Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan launched on Wednesday a global forum aimed at dealing with humanitarian problems, including disasters caused by climate change.
The mission of the Global Humanitarian Forum is to foster dialogue and broker partnerships that strengthen the international community's ability to address humanitarian challenges, said the new organization in a statement.
The growing and complex interdependence of humanitarian problems calls for a strengthened multidisciplinary approach and the engagement and cooperation of a broad range of actors, the statement said.
By launching the forum, Annan hoped to "build a stronger global community to tackle the humanitarian challenges of today and tomorrow," the statement added.
Annan, a Ghanaian who retired from the top UN job at the end of last year, set up the Geneva-based forum with financing and support from the Swiss government.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the launching ceremony on Wednesday, Annan said that dealing with the impact of climate change would be a focus of the forum.
"We need to get the world public to focus on the fact that climate change is not something down the line but is happening now, and that we have to work together to combat it," Annan said.
He added that the forum would convene its first annual high-level meeting in June next year. The meeting is expected to bring together top decision-makers from around the world to discuss policy issues on climate change.
Source: Xinhua
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