The search for a new Emergency Relief Coordinator is on! There is a strong expectation that the UK again will get to fill the post, but not if William Chemaly, the Global Protection Cluster Coordinator has a say. He has decided to go for the post in spite of. being a somewhat different candidate. Learn more about him, why he is applying and whether he thinks he has a chance.
Transcript
We live in a time of great change. It's hard to ignore the voices calling out for more inclusive and representative humanitarian sector. Or is it actually quite easy to ignore those voices? The UN is about to select a new Emergency Relief Coordinator, the UnderSecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, the head of OCHA. It is a very powerful and attractive posts. And the last couple of years these have all come from the UK. Now, will that also be the case this time? In a sense, this is the perfect litmus test for whether change is actually coming, or whether all we're doing is just putting up window dressing in the echo chamber. So when I heard that William Chemaly, the Global Protection Cluster Coordinator, had put forward his candidacy for the post, I thought that was interesting. Because at least he is quite a different candidate. So here he is. I hope you enjoyed this short bonus episode, and before we begin, I would like to also invite all other candidates for the position as ERC to come on Trumanitarian for chat. Just to make it absolutely clear that here at Trumanitarian, we don't discriminate, I would like to emphasise that that is an offer that of course also is valid for candidates from the UK.
William Chemaly, welcome to Trumanitarian.
William Chemaly:Thank you so much, Lars Peter.
Lars Peter Nissen:So you're running to become the next Emergency Relief Coordinator. And I just have four questions for you. Who are you? Are you qualified? What would be different with you as ERC? And do you have a chance? So let's begin with the first one. Who are you?
William Chemaly:I'm a Lebanese who lived through a civil war that shaped me to become a human rights defender, negotiating release of people that were forcibly displaced and disappeared. My day job at the time was in the banking sector, but following the 2OO6 war in Lebanon, I wanted to engage in the relief effort, and the national effort. So I take a break from banking and joined international organisations, initially as a driver and a translator. And the rest is history. This led to a very humbling journey of leading humanitarian projects and alliances, mainly in the Middle East and Africa, both with international NGOs, with several UN agencies. And during several periods, I managed to bring that field, frontline, dusty experience to global processes, where I engaged in leading global NGOs and representing in the processes of policy shaping that define today's humanitarian action. Currently, I'm leading the Global Protection Cluster, bringing together about 1OOO organisations and 35 operations to put protection at the centre of humanitarian action. So for me, if you ask who am I? I'm a humanitarian. And for me, being a humanitarian, it's not a job. It's personal. It's who I am, initially, by necessity, and then by choice.
Lars Peter Nissen:And so I think it's fair to say that that life history you just gave, that's not standard issue for the ERCs we've seen. So let me ask you a second question. Are you qualified to hold the post as Undersecretary General of the United Nations?
William Chemaly:There is only one way to figure that out, I guess. But let me tell you that we live in complex, so problems humanitarians deal with, and the UN, are interconnected. They're mutually reinforcing. The way we're responding to these problems have been changing and shifting and adapting over time. So we see, for instance, international protection and international presence remains extremely central and important in many contexts. There is a growing recognition of a long standing fact that most humanitarian work is carried, for example, by local respondents, communities and actors on an area-based approach in their areas. We also see that global political will remains extremely essential. But we need more regional solutions for regional problems where development and peace machinery remain despite fragility. And last year has been very exposing: COVID. While we're dealing with this pandemic. today, we know that at the heart of it, what we're truly dealing with is a human rights crisis. So in this context quali-... a qualified ERC needs to bring two things. First, a unifying style of leadership that knows the system from within and able to drive a broad alliance at the right pace, but also has the confidence to address areas that needs adaptation. We also need from the next ERC, clear set of values that sets the tone of this alliance. And the words, actions, the decisions of the next DRC must embrace the principles and values we talk about. It has to be full of humility, equality and non-discrimination. So at this crossroad, a qualified ERC is extremely important. I do believe that a new generation of humanitarian leadership, coming from the Global South, having had the experience of being on both sides of the aid system, a new generation which most humanitarians could self identify with, could be very well qualified to rally all the good forces to deal with the problems of today and ready inclusive humanitarianism for the problems of tomorrow. I think, Lars Peter, it is about qualification, I fully agree, but it's also about sending this message that a new leadership in today can lead humanitarians, a humanitarian can lead humanitarians. That would fit very well in the times we're living in.
Lars Peter Nissen:William, the ERC, it's a very powerful post. It's also a post that comes with great constraints. What would be different with you? Wouldn't you just be yet another constrained, senior UN figure unable to do what you really wanted?
William Chemaly:Thanks, Lars Peter. Indeed, my experience in the humanitarian sector have given me an all too realistic understanding of the daunting challenges that are faced. It's complicated. It's this ongoing balance and dancing between what it ought to be and what's possible. That happens all the time, from negotiating on a checkpoint on the ground, to finding a global deal to enable access for a situation like many we are facing today. I believe it's important, first, for the ERC to have been there, to have been on the frontlines, to know the repercussions of the decisions where it matters--on the checkpoints, in the villages, in the suburbs. And I think that brings an important understanding of the pace in which decisions should be made and how they should be communicated. Second, I think, an evolution, and revolution, dare I say, has happened in the humanitarian sector. There has been a lot of changes in the last 5, 6, 7, 8 years. And we've seen many individual organisations have moved ahead with agendas of localization, with agendas of area-based approaches, with agendas that are happening on the ground. Yet, the system altogether hasn't embraced it. So we need ERC who is coming from that system, who knows what works, what should endure, but also have the confidence to make the changes and embrace the changes that have happened. And finally, I think it is about qualifications but it's also about a life story. Having an ERC that most humanitarians would self-identify with, I think would be the right message, would inspire, can galvanise all this positive efforts to head in one direction with one heartbeat.
Lars Peter Nissen:All right, William, let's say you're qualified. Let's say you would make a difference. Do you realistically have a chance?
William Chemaly:Absolutely. Yes. And that's not said in a naive way. I understand, very well, the political environment in which an ERC is being appointed. But let me tell you this. Humanitarianism has seen change. That was against odds, but yet happened. We see local actors growing in recognition of what they've always done. We see a UN leadership that has done massive amounts of change in terms of equality, in terms of development, in terms of call-to-action on the human rights agenda. All of these wouldn't have seen... been seen as realistic a couple of years ago, yet it is happening. So I believe that the current leadership of humanitarianism, the current UN leadership, has proven that they're willing to take decisions that makes sense to the times we're living in. My job is not to say if it's realistic or not. My job is to offer that option that there is a humanitarian, who comes from within, from the Global South, who brings a flare of change from being... coming from a new generation, and is out there as an option. So is it realistic? I don't think the question should be asked to me. Only the coming days will answer it.
Lars Peter Nissen:William Chemaly, thank you so much for coming on Trumanitarian. And let's see what happens.
William Chemaly:Thank you very much, LP. Looking forward to continue the conversation and adventure.