On February 18, 2016, Emergency Humanitarian Relief Coordinator and UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Stephen O’Brien, welcomed guests to the United Nations in New York City for a special event entitled City Haven: People on the Move • Harboring the Displaced. The event highlighted the challenges and opportunities of responding to urban emergencies, including the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and the Syrian refugee crisis. It sought to change our perceptions of displaced people and propose new ways to ensure towns and cities are safe and inclusive places for all – including refugees and migrants. Referencing the urban context as it relates to both Sustainable Development Goal Number 11 and the UN Secretary-General’s five core responsibilities for the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit, O’Brien started the discussion by stating that, “we will commit to a concrete set of actions and commitments that will enable all – including member states, affected populations, civil society, and the private sector – to better prepare for and respond to crises, and to become more resilient to shocks.” In order to put these commitments in to practice, O’Brien announced that a new form of collaboration, the Global Alliance for Urban Crises, will be launched during a special session at the World Humanitarian Summit. The Alliance joins a diverse group of actors, who do not currently work together (including municipal authorities, urban professionals and humanitarian and development agencies) to deliver humanitarian responses in urban areas.

Like much of the sector, the International Rescue Committee increasingly operates not in camps, but in cities and towns. The urban environment presents a markedly different operating environment, to which the traditional humanitarian response architecture is not well suited. With estimates that more than half of the world’s displaced are in urban settings, the question of how we best respond to meet the needs of people who have fled natural disaster or conflict to urban settings has become critical

This Charter outlines guiding principles for members of the Global Alliance for Urban Crises (the Alliance). They are to be used as a basis for both policy and operational level engagement, in order to be more effective in preventing, preparing for, and responding to humanitarian crises in urban environments. Adapting to an urbanising world: By 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas. Accelerating urbanization is defining our global reality and will shape our future. Urbanization intersects with climate change, natural disasters, conflict and displacement. It is a critical lens through which to review national and international efforts to prevent, prepare for and respond to crises, conflict and disasters

Thousands of people are fleeing their homes as the Iraqi army, Kurdish Peshmerga and coalition forces fight to retake Mosul — Iraq's second largest city — from the ISIS militant group. Nearly 22,000 Iraqis have been displaced since the battle for Mosul began on October 17. Almost half of them are children. People who fled surrounding communities are telling International Rescue Committee aid workers about the two years of terror they endured living under ISIS. Here, one woman describes how her family managed to survive under ISIS’s strict code of behavior and dress, and how they were finally able to escape as the military offensive began.

The war in Syria has raged on for six years, causing a staggering 11 million people to flee for their lives — the largest refugee crisis of our time. More than 6 million are displaced inside the country, and nearly 5 million have fled to nearby countries in search of safety. But many, including the 1.7 million Syrians registered in neighbouring Jordan and Lebanon, are living in precarious circumstances.

More than 1.5 million people have been displaced since the conflict in South Sudan reignited. According to the United Nations, 421,000 people have fled the new country to neighboring Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda. The International Rescue Committee is responding to the influx of new arrivals in the Kiryandongo refugee settlement in Uganda, where Dr. Catherine Ndekera, IRC’s health coordinator, reports on the situation.

The International Rescue Committee’s Children of Peace multimedia exhibition in the Great Court of The British Museum Great Russell St, London WC1B 3DG takes place Friday 24th June 2016 from 6.00pm – 8.30pm. The exhibition features a recreated classroom that reflects the realities of IRC’s work helping displaced children in north-east Nigeria to access quality education. Salamatu Usman Mohammed, a teacher from an IRC supported school in Yola, will be on hand to talk about what the average day is like in her classroom, and answer any questions you may have. Photography and video tell first hand stories of children like Ruth, 14, whose favourite subject is English. Through hand-painting and drawing help us to create classroom materials for students in Nigeria.