DOHA: The humanitarian crises in the Arab region are in the spotlight at the third International Forum for Humanitarian Work which opened at Marriott Hotel yesterday, under the theme ‘Towards a more effective and safer humanitarian action’.
The two-day forum, organised by Qatar Charity (QC), is attended by Islamic Cooperation Organisation (ICO), Qatar’s Foreign Ministry and regional and international humanitarian organisations.
Participants include Saudi International Islamic Relief Organisation, International Committee of the Red Cross (Kuwait Mission), International Islamic Charitable Organisation (Kuwait), Humanitarian Relief Foundation (Turkey), Centre for International Studies and Research, MEDAD (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait Mercy International, Islamic Dawa (Doha office) and Al Jazeera Centre for Studies (Doha).
“This forum is held in a more unstable world compared to the previous two editions as the Syrian crisis has reached a stalemate with no signs of a foreseeable solution, the humanitarian situation in Somalia is critical considering the huge humanitarian needs, exacerbated by a deteriorating security situation, and the growing scale of social vulnerability in Yemen, where a large number of the population lack basic services due to the armed conflict,” said a QC statement yesterday.
“The situation in Iraq is very disturbing due to rising numbers of displaced people fleeing the agonies of armed conflicts in some regions of the country. Libya has been suffering worsening circumstances and we cannot forget the eternal issue — the decades-long conflict in Palestine, which does not seem to have a solution in prospect,” it added.
The opening session had speeches by ICO and QC. A general session was held in which a brief report on the human reality of the Muslim world was presented by Ambassador Hesham Youssef of ICO. Another report on world crises was presented by Ronald Ofternger on behalf of International Committee of the Red Cross.
The forum is expected to be an important opportunity for consultation between humanitarian actors in the region and their partners from other humanitarian organisations on the most important current issues, and ways to interact with the issues, including ensuring the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those who deserve it the most.
The forum aims to identify and analyse the most important challenges and obstacles facing humanitarian action, (particularly those associated with humanitarian principles), strengthen the capacity of humanitarian organisations in the GCC and develop a roadmap to be followed by those organisations so that they can provide more effective and safer humanitarian response.
The objectives will be studied under two themes, discussing the areas relating to effective and safe humanitarian action.
The first will be on the code of conduct related to humanitarian action principles.
The second theme deals with safe access to the victims of armed conflicts and will be reviewed through types of risks faced by humanitarian workers in armed conflicts; risk management measures during humanitarian intervention in the event of armed conflict; protection of civilians during armed conflict under international humanitarian law; protection of humanitarian workers during armed conflicts between custom and law; protected areas for civilians during armed conflict under international humanitarian law; functions and uses of reference for indicative purposes and protection; and protection of medical missions during armed conflicts.
The Peninsula
