This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the 51³Ô¹Ï, and as part of its 75th anniversary initiative (UN75), 51³Ô¹Ï Academic Impact (UNAI) is hosting the ¡°75 for UN75: 75 Minutes of Conversation¡± series of online dialogues with academics, educators, researchers and students around the world, to discuss their priorities for the future, obstacles to achieving them, and the role of global cooperation in managing global issues. On 10 November 2020 UNAI hosted a French language webinar on the theme ¡°Rethinking Humanitarian Responses¡± as part of this series.

On 10 November 2020 UNAI hosted the ¡°75 Minutes of Conversation: Rethinking Humanitarian Responses¡± webinar to reflect on how the international community has provided assistance in recent natural disasters, armed conflicts and complex emergencies, and also on coordination efforts, the shortage of financial resources to cover such assistance, its delivery and efficiency in the field, as well as the transition towards development.

Special attention was paid to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic that have increased the burden on donor countries and multilateral institutions alike, while heavily impacting already vulnerable communities and peoples. The speakers discussed best practices and lessons learned to improve humanitarian responses to meet the fundamental needs of people while respecting their dignity and alleviating their suffering.

Genevi¨¨ve Wills, Director of the Paris Office and Representative of the (WFP) to France and Monaco, spoke about the role of WFP in fighting hunger and providing food assistance in emergency contexts. She also explained the methodologies used to prioritize and categorize assistance to ensure the sustainability of the logistical and transportation network it uses to deliver aid to over 100 million people in 90 countries.

WFP works to improve the resilience of vulnerable communities and enhance local food systems in addition to implementing food programs for schools, rural development projects and nutrition initiatives for women and children in partnership with stakeholders such as research centers. Ms. Wills warned about the impact of the pandemic on existing food crises in many countries and stressed, ¡°We must have access to populations in need, without conditions; hunger cannot be used as a weapon.¡± She also highlighted dangerous conditions in the field and the need to ensure the safety of humanitarian personnel in accordance with applicable international humanitarian law.

Speaking on the conceptualization and governance of humanitarian assistance, Dr. Fran?ois Audet, Director of the at the (Canada), noted that the ¡®humanitarian¡¯ was born as a western concept with a post-colonial architecture with a handful of humanitarian organizations concentrating and controlling the means to deliver assistance.

Dr. Audet also said that while 80% of those who work in the humanitarian field are from countries in the global south, the remaining 20% come from developed countries and usually hold senior or more prominent positions. In his opinion, the actual mission of humanitarian assistance must be reexamined to center the focus on the beneficiaries of such assistance, and there must a decentralized transfer of resources to ¡®localize¡¯ them and their management. ¡°We have actually seen some progress in this sense due to the effects of the ongoing pandemic,¡± he added.

Dr. Magali Chelpi-den Hamer, Research Fellow of the at the , talked about other aspects of humanitarian assistance, including limiting assistance to the most fundamental needs of populations without addressing the root causes of the emergencies in which the assistance is to be delivered, and donors who view humanitarian assistance as being tied to clear political objectives.

¡°It is a mistake if we choose not to see the political side of humanitarian assistance in countries of intervention,¡± she said, while also highlighting the challenges associated with financial sustainability, the management of limited resources and the need to balance that with concrete objectives of the humanitarian action, which leads to improvised activities in some cases. Dr. Chelpi-den Hamer also said that if we were to rethink humanitarian responses, a key aspect should be to reflect on how evaluation is made, as she regretted ¡°it is not a priority¡± to conduct qualitative assessments of field projects taking into consideration tangible results for the alleged beneficiaries of the assistance.

Professor Paul-Robain Namegabe, Director of the at the (Democratic Republic of the Congo), centered his remarks on various aspects of humanitarian aid, including the concept of neutrality.? The scholar referred to the context of his own country and the several humanitarian challenges that have been present due to violence and the situation of refugees and internally displaced persons. Prof. Namegabe warned about conflicting roles between governmental authorities and other stakeholders, and also addressed the sustainability of humanitarian assistance and the dependence of beneficiaries on it, as well as the critical relevance of the principle of neutrality for all humanitarian actors.

The principle of neutrality ensures that such actors do not favor any side and do not engage in any controversy, which facilitates their actions in the field. However, neutrality should not be understood in absolute terms. ¡°The principle of neutrality is very useful for the actual delivery of the assistance, but we must also take into consideration the task of promoting peace and fighting against impunity, which some humanitarian actors chose to abstain from,¡± Prof. Namegabe regretted. ¡°Our impression is that these actors work too hard to avoid hurting sensibilities in conflict zones and while that might be understandable, some local communities might feel that the agencies and organizations chose to be passive in front of for instance, human rights violations committed by armed parties,¡± he added.

Dr. Val¨¦rie Gorin, Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the , a joint center connected to the (Switzerland) and other academic institutions, spoke about the transformation of the humanitarian system over the years, including demands for change from various stakeholders like the military, private sector actors, the diaspora, non-governmental organizations, and donor countries that are more inclined to bilateral humanitarian assistance rather than donating within a multilateral framework. ¡°We see the increasing importance of accountability and moral questions, and the need for transparency, openness to criticism and dialogue with local populations,¡± she said.

During the Q&A segment, people asked questions about the financial impact of the ongoing pandemic in the funding of humanitarian assistance, the management of long-term emergencies, the prioritization of needs in the field, the protection of humanitarian workers and the dependence of vulnerable communities on humanitarian assistance.

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