Throughout 2015 consultations have been building towards the World Humanitarian Summit, to be held in 2016. All over the world, and in EU Member States, consultations and debates have taken place between humanitarian NGOs, governments, UN agencies, the Red Cross, affected people, private sector organisations and other civil society actors. VOICE members have been heavily involved in this process. They have taken stock of where the humanitarian sector is at and identified what changes they would prioritise to best respond to the needs of people affected by crisis in the future. At EU level so far this has resulted in the European Commission adopting a policy focussed on ‘a global partnership towards principled and effective humanitarian action’. We have invited our contributors to reflect further on some key advocacy issues for them on the agenda of the World Humanitarian Summit and to give a flavour of some national level debates across Europe to prepare this Summit.
Kicking off this issue of VOICE out loud, Oxfam GB reflects on years of efforts to improve the sector and the unfinished business of humanitarian reform. CAFOD highlights some key recommendations from NGOs in relation to humanitarian financing and Trócaire, ICCO Cooperation/ACT Alliance, and Johanniter International Assistance give us a flavour of the debates that took place at national level and the outcomes of the Irish, Dutch and German humanitarian community preparations for the World Humanitarian Summit. We are also happy to hear from Lisa Reilly (European Interagency Security Forum) on key issues for humanitarian organisations’ security and risk management.
In the ‘View on the EU’ section Save the Children gives us an overview of the importance of building greater commitment to supporting education in emergencies, the EU’s response and its vital relevance for the children affected by crisis.
In the context of the increased flow of refugees and migrants into Europe, the ‘field focus’ written by Médecins du Monde, looks at the philosophy behind and practical advantages to working both in Europe and abroad – building its humanitarian response wherever people are in need.