DRC advocates for principled humanitarian action at UNGA 80

The United Nations General Assembly's 80th session unfolded against a backdrop of UN-wide funding cuts, increased global conflict and widespread disregard for international law. This year, DRC's engagement at UNGA was critical in promoting solutions to address the challenges facing the humanitarian and development sectors.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) ran from the 9th to the 26th of September 2025 in New York under the theme of “Building Our Future Together”. This year marked UNGA’s 80th session, and it unfolded within an unprecedented context. Against the backdrop of UN-wide funding cuts, increased global conflict and widespread disregard for international law and withdrawal from its instruments, UNGA 80’s tone reflected the precarity of the moment.

DRC Secretary General Charlotte Slente spent three days at UNGA engaging with key actors in the government and funding spaces, positioning DRC as a leading voice at this critical moment for the humanitarian sector, and amid a landscape of multiple acute crises.

Promoting protection, funding solutions and anticipatory action

High on the DRC agenda for UNGA 80 was ensuring respect for International Humanitarian Law and the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers.

“What we see expanding this year is a situation where aid is being militarized and used politically, and civilians are being targeted to a larger extent. This is eroding the very foundations of the work that we do as humanitarians. It’s important that that situation doesn’t become normalized; we need to speak up.” – Charlotte Slente, DRC Secretary General.

Discussions with partners and donors also focused on how we can continue delivering aid in a system where funding has been significantly reduced. DRC promoted new and innovative ways of working that emphasize durable, long-term solutions, anticipatory action, and the need to forge new partnerships with foundations, philanthropic organizations, and the private sector – with the goal of coming together to address the funding crisis and deliver vital assistance needed in crises around the world.

Leading discussions on the “humanitarian reset”

DRC’s project experience, local partnership engagement, and unique humanitarian knowledge and research, means that its voice is both credible and necessary in conversations on the “humanitarian reset”. At UNGA, Secretary General Slente raised DRC’s voice in discussions with key stakeholders to provide concrete recommendations to address the challenges facing the humanitarian and development sectors.

DRC co-led a Humanitarian Work Group hosted by the Clinton Global Initiative, and Secretary General Slente participated in a diversity of events on subjects such as cash programming in Uganda, anticipatory action, and the escalating crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory. She met with several key stakeholders in the humanitarian and development space, including member states and private foundations.

UNGA 80 was a moment to be grasped for media engagement. A falling sense of solidarity with the world’s most vulnerable means that visibility is an essential line of defense for the rights and dignity of displaced people. Secretary General Slente met with a number of media outlets, including New York Times, DEVEX, and POV, to put the protection of displaced people in the spotlight.