Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Martin Griffiths opening remarks on behalf of United Nations Secretary-General at the African Union Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, 27 May 2022

As Delivered

Excellencies, honourable heads of State, heads of Government, ambassadors, leaders of Africa, leaders of the international community,

Thank you very much for this invitation to my Secretary-General, who I represent here today.

He and I wish to thank you for the invitation to this Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference. And, of course, it is a special privilege for me to speak after such dignitaries, our host H.E Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, and Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chair of the African Union Commission. It is an honour of which I am very conscious.

Let me go straight to the point. We’ve heard from H.E. the Chairperson of the African Union Commission some of the shocking statistics, which tell us about the plight of so many people in Africa, facing, some of them, a dire future, some of them in their own minds no future, and all of them needing our protection, our assistance, our solidarity and our respect.

I would just add one statistic to those we have just heard. We estimate up to a fifth of the population of Africa now is malnourished. And this is despite all the efforts that all the leaders and Governments here in this room have done to protect, enhance and develop the great prosperity of this great continent.

So let me go straight to the point. An African Humanitarian Agency is essential, is discussed, is planned and is extremely welcome. I hope that the United Nations will also be able to play its role in support to that important endeavour.

African nations are facing some of their toughest challenges in history. As ever, as you have heard from H.E the President, many of the struggles Africa faces are driven by forces far beyond the continent.

Conflicts. Climate. COVID-19. The spiralling cost of commodities. There is a relentless perfect storm.

I am dismayed, as we all are, at the rising levels of extreme hunger in the Horn and the Sahel. The costs of conflicts are too high on civilians. And let’s be clear, the fallout from Ukraine threatens to throw decades of development into reverse, with spiked prices of essential commodities for all people.

The African Humanitarian Agency from the continent, for the people of the continent, has all the potential to make a world of difference – in Africa certainly but also beyond.

I am here on behalf of Mr. António Guterres to tell you that the United Nations is to stand with you, is here to help.

We have in the UN – sadly – acquired decades of experience also responding to humanitarian needs around the world, guided by the well-known principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. We have tools and techniques, partnerships and systems to share.

We want to put that expertise at your service, and we will do so. But – and this is the essential but – we look forward to being a partner and learning from your collective experience in developing the best approaches that work not only here on this continent but elsewhere. To learn from your leadership, to learn from your experience, to learn from your solidarity and the way in which the people of Africa assemble in such great numbers in an army of humanitarians to protect and serve the people.

Our current mega-crises demand that we don’t give up on development and basic services. And I speak for the humanitarian community to say that these basic services, this Government support, this generosity of the communities is the bedrock of humanitarian protection and support, and that we are here, in our small way, to assist and contribute to it. Perhaps these threats provide, also, an opportunity to strengthen social safety nets and resilience and protect the poor and lay out policies for the long term.

I had the privilege to travel to the north of Kenya a couple of weeks ago. I witnessed the effect of successive droughts. This man-made climate threat obliges us to listen more carefully to the views of those whose livelihoods are threatened.

So, we stand ready to work with all our partners in Government and non-governmental organizations, civil society, the private sector and regional organizations to serve those in need.

Excellencies,

The theme of my remarks is simple: Many countries in Africa can teach the world a lesson in generosity and solidarity. This is not new, but it is important, perhaps more essential now than ever. Many African countries, as you have heard from previous speakers, have welcomed refugees and displaced people even in times of difficulties and when resources are stretched.

On n’est jamais mieux servi que par soi-même, [you are never better served than by yourself] as the saying goes. The people of this continent have the skills, motivation and incentive to lift the people up. What they need from us is the resources, solidarity and, perhaps as important as everything, respect.

A world that has resources to wage wars must have the means to save lives. These crises and wars that we see, we need to work even more on the common values of humanitarian action but also of solidarity and good governance and a prospect for every family to have a future.

I believe the African Humanitarian Agency will be a key player in that new endeavour to roll back the threats we all face now.

The United Nations, my Secretary-General, offers its continued support to that agency, and also more broadly to your societies and your leadership, and hopes to see generous pledges made today. We hope to bring our own. But most importantly, we hope to see a continuation of partnership, cooperation and collaboration, which make us richer in wisdom.

Again, on behalf of my Secretary-General, thank you very much.