Together We Stand

[ 9 ] T ogether W e S tand The time to act is now. Each year the needs — and the costs — grow higher. This is not in anyone’s inter- est, nor is it not sustainable. This is why United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has convened the first- ever World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, on 23-24 May 2016. The Summit will bring together leaders from Governments, businesses, international and regional organizations, humanitarian organizations, first respond- ers, community networks, academia and civil society. At the Summit, leaders will gather to make commitments to reduce human suffering and reverse the trend of rising humanitarian need. Because these global challenges require global leadership and solutions, the Summit must represent a turning point, which helps create the political momentum for change. A worldwide consultation In calling for the World Humanitarian Summit, the Secretary- General asked that the search for solutions be based on and informed by the experience of all relevant stakeholders, including people affected by crisis and those serving their needs. Over the course of eighteen months, a worldwide consultation process took place to gather the views of affected people, governments, civil society, humanitarian organiza- tions, the private sector and other partners. The consultation reached more than 23,000 people in 153 countries — the most comprehensive consultation on humanitarian action ever to be undertaken. Consultations were undertaken in communities, in refugee camps, in field offices and in capital cities. The findings from each part of the world were brought together in eight regional consultations. In 2014, three consultations took place in: Abidjan generously co-chaired by Cote d’Ivoire and by the Democratic Republic of the Congo; in Tokyo, co-hosted by the Governments of Japan and Indonesia; in Pretoria, co-chaired by South Africa and Ethiopia. In 2015, five consultations took place: in Budapest, co-hosted by Hungary, Finland and the European Commission Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection; at the Dead Sea, hosted by the Government of Jordan and co-chaired by the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation; in Guatemala City, hosted by the Government of Guatemala; in Auckland, co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia; and in Dushanbe, hosted by the Government of Tajikistan. Many other coun- tries and organizations, too numerous to list here, hosted thematic and technical consultations. The Government of Germany generously hosted the thematic consultation; and the government of Switzerland hosted the Global Consultation, which brought together more than 1,000 Image: UNICEF/Marco Dormino Haitians cross a flooded street in Léogâne, 30 km southeast of Port-au-Prince. Haiti has been hit by heavy rains and strong win s brought by Hurricane Tomas