Secretary-General of the Muslim World League Dr. Mohammad al-Issa has participated as a guest of honor in the world’s high-level forum, which brought together the heads of major regional and international organizations active in the field of humanitarian work.
Activities of the forum, hosted by Geneva, were launched under the theme: “Cooperation among International Organizations in the Humanitarian Fields.”
Issa said the unity of origin and the many common traits among humans obligate people to look at each other as brothers and act on this basis.
He hailed the remarkable humanitarian efforts carried out by the World Health Organization in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, he expressed regret that the humanitarian action did not reach the required level of solidarity and sympathy.
“The gap between the rich and the poor remains wide despite the presence of one international system,” he lamented.
“It is painful, for example, that only the rich have access to coronavirus vaccine, while the poor either lack access to it or get some of its doses late.”
Issa pointed in his opening remarks to the motives of the “multiple” humanitarian actions, noting that some are purely humanitarian or motivated by international commitment while others are materialistic. But they all serve the interests of the needy and the poor worldwide.
He underlined the need for relevant international organizations to assess the countries’ performance in the field of humanitarian work.
He said that public and private institutions and individuals who have outstanding efforts in humanitarian work should be honored, whether be it in the fields of food, health, education, training, and helping the marginalized and the abused, and those subjected to forced labor particularly human trafficking crimes.
Issa reviewed the MWL’s humanitarian efforts across the world, affirming that they are based on faith and humanity, “without any discrimination.”
He also announced the MWL’s plan to launch an international award to promote the most important efforts to serve humanitarian action.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, for his part, called for supporting the medical workers to help them carry out their duties in saving the lives of refugees and displaced persons in an urgent and active manner.
He stated that climate change and natural disasters cause calamities no less than those caused by conflicts, calling on relevant parties to be always prepared and not undermine their impacts.
The World Council of Churches, the WHO, the MWL, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UNICEF, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the World Food Program and a group of prominent international leaders in humanitarian work took part in the event.
