The response to a humanitarian emergency requires cooperation, coordination, and strong leadership. We propose that, in each humanitarian emergency, the United Nations, in consultation with the United States and others, name a crisis leader to oversee all aspects of the response. The payoff would be lives and resources saved. These six proposals address compelling humanitarian problems. We hope you will regard them as urgent issues on which you should take early action.
Humanitarian aid is also good public policy.
Injustice, inequity, and poverty around the world will ultimately affect American well-being. By becoming a humanitarian activist, you will help ensure that the world you leave behind is better than the one you inherited. The writers, respectively president and director of advocacy at Refugees International, contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune. Reuters Foundation accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, copyright compliance or legality of material contained in this site and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage arising out of the Service of any item of information contained in the Service.