HRC 2026: Human Rights at the Centre of Humanitarian Renewal side event

This discussion focussed on the future of humanitarian action through a human rights lens, challenging the international community to move beyond technical reform toward a rights-based transformation of the global crisis response system.

As humanitarian needs rise and funding falls, millions of people affected by conflict, displacement and climate crises face growing insecurity. Yet the challenge facing the UN-led humanitarian system is not only one of funding. It is also a crisis of political commitment, accountability, and respect for human rights.  

Too often, humanitarian action is shaped by donor priorities rather than the rights and aspirations of crisis-affected people. As humanitarian principles come under increased pressure, there is an urgent need to reaffirm the rights-based foundations of humanitarian action.  

At the heart of this discussion is a simple proposition: People affected by crisis are not beneficiaries of aid – they are rights-holders. Humanitarian renewal therefore requires more than improved delivery mechanisms or institutional reforms. It requires strengthening accountability to affected communities, addressing structural inequalities and power imbalances, and ensuring that humanitarian responses are grounded in the protection and fulfilment of human rights.

Opening and closing remarks: 

Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, General Secretary, ACT Alliance

Moderation:

Amira Malik Miller | Act Church of Sweden

Panellists:

Tammam Aloudat | CEO, The New Humanitarian

Lydia Poole | Independent researcher

Julie Billaud | Associate Professor, Geneva Graduate Institute