India voices concern over insufficient humanitarian response to crises

India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN noted that another issue of contention was the humanitarian and development divide

India has voiced concern over the insufficient international humanitarian response to the crises around the world, saying many of the armed conflict situations are "chronic" as not enough attention has been given to facilitate politics in resolving them.

"Any humanitarian crisis involves both short term and longer term aspects to it. Our efforts must focus on all such aspects including risk reduction, improving response measures and sustainable recovery efforts to achieve success," India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Tanmaya Lal said at the ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs segment general debate here.

He said while adequate funding for emergency response remains a significant challenge, emphasis on longer term planning to help build resilience in countries, where needed, is also necessary.

"Many of the armed conflict situations are chronic, where insufficient attention has been given, including by the Security Council, to facilitate politics in resolving the conflicts," he said yesterday.

Lal noted that the magnitude, geographical expanse and frequency of humanitarian crises around the world requiring international assistance is becoming unparallelled but the international humanitarian response in many cases is falling "significantly short" of the challenges posed.

"We must reflect on ways to address the challenges in terms of mobilisation of resources required for emergency assistance and also the more longer term strengthening of resilience in individual countries to plan for and manage the crises when they arise," he said.

"The efforts must be to complement the national efforts and help them build capacities to meet with the crises themselves over longer term," he said.

He noted that in recent times, there have been attempts to blur categories of those impacted by crises such as the refugees, migrants and the internally displaced persons (IDPs).

"The international frameworks drawn up by the international community are also distinct for different categories, especially the refugees and migrants, which require international cooperation in view of the implications of their cross-border mobility. The IDPs are, and must remain the priorities of the national jurisdiction," he said.

He noted that another issue of contention appears to be the humanitarian and development divide, especially in the context of resource allocation as international assistance.

"Improving development levels invariably leads to situations where individual countries are able to manage the crises better themselves. Therefore, it is in everyone's interest, including the providers of assistance whether for development or for humanitarian relief, to retain focus on financing for development for more effective and sustainable efforts," he said.

He outlined the measures taken by India to build its national and local capacities to plan for and manage disaster situations, adding that the government adopted a National Disaster Management Plan that seeks to strengthen ways to prevent, mitigate and manage disaster situations.