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Humanitarian & Emergency response
While the EEAS facilitates overall coordination of external action, such as human rights, security, stability, conflict prevention, the European Commission, via its Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) is responsible for the response to humanitarian crises and emergencies.
"Sexual violence against women, girls, men and boys is a despicable crime, and even more so when it occurs in vulnerable situations of conflict, or as a tactic of war. It is a grave violation of human rights and international humanitarian law, and must be fought with the strongest commitment" the EU stressed on International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.
For the next long-term EU budget 2021-2027, the European Commission is proposing to increase the external action budget to €123 billion, to significantly simplify its structure, and make it much more flexible and effective to address today's global challenges.
The European Commission will provide €1.8 million in humanitarian aid to support the ongoing response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The EU adopts new programmes and projects of €467 million and continues to deliver on its commitments to assist vulnerable migrants and refugees as well as address root causes of irregular migration. Thanks to EU-IOM joint work, 150 migrants received assistance to return from Libya to Mogadishu, Somalia, today.
Years of violent fighting in Syria left thousands of schools destroyed, damaged or used as shelters for families who lost their homes. 11-year-old Nour struggled to follow lessons in a dark classroom up until the EU and UNICEF stepped in providing solar panels to generate electricity, and kindling her dream to become an architect. “I want to rebuild our destroyed house, but with a better design,” she says cheerfully in her now lit up classroom. In their first ever meeting, EU High Representative Mogherini and newly elected UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta H. Fore, discussed further cooperation between the EU and UNICEF in providing assistance and hope to more children like Nour, trapped by conflict and poverty.
On 06 July 2016, Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the EC, gave a closing statement on the annual report on human rights and democracy in the world 2015, at the Europ
