GINEVRA, JUNE 21 – The three-day high-level meetings of the ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment (HAS) began today in Geneva, marking one of the most important moments in the UN debate on humanitarian assistance. Ambassador Maurizio Massari, the Permanent Representative, is chairing the proceedings as Vice President of ECOSOC. After the General Assembly and the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council is the third largest organ of the UN.
The Geneva session is the culmination of intense coordination work carried out by the Italian Mission since January, with the country leading the negotiations for an humanitarian resolution, which is expected to be adopted this Friday.
“We are leveraging our role to make an impact on issues such as food insecurity and the humanitarian repercussions of conflicts and climate change. Famine, poverty, and political instability are among the main causes of the record number of displaced people globally in recent years, with millions of people forced to leave their homelands in search of better living conditions or, in the most severe cases, to ensure their survival. This is where the crucial work of UN humanitarian and emergency agencies comes into play, as they are able to reach them with lifesaving aid. The purpose of the resolution we will adopt on Friday is to make this action more widespread and impactful,” emphasized Ambassador Massari.
According to the United Nations, the year 2023 marks a new record in the number of people worldwide in need of humanitarian assistance: 339 million, an increase of 4% compared to 2022. Of these, 43.4 million are located in the Horn of Africa, 28.3 million in Afghanistan, 24.7 million in Sudan, and 18 million in Ukraine. During the three-day Geneva event, particular focus will be dedicated to the alarming deterioration of global food security. The UN estimates that 2.3 billion people (one-third of the world’s population) were moderately or severely food insecure in 2021, while 148 million children under the age of 5 experienced stunted growth last year.
In 2021 and 2022, Italy was among the top ten annual donors to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which operates in over 40 countries worldwide, providing lifesaving assistance to millions of people in need.
In addition to chairing the ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment, Italy is also coordinating the United Nations Humanitarian Liaison Working Group in 2023, which serves as an informal dialogue platform among the 50 most engaged Member States, UN humanitarian agencies, and civil society in this field.
Since 1998, the ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment (HAS) has been an essential platform for discussing the activities and issues related to strengthening the coordination and effectiveness of the humanitarian assistance of the United Nations. The HAS provides a key opportunity for Member States, the United Nations system, development actors, the private sector and other humanitarian partners to discuss current and emerging humanitarian challenges and priority themes and share experiences and lessons learned.(@OnuItalia)
