Aid, conflict and global leadership: UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher at Chatham House

In conversation with @UNReliefChief Tom Fletcher about the most pressing humanitarian and conflict issues facing the United Nations today, and what role the UK can play. Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, joined Chatham House for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of humanitarian action and the reform agenda facing the UN system. He spoke to Olivia O’Sullivan Director of Chatham House's UK in the World Programme. Key passages include: 07:33 - "Drones: all this ingenuity going into these deadlier and deadlier weapons." 07:54 - "1,000 dead humanitarians in three years. When did that become normal?" 09.55 - "I've been into Gaza twice in the job, including, most recently, just after the ceasefire agreement... And of course nothing prepares you for that sort of desolation and the destruction." 26:47 - "Having been in Kunduz, Kandahar, Kabul, Goma, Darfur twice, Gaza twice, Beirut, driving across Syria.... for the people that I serve, the international order is already broken." Drawing on his experience engaging governments including the United States and other key partners, Fletcher reflected on what effective multilateral leadership looks like in the current moment – and what more can be done. With the UK hosting the G20 in 2027 and its Global Development Conference this coming May, this event also looked at the role Britain can and should play: having cut its own aid spending, can it play a decisive role as a donor, convenor and reformer in the international system, and how? #unitednations #gaza #sudan #chathamhouse #humanitarianaid