Attachments
Introduction
Conflict and violence are having a devastating impact on children and families around the world.
In 2018, forced displacement reached the highest levels in recorded history, with over 70.8 million people driven from their homes. Half of all refugees were children.
This displacement, combined with the loss of livelihoods, destruction of infrastructure, and disruption of education and medical services, has led to soaring levels of humanitarian need. In 2019, an estimated 131.7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, at a cost of US$26.59 billion (A$39.53 billion). Unfortunately, despite the generosity of donors, funding has failed to keep up with these growing requirements.
Last year there was a 40 percent shortfall in humanitarian funding, which meant millions of families going without food, millions of elderly and people with disabilities losing access to medical care, and millions of children missing out on quality education critical to their futures.
This is, without question, a global humanitarian crisis.
While more humanitarian assistance is desperately needed, we must also do more to address the factors that drive and exacerbate crises. One of those factors is conflict: over a 10-year period from 2002-2013, the UN found that 86 percent of humanitarian needs occurred in situations of conflict and violence. With the escalation of the Syria conflict, the figure climbed as high as 97 percent in some subsequent years. The impact of violence on coping capacities and support systems, and in some cases the deliberate denial of access to resources and services, has forced millions of families into a state of involuntary dependency.
The failure to effectively prevent and resolve the conflicts that drive needs has also led to a worrying new trend: not only do more people require humanitarian assistance than before, but they remain in need for longer. A recent UN report notes that the average length of humanitarian responses has increased from 5.2 years in 2014 to 9.3 years in 2018. Children and grandchildren are being born into displacement camps without ever knowing the places their families call home (see Box 1).
Likewise, as the effects of climate change are felt ever more strongly, humanitarian need will undoubtedly continue to grow. This may come in the form of disasters that arise with increasing frequency and intensity, but also from conflict, violence and displacement linked to failures to prevent and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Although this is a bleak picture, it is not one without hope.
There are concrete steps governments like Australia’s can take to break this cycle and move towards greater stability, peace and prosperity around the world. This report focuses on one such step: reinforcing efforts to prevent the conflicts and violence that drive humanitarian needs. Donors are increasingly recognising prevention as a priority, as has been demonstrated by the surge of interest in the so-called humanitarian-development-peace nexus, and by initiatives like the bipartisan Global Fragility Act passed by the United States House of Representatives earlier this year. With renewed efforts, Australia would be well positioned to take on a global leadership role in the prevention space.
This report makes the case for scaling up Australia’s investment in conflict prevention and violence risk reduction, with the goal of establishing Australia as one of the top 10 global leaders in conflict prevention. Part I of the report explains what we mean by conflict prevention and violence risk reduction, and Part II outlines the imperative for scaling up this work. Part III will provide an overview of Australia’s existing policy commitments and investments, and Part IV will then look at the steps Australia could take to become a global leader in this space.