Turkey becoming a role model for humanitarian action: UN

One of the most important United Nations meetings on humanitarian action is set to be held in Istanbul in May next year under the title of ?World Humanitarian Summit,? marking a first of its kind.

It is particularly notable that the summit will not take place either in New York or Geneva, the headquarters of the U.N., but rather in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey, whose record in dealing with humanitarian crises in its immediate neighborhood, as well as its position as the third largest humanitarian donor in the world after the United States and the United Kingdom, is seen as inspiring for other countries around the world.

The U.N. has already begun works for the preparation of the next year?s World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) in cooperation with Turkey and its relevant institutions, particularly the Foreign Ministry and the Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD). Upon the invitation of the AFAD, I attended the U.N.?s preparatory regional consultation meeting in Budapest, and with a group of reporters had the opportunity to interview Jemilah Mahmood, the chief of the secretariat established for the summit.

?The WHS is a landmark summit. It?s the first time ever that the whole world will come together to discuss the challenges we are facing today and the challenges we?ll face in the future. It?s unique because it will bring together all the different stakeholders who are involved some way or another in humanitarian action,? she said.

The Istanbul summit will constitute a new beginning for humanitarian action at a time when the gap between funding and needs is widening, Mahmood added. ?The summit is going to be historic as we begin the process to see how the system can be changed to become better and face all the...