EU Statement – UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee: Principals – Donor Engagement on the Humanitarian Reset

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Chair, Excellencies, Colleagues,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The European Union and its Members States welcome today’s meeting and the constructive engagement of IASC Principals with donors. We see this as an important opportunity to establish a regular, structured and results-oriented dialogue. This dialogue should be both strategic and operational, and grounded in a clear recognition of our shared responsibility and complementarity in advancing the Humanitarian Reset, in alignment with UN80. Ensuring coherence between these reform strands is essential to achieving a common purpose and maximizing impact for an effective “UN as one” delivery, especially in conflict and fragile settings.

To make this meaningful, we need more than exchanges of views. We need a process that demonstrates progress. We therefore expect this dialogue to be accompanied/grounded in by clear objectives, regular stocktaking and measurable outcomes. It is important to reflect on progress as we go, identify what works and ensure that lessons learned inform our approach.

We would also welcome the IASC’s commitment to convene regular meetings with donors, ideally at the level of humanitarian director and IASC Emergency Directors, to be held in advance of IASC Principals meetings and on an ad hoc basis, as appropriate.

Today’s discussion comes at a defining moment for the global humanitarian system, which is under severe strain.  Amidst polarizing geopolitics, humanitarians under attack, and the fall-out from funding reductions and shifting funding dynamics, the needs, dignity and protection of crisis-affected people must remain at the centre of our collective efforts. the European Union and its Member States reiterate their strong support to system-wide reforms and their firm commitment to shouldering their share of responsibility. 

The EU and its MS currently provide the largest share (40%) of global humanitarian funding and will remain a reliable and principled donor in the global aid system as laid out in the EU Humanitarian Aid Communication strategy that we published in May this year. The EU will continue to provide needs-based, inclusive and non-discriminatory assistance to save lives and preserve human dignity.

We appreciate the progress made on the Humanitarian Reset. Yet, true transformation requires sustained commitment, structural reforms, and concrete actions that address the root causes of humanitarian crises and ensure lasting, meaningful change. Advancing the Humanitarian Reset and its link-up with the broader UN80 initiative is a key priority of the EU’s chairship of the UN OCHA Donor Support Group. The EU will continue leveraging the OCHA Donor Support Group as a platform for strategic engagement with OCHA’s leadership and thus supports to turn reform commitments into impactful change, notably at field level. 

In this context, let me highlight our main priorities.

First, under the ‘define’ pillar of the Humanitarian Reset, the Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) should remain a common reference for needs-based humanitarian decisions. It should be grounded in joint, impartial and comprehensive cross-sectoral needs assessments, focussing on the most severe lifesaving and protection needs first, and premised on credible and comparable data. In this regard, we welcome ongoing efforts to strengthen common data standards and interoperability and encourage IASC members to work collectively towards a more coherent and interoperable humanitarian data ecosystem, building on existing systems and avoiding further fragmentation. The Global Humanitarian Overview should also assess and monitor non-prioritised broader needs while identifying ways to address them through complementary development and peace action, to ensure sustainable transitions and community resilience and credible transition plan from the beginning: we are interested to hear about how the system is envisaging transitions after your discussion this morning. To ensure commonality of effort, it is essential to advance towards a comprehensive, system-wide overview, plan and appeal that also includes IDPs and refugees. 

As donors, we recognise the importance of aligning our funding decisions with jointly agreed, impartial needs assessments and collective prioritisation.

Second, under the ‘defend’ pillar, we collectively need to step up efforts to uphold the Centrality of Protection and promote humanitarian diplomacy at global and local levels and accountability Importantly, Humanitarian Coordinators and national leaders need the mandate, political backing and diplomatic tools to negotiate access, address protection threats and advocate on prevailing violations at appropriate high level when local engagement fails. 

In view of this, we encourage the IASC to clearly identify, in each crisis context, the main protection and humanitarian access risks and to outline key actions required to address them. 

We continue leveraging our collective diplomatic influence to addressing access constraints, violations of IHL and protection threats.

Third, under the ‘devolve’ pillar, we expect the IASC Framework on Humanitarian Complementarity to be effectively implemented and monitored at field level. We need an inclusive humanitarian system that is locally led and internationally supported, leveraging the unique values, mandates, capacities and responsibilities of different actors. This should translate into accountability to affected people and greater local leadership in coordination, needs assessment and decision-making Women and girls should remain at the centre of the humanitarian response. Donors will continue to support locally led humanitarian action, including by investing in pooled funds. 

In this regard, we would welcome IASC commitment to adopt a time-bound roadmap for the implementation of the Humanitarian Complementarity Framework at country level, by Humanitarian Coordinators and with the strongest possible involvement of national and local actors from the beginning.

Fourth, under the ‘deliver’ pillar, we underline that optimising resources and improving the quality of aid are non-negotiable. Greater prioritisation should be given to pooling resources, notably through unified strategic supply chains, the scaling-up of cash and the continued investment in critical enablers. Donors will continue efforts to making humanitarian action more effective, efficient and quality-focused including by increasing flexibility and predictability of funding, investing in preparedness and anticipatory action, promoting engagement and coordination across nexus actors, as well as private sector and philanthropy, particularly in fragile settings. We would welcome the implementation of the Supply Chain Initiative at scale, beyond the pilot countries, and we also encourage the IASC and OCHA to provide donors with a consolidated, prioritised and costed overview of critical enablers, accompanied by a sustainable financing plan identifying funding gaps and possible financing arrangement, in order to help guide our funding allocations. 

Chair, Excellencies, Colleagues,

The European Union and its Member States reaffirm their commitment to working with you to advance the Humanitarian Reset. Let us build on today’s momentum to make the UN-coordinated humanitarian system more agile, accountable, and fit for purpose —one that can rise to the challenges of our time and deliver on tangible outcomes for people affected by humanitarian emergencies. The EU and its Member States remain fully committed to strengthening the global humanitarian system, established in 1991 under UNGA Resolution 46/182, and to ensuring that the United Nations remains the keystone of this system. 

Thank you.