World Humanitarian Day

The humanitarian sector is entering one of the most significant periods of transformation since the modern international humanitarian system emerged after the Second World War. Traditional assumptions regarding multilateral leadership, stable donor funding, operational coordination, and continual humanitarian expansion are increasingly under pressure from geopolitical fragmentation, economic nationalism, climate instability, technological disruption, and declining donor commitment. UN agencies, multi-national NGOs and governments are adapting to a humanitarian system that is no longer simply adapting to crises but undergoing structural and political redefinition. One of the most important emerging trends is the concentration of geopolitical and economic power. Humanitarian action historically depended on a relatively stable international order dominated by Western donor governments and multilateral institutions. That environment is rapidly changing. Strategic competition among the Uni...

Civilians affected by conflicts and crises cannot be protected effectively when those providing assistance are themselves under threat. Violence against humanitarian personnel — predominantly local humanitarians serving their own communities — has risen sharply amid declining respect for international humanitarian law (IHL). This event proposes concrete actions to strengthen the protection of humanitarian personnel, with particular attention to local staff. It will center on the Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel (Declaration) as a practical framework which complements and reinforces existing efforts to promote respect for IHL, including UN Security Council Resolution 2730. Discussion will focus on how Member States can translate commitments into action by strengthening accountability, supporting system-wide reforms, and ensuring the conditions to enable humanitarian personnel to operate safely and effectively in high-risk and complex environments. Discussions wil...

Side event of the " Protection of Civilians Week 2026 " to bring together Member States, humanitarian leadership and key partners to examine how humanitarian diplomacy can be leveraged as a practical and strategic tool for the protection of civilians amid growing geopolitical fragmentation , shrinking humanitarian space, and unprecedented financial constraints on the multilateral system. The proposed side event will bring together Member States, humanitarian leadership and key partners to examine how humanitarian diplomacy can be leveraged as a practical and strategic tool for the protection of civilians amid growing geopolitical fragmentation, shrinking humanitarian space, and unprecedented financial constraints on the multilateral system. All Member States possess diplomatic tools and relationships that can be mobilized in defense of the protection of civilians. The event will focus on how those tools can be better deployed. Drawing on concrete experiences, the event wi...

   Press Conference: Ambassador Mike Waltz, U.S. Representative to the United Nations, Jeremy P. Lewin, Senior Official for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom, U.S. Department of State, and UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher on funding to the humanitarian system. Watch the Press Conference: Mike Waltz (United States), Jeremy P. Lewin (United States) & Tom Fletcher (OCHA) on funding to the humanitarian system! Media Stakeouts