This invitation-only event will take place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York City. The event will be livestreamed on this page.
Featuring
- Heba Aly, Director, The New Humanitarian
- Jemilah Mahmood, Under Secretary General for Partnerships, International Federation of Red Cross
- Simon O'Connell, Executive Director, Mercy Corps Europe
Moderator
- Jeremy Konyndyk, Senior Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development
Humanitarian relief must involve, and be accountable to, the crisis-affected people it serves.
Versions of this principle can be found in most foundational humanitarian documents, and it features prominently in recent reform commitments including the 2016 Grand Bargain. Yet the power structures that shape international humanitarian response are not driven by, or accountable to, the people that they exist to serve. They are still engaged more as passive recipients of aid than as a force shaping humanitarian priorities. Living up to the aspiration of people-driven humanitarian action will require uncomfortable – but overdue – changes to the humanitarian system’s incentive structures and power dynamics.
We will explore these ideas in depth at this high-level UNGA side event. In particular, the panel discussion will focus on how to shift power within the humanitarian landscape and how to sustain the political will that will be needed for deeper change. Speakers to be announced.
