Faith-based organizations set the agenda for future humanitarian action

(Vatican Radio)  Humanitarian agencies across the world, faith-based organizations, civil society, NGOs and government bodies are preparing to meet at the first global World Humanitarian Summit scheduled to take place in Istanbul in May next year.

The summit, which is an initiative of UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon, plans to find new ways to tackle humanitarian needs in our fast-changing world.

It aims to set a new agenda for global humanitarian action. To do this, a series of events and meetings will focus on humanitarian effectiveness, reducing vulnerability and managing risk, transformation through innovation, and serving the needs of people in conflict.

A pre-summit event organized by the Sovereign Order of Malta and entitled “Religions Together for Humanitarian Action”  took place in Geneva at the end of May.

Vatican Radio’s Francesca Sabatinelli was at the meeting and spoke to Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, the Chief of the World Humanitarian Summit Secretariat about the Geneva initiative which aimed to pave the way to the World Humanitarian Summit and to draw up some new directives.

Listen to the interview: 

Dr Mahmood says that participants at the “Religions Together for Humanitarian Action” event were called to draw up an inclusive plan which will set the agenda for future humanitarian intervention.

She says that the contribution offered by faith-based organizations is of enormous importance, also because they form a very large proportion of organizations who actually respond to humanitarian crises.

“The first responders in any crisis are the communities themselves, and they run to places of worship, for refuge, for shelter… and it’s local Churches and local Mosques that actually offer assistance” she says.

Mahmood says she thinks it has never really been understood how best to leverage on the importance of faith-based organizations in actually being front liners in humanitarian response.

“How do we use faith-based organizations also to support humanitarian action? By providing access, dialogue, better inter-faith communication and better access for other actors as well” she says.

Mahmood says the initiative of the Order of Malta that brought together people from different faiths and backgrounds provided a wonderful occasion to brainstorm and compare ideas.

“The reality in the world today is that we are in a very very dark period of our history, and while faith is supposed to unite and give solidarity and peace sometimes it is misused for war” she says.

“I think it is very important that people of faith start to address this” she concludes.