Foreign Affairs committee  The single biggest cause of humanitarian suffering around the world is conflict. The biggest reason it's hard to help people is the way the men with the guns and the bombs behave in conflict. As you say, conflicts are lasting longer than they used to. It's not just about state

Foreign Affairs committee  I entirely agree with all that, and tomorrow I will be giving a 20- to 25-minute answer to your question in this talk I'm giving. Now I'll give you the 60-second version. I think there are four areas where we need to strengthen how humanitarian agencies deal with these issues.

Foreign Affairs committee  Almost all of the roughly $15 billion that we raised for UN-coordinated response plans last year came from member states of the UN. The $15 billion I've just described is the bulk of world humanitarian assistance. Beyond the UN-coordinated programs, there are the programs of the

Foreign Affairs committee  Let me say two things on that. First, private sector organizations play a very big role in the delivery of assistance—in logistics, in supply chain, and in procurement. Lots of what reaches people in the middle of these crises comes through private sector routes. Second, let me

Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much indeed for the opportunity to have this discussion with you. I'm delighted to be in Ottawa. We live in a world with multiple challenges and various things under strain. My responsibility, as the under-secretary-general at