Commitment to Change

With one month to go to the World Humanitarian Summit, we would like to share with you Oxfam’s briefing note, Commitment to Change, which outlines the most important commitments that Oxfam is calling on world leaders to make at the Summit, as well as Oxfam’s own commitments to change. Our briefing note focuses on 3 vital areas:

1. Uphold International Humanitarian Law and prevent conflict.  World leaders must commit to uphold the spirit and letter of International Refugee Law and International Human Rights Law. There must be renewed efforts for peace, through political processes that uphold the rights of women and men affected by conflict, and that provide opportunities for all – including civil society, women and women’s organisations – to genuinely participate in those processes.
2. Share responsibility for the world’s displaced people, which, for almost all wealthy countries, means welcoming far more refugees than they have had the courage to do up till now, providing assistance and protection to people on the move and supporting host countries to provide refugees with a dignified future, including via access to jobs and an education.
3. Dramatically increase support for the frontline and national responders, including women and women’s organizations, closest to the crisis.

For its part, Oxfam commits to being part of the more fundamental changes needed to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of humanitarian aid, to make sure that the greatest possible resources reach affected people. This commitment  includes endorsing the Charter for Change, providing at least 30 percent of its own humanitarian funding directly to local NGOs by May 2018; and harmonizing across NGOs its requirements for partners.