The third edition of the European Humanitarian Forum concluded today in Brussels, co-organised by the European Commission and the Belgian Presidency of the EU.
At the Forum, EU Member States together with the European Commission announced the planned humanitarian funding of more than €7.7 billion for 2024, as a concrete expression of global solidarity and of the EU's leading role in humanitarian action.
In particular, the EU and Member States committed to taking action in addressing conflict and preserving humanitarian space, notably in the deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip. EU ministers expressed grave concern regarding the current humanitarian situation in the Strip and called for rapid, unhindered, safe and continued humanitarian access to the people in need.
The participants also focused on promoting compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) globally in today's armed conflicts and welcomed the announcement of an independent, non-governmental initiative named "IHL in Focus". Concretely, this initiative will establish a yearly analysis on current armed conflicts and related IHL violations to contribute to setting out the state of compliance with IHL across the world.
The forum gathered over 1400 representatives from across the humanitarian community, EU Member States and beyond took part in strategic discussions to jointly propose sustainable solutions to complex humanitarian challenges of today.
Background
Highlighting equity and inclusivity, the Forum advocated for meaningful participation of local actors, especially those representing marginalised groups, and underscored the significance of long-term solutions based on the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. Protection and the commitment to increased funding for targeted humanitarian interventions were central themes, along with recognising the pivotal role of strategic supply chains and logistics in delivering aid efficiently. More broadly, discussions at the Forum tackled the humanitarian funding gap also by diversifying resources, enhancing the humanitarian system's efficiency, and reducing needs.
Additionally, the Forum explored avenues to increase climate finance for conflict-affected, climate-vulnerable areas, emphasizing the importance of building resilience in fragile contexts.
