MPs respond to looming famine in Africa and Yemen

Dhaka, 4 April 2017

The global parliamentary community has called for urgent international action to save millions of people from famine and drought in parts of Africa and Yemen. ©Albert Gonzalez Farran/AFP

The global parliamentary community has called for urgent international action to save millions of people from famine and drought in parts of Africa and Yemen.

In an emergency item adopted today at the 136th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Organization’s Members committed to pressuring their governments to fund humanitarian relief operations to avert this crisis.

People are facing the third consecutive year of drought in many of the countries covered by the emergency item. The impact is devastating, causing thirst and hunger, decimating livestock, destroying livelihoods, spreading disease and triggering large-scale population movements.

Ethiopia and Kenya are among the world’s top 10 refugee host countries. These refugees are especially vulnerable in the current crisis.

IPU Members called upon the international community to take immediate action to prevent this potentially unprecedented famine and looming humanitarian catastrophe. They urged relevant governments to end hostilities and take every step to ensure unhindered humanitarian access.

The IPU resolution urged the United Nations to commit the resources necessary to provide humanitarian support and nutritional relief. It stressed that particular attention needs to be focused on the most vulnerable groups, especially women, children and the aged. 

The IPU resolution declared that famine must never be used as a weapon of war and those who use it in this way should be brought to justice.

IPU Members also want to prevent this tragedy from ever happening again. They urged governments to assist the affected countries in developing drought resilience mechanisms, including by eliminating the root causes of famine and drought. Parliamentarians also called for more investment in mitigation activities that support vulnerable countries in adapting to climate change.

For further information:

Watch the 136th Assembly live at http://www.ipu136bangladesh.org/ from 1-5 April.

Follow or take part in discussions on Twitter using #IPU136.

Photos of the event will be made available on Flickr.