Side event of the "Protection of Civilians Week 2026" to bring together Member States, humanitarian leadership and key partners to examine how humanitarian diplomacy can be leveraged as a practical and strategic tool for the protection of civilians amid growing geopolitical fragmentation, shrinking humanitarian space, and unprecedented financial constraints on the multilateral system.
The proposed side event will bring together Member States, humanitarian leadership and key partners to examine how humanitarian diplomacy can be leveraged as a practical and strategic tool for the protection of civilians amid growing geopolitical fragmentation, shrinking humanitarian space, and unprecedented financial constraints on the multilateral system. All Member States possess diplomatic tools and relationships that can be mobilized in defense of the protection of civilians. The event will focus on how those tools can be better deployed. Drawing on concrete experiences, the event will examine how humanitarian considerations can be effectively integrated into political, regional and multilateral processes to create more enabling conditions for access and protection. Participants will leave with practical lessons and actionable policy entry points - from bilateral leverage and negotiated processes to Security Council and regional mechanisms - that Member States and partners can apply in their own diplomatic work. Key thematic focus areas: Political will, access and protection: How Member States and regional actors can use political leverage to secure and sustain humanitarian access, including through bilateral engagement with conflict parties, and Security Council action, and how these efforts connect with mediation processes and field-level negotiation to achieve concrete protection outcomes. Defending the normative framework: How diplomatic engagement can uphold IHL amid normative erosion, challenges to its good-faith interpretation, and persistent impunity - and the role of States in holding parties to conflict, including allies, accountable. Humanitarian diplomacy in a constrained environment: How, as financial pressures and geopolitical fragmentation intensify, humanitarian diplomacy can serve as a force multiplier -mobilizing political support and resources and ensuring financial constraints do not inadvertently undermine efforts to protect civilians.
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