UN relief chief decries $1B daily war spending while aid for vulnerable is cut

HAMILTON, Canada

UN relief chief Tom Fletcher delivered a stark warning Friday that conflicts are being funded in large numbers while humanitarian budgets face deep cuts, with civilians bearing the highest cost.

"We're seeing staggering amounts of money, reportedly $1 billion a day, funding this war, spent on destruction, while politicians continue to boast about cutting aid budgets for those in greatest need," Fletcher said at a media briefing at UN headquarters in New York.

Fletcher painted a bleak picture of the global landscape, warning of "an increasingly deadly alliance of technology and killing with impunity."

"We’re seeing a sustained attack against the systems and laws meant to restrain us from our worst instincts and from reckless warfare," he said.

Noting that "too many warning lights are flashing on the dashboard right now," Fletcher urged "de-escalation, an immediate cessation of hostilities, genuine dialogue and negotiations, in line with the Charter of the United Nations."

"We need calmer heads to prevail," Fletcher said.

Stressing that conflicts’ consequences extend well beyond the battlefield, he explained that "war doesn't stay neatly within borders or on desktop military plans."

"It tears through markets, supply chains, food prices. And when that happens, it's the most vulnerable people who are hit first and hardest," he said.

He warned that disruptions to maritime corridors such as the Straits of Hormuz would drive up food prices and squeeze health systems, making basic commodities, including humanitarian supplies, harder to access.

"So, we’re pre-positioning supplies, we’re identifying alternative supply routes, and we’re preparing rapid funding options, including from the Central Emergency Response Fund," he said.

Fletcher said he was "really worried about the situation in Lebanon, a country that continues to be buffeted by other people's wars," noting large-scale displacement from the south and from Beirut's Dahiyeh suburbs amid "incredibly threatening and bellicose" Israeli strike warnings.