in,” said John Nduna, ACT Alliance General Secretary.

Questioning the existing economic model, Nduna said: “We need a new paradigm that addresses the root causes of poverty, and policies that offer pathways to progressive taxation and greater wealth distribution.”

While there is an unprecedented trend in increasing income inequality within countries for the benefit of a few mega rich individuals, ACT Alliance highlighted that social protection programmes, progressive taxation and equity based structural policies such as the introduction of a minimum wage could play a significant role in reducing the growing gap between rich and poor.

ACT Alliance is a coalition of 140 churches and faith-based organisations working together in over 100 countries to create positive and sustainable change in the lives of people in need. ACT works through faith-based networks and communities to help inform and influence justice and rights-based policies at all levels that seek to address the existing gaps in income and other forms of inequality.

“Action today could mean that specific targets for equity could be achieved,” said Nduna. “For example, enhanced use of progressive taxation on business, foreign investments, income and wealth, or securing full and productive decent work for all, could have rapid impacts on people most in need. Closing these gaps requires intentional commitments by political leaders, business leaders and ambitious policies from governments at all levels. Without this, there will be no end to the broken economic system that makes a few rich and the majority poor.”

ACT Alliance is part of the Fight Inequality Alliance a group of organisations including ActionAid, Amnesty International, CIVICUS, Femnet, Focus on the Global South, Greenpeace, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Oxfam.

ENDS

Note to Editors

1. ACT Alliance is a coalition of 140 churches and faith-based organisations working together in over 100 countries to create positive and sustainable change in the lives of people in need regardless of their religion, politics, gender, sexual orientation, race or nationality in keeping with the highest international codes and standards.
2. ACT Alliance is supported by 25,000 staff from member organisations and mobilises about $1.5 billion for its work each year in the areas of humanitarian aid, development and advocacy.
3. For more information contact Estelle Marais, Head of Communications at esm@actalliance.org, tel: +41 79 358 3171 or visitwww.actalliance.org

The ACT online security induction course is a useful tool for introducing new staff to some of the safety & security issues they may face in their work with the aid sector.

The course which is online on the ACT Safety & Security Community of Practice (SSCP) website features twelve modules consisting of a short video presentation and series of questions that must be answered by the user to proceed to the next topic. The course is set up so that if a user has to stop, or loses internet connection, their progress is saved for their next log in.

On completing the course, the user and their line manager receive an email informing them of the successful completion. The ACT Safety & Security Community of Practice (SSCP) encourages all ACT Members to make use of the course, and all our other security tools, to fulfil their duty of care and keep their staff safe as we do our valuable work around the world. 

To: His Excellency Prak Sokhonn,
Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia

We, the undersigned international NGOs, recognise the Royal Government of Cambodia’s commitment to global agreements and frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We note that the quest for sustainable development is reflected in policy documents such as the 2014 – 2018 National Strategic Development Plan and the “Rectangular Strategy” of the Royal Government of Cambodia.

We share the commitment and belief that progress in achieving SDGs and other social, economic, environmental or political goals requires strong social systems through which citizens interact with each other and with their government.

Recent events, however, lead us to believe that a number of civil society organisations that promote accountability and transparency have been con­sidered by the government as a threat to the stability of Cambodia .

We believe these organisations make important contributions to human development, and a stable society ready for growth and prosperity. We believe that the international charters to which Cambodia is a signatory (such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) recognise democratic values including the freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial. We also believe that the Constitution of Cambodia simi­larly provides a framework for protection and respect of rights.

While maintaining a spirit of partnership and cooperation, we appeal to the Royal Government of Cambodia to:

• Promote, protect, and respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of Cambodian people enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Covenants to which Cambodia is a party.
• Ensure Cambodian citizens are not arrested where their actions have not contravened law and where their actions are the expression of their rights.
• Ensure there is no judicial harassment against Cambodian citizens who are working to protect people’s rights.
• Ensure there is space for democratic participation, advancement of human rights and development processes.

This statement is endorsed by:

1. ACT Alliance
2. ActionAid International
3. Aide et Action Cambodia
4. Asian Legal Resource Center (AHRC -Asia)
5. Union Aid Abroad -APHEDA
6. Bread for the World
7. CAFOD
8. Christian Aid
9. Church World Service
10. CIVICUS
11. Cord
12. DanChurchAid
13. Dan mission
14. Diakonia
15. The Finish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM)
16. Fin Church Aid
17. Forum Asia
18. Forum Syd
19. Franciscans International
20. HEKS/EPER
21. Henrich Boll Foundation
22. ICCO Cooperation
23. International Relief and Development Cambodia
24. Johanniter International Assistance
25. Kepa
26. Mekong Plus Cambodia
27. Mennonite Central Committee
28. MISEREOR
29. Mission Alliance
30. MARYKNOLL
31. Norwegian People’s Aid
32. OT Watch Mongolia
33. Oxfam
34. Pact
35. People in Need
36. Southeast Asia Development Program
37. TROCAIRE
38. Welthungerhilfe
39. World Renew
40. WWF
41. Zo Indigenous Forum

PRESS RELEASE

Cecilia Richard, 33, harvests millet in Captain, a village in southern Malawi that has been hard hit by drought in recent years, leading to chronic food insecurity, especially during the “hunger season,” when farmers are waiting for the harvest. ACT Alliance has worked with farmers in this village to switch to alternative, drought-resistant crops, such as millet, as well as using irrigation and other improved techniques to increase agricultural yields. Photo: Paul Jeffrey

Much more focus is needed to tackle climate change and specifically workplace heat as people from emerging economies daily face the challenges of dealing with the impact of climate change at work, international humanitarian and development network ACT Alliance has said.

Speaking as the 105^th session of the International Labour Conference gets underway today in Geneva, ACT Alliance said that the Paris climate change agreement adopted last year and signed by a majority of governments sets a new momentum requiring governments to take more ambitious and urgent action to address climate change because of its devastating impacts on people’s lives.

ACT Alliance, an international faith-based network of 140 members working in over 100 countries and embedded in the communities they serve, has long been advocating for climate justice and more ambitious action by governments and other stakeholders at all levels.

The alliance contributed to a report released last month jointly with the Climate Vulnerable Forum, UNDP, ILO, IOM, the International Organization of Employers (IOE), UNI Global Union and International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), titled “Climate Change and Labour: Impacts of Heat in the Workplace”, which found that by the mid-1990s heavily exposed countries had lost an estimated 1-3 percent of the entirety of available daylight work hours due to heat extremes – a trend which the report said is set to increase due to future climate change.

The report states: “Even if the current commitments of the world governments to combat climate change are realized, losses by the end of this century to most vulnerable economies of all available daylight work hours will double or triple.”

ACT Alliance General Secretary John Nduna said: “We are pleased to see the commitment of so many world leaders to combatting the impacts of climate change, and we hope that the ambition shown in the 2015 Paris agreement will be even further strengthened as it is implemented in countries across the world.”

“As an alliance we work with communities that are daily facing the impacts of climate change,” Nduna continued. “In Central America alone, for example, the drought is one of the most severe in the region’s history with more than 2 million people in need of immediate food assistance, health care, nutritional support and recovery of livelihoods, reaching levels of humanitarian crisis and highlighting the extreme vulnerability of subsistence farmers, labourers and low-income families to the impacts of climate change.”

ACT Alliance members are on the ground working with communities to combat the many impacts of climate change, and has released an appeal to respond to the food crisis in Central America caused by the El Niño drought, which can be found here: http://bit.ly/24wqjMM

ENDS

Notes to the editor:

1. “Climate Change and Labour: Impacts of Heat in the Workplace” made with the 43-nation Climate Vulnerable Forum, ACT Alliance, International Labour Organization (ILO) headquarters in Geneva, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Organization of Employers (IOE), UNI Global Union, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO). The report can be fund here: https://actalliance.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/05/Climate-and-Labour-Issue-Paper_28-April-2016_v1_lowres.pdf
2. For more information contact Estelle Marais, Head of Communications at Estelle.marais@actalliance.org tel: +41 79 358 3171 or visit www.actalliance.org

PRESS RELEASE

A volunteer for ACT Alliance member DanChurchAid explains to neighbours their options for constructing houses to replace the homes they lost in the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Photo Credit: ACT/Paul Jeffrey

The World Humanitarian Summit has identified key opportunities that exist for more effective collaboration among diverse stakeholders but clear implementation strategies are now needed if we are to better deliver to affected populations in crises, ACT Alliance has said.

The alliance, an international faith-based humanitarian and development network of 140 members working in over 100 countries, had a strong delegation of attendees at the Summit which took place on 23-24 May in Istanbul.

ACT Alliance General Secretary John Nduna, welcomed the many statements from member states, fellow NGOs and other stakeholders and at the Summit echoing the commitments the alliance has made towards improved humanitarian response, particularly those relating to increasing the involvement of local and national responders in crises.

“We are pleased that the WHS has seen such support and leadership particularly around the Grand Bargain which saw commitment to increasing funding to local and national responders as directly as possible, and a real understanding of the importance of cash based systems in meeting people’s needs,” said Nduna. “Local and national responders are the parties that have the closest access to communities, and as ACT Alliance we have also committed to significantly increasing the proportion of our members’ humanitarian funding that goes directly to local and national members and their partners, for both humanitarian response and emergency preparedness.”

“The Summit has highlighted the opportunities for collaboration among actors for a more effective humanitarian response, and now we as an international community must transform the discussions at this event beyond words into action, in the form of clear implementation and monitoring strategies.”

ACT Alliance, which through its global membership responds to around 25 emergency situations around the world each year from natural disasters to conflict-related crises, also welcomed views across stakeholders at the Summit supporting the preservation of humanitarian principles and International Humanitarian Law, with Nduna saying: “The WHS has highlighted the importance of maintaining humanitarian action and recognising the uniqueness of humanitarian action in and of itself.”

1. For more information contact Estelle Marais, Head of Communications at Estelle.marais@actalliance.org tel: +41 79 358 3171

PRESS RELEASE

23 May 2016 – Moving from delivering aid to ending need requires more participation of local and national organisations in policy and decision-making processes, international faith-based humanitarian and development network ACT Alliance has said.

Speaking at the World Humanitarian Summit’s High Level Leaders Round Table on ‘Changing People’s Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need’ this morning, ACT Alliance General Secretary John Nduna echoed NGO calls that only a humanitarian system that ensures stronger participation of local and national organisations in relevant policy and decision-making fora, would bring the much needed ecosystem of diverse local, national and international organisations necessary to end need.

“As an alliance committed to the accompaniment of local and national actors, more than 70 percent of our membership are local and national responders rooted in communities before, during, and after crises,” Nduna said. “We are part of the communities we seek to assist, and are emboldened to see commitments which aspire to reinforce local systems, increase genuine community engagement, and enhance complementarity among local, national and international responders.”

ACT Alliance represents 140 churches and faith-based organisations engaging in humanitarian, development and advocacy work in more than 100 countries. It responds to around 25 emergency situations around the world each year, including the 2015 Nepal earthquake and the ongoing drought in Ethiopia, providing lifesaving relief to populations in crisis.

As part of the alliance’s contributions to furthering the Agenda for Humanity, it has committed to revising and reforming its humanitarian response mechanisms in line with the direction set out in the UN Secretary General’s Agenda for Humanity, and to supporting empowerment of people impacted by emergencies in addressing their self-determined needs.

“We aim to strengthen local capacities by reforming our ACT Rapid Response Fund so that it is targeted exclusively for national and local members because we believe the empowerment of local actors, who are often first responders, must include efforts to improve local and national NGOs’ access to funding opportunities,” Nduna said. “We will incentivise greater investment in emergency preparedness, disaster risk reduction and resilience. We will work with communities to prepare for crises and not just react.”

Notes to Editors:

1. For more information contact Estelle Marais, Head of Communications at Estelle.marais@actalliance.org, tel: +41 79 358 3171 or visit www.actalliance.org

Let’s no forget: locally-led response & Preventing and Mitigating Risks are REQUIRED for a Safer World

At the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai last year, ACT Alliance committed:

To raise DRR awareness at the grassroots level by influencing local leadership and educating community members

ACT Alliance has a strong track record on enabling community resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). To reduce future risks, here are examples from ACT partners around the world

This is how we reduce future risks:

1) LIVELIHOODS: Diversification of income sources and livelihood options

Mohammed Assen (40 years old), smallholder, living in Dereba, Ethiopia:

“A few years ago, I’d nearly given up hope. We’d lost everything in the drought. ACT member EECMY (Mekane Yesus Church) helped us to create the vegetable garden and the shallow well. They gave us seeds and saplings and showed us how to make compost. My wife found work in the tree nursery. And I was able to do a course in masonry. Not so long ago, we nearly starved to death. But now we have a future again!”

2) DRR EDUCATION: Ensuring that DRR education reaches to the most hard-to-reach areas and communities-at-risk

In Pakistan, Act Member CWSA is using a Mobile Knowledge Resource Center equipped in a truck to bring DRR education to remote, hazard-prone communities and help community members, teachers and school children to prepare for the event of a natural disaster.

3) EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS: Saving lives and livelihoods through early warnings

In Ethiopia, indigenous early warning knowledge and practices are documented, shared and combined with modern technology to strengthen and promote decentralized early warning and response systems by ACT member ICCO. This improves early warnings and increases the trust of communities in the information. Communities are taking action to avoid or reduce disaster risks.

4) LOCAL DECISION MAKING: Empowering community members on the ground to lead risk identification and take mitigation measures

In Myanmar, Village DDR Committees mobilise community and government resources to strengthen village infrastructure with support from ACT Member Diakonia.

5) INNOVATION: Collaborating with academia and other stakeholders

Diganjeng, West-Java, Indonesia:

In Indonesia, we invented a climate field school run by an ACT partner BfW, which demonstrates growing rice on bamboo rafts floating on the water, an innovation developed by the community. The 2 x 5 meter rafts can be made within half an hour, usually from bamboo trunks held together with netting. The cost of 3.80 euros is moderate and over a three year period, the rafts save a lot of money.

“What’s so remarkable about our village,” explains Tahmo Cahyono, the village chief, “is that during the rainy season, the fields are completely flooded. In the dry season, though, they are unbelievably dry.”

“Initially, we were ridiculed for thinking this up”, Feri Rianto, co-ordinator at the climate field school says. “But by the end of the season, the results we achieved were persuasive.”

___________

ACT Alliance is fully committed to reducing disaster risks in addition to responding to humanitarian crises through our presence deeply rooted in the societies in over 100 countries. We enable local capabilities for ‘Preventing and Mitigating Disaster Risks’ before, during and after disasters.

Hari Maya Bhujel hugs her grandson, 5-year old Utsab, in Majhitar, a village in the Dhading District of Nepal where Dan Church Aid, a member of the ACT Alliance, has provided a variety of support to local villagers in the wake of a devastating 2015 earthquake. Photo: Paul Jeffrey

The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit is only days away, after years of preparation, thousands of hours of input from across the globe, significant financial resources, numerous reports, and now, hundreds of commitments. And today, as I wrap up the final preparations to head out to Istanbul, I find myself already thinking about what happens next.

As I reflect on the Agenda for Humanity, I am pleased to see commitments towards inclusivity, recognizing the role that local and national responders play next to international counterparts in humanitarian contexts. I am hopeful when I hear terms such as “humanitarian ecosystem” becoming the norm in WHS discussions, knowing that it is intended to recognize what NGOs have known all along – we all bring diverse strengths in order to achieve the same goal: saving lives, maintaining dignity, and supporting people in need.

But I am doubtful too. Because I wonder, and I know I am not alone, what the tangible benefits will be to the people we serve. How do we ensure that the populations affected by crisis are adequately engaged, not just now, but after? How do we ensure that the core of what we do – delivering quality aid, quickly, to as many people in need as possible – does not get lost in all of these words?

At ACT Alliance, we spent months going over the commitments we wanted to take forward to the WHS. We spent hours in meetings and on email amongst the membership discussing, understanding, proposing and agreeing, reflecting on what we have heard from affected populations. For us, the ACT commitments are not about the WHS, but about who we want to be as we serve populations in need. They are about the changes we think are important, and have been advocating for, also outside the WHS process. They are about using the WHS as an opportunity to look at ourselves and commit to being reflective of a system that we want. They are about leading the way in how we respond to humanitarian situations – whether they make the headlines or not.

The ACT Alliance represents more than 140 churches and faith-based organizations, engaging in humanitarian, development and advocacy work in more than 100 countries around the world. More than 70% of our membership are local and national responders, and, alongside other first responders from across the sector, are often the first to respond to populations in crisis. Our diversity is one of our core qualities, and the challenge of finding a common vision that engages local and national responders who are embedded in communities before, during and after crises, alongside international responders who are committed to strengthening and accompanying members from around the world, while challenging, makes us stronger.

For us, the WHS itself is really only the beginning. Because what happens afterwards, as we develop our implementation plans to put our commitments in action, is where the tough work begins. We will continue to work with, and for, affected populations the world over. We will remain accountable to them, because we believe that in the end, our commitments will be measured against the improvements we make in saving lives and maintaining the dignity of people affected by crisis as we engage in effective, quality responses. And so, as part of the ACT Alliance delegation going to Istanbul, this is the thought that I will carry with me: humanitarian action is first and foremost about humanity.

__________

Reshma Adatia has been working in the international aid sector both in Canada and abroad for more than 15 years. She is currently the Global Humanitarian Coordinator for the ACT Alliance, based in Geneva, Switzerland since January 2015. The ACT Alliance is a network of 140 church and faith-based organization, working in more than 100 countries. In her role, she is responsible for global humanitarian advocacy and policy positioning, as well as overall responsible for the ACT Alliance Emergency Response Mechanism, which prioritises direct funding to local and national responders in emergencies.

Reshma is currently a member of the ICVA Board, and is Chair of the ICVA Policy Committee, as well as a principal of the IASC Emergency Directors Group. She holds degrees in International Development and International Politics from the University of Calgary.

PRESS RELEASE

20 May 2016 – Renewed action and investment in humanity is needed at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul next week if we are to move from delivering aid to ending need, international faith-based humanitarian and development network ACT Alliance has said.

In the eleven new commitments ACT Alliance as a network has made towards the World Humanitarian Summit, it has focused on the core responsibilities highlighted in the UN Secretary General’s report to the Summit, in terms of meeting people’s essential needs and developing solutions with and for those impacted; investing in local capacities, and putting people at the centre of the response through local and national empowerment and building community resilience.

“Every day our members in the field doing humanitarian work are the witnesses of the hard realities that face people affected by natural disasters, diseases and epidemics, and conflicts,” said John Nduna, ACT Alliance General Secretary. “It is imperative that these communities are part of an inclusive system that empowers them. It is time to create a paradigm shift within the humanitarian system, and our expectation is that this first Summit should be a significant milestone toward real change in the sector, in which local and national organisations are more empowered to respond to their community’s needs.”

The 140 members of ACT Alliance who together work in over 100 countries around the world, work directly with communities facing emergency situations and respond to around 25 emergency situations around the world per year, including the recent earthquake in Ecuador and the ongoing conflict in Syria.

The alliance shares the majority of findings in the UN Secretary General’s report towards the World Humanitarian Summit. It has also endorsed the new Charter for Change initiative, which makes concrete commitments to shift power and resources to national and local actors.

As part of its work to support the World Humanitarian Summit process the alliance has committed to significantly increasing the proportion of ACT members’ humanitarian funding that goes directly to local and national members and their partners for humanitarian response and emergency preparedness by 2018.

“The commitments ACT has made in the run up to the WHS are about the changes we have identified as important and which we have been advocating for, both within and outside the WHS process,” said Reshma Adatia, ACT Alliance Global Humanitarian Coordinator. “We have used the WHS as an opportunity to commit to being reflective of a system that we want. Our commitments are about leading the way in how we respond to humanitarian situations.”

“Like other humanitarian workers we do our best to help people overcome emergency situations, and there are no miracle results,” said Nduna. “We must embrace the issues together at all levels and work in partnerships with equal recognition, from grassroot communities including faith based organisations to national and regional leaders and international bodies. This is the most effective way to help change the lives of people in crisis situations and uphold the norms that safeguard humanity.”

** For more information contact Estelle Marais, Head of Communications at Estelle.marais[at]actalliance.org tel: +41 79 358 3171.