Commitment to change

Commitment to change: what world leaders must promise at the World Humanitarian Summit

Publication date: 22 April 2016
Author: Edmund Cairns

The World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016 will take place in a world in which warring parties kill civilians without consequence, and in which El Niño highlights yet again the rising tide of disasters affected by climate change. The Summit also takes place in the shadow of Syria’s conflict and the greatest displacement crisis of our age.

This briefing sets out Oxfam’s challenge to world leaders who fail to resolve conflicts, permit warring parties to ignore International Humanitarian Law, and do everything possible to keep the world’s refugees and displaced people from their doors. Oxfam, other NGOs and UN agencies must change too in the face of escalating humanitarian demands – including by giving a greater role and more funding directly to local actors. This briefing sets out Oxfam’s own commitments to change.