- KSrelief’s chief said that the primary obstacles to humanitarian work have increasingly become political rather than operational.
- “Attacks on civilians and aid workers must never be tolerated in silence or without accountability,” the chief emphasized.
KSrelief, the Saudi humanitarian agency, co‑hosted a high‑level meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday to examine diplomacy’s role in supporting humanitarian initiatives in conflict‑ and disaster‑affected regions.
Abdullah Al‑Rabeah, supervisor general of KSrelief, noted that humanitarian work is confronting unprecedented challenges, including political obstruction, natural disasters, violations of international humanitarian law, and funding shortfalls.
The gathering was attended by Arab News, alongside officials from Pakistan, the United Nations, European nations, and representatives of human‑rights organizations.
Since its founding in 2015, KSrelief has executed 4,463 humanitarian projects across 113 countries, investing more than $8.5 billion in food security, health, education, shelter, water, and sanitation.
Al‑Rabeah emphasized that the principal constraints on humanitarian operations have increasingly become political rather than operational.
He added that nearly 120 million people are currently displaced worldwide, and that diplomacy must be deliberately linked to humanitarian outcomes both in the Middle East and globally.
In Gaza, he observed that the humanitarian community finds its capacity severely constrained amid the immense suffering.
Civilians and aid workers are being targeted, humanitarian convoys are attacked, communities endure drone strikes, children are harmed, women suffer sexual violence, and humanitarian access is weaponized and obstructed by bureaucratic barriers.
He urged diplomatic initiatives to be translated into concrete humanitarian actions that promote regional stability and address global challenges.
He stressed that respect for international humanitarian law is non‑negotiable and that attacks on civilians and aid personnel must never be met with silence or impunity.
Earlier this week, Al‑Rabeah met with WHO Director‑General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to discuss joint humanitarian initiatives.
KSrelief signed a $5.3 million agreement with the World Health Organization to combat cholera in the Lake Chad Basin.
In August, KSrelief launched a program to rehabilitate schools and community buildings damaged by the Syrian civil war in the governorates of Homs, Daraa, and Deir Ezzor.
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