The UN Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator since 2017 is leaving his UN post. The opportunity to take a stand with him on humanitarian issues on the African continent, and in particular on Tigray. Last week, the members of the Security Council failed this week for a meeting on the subject. Mark Lowcock answers Carrie Nooten’s questions.
RFI: The situation in Tigray is really very worrying. Agricultural infrastructure was destroyed in Mekoui, you warned that 91% of the population was in need of food aid …
Mark Lowcock: the situation is alarming, it is the worst food insecurity situation i have seen in several years. Certainly the worst since this terrible famine claimed the lives of 250,000 Somalis ten years ago. In my opinion, hundreds of thousands of people in northern Ethiopia live. We are desperately looking for help for these people. We need three things: firstly, a significant reduction in hostilities and an end to the blockades by UN agencies, whether they are checkpoints or otherwise. Second, many more aid workers, because the government does not have full control over Tigray, there are places where the government is no longer there when people need help. There is a real need for international staff there. And third, we need a lot more money. We would need $ 850 million to avoid a tragedy this year in Tigray. Half have been promised, but nothing has been paid yet.
How could the international community do more, how would you like to see the Security Council act??
In 2018, the Security Council adopted a resolution asking me and the Secretary-General to send a note to it when we believe that a conflict could lead to food insecurity or famine. Two weeks ago, we sent this message from Tigray to Council members. Because the situation was completely blocked. This is the fourth time we are doing it. So far, every time they have met, but not this time. What they could do is demand that hostilities cease, facilitate access to aid agencies, encourage fundraising and give more space to aid workers. people have to listen to them, that’s the advice!
This takes us back to the very dark years in Ethiopia; what is it about the country?
As part of my first job in the mid-1980s, I had to intervene in famine that killed over a million people. I never forgot any of the things I saw at that time. It is not irrational to worry about this happening again. All we need to do is prevent a colossal tragedy, because it is a humanitarian crisis that will have consequences for Tigray, but for the whole country and the whole region – and for a long time to come.
Do you think that UN warnings about emergency aid are being deployed quickly enough? Do you see new ways to react more effectively?
Yes, in general, the earlier the alarm is sounded, the better the reactions. We’ve been hearing the alarm bells for six months now, with what’s happening in the Tigray, but nothing has been done enough. And that is why we are in an extremely critical situation today; I had never seen it before and I do not even think we have experienced such a situation in the last ten years.
Mark Lowcock, you’re leaving your role in the UN in two weeks. Since the beginning of this interview, we’ve been talking about the same issues you encounter in every humanitarian zone. What do you feel? Do you leave your job and feel like a job well done?
You are right, during my years at the UN, the need for humanitarian aid has only increased, especially in the Middle East and Africa … this is mainly due to the causes of humanitarian problems, the conflicts, the change. Climate and now Covid -19, have not been treated properly. We only treat the symptoms … But the good news, which should make everyone happy, is that most of these problems can still be limited. We did not have an extraordinary famine that would have caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands or millions of people, which could have been the case 10, 15 or 20 years ago! We must continue to include them – humanitarian bodies meet the needs of 100 million people every year. Still, it gets worse. My main message to decision makers is really “address the causes”, not the symptoms.
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