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Philanthropy

Call for Strengthening Humanitarian Partnerships and Developing Faster, More Sustainable Responses- LIFE

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Life for Relief and Development at the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid & Development Conference:

The Dubai International Humanitarian Aid & Development Conference (DIHAD 2026) concluded its activities at the Dubai World Trade Centre under the theme “Humanity in Transition: Shaping the Future of Humanitarian Work.” The conference brought together numerous humanitarian institutions, relief organizations, government entities, and experts from around the world to discuss the growing challenges facing communities affected by wars, disasters, and escalating humanitarian crises, particularly in the Middle East.

The current edition of the conference was held at a time when the global humanitarian system is undergoing rapid transformations due to the increasing complexity of crises, growing humanitarian needs, and changing operational environments. This requires humanitarian institutions and organizations to rethink traditional response mechanisms and develop models that are more flexible, innovative, and sustainable.

21,000 Participants from 165 Countries

Life for Relief and Development was among the prominent participants. Khalil Meek, Chief Development and Resource Development Officer at the organization, emphasized that the conference focuses on anticipating the future of humanitarian action amid the increasing number of wars, conflicts, climate-related disasters, economic crises, displacement, technological developments, and funding gaps. The conference aims to exchange expertise, build partnerships, and develop practical and sustainable solutions to support the poorest and most vulnerable populations.

He added: “Life was among more than 21,000 participants and visitors from 165 countries, alongside more than 1,000 entities, partners, and organizations working in the humanitarian sector. There were also 320 speakers who participated in more than 260 sessions and workshops, alongside the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, academic and research institutions, the private sector, charitable and donor organizations, financial institutions, development banks, and media outlets.”

The conference represents a platform that brings together decision-makers, experts, implementers, funders, and entities equipped with innovation and technology tools. This enables the development of more integrated responses to humanitarian crises and creates opportunities for humanitarian organizations to communicate, exchange expertise, and explore opportunities for cooperation and partnership.

“Life”: Being at the Heart of the Field and Responding Rapidly

Dr. Abdul Wahab Alawneh, Regional Director for the Middle East at Life, added that the future of humanitarian action, based on Life’s field experience and 33 years of work on the ground, requires continuous development.

He said: “We presented our proposals on the role of leadership, innovation, and partnerships in advancing humanitarian action and making it more adaptable to the rapid changes taking place around the world. We focused on how to turn ideas into practical realities, strengthen implementation and operational efficiency, measure results, and transform the ideas and commitments presented during the conference into practical solutions that create a genuine and sustainable impact on communities in need.”

“At a time when humanitarian organizations are increasingly required to develop tools to anticipate needs, prepare for crises at an early stage, improve resource management, and reach affected populations more quickly and efficiently, this is precisely what has distinguished Life over the past years through its presence at the heart of events from day one—whether in areas affected by earthquakes and floods, as occurred in Libya, Morocco, and Türkiye, or deep inside conflict zones, as in Gaza and Lebanon. Life has been able to reach remote civilian areas under bombardment where humanitarian assistance had not reached.”

The conference also discussed the importance of developing more proactive humanitarian models, so that responses are not limited to action after a disaster occurs, but also include advance preparedness, strengthening community resilience, and reducing future needs. This means moving from response to preparedness, from isolated efforts to partnerships, and from temporary solutions to sustainable impact.

More Effective Partnerships

Nada Haroun, Director of Life’s office in Jordan, added:

“Our presence here is not merely attendance; it is a representation of a mission, a team, and work that we believe in and consider important. Advancing humanitarian action is no longer the responsibility of a single organization or country. Rather, it is a collective responsibility that requires continuous international cooperation, more effective partnerships, more sustainable funding, and responses that place people, their dignity, and their ability to build a safer future at the heart of humanitarian action.”

“Last year, Life received the Dubai Humanitarian Award for Most Effective Partnership for its shelter-camp project in the Gaza Strip. Therefore, this year, we established a new partnership with the Emirates Red Crescent, which will help strengthen the delivery of assistance and support to vulnerable and most-needy populations.”

Transparency: A Safe Bridge Between Donors and Those in Need

She continued:

“The conference addressed the issue of donation transparency by strengthening the regulation of charitable work, reinforcing donor trust, and ensuring that donations reach their intended beneficiaries through approved channels. These are also principles that have distinguished Life and contributed to its ranking third globally among leading humanitarian aid organizations and fifth among the best organizations working in Palestine and addressing poverty. This enabled Life to receive a 100% rating from Charity Navigator, in addition to being accredited by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and being selected among the top humanitarian organizations in the United States by Impactful Ninja, with expenditures reaching $666 million usd.”

These principles are becoming increasingly important as digital platforms expand their use for collecting donations and launching humanitarian campaigns. Transparency and verification of organizations managing donations have therefore become essential to protecting donors and ensuring that resources are directed to the beneficiaries who need them most.

For the Silo, Tasneem Elridi/LIFEUSA

Politics

Report: Regulations on U.S. arms exports often skirted, rarely enforced

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SOMERVILLE, Mass.—While the United States likes to claim it has the gold standard of arms export control measures, in practice the measures offer few restrictions on U.S. presidents’ ability to ship arms wherever they like, according to a new report from the World Peace Foundation (WPF) at Tufts University’s The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

The Arms Export Control Act (AECE) of 1976, as well as the United States’ international obligations, are meant to ensure decisions to export arms take into account the potential to escalate conflict or fall into the hands of U.S. enemies. The AECA sets up Congress as a check on presidential decisions.

“The potential for arms sales to exacerbate a conflict rarely stops a sale,” said report author Jennifer Erickson, associate professor of political science and international studies at Boston College. “When we do restrain exports, more often than not, political calculations are at work, rather than the legal checks and balances Congress put in place.”

Among the key findings of On the Front Lines: Conflict Zones and U.S. Arms Exports:

  • Conflict is not a consistent deterrent for U.S. arms exports. The United States usually prioritizes diplomatic and economic ties in export decision making—regardless of the conflict status of the recipient.
  • Presidents face few restrictions on using arms sales to meet policy goals. U.S. law sets an almost unreachable vote threshold for Congress to block or modify arms sales.
  • Even when the U.S. chooses not to supply weapons to conflict zones, it can and does use alternative means, such as common allies, to get arms to combatants.
  • There is no realistic way for the U.S. government to guarantee the weapons it sells are used only by the buyer, in ways that conform with U.S. interests. We cannot ensure weapons are only used defensively, for instance. And arms have staying power. Years after initial sales, they may be used instead for priorities the U.S. opposes.
  • Interpretation of regulations may become looser still as the U.S. enters a “New Cold War” with China or Russia.

In coming to these conclusions, the report examines U.S. arms sales, and restraint, connected to recent conflicts in Libya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The World Peace Foundation commissioned similar studies on arms sales by the governments of the United Kingdom and France.

These studies follow earlier research by the WPF on which nations send arms into conflict zones, available on the website, Who Arms War? 

“The United States has all the regulations and policy tools it needs to ensure we do not make already dangerous places even more deadly,” said Alex de Waal, World Peace Foundation executive director and research professor at The Fletcher School. “We have mechanisms that can minimize the risk of America arming deadly actors. What we don’t seem to have is the political will to actually use those mechanisms. On numerous occasions American arms have made the world a more dangerous place, including for Americans.”

ABOUT THE WORLD PEACE FOUNDATION

Established by the publisher Edwin Ginn in 1910, the World Peace Foundation aims to “educate the people of all nations to a full knowledge of the waste and destructiveness of war and of preparation for war, its evil effects on present social conditions and on the wellbeing of future generations, and to promote international justice and the brotherhood of man, and generally by every practical means to promote peace and goodwill among all mankind.”