Activities

World Human Summit

The World Humanitarian Summit (DIZ), which was held for the first time in history, was held in Istanbul on 23-24 May 2016. DIZ aimed to develop solutions for the challenges faced by the current global humanitarian system, and to create an agenda for the future of humanitarian aid efforts. On this occasion, Turkey once again had the opportunity to share its experiences in the humanitarian field and its exemplary practices with the international community.

As the address of such a summit, which was held for the first time in history, hosting around 3 million Syrian immigrants on its territory; It is also important that Turkey, which ranks 2nd in humanitarian aid per country in the world, but 1st in comparison with GNP, and its cultural/economic capital, Istanbul, were chosen.

In addition to the main events attended by the heads of state, the content of the summit was enriched with side events. One of them was a mini fairground where local and international NGOs opened their stands. UNIW, which has 312 NGO members in 63 countries, was one of the organizations that opened a stand in this field. NGOs and umbrella organizations such as UNIW from many different countries shared their knowledge and experience on this occasion. They had the opportunity to consult on areas where they could act jointly.

Another important aspect of the summit was the workshops. One of them is our General Secretary Atty. It was the session of "Humanitarian Activities of NGOs and USTKs in Turkey and Studies for Fragile Groups" attended by public institutions such as Kızılay and AFAD, as well as local and international NGO representatives, in which Mr. Ali Kurt was also a speaker.

The summit was held jointly at the Istanbul Congress Center and the Lütfi Kırdar International Convention and Exhibition Center. Detailed information can be found at http://dizturkiye.org/trad.

Our General Secretary Atty. We present below the speech of Mr. Ali Kurt at the workshop.

Distinguished protocol and valuable participants,

First of all, I would like to thank the institutions and organizations that contributed to the organization of such an important meeting in Turkey and all the participants who supported this meeting.

In the last century, humanity is being tested by basic human values more than ever before in its history. In almost every region of the world, natural disasters such as floods, droughts and earthquakes, on the one hand, inadequate economic structures below the world scale at the level of development, and as if these are not enough, people who are overwhelmed by the negative conditions caused by political, religious and ethnic conflicts that put the most heavy bills in front of us are waiting for a helping hand to reach them.

The double standards, the injustice in the sharing of the earth's wealth, and the injustices from the depths of history to the present deepen this wound. We unconditionally accept that whatever the cause of these troubles, our conscience, sense of responsibility and reason command us to come to the aid of these geographies in the name of human dignity. We are the children of a culture that equates the wrongful death of one person to the death of all humanity. We do not ask about the religion, nationality or gender of two people, the oppressor and the oppressed, in this world! An oppressed and aggrieved person deserves help wherever he is in the world, and the oppressor should be opposed no matter who he is, and justice should be established on earth!

In this conjuncture where serious traumas are experienced in the name of humanity, Turkey displays an approach that fulfills its responsibility at this point, with an approach that feeds on its ancient culture. In this exam, in which both Prime Ministry Afad and Red Crescent made a mark in history, our Non-Governmental Organizations are achieving brilliant and bleaching successes in almost every corner of the world. As the Union of NGOs of the Islamic World, which is the umbrella organization of more than 300 NGOs in 63 countries, we initiated the establishment of the Humanitarian Aid Platform with the support of many NGOs working in the field of humanitarian aid and our organizations such as Afad and Kızılay, which have state power behind them.

With the campaigns launched on the axis of the Humanitarian Aid Platform, our NGOs have provided serious assistance to the Middle East, especially Syria, to the Central African Republic and to the people who suffered in Yemen, another bleeding wound. With the organization organized with the participation of all Gulf countries, around 200 million dollars was provided for Yemen. The aid prepared with the support of Afad, Red Crescent and humanitarian aid organizations was transferred to the region by ship. At this point, I would like to draw attention to the importance of coordination between official and civil aid organizations in order to solve the problems encountered during humanitarian aid. It is clear how strategically important is the sharing of information between active organizations in order to achieve maximum efficiency in aid activities with similar content carried out in the same crisis regions, to eliminate grievances in the organization of aids that recur in certain regions but never reach certain locations, and to meet the needs.

We must admit that using our humanitarian aid capacity in the most effective way is only possible with the coordination of aid efforts. In this regard, we need a serious planning, database and registration system with a sensitivity that will never hurt the spirit of volunteerism and the understanding of civil initiative. Every step to be taken in this framework should not try to control NGOs, but should aim exclusively at facilitating the work and helping volunteer activities, aiming at catching common sense and ensuring transparency in humanitarian aid work. We have to carefully avoid attitudes that will offend and frighten aid activities and civil initiatives based on volunteerism.

In this extremely important World Humanitarian Summit, which was organized for the first time in the history of the UN, I would like to draw attention to the following point in particular: While we are trying to treat the wounds caused by these disasters in humanitarian aid works, our main course of action should be to prevent the causes that feed them. Today, human beings commit injustices that violate human dignity far beyond natural disasters, natural wealth and strategic energy corridors are shared by powerful states with concession agreements, and unfortunately the international community, especially the United Nations, turns a blind eye to this distorted order. The basic references, which are expressed in bright sentences in legal texts and international decision-making mechanisms, are wasted with double standards and unfair approaches based entirely on self-interest.

Unfortunately, the international decision-making mechanisms have remained silent as a result of the unfair, meaningless and disproportionate turmoil that has been going on for five years in Syria, as a result of the massacre of nearly 500 thousand people, and the forced migration of more than half of a whole country. Even a very comfortable decision, such as a no-fly safe zone that will make these people breathe, has not been taken yet. We cannot ignore the fact that those who are in the security council claiming that they are responsible for maintaining world peace, are either actively with the brutal bombings as they unfortunately did in Aleppo, or remain silent in the face of this brutal massacre, and that they are primarily responsible for the massacre of civilians and innocent people. What kind of moves has the UN made, focused on a just solution, in the face of the lawlessness in Egypt, Yemen, Libya, and the Central African Republic? On the axis of human rights, the chaotic environments created by these precedent indifferences and conscious and calculated negative attitudes in our geography unfortunately feeds worse negative consequences such as DAESH and SEBBIHA, many of which we can count, and renders our world uninhabitable. The United Nations, which is an extremely strategic institution and an opportunity for human values; Since he does not stand behind many of the decisions he took in East Turkestan, Palestine, Kashmir and Arakan, similar attacks continue with all their injustice.

We know that the riches in the world are enough for all of us. Human beings, rich or poor, black or white, regardless of religion, nationality or belief, deserve to live humanely. Why should the Universal Declaration of Human Rights be limited to some people only? If the international community really wants to establish a peaceful life on earth, it must establish universal justice and prevent the plunder of the wealth of weak nations. In this context, the distorted structure of every decision to be taken by the United Nations, which is ultimately condemned to the interests of five states and which constitutes one of the most important causes of injustice in the world, must be put to an end, and equal and fair representation must be provided to all nations. We have to change our understanding of benevolence and our decision-making mechanisms in a way to prevent these blatant disasters with a proactive perspective, beyond just helping people in need with a reflexive approach.

Likewise, the targets for 2030 declared by the esteemed secretary general should be revised in line with the understanding of respect for the religious and cultural characteristics and value judgments of all nations. In order to achieve universal peace, the UN should approach cultural differences with tolerance, and should not be in an attitude of imposing the world of thought and lifestyle of a certain group on different societies, with concepts such as "gender equality" expressed in international agreements such as CEDAW. Besides, it is a real example of irony that developed countries, which complain about the weakness of family institutions and violence against women, try to export these negative and distorted family structures to other countries. If the UN really wants to model a successful example in this regard, I invite them to examine the strong family structure of the Islamic world, which has an excellent history and civilization.

I offer my respects to all participants with the hope of achieving a more sharing, peaceful and just world as soon as possible, which embraces human values not in speech but in action.

Atty. Ali Kurt

UNIW Secretary General