In this report to the World Humanitarian Summit, the UN Secretary-General calls on global leaders to commit to five core responsibilities:
- Global leadership to prevent and end conflict Preventing conflicts and finding political solutions to resolve them is our first and foremost responsibility to humanity.
- Uphold the norms that safeguard humanity Every day, civilians are deliberately or indiscriminately killed in wars. We are witnessing the erosion of 150 years of international humanitarian law. But even wars have limits: leaders must recommit to upholding the rules that protect humanity.
- Leave no one behind The World Humanitarian Summit is the first test of our commitment to transform the lives of those most at risk of being left behind. This means reaching everyone and empowering all women, men, girls and boys to be agents of positive transformation. It means reducing displacement, supporting refugees and migrants, ending gaps in education and fighting to eradicate sexual and gender-based violence.
- Change people's lives – from delivering aid to ending need Success must now be measured by how people's vulnerability and risk are reduced, not by how needs are met year after year. Ending need will require three fundamental shifts in the way we work: - Reinforce, don't replace national systems - Anticipate, do not wait for crises - Transcend the humanitarian-development divide
- Invest in humanity Accepting and acting upon our shared responsibilities for humanity requires political, institutional and financial investment. As a shift is needed from funding to financing that invests in local capacities, is risk-informed, invests in fragile situations and incentivizes collective outcomes. We must also reduce the funding gap for humanitarian needs.