ACT statements - ACT Alliance

ACT General Secretary statement of concern over US administration policies’ impacts on humanitarian aid

ACT Alliance statement on the situation in Lebanon

ACT Alliance is deeply concerned about the escalating violence in Lebanon. Lebanon has been under constant bombing since September 23, 2024. On the 28th of September, Beirut had witnessed more than 85 raids in one night. As the situation in Lebanon deteriorates, we urge immediate international support to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis. The magnitude of this emergency calls for immediate assistance. The people of Lebanon are already enduring immense hardship and cannot wait any longer.

We call upon the international community to take action to:

Request a cessation of hostilities and stop the displacement of around 1.2 million Lebanese, and other vulnerable people who sought refuge in Lebanon.
Prioritize the protection of civilians and take responsibility as duty-bearers.
Halt arms sales and transfer to Israel. All responsible parties should comply with UN Resolution ES-10/L.31/Rev.1 and “halt the transfer of arms, munitions, and related equipment to Israel”.
Support humanitarian actors, including ACT Alliance members, in their continuous work to respond to the needs of those affected, especially the families, mothers and children who lost all their savings and belongings and, most importantly, are not safe.

We call on all ACT Members to:

Fund the LEB 241 appeal to enable ACT members operational in Lebanon to provide life saving support to those affected.
Continue to advocate at national and international levels to end the hostilities and protect international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights.

We express our strong condemnation of the repeated violations of IHL principles, particularly concerning the ongoing targeting of civilians, the media and humanitarian workers. Upholding IHL is of paramount importance, and all parties involved in the conflict must adhere to the fundamental obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants at all times. The protection of civilians must remain a priority, and compliance with IHL is essential to reduce suffering and preserve human dignity during armed conflict.

The Current Situation in Lebanon

Up until the 8th of October 2024 as per Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), It is estimated that 990 shelters are hosting 181,700 Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs). These numbers don’t take into consideration the estimated 1.2 million people who are residing with families and friends, or those who are on the streets as they cannot find a shelter to go to. The toll on civilians, especially the most vulnerable populations such as children, women, the elderly, and people with disabilities, is devastating as they had to leave their homes and find shelter under bridges and in tunnels to find protection from bombings.

Numbers Reflecting the Crisis

Displacement: Over 1.2 million people are estimated to be internally displaced, with many fleeing to shelters that lack basic resources, 181,700 IDPs have been hosted in shelters while the rest either reside with family members or have found rented spaces.
Health: Hospitals and clinics report that they are operating at full capacity, with a 60% shortage in essential medical supplies. Over 20% of displaced families have at least one member requiring urgent medical care.
Loss of life: Over 1,530 have been reported dead since the 16th of September bringing the total toll from the 7th of October 2023 to 2,119 people reported dead. Amongst them more than 127 children and 261 women, 77 health workers. 10, 019 have been wounded. All within a few days. These numbers do not include the bombardment of buildings in Beirut on the night of the 9th of Oct as authorities have no count yet and the numbers keep on rising. Many bodies remain under rubble, and numerous people are still missing.
Shelter: The 990+ newly opened shelters urgently require resources to support displaced families such as food, mattresses, pillows, blankets, electricity, and fuel.
Protection: Reports show that up to 50% of displaced children are showing signs of trauma, and women are increasingly vulnerable to gender-based violence.

A Call for Global Solidarity

We call on the international community to act now. Lebanon cannot bear the burden of this crisis alone. All of Lebanon is affected. A cessation of hostilities and a protection of civilians is essential and more urgent than ever. The humanitarian response must be scaled up to provide urgent assistance, restore dignity, and protect lives.

We stand united in our commitment to uphold human dignity and human rights, and we call on all states and civil society to join us.

Download the full statement here

ACT Alliance and Caritas Internationalis statement on Sudan to UNGA high level side event

“The cries of our children will echo for generations if the world does not act now.”

This is what ACT Alliance and Caritas Internationalis were told by a local faith leader in Sudan in advance of the UN General Assembly, taking place in New York this week. The crisis in Sudan is growing ever more alarming and the numbers of people affected by the conflict and impending famine are staggering, with over 10 million now displaced.

ACT and Caritas prepared a joint statement for a UNGA high level side event entitled “The Cost of Inaction: Urgent and Collective Support to Scale Up the Humanitarian Response in Sudan and the Region.” In the statement, ACT and Caritas raise three points:

A commitment to a partnership-based approach to support local first responders in Sudan,
A call for unimpeded humanitarian access from all parties to the conflict to enable the provision of aid, and
Raising voices of people and communities impacted by the conflict.

The statement calls on “Governments at UNGA to take every diplomatic action possible to end this catastrophe, and to unlock support to the local first responders.”

Read the full statement here.

Read the joint ACT/Caritas appeal for humanitarian relief in Sudan here.

One Voice for One Path: Dialogue and Peace in Latin America and the Caribbean

ACT members from across Latin America gathered in Bogota, Colombia, joined by some members from Europe and North America, in late May to continue the dialogue on: “Regressive Agendas and their Impact on Democracies and Human Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

At the end of the five-day event, the participants issued a public statement entitled One Voice for One Path: Dialogue and Peace in Latin America and the Caribbean. In it, they call on churches and faith communities to “in God’s name, act now in a firm and determined manner to eradicate all types of practices that harm, threaten, and violate human rights, democracies, creation, and social justice, wherever they come from.”

They further call on the international community “to promote inclusive agendas that defend human rights and strengthen our democracies. To governments and economic actors, we urge you to open spaces for real and effective dialogue.”

Finally, they commit to being ready and willing to engage in dialogue.

The full statement is available in Spanish and English.

ACT Alliance joins religious leaders in call for global health equity as nations gather to finalize Pandemic Agreement

ACT Alliance is one of over 100 religious leaders and faith-based organizations globally calling on leaders of the World Health Organization to secure equity commitments to protect all populations everywhere from future pandemics. The letter was delivered on the opening day of the intended final nine-day negotiating session in Geneva for the Pandemic Accord, a new international agreement of UN member states to bolster pandemic prevention, preparedness and response efforts.

“The sanctity of human life often seemed forgotten in the pandemic, with the lives of people in wealthy nations appearing to be valued over those in low- or middle-income countries,” states the letter. “As you enter the final stage of negotiations, we implore you to deliver an agreement that ensures every life is valued equally.”

Millions of people lost their lives during the COVID-19 emergency due to late and inequitable access to tests, treatments and vaccines. The letter urges negotiators to reach an agreement that ensures that everyone, everywhere can benefit from scientific advancement and that the tools needed to fight the next pandemic are shared equally, including necessary knowledge and technology.

It also urges negotiators to ensure that intellectual property barriers are removed when necessary, and that people in the Global South are “treated not as mere samples for pandemic monitoring, but as equal partners in a collective endeavour towards a healthier world.” Over the course of the pandemic, despite the sharing of genetic information that enabled production of effective vaccines, these products were not accessible to many. The proposed pathogen access and benefit sharing (PABS) mechanism in the agreement aims to remedy this by ensuring that sharing of pathogen data also enables equitable access to resulting medical tools.

Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, general secretary of ACT Alliance said, “We stand at a critical moment where the conscience of humanity must guide our actions. The inequities uncovered by the pandemic demand a response rooted in compassion and justice. As nations convene to shape the future of global health, let us not forget that every life is precious and deserving of equal protection. The Pandemic Accord must be a testament to our commitment to valuing every individual, regardless of their geography or socioeconomic status. We urge negotiators to seize this opportunity to ensure that the lessons learned from COVID-19 pave the way for a world where health equity is not just an aspiration, but a reality for all.”

Letter signatory Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa said, “As the world prepares for future pandemics, it is essential that it plans to give equal protection to all people, everywhere, not only for moral reasons but to protect one another. COVID-19 showed us that none of us are safe until all of us are safe, and that only a comprehensive response that covers the world can bring pandemics under control.”

The letter was organized by Public Citizen, in collaboration with the ACT Alliance, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice and the People’s Vaccine Alliance.

The final text of the Accord is slated for presentation to the World Health Assembly in May.

ACT statement on the attack on HEKS colleagues in Ukraine

ACT Alliance and the ACT Ukraine Forum were shocked and saddened to learn today of the deaths of two aid workers from our member HEKS/EPER, and the injury of four other HEKS/EPER employees yesterday in the southeast of Ukraine.

The aid workers were conducting a field assessment when they were attacked at about 2:30pm.

ACT Alliance offers its condolences and prayers to the friends and families of the colleagues killed, and to all the staff of HEKS, as well as all ACT members working in Ukraine in light of this devastating news.

HEKS is working to ensure the safe evacuation of the affected staff, and are providing support to all the staff involved, and their families.

ACT Alliance joins with HEKS in strongly condemning this unjustifiable attack, which is a serious violation of international humanitarian law. Humanitarian workers and civilian populations must never be targets in conflict.

ACT Palestine Forum statement on the violence in the Gaza Strip

The ACT Palestine Forum has issued the following statement regarding the escalating violence on the Gaza Strip. The statement can be downloaded here.

We at the ACT Palestine Forum feel deeply concerned and distressed after a day full of escalating violence in the Gaza Strip and its surrounding area. The resulting potential for major escalation throughout all of Palestine and Israel is extremely likely. The ACT Palestine Forum extends its heartfelt empathy and concern to all affected innocent civilians and their families, and we lift them up in prayer during these challenging and uncertain times.

The current situation demands our critical attention. As a local forum deeply committed to promoting the rights and well-being of the Palestinian people, we recognize the urgent need to respond efficiently and effectively to the crisis in Gaza. We have been in close coordination and communication with ACT Secretariat and with our dedicated colleagues on the ground in Gaza to assess the immediate needs and ensure that our response is timely and impactful.

Assessing the immediate needs on the ground is an exceptional challenge due to the current situation. We are currently collecting data that will inform our plans as a forum and as ACT Alliance to provide critical needed assistance to those affected by the war.

Our response efforts will encompass a wide array of vital humanitarian interventions including delivering crucial psychological support to individuals wrestling with the emotional aftermath of the warfare.

We wish to emphasize the protracted nature of the Gaza Strip’s enduring blockade, which has persisted since 2007, resulting in countless violations upon the basic rights of its population. In response to these distressing circumstances, we not only demand an immediate cessation of this blockade but also strongly advocate for the establishment of a fair and enduring peace that will secure the restoration of these essential rights to all people.

Furthermore, as members of the ACT Palestine Forum, we are in strong agreement in denouncing the violation of sacred sites, especially Al Aqsa Mosque and ongoing harassment faced by Christian sites and pilgrims. We acknowledge the significance of safeguarding and upholding the sanctity of these locations. Additionally, we sincerely appeal to the international community to stand with us in our endeavors to address the root causes of the conflict and uphold the principles of international humanitarian law.

As members of the ACT Palestine Forum, we strongly call for an immediate and peaceful resolution to this conflict. Our unconditional commitment is to ensure the well-being and fundamental rights of all individuals involved.