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Preface

Geraldine Byrne Nason

Permanent Representative of Ireland to the UN

Welcome to the compendium of lectures of the ‘Ireland at Fordham Humanitarian Lecture Series’. The Permanent Mission of Ireland has been proud to collaborate with Fordham University’s Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs, in a partnership that speaks to Ireland’s profile as a leader in international development and humanitarian action, as well as Fordham’s commitment to distinguished research and education.

Over the last 18 months, our collaboration has built upon our shared commitment to exploring the challenges facing policy makers and humanitarian actors working to get aid to the most vulnerable people on our planet, often in the most hard to reach places. COVID-19 has made their job even more difficult. Throughout this lecture series, we have had the honour to hear from a range of eminent speakers, who addressed both established and emerging issues in the humanitarian field.

On this journey, we explored the challenges facing policy makers and humanitarians as they deliver life-saving support and protection to people in need. Addresses by H.E. Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders and the first woman elected President of Ireland; President Michael D. Higgins; Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, at the time Under-Secretary General at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; Chief of the Defence Forces, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett; United Nations Resident Coordinator, Jamie McGoldrick; Dr. Caitriona Dowd; WFP’s Matthew Hollingworth; and Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney, T.D., raised issues including the intersection between humanitarian action and climate justice, activism and the public intellectual, trust and localisation, peacekeeping, humanitarian access, and conflict and hunger.

Since the inaugural lecture by President Mary Robinson at the United Nations in May 2019, we have witnessed the nature of humanitarian need rapidly changing. Conflicts have become more protracted and societies are faced with new and emerging threats such as the devastating impact of COVID-19. As each of our eight lectures demonstrate, we must adapt and improve the delivery of humanitarian assistance to help those in need without delay as humanitarian crises become more and more complex. It is our collective responsibility to ensure the full respect for international humanitarian law in all contexts. Moreover, as is argued with clear conviction in all lectures, it is crucial that humanitarian workers are given the access and support necessary to provide vital assistance to those who need it most.

This series brings an Irish perspective to exploring some of these challenges and how they affect policy makers and humanitarians as they seek to ensure aid reaches those in need, humanitarian principles are upheld, and civilians are protected. Listening to the expert voices of practitioners with first hand experience, the lecture series has helped to inform Ireland’s understanding of how these humanitarian issues, arising with ever greater frequency and urgency, interact with the work of the United Nations Security Council, to which we hope to be elected for the term 2021–2022.

Ireland has long been a leader in humanitarian response, from our missionaries to our current steadfast support for the global humanitarian system with the UN at its centre.

I recall the words of President Mary Robinson in her lecture, “If we all fail to act now; if we fail to act decisively; if we fail to act together; future generations will never forgive us for the world that we bequeath them.” Ireland is committed to a values-based foreign policy, with principled humanitarian action at its very core. Our response to crisis is underpinned by a strong commitment to international humanitarian law and the provision of predictable, flexible, and timely funding, based on the humanitarian principles of independence, neutrality, impartiality, and humanity. These principles ensure that humanitarian assistance is targeted, based on need, and provided without discrimination.

The humanitarian system is an essential pillar of the effective multilateralism to which Ireland is committed. As humanitarian needs increase we need to redouble our support to the current system while looking at how we can prevent needs from arising in the first place, through investments in prevention and development. Reducing humanitarian need is a cornerstone of Ireland’s development policy, which was launched earlier this year.

I like to think that Ireland’s lived memory of vulnerability as a country that has endured conflict, migration, famine and colonialisation, has helped shape our commitment to a profoundly ethical response to these global challenges. In Ireland we believe in shared responsibility to address those challenges together. Sometimes that means shining a light in dark places, to bring relief to those who needed it most. It is my sincere hope that this Ireland at Fordham Humanitarian Lecture Series does just that, by shining a light on the realities and challenges of the humanitarian space today, so that we may better respond to it tomorrow.