UN General Assembly
2025

Humanitarian crises in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Sudan and Myanmar lead us to a deeper concern. Our concern is that the effects of large-scale violence, displacement and famine will create further intergenerational cycles of violence in countries already wracked by political instability and conflict. Nearly 17 million people require humanitarian aid in Syria, with a similarly large number displaced. Over 21 million Congolese require humanitarian support. In Sudan, more than 30 million people, some 65 per cent of its population, require urgent humanitarian aid and protection. Basic services have collapsed, vaccination rates plummeted and violence, including sexual violence, are endemic. Some 13 million Sudanese people have been displaced from their homes. In Myanmar, over 3.5 million people are internally displaced and 22 million in need of humanitarian assistance, making it the worst humanitarian crisis in South East Asia. These bold numbers are shocking to contemplate, because they say that in too many places our shared humanity is held in contempt or worse. We need leadership that creates possibilities, not extinguishes them.