Greater effectiveness in humanitarian aid has never been more important in times of national emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the signing of Executive Order No. 137 s. 2021, the Commission on Human Rights is hopeful that the most affected and vulnerable communities will receive unimpeded humanitarian access.

Under the ‘Aid and Humanitarian Operations Nationwide’ (AHON) Convergence Program, the government shall provide unified delivery of food and non-relief items, livelihood, educational, burial, transportation, employment, medical and health, direct financial assistance, among others to the most affected populations. With this policy in place, the CHR expects that administrative red tape will be minimised, if not totally removed, in carrying out government humanitarian response.

The CHR counts on the member-agencies of AHON in the effective and coordinated deployment of immediate, adequate, and appropriate humanitarian support in times of emergencies or in the aftermath of disasters. Likewise, the Commission is open to consultation or dialogue to ensure that all programs are adhering to human rights-based approach.

We underscore that the goals of humanitarian action include saving lives, alleviating suffering, maintaining human dignity during and after an emergency or disaster, and working both at disaster prevention as well as improving disaster response. For it to be effective, it shall be based in humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence as embedded in the International Humanitarian Law.

Above all, procedures, protocols, or guidelines should never obscure the main goal of humanitarian action, which is to assist the affected people respective of their human rights and dignity. We hope that AHON shall serve as a platform of information exchange, reflection, and activities that allow the optimisation of government actions for the response aimed at preventing and alleviating the suffering of vulnerable populations to emergencies and disasters. ###