14 December 2015 – Affirming that there is an immediate need to address the issue of empowering local humanitarian actors, the Philippines led the dialogue among States, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and partners, in a side event entitled “Localizing humanitarian action” held last 10 December 2015 at the sidelines of the 32nd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva, Switzerland.
Ambassador Cecilia B. Rebong, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, chaired the panel discussion on the issue, where Mr. Mohammed Naim Dindar, Secretary-General of the Afghanistan Red Crescent, Mr. H Boweh Barduae, Secretary-General of the Liberian Red Cross, Ms. Eva Svoboda, Research Fellow at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and Ms. Anne Street, Senior Humanitarian Policy Officer at the Catholic Agency For Overseas Development (CAFOD) presented their views and experiences in working with international partners and local actors in humanitarian response.
During the side event, Ambassador Rebong emphasized that localizing humanitarian action could only succeed with the element of trust being put at the center of humanitarian action saying that, “in particular, gaining the trust of those local actors on the ground paves the way for cooperation in humanitarian response. Trust cannot be imposed. Trust is gained through relationship building.”
Likewise, the panelists stressed that context differs in every country and therefore coordination among all actors, including those who are on the ground, should be observed. Local actors should be empowered to be able to respond immediately to the crisis through capacity building and training and ensuring that funding and aid agencies include working with local actors as part of the criteria for granting aid/funds.
It is hoped that the practical recommendations expressed during the dialogue will help inform the discussions leading into the World Humanitarian Summit to be held in May 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. END