We, the Foreign Ministers of Mexico, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia (MIKTA), affirm our commitment to address the growing challenge of humanitarian crises around the world. Humanitarian crises are increasingly complex and protracted with 65 million people fleeing their homes because of violence and disaster. It is vital that the world finds ways to ensure that the needs and rights of its displaced people are met, including through assisting refugee hosting countries.
That is why we agreed today at the 7th MIKTA Foreign Ministers’ Meeting – held on the occasion of the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly, the UN High Level Summit on Addressing Large Movements of People and the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees – to work constructively together and with our international partners over the next two years to develop and agree the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migration. These Compacts have the potential to make a real difference to the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
We acknowledge our collective responsibility to share the burden of assisting refugees and displaced populations, in accordance with international law and in particular international refugee law. We recognize that this includes assisting host communities and providing resettlement places. We, as MIKTA countries, are willing to increase our cooperation on refugee issues in international organizations and forums. We call for strengthened humanitarian and development assistance for refugees, and refugee settlement, and scaled-up support through relevant international financial institutions for refugees, displaced populations and their host countries.
We thank Turkey for hosting the largest refugee population since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011 and for undertaking this responsibility and burden on behalf of the international community.
2
We will work together to advance the outcomes of the World Humanitarian Summit, hosted by Turkey in May 2016. In particular, MIKTA will seek to enhance global and regional responses to advance the interests and protection of women and girls in crises. We also note MIKTA members’ individual commitments to the Charter for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action.
We affirm our understanding that it is only when all individuals, irrespective of gender or ability, are meaningfully engaged on decisions about the assistance they receive, can aid truly be effective.
MIKTA members were pleased to endorse the core commitments to the Agenda for Humanity at the World Humanitarian Summit, as appropriate. We strongly believe that focusing on improving the livelihoods of those seeking refuge in host communities will provide mid- and long-term solutions to crises and reduce emergency humanitarian need.
In addition, MIKTA supported accelerated implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. Next year, MIKTA members will come together to attend the first Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction after the adoption of the Sendai Framework. This important global event, hosted by Mexico, will review the implementation of the Sendai Framework. Governments, international organizations and civil society are expected to attend the Global Platform in Cancún, Mexico, from 22 to 26 May, 2017.
We are committed to maintaining momentum and ensuring the success of the Global Platform. We commit to supporting and actively engaging in the Global Platform, as well as preparatory regional platforms. We also commit to championing accelerated implementation of the Sendai Framework within our respective regions in the lead up to the Global Platform.
The MIKTA countries acknowledge that disaster risk reduction provides a vital platform for building the resilience of nations and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. We are committed to supporting Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to more effectively manage risks. Natural hazards do not have to become disasters; we can reduce vulnerability; we can be better prepared; and we can issue early warnings to mitigate the impacts of these events. We believe that by helping
3
communities to build resilience to natural shocks, we can not only reduce the cost of disasters but also address some of the factors that lead to forced migration and mass displacement.
Strong humanitarian leadership is essential to effective disaster response.
While women, girls, men, and boys all suffer in a crisis, women and girls face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and are disproportionately affected due to structural gender inequalities that continue to exist worldwide. We continue to focus on mainstreaming gender equality and women’s empowerment across the full spectrum of MIKTA’s activities.
We reaffirm our commitment to working closely with local and national women’s groups to provide them with practical support to increase their domestic capacity to deliver in humanitarian settings. We are committed to ensuring that humanitarian programming both meets the needs of women and girls and meaningfully involves them in the decision-making processes and in program design, delivery, and monitoring. We will work together to advocate and support the Minimum Initial Services Package for reproductive health in emergencies with the aim of ending preventable deaths of women, adolescent girls and newborns in crisis settings. We recognise that this action not only saves lives but also expedites the recovery of affected communities and economies. At our meeting in November in Sydney, we will discuss a proposal to host a meeting of experts and stakeholders in 2017 to progress this agenda. We thank Australia for launching the MIKTA Humanitarian Scholarships program, to support women who are emerging humanitarian leaders from MIKTA countries to undertake the Humanitarian Leadership program at Deakin University in Australia. We will explore further opportunities to promote exchanges and learning opportunities to improve humanitarian leadership across our countries.
We encourage all states to build on the commitments made in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework, the Paris Agreement and the World Humanitarian Summit.
We, the Foreign Ministers of Mexico, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia, are unwavering in our commitment to address these humanitarian challenges.