Joint Statement on behalf of India and Sweden, delivered by Ambassador Anna Karin Eneström, at the 76th United Nations General Assembly Humanitarian Debate, New York, 10 December 2021
Mr. President,
1. Following the presentation of the Humanitarian Omnibus resolution, in our national capacity, it is now my privilege to deliver a Joint Statement on behalf of India and Sweden on this agenda item.
2. We would first like to pay tribute to humanitarian and medical personnel worldwide. We extend our sincere gratitude for the work you are doing to ensure that emergency relief reach those in need, often at great personal risk. ok
3. India and Sweden share a strong commitment to strengthen the United Nations system to respond to the complex humanitarian challenges of our time.ok
4. The Global Humanitarian Overview published last week makes it clear that humanitarian needs have continued to rise from last year’s record levels. 274 million people are now in need of humanitarian assistance, and the funding needs amount to 41 billion dollars. The UN and partner organizations aim to assist 183 million people most in need across 63 countries in 2022. This is a formidable challenge for the entire international community, and one we cannot afford to downplay.
5. Conflict and the Covid-19 pandemic continue to drive the increase in humanitarian needs. Climate change has also aggravated the humanitarian situation in several parts of the world. Development gains in employment, food security, education and health care have been affected seriously, and in some cases even reversed. Increased food insecurity has also aggravated the humanitarian situation, with people in 43 countries facing the risk of famine-like conditions. School closures, mainly due to covid-19 pandemic, have disrupted the education of 870 million children. Lockdowns and economic hardship have led to a wider gender-poverty gap and an increase in sexual and gender-based violence.
6. It is worth reiterating that this is fundamentally about people. The chances of a life in dignity and prosperity, the hopes and dreams of women, men, boys and girls, are undermined in humanitarian crises that are often man-made. We call on the entire global community to reflect on this, in terms of what can be done to address the root causes of humanitarian needs and to respond to the acute challenges.
7. On that note, the humanitarian community have made impressive efforts to address the challenges in the past year: Data collection has improved, flexible instruments like the Central Emergency Relief Fund and Country-Based Pool Funds have allowed us to quickly re-direct resources towards the most acute needs, and the private sector is increasingly stepping in as a strong and creative partner to traditional humanitarian actors.
8. Collaboration between humanitarian, development and peacebuilding efforts is increasing, and local leaders and communities are gaining greater recognition as key first responders. Where crises are predictable, anticipatory action is increasingly deployed as a cost-efficient way to minimize the impact on people in emergency situations.
9. The persistent shortfall in financing of humanitarian appeals remains a challenge. We call upon Member States to consider increasing their contribution to the UN humanitarian assistance system, including country-based pooled funds, and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), to which India and Sweden are long-standing donors. We would also like to emphasise the value of non-earmarked flexible funding and predictable support to our humanitarian partners.
Mr President,
10. India and Sweden reaffirm that humanitarian principles and international law provide the basis for humanitarian assistance. We remain committed to preserving the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence in responding to all humanitarian situations.
11. The primary responsibility for providing protection and assistance in a humanitarian crisis lies with the country concerned. The international humanitarian assistance must be provided impartially, in accordance with the guiding principles in General Assembly resolution 46/182 and subsequent resolutions.
12. Repeated violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law are persistent challenges. Parties to armed conflicts, including non-state actors, continue to flout international humanitarian law and perpetrate human rights abuses with impunity. Arbitrary restrictions on humanitarian access is an increasing problem that deprives people of assistance that is both needed and available. We must continue to strengthen the international cooperation framework to bring perpetrators to justice. The protection of women and children remains a particularly pressing issue which requires increased attention.
13. While UN agencies and its partners are responding commendably to several complex emergencies, evolving a coherent and comprehensive approach remains a significant challenge. Greater coordination is required to achieve effective and context-tailored responses, which facilitate greater participation of local actors.
14. We believe that our approach to humanitarian response must put those affected at the very centre - this ensures respect for human dignity, as well as flexibility to make choices on the goods and services that affected populations need the most.
15. We also need to continue our efforts in developing a multi-sectoral needs assessment as well as building strong databases to enhance effectiveness, accountability and transparency of humanitarian action.
16. The need for greater complementarity between humanitarian action and development cooperation is well recognized. Development action by national governments and the international community should focus on reducing risk and vulnerability which will contribute to building resilience and capacity.
17. The protection of humanitarian workers, especially in situations of armed conflict, remain a concern. Attacks on humanitarian personnel are unacceptable, and we welcome the resolution on “Safety and Security of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations personnel”.
18. Terrorism further compounds the twin problems of violence against humanitarian personnel and lack of accountability. Access to new and emerging technologies has enhanced the capacities of terrorist groups to obstruct humanitarian action, including safe and unhindered access for medical and humanitarian agencies. There needs to be zero tolerance for terrorism.
19. All humanitarian actors must strictly adhere to the policy of zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse and ensure that the victims are provided adequate protection.
Mr President,
20. Guided by its ancient philosophy of viewing the world as one family, India has been at the forefront of supporting fellow developing countries through assistance and relief efforts in humanitarian emergencies, including natural disasters. These efforts have ranged from immediate supply of relief materials to emergency evacuation of very large numbers of persons of various nationalities from affected zones.
21. During the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, India emerged as a net provider of health security and successfully shouldered its responsibility as the ‘pharmacy of the world’, sending consignments of medicines and medical supplies to over 150 partner countries. As a responsible member of the world community, India’s vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in fighting this crisis.
22. Moving forward, we need to look beyond immediate relief and rehabilitation. India remains committed to address the challenges of complex humanitarian emergencies through building disaster resilient infrastructure. It is in this context that India has taken the initiative to launch the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure in partnership with several other countries, during the 2019 Climate Action Summit. Continuing our efforts further, India has introduced a new initiative for technical assistance and capacity building in Island States called the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States [IRIS] under the CDRI. Through IRIS, it will be easy and faster for SIDS to mobilize technology, finance, and necessary information. Promotion of quality infrastructure in Small Island States will benefit both lives and livelihoods there.
Mr. President,
23. In the face of the unprecedented increase in humanitarian needs, Sweden has responded and acted. Sweden is proud to remain one of the largest donors to the UN humanitarian system and his year we are contributing a total of 874 million USD in humanitarian aid.
24. In line with its Grand Bargain commitments, Sweden will continue to provide major UN agencies such as WFP, UNRWA, UNHCR, UNICEF and CERF with multi-year core funding. The COVID-19 pandemic and its knock-on effects have clearly demonstrated the importance of flexible humanitarian funding. Such funding allows for timely, independent, effective and efficient humanitarian action and that is why Sweden strongly believes this is the right path to pursue and encourages other donors to follow.
25. Sweden was proud to host the launch of the Global Humanitarian Overview last week, for the first time ever. Sweden will remain a strong voice for principled humanitarian assistance and a leader in developing new, innovative and efficient solutions to the challenges facing the world in the humanitarian field. We remain committed to tackling the negative effects of climate change on humanitarian action and will intensify our efforts to accelerate the mainstreaming of anticipatory humanitarian action moving forward.
Mr President,
26. Almost two years have passed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is abundantly clear that the pandemic has compounded a number of trends driving global humanitarian needs. As the United Nations, we must rise to this challenge together. We need to demonstrate more resolve, more resources, and more creativity. We – India and Sweden – reiterate our commitment to work with all member states to ensure a unified and robust response to the world’s humanitarian challenges. Our debate today presents an opportunity to send a strong and unified message of support to those in need of humanitarian assistance, and to humanitarian actors worldwide. We therefore call on delegations to adopt the draft humanitarian resolutions by consensus.