New York, 22 September - The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) called for an integrated approach that brings together humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding actors to address increasing humanitarian emergencies and development crisis, in pursuit of long-lasting peace and stability, i.e., making the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) triple nexus work effectively on the ground.

Their call came at the high-level roundtable discussion entitled "The Humanitarian, Development, and Peace Nexus: From Theory to Practice with the Compass Towards 2030", that both organizations hosted on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The roundtable discussion noted that amid the complex and protracted conflicts in recent years, development progress has stalled or reversed, whilst the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance due to conflict has increased globally. Millions of people have been displaced by ongoing conflicts and crises, both internally and across borders, further exposing them to precarious conditions during movements and weakening social cohesion and societal resilience in receiving host communities. To face this growing global challenge UNDP and KSrelief called for concerted efforts towards area-based and context-specific durable and development solutions.

Dr. Abdallah Al Dardari, Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Regional Director for Arab States moderated the discussion, which featured Supervisor General of KSrelief, H.E. Dr. Abdullah AlRabeeah, UNDP Administrator, Mr. Achim Steiner, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Ms. Mirjana Spoljaric Egger and Director-General for Crisis Prevention, Stabilization, Peacebuilding, and Humanitarian Assistance at the German Foreign Office, Ms. Deike Potzel.

“Just as no one is immune to crisis and conflict, no one can solve it alone and the thinking behind this event on how to put a renewed vision for the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus into practice,” said UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner. “With a recognition that humanitarian assistance will remain pivotal in times of crisis and conflict, the world must come to a recognition that increased investment in development and peacebuilding is the only lasting solution to crisis and the best means to prevent it.”

H.E. Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General, stated that KSrelief, on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is committed to providing humanitarian assistance that alleviates suffering; the center plans its humanitarian responses to any crisis to look beyond the urgent aid phase toward recovery and development linked to sustainable peace. Only if we can integrate all of these elements can we hope to save lives at the start of a crisis and also improve the lives of current and future generations. KSrelief will continue to expand its partnership and cooperation with UNDP on sustainable development through projects in Yemen and Somalia.

The roundtable discussion reaffirmed commitment to strengthening the HDP Nexus, to achieve the SDGs through locally owned sustainable solutions, particularly in fragile contexts where hard-earned progress can be quickly undone by violent conflicts.

Media Contacts 

UNDP | Fatma Yassin | Regional Communications Advisor | Fatma.yassin@undp.org 

KSrelief | Kafa Alshaalan | Senior International Relations & Communications Specialist | k.alshaalan@ksrelief.org