UNITED NATIONS, Jun 18 (APP): The top United Nations humanitarian official, Martin Griffiths, has reaffirmed UN’s commitment to deliver impartial humanitarian aid for the growing number of people adversely impacted by armed conflict, natural disasters and other emergencies, at an interactive session with the developing countries.
Griffiths, who is the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, was briefing the Group of 77 (developing countries) and China, which is headed by Pakistan.
Ambassador Aamir Khan, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, presided over the session on Thursday.
G-77 and China now has 134 members and is the United Nations’ biggest intergovernmental group of emerging countries.
Griffiths, who was dealing with the challenges and opportunities in the current humanitarian landscape, said the ongoing conflicts and other emergencies exposed millions of girls and boys to violence, exploitation, neglect and abuse.
In 2021, he said, around 25.2 million of people internally displaced were under 18, and that the adverse effects of their displacement might reverberate for years to come.
In Africa alone, over 27 million people are displaced due to conflict, violence and disasters — the highest figure ever recorded for the region and almost half of the global figure, the under secretary-general said.
Many of those displaced have been forced to flee multiple times in search of safety — from one place to another, and another further away from home, he said.
“Unless we help these people find lasting solutions, many will likely be trapped in displacement for years or even decades.”
He said that prolonged conflicts and spreading insecurity and violence in some parts have freshly uprooted millions of people this year, including 15 million in West and Central Africa alone.
Parts of some countries are now in an almost permanent state of humanitarian crisis, he said pointing out that the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan, for instance, have launched humanitarian appeals for 20 consecutive years, with Mali and Niger now halfway there.
The lingering socioeconomic impact of the pandemic has heightened poverty and inequality, he said, noting that fragile institutions were struggling to meet people’s needs.
Welcoming the under secretary-general, Ambassador Aamir Khan said the developing world has been especially hit hard by Covid 19 and Climate Change.
“These, combined with ongoing conflicts, have exacerbated humanitarian crisis and driven up humanitarian needs.”
Children, especially girls, were missing out on their education, with women’s rights threatened.
“Multiple famines loom”, the G77 chairman said, adding that Individual lives and livelihoods, regional and national stability, and decades of development were at risk, and the cost of inaction was high.
Political conflicts, he said, continue hitting civilian populations hard, particularly the vulnerable including children and persons with disabilities, with more than 1 percent of the world’s population now displaced, 42 per cent of whom are children.
Hard-won development gains in employment, food security, education and health care have been reversed, Ambassador Aamir Khan said, adding that hope should not be lost..
“Humanitarian systems have responded to the challenges, overcoming obstacles and showing what can be done when the international community comes together.”
APP/ift
