Source: African Union Commission (AUC) |

World Humanitarian Summit 2016: African Union presents the Common African Position; A call for Africa to show Self-Commitment

Deputy Chairperson Erastus Mwencha takes part in High-Level leader’s roundtable on “Changing People’s Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, May 30, 2016/APO (African Press Organization)/ --

In Africa, there are 15 million people displaced, 4 million of which are refugees while the rest are Internally Displaced Persons therefore underscoring the need to change the Humanitarian architecture and refocus from delivering aid to building resilience for our States and communities during and after emergencies. Speaking on 23 May 2016, during the High-Level leader’s roundtable on “Changing People’s Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need session at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, H.E Mr. Erastus Mwencha the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), observed refocusing on the post- crisis management of the Humanitarian landscape is crucial to avert an amplification of the scale of the humanitarian crisis. 

The Deputy Chairperson, while presenting the Common African Position, highlighted that Africa was keen on the implementation of its set of self-Commitments part of which urges African States to not only open up space for Humanitarian aid but also lead and coordinate the process for all the humanitarian actors involved. H.E Mr. Mwencha noted that the States are sometimes not fully aware of what is being done by the various actors on the ground.

The AUC Deputy Chairperson however cautioned that the primary role of the State is to avert or predict humanitarian crisis and prevent human suffering by taking mitigating action against their consequences. He called on African States to show commitments in addressing the root causes of the crisis, particularly those caused by political impasse, conflicts and violence. To partly address this, African countries have showed commitment by voluntarily submit themselves for governance review by the peers under the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) among others.

On the natural disasters, H.E Mr. Mwencha noted that Africa has already began programmes especially on predicting, responding and adapting to natural calamities through the African Risk Capacity. Participating member States benefit from early warning systems and appropriate contingency plans to respond to the vagaries of weather during and post the calamity.

H.E Mr. Mwencha also noted that it was paramount to relook the humanitarian financing and resource mobilization and create a conducive environment to enhance the contribution of the private sector, humanitarian actors and the civil society as well. He added that this was crucial for early warning, adequate and accurate research, data and statistics that are crucial in the effective for aid delivery but most importantly, in fore-planning for the resilience and capacity building post-crisis.

At the World Humanitarian Summit, the African Union will be pushing for the establishment of an African Humanitarian Agency that is key as an institution that Humanitarian actors can liaise and align with during crisis to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. The AUC Deputy Chairperson also underlined the need for a global humanitarian system that is transparent, efficient and responsive thus calling for the restructuring of the relevant decision making process on humanitarian issues by the UN Security Council based on the issues reflected in the Ezulwini consensus.

The African Union is also keen on the speedy ratification, domestication and implementation of the Kampala convention to address issues of internal displacement in the continent. 

The United Nations estimates that 130 million people globally, currently need aid to survive.

The AUC Deputy Chairperson, who was leading a powerful delegation of the African Union to the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, addressed the continental and international press during a press conference where he highlighted the participation of Africa at the Summit and its contribution to the humanitarian system in the world.  The press conference took place in the presence of H.E Aisha L. Abdullahi, Commissioner for Political Affairs of the African Union. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union Commission (AUC).