Global Forum Briefing Paper 4: Good humanitarian action is led by the state and builds on local response capacities wherever possible

This paper looks at the obstacles to humanitarian action being led by the state and building on local response capacities wherever possible and provides recommendations synthesised from submitted proposition papers. It is one of the briefing papers prepared for the Global Forum taking place in New York on 4-5 June 2015

Under UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 46/182, governments are responsible for leading and coordinating humanitarian assistance. The role of the international system is to provide additional support where the state does not have the capacity or the willingness to fulfil these obligations. In armed conflicts and other situations of violence, the state will often not be in a position to meet the needs of its affected population and should allow humanitarian assistance and protection where it is necessary. In general terms, however, there are clear potential benefits in state leadership of disaster response, including stronger links between humanitarian work and broader development activities, and increased government legitimacy and accountability.