In the face of the dramatic changes that we have been witnessing lately in humanitarian access, protection, significant decline in humanitarian funding, our approach must also change if we are to remain adequate and effective. In this respect, we welcome the humanitarian reset initiative presented by [UN] Under-Secretary General Fletcher“, said in his statement in the general debate of the ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment Ambassador Yuri Sterk, Permanent Representative of Bulgaria to the UN Office in Geneva.

The ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment, the largest annual UN humanitarian gathering, took place in Geneva on 18-20 June, preceded by a day-long event on the Transition from Relief to Development. The theme of the Segment was “Renewing global solidarity for humanity: saving lives, reducing suffering and mobilizing solutions for humanitarian action”. The HAS included high-level panels on the Reset, on humanitarian consequences of armed conflicts and International Humanitarian Law (IHL), on adapting financing, and on innovative delivery models.

The meeting adopted a ‘Call to Action’, endorsed by all EU27 and thus far by altogether 115 UN member states. The text reflected Bulgaria’s key proposals and priorities on IHL, humanitarian access and protection of aid workers, principled humanitarian assistance, protection of civilians, early warning and anticipatory action, risk reduction and the humanitarian-development transition.  “Along with change … there are fundamentals in humanitarian action that must not change. The respect of the humanitarian principles - humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence, must be upheld. Full compliance with the International Humanitarian Law must be guaranteed“,  further urged Ambassador Sterk in his statement in the general debate.

This year’s General debate was largely focused on humanitarian system reform and maintaining a principled approach to humanitarian action. Deep concern over the state of IHL amidst increasing violations and the protection and reducing harm to civilians were another general themes across the HAS. There was a strong emphasis on localisation as well.

In the margins of ECOSOC and its high-level panels, seven official ECOSOC side-events were hosted on related topics, alongside a number of other humanitarian events.