White Helmets Commission: participation of volunteers in the activities
of the United Nations in the field of humanitarian relief,
rehabilitation and technical cooperation for development
A/RES/73/138
1.
Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the strengthening of
the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations,
submitted in compliance with resolutions 46/182 and 72/133 of 11 December 2017,4
in particular paragraph 96 of the report, in which an update is provided on
collaboration between the White Helmets, an initiative of the Government of
Argentina, and the United Nations, and it is noted that since 1994, more than 700
White Helmets volunteers have provided assistance in 71 countries and undertaken
291 international humanitarian missions, many in coordination with the United
Nations, and strengthened links with United Nations system agencies through
agreements, joint workplans, financial support and field missions;
2.
Highlights that the White Helmets is a volunteer corps composed entirely
of civilians that develops its activities on the basis of cooperation, solidarity and the
participation of communities;
3.
Notes with appreciation the contribution of the White Helmets to
humanitarian assistance, disaster risk management and the achievement of sustainable
development;
4.
Recognizes that the White Helmets initiative has demonstrated the
potential of regional partnerships and has encouraged the participation of affected or
vulnerable populations in the tasks of planning, training, mobilizing and providing an
immediate response in disaster situations and complex emergencies, while integrating
a gender perspective into its activities;
5.
Commends national and international volunteers, including the White
Helmets, for their contributions and their fundamental role in disaster risk reduction,
response and recovery;
6.
Takes note of the renewal, signed in 2016, of the memorandum of
understanding between the White Helmets and the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, which established the framework for the deployment of
White Helmets volunteers in support of the emergency responses of the Office of the
High Commissioner, and recognizes the efforts made by the World Food Programme
and the White Helmets for joint action within the framework of food security,
including the exchange of information among stakeholders in the field, and the
international humanitarian assistance activities that the White Helmets developed
with the International Organization for Migration;
7.
Encourages the United Nations system, including the World Health
Organization, and operational partners of the United Nations, in providing
psychosocial support to the disaster-affected population in emergency and disaster
situations, to draw on, as appropriate, the voluntary expertise of the White Helmets,
which has been successfully tested, and invites Member States to consider means of
integrating the White Helmets initiative into their programme activities;
8.
Recognizes the international humanitarian activities that the White
Helmets developed in the period from 2016 to 2018 in coordinat ion with the national
authorities of disaster-affected countries and the agencies of the United Nations
system and its partners in the design, preparedness, organization and deployment of
humanitarian assistance, including response, recovery and reconstruc tion following
disasters and building of resilience, and in addressing the consequences of
humanitarian emergencies for migrants, in particular those in vulnerable situations;
9.
Invites the Secretary-General, on the basis of the experience acquired, to
continue to consider the use of the White Helmets initiative as a resource suitable for
preventing and mitigating the effects of disasters and other humanitarian crises;
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