21 August 2011 - Every year, natural and man-made disasters cause immense suffering for millions of people – often the world’s poorest, most marginalized and vulnerable individuals. Humanitarian aid workers strive to provide protection and life-saving assistance to these people, regardless of where they are in the world and without discrimination, often at great risk to themselves.

The theme of World Humanitarian Day 2011 is “People Helping People”. In many cases, the first people to come to the aid of those affected by disaster or displaced by conflict are their neighbours or members of the same community. Communities, local partner organisations, international organisations and the general public can build a chain of solidarity to support communities in responding to and recovering from the effects of disaster and conflict.

Here in Afghanistan, as in many parts of the world, the humanitarian community is made up of men and women who come from all corners of the globe, and reflect all cultures and backgrounds. However, the majority are Afghan. They belong to strong, professional and independent local organisations who have committed to helping their countrymen and women to survive conflict and natural disasters.

Humanitarian aid is based on a set of fundamental principles; these are humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence; four words that illustrate how the humanitarian organisations operate. The right to receive humanitarian assistance - and to offer it – are fundamental imperatives, to be available to all citizens of all countries. This assistance is given regardless of the race, creed or nationality of the recipients and without adverse distinction of any kind. Consequently priorities are calculated on the basis of need alone. Humanitarian aid is not a partisan or political act and should not be viewed as such. It will not be used to further a particular political or religious standpoint. And finally, humanitarian assistance should be provided at a complete remove from of any engagement in hostilities and without taking sides in controversies of a political, religious or ideological nature.

When even a small group of humanitarians fail to adhere to these principles, it can effect perceptions about all of us, threatening the security of our personnel and limiting our ability to protect and assist those who are most in need of our support, wherever they may be located and whatever their origins. In turn, we demand respect for the humanitarian mission, calling on affected states and parties to conflict to protect humanitarian workers and facilitate access to the people we have committed our lives to helping. We wish to use this World Humanitarian Day to pay tribute to all those who have made this selfless commitment in Afghanistan, despite the risks of working in a conflict zone, and despite what may often seem to be insurmountable challenges.

As we are all aware of, the armed conflict in the country is one of the major factors contributing to humanitarian crises in Afghanistan. Not only does the conflict prevent the humanitarian community from entering certain areas, it is also responsible for large numbers of civilian deaths. In 2010, 2,777 civilians were killed, a 15 percent increase over the previous year. And the situation is not improving. The latest figures indicate that the first half of this year was the deadliest six months for civilians in Afghanistan since the decade-old war began.

Another consequence of the ongoing hostilities is the major internal displacement of people fleeing the conflict zones. 437,810 individuals are estimated to be displaced due to conflict and natural disasters of July 201. Between June 2009 and July 2011, conflict induced displacements alone numbered 284,750 persons. However, the real situation is much worse, as these figures do not include those populations displaced into urban settings or in areas that are inaccessible for humanitarian actors.

Responding to humanitarian needs arising from conflict is only one aspect of our work. We also help communities to prepare for and to survive natural disasters. In addition to the armed conflict that affects many parts of the country, Afghanistan is also prone to earthquakes, flash flooding, drought and severe winters. At this very moment, Afghans throughout the Northern part of the country are facing a possible humanitarian crisis as they cope with drought conditions that have resulted in a 100 percent failure of the rain fed crop in many areas. Many households have lost 50 percent of their livestock due to a lack of animal feed and water. The Government estimates that 1.3 million Afghans may require some kind of food assistance, either through food distributions or cash transfers, over the next 10 months. There is also a high risk of disease due to a lack of access to clean drinking water.

Every year, it seems, humanitarians are responding to a similar set of needs and so another worrying fact is the slow pace towards disaster risk reduction. Each year, we see flooding causing exactly the same problems in exactly the same places as the year before. Each year, we observe water shortages in the same areas, and extremely expensive water tankering to address these shortages. In reality, these are chronic emergencies, emergencies that could be avoided if addressed in a timely and sustainable way. In most cases, durable solutions such as drilling water holes, or maintaining existing systems, reinforcing existing dams or constructing embankments could avoid future similar situations. Reducing the risk of these disasters is thus properly viewed as a development issue regarding urgent attention.

Donor governments have generously supported the work of humanitarian organizations in Afghanistan for many years. Although Afghanistan is entering a new phase in its history, we must not allow ourselves to believe that humanitarian needs are on the decline. They could, in fact increase. Humanitarian organisations must do a better job of assessing humanitarian needs, of organising coordinated responses, of telling the Afghan humanitarian story. We also seek a continued commitment from donors to provide adequate support for the needs identified, including those related to the current drought situation.

Let us use this World Humanitarian Day to once again call upon all parties involved in the conflict to help the humanitarian community to do its job, which is to assist Afghans in need, regardless of their gender, race, creed or political affiliation. On behalf of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, I want to thank all of you here and humanitarian workers in all parts of Afghanistan, and urge that we, as the humanitarian community in Afghanistan, redouble our efforts to save more Afghan lives and to defend their human dignity.

Thank you.