Presentation of the Humanitarian Omnibus Resolution in the General Assembly

Mr. President,

Today, it is my great privilege to introduce to the General Assembly, on behalf of 77 co-sponsors, this year’s draft resolution on the “Strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations” – the so-called “Humanitarian Omnibus resolution.”

This year marks the 33nd anniversary of the landmark resolution 46/182, adopted in December 1991, which laid the foundations of today’s UN humanitarian system. Sweden has been honoured to facilitate the negotiations of this annual resolution ever since. The goal of our collective efforts remains the same as in 1991: to effectively assist people affected by crises.

In 2025, a staggering 305 million people around the world will require urgent humanitarian assistance and protection.

As underlined by the new Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher at the launch of the Global Humanitarian Overview last week, there are two main drivers for these numbers: conflict and the global climate emergency. Humanitarian workers, particularly local staff, are currently facing indiscriminate hostilities, deadly attacks, and obstruction of their work. Underfunding has forced humanitarian actors to scale back operations and make tough choices. We have tried to reflect these tremendous challenges in the resolution presented in the General Assembly today, and to provide the humanitarian community with the framework it needs to offer assistance.

This is a mature resolution, the core elements of which enjoy broad support from Member States. Nonetheless, the consultations this year were challenging in many ways. But the fact that we managed to reach agreement on the text as a whole is a testament to the commitment Member States have to principled humanitarian assistance.

This year’s resolution includes important strengthened language on protection of civilians, safety and security of humanitarian workers, respect for international humanitarian law, humanitarian access, and on the need to narrow the humanitarian funding gap. I would like to thank all delegations for their constructive engagement and willingness to compromise, making these important achievements possible.

I also want to extend our sincere gratitude to OCHA and the technical support staff who made great efforts to ensure a smooth process.

Mr. President,

The draft resolution before the General Assembly was agreed in its entirety during the informal consultations and we strongly encourage its adoption by consensus. I wish to extend my gratitude to the numerous delegations who came together in co-sponsoring this text. We also invite those Member States who have not already done so, to co-sponsor when action is taken later today.

In closing, let me say that by adopting this resolution we, as Member States of the United Nations, must hold ourselves accountable by translating the words of the resolution into concrete action to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity across the globe. As the General Assembly, we are today sending a strong signal of united support to people affected by crises and to humanitarian workers in all crisis contexts around the world.

Thank you.