COMUNICATO DEL SEGRETARIO GENERALE CNU

08-05-2026 – ITALY

Subject: CNU international coordination and definition of the 2026 programmatic agenda

Dear Confederates,
Dear Confederated Partners,

Yesterday afternoon, an important coordination meeting was held between the Confederation of Humanitarian Nations and some of its confederated international organizations.

The meeting was attended by Director A. Bellardita and President Ioan Tataru of the International Court of Vienna, Maria Miriam Bettinelli for SafeBlood and World Health Board, the World Director of CIDHU, our Mission Chiefs Sara Romano for Costa Rica and Assane Niage for Senegal, as well as René Cavilli, Representative of the CNU College for Health.

I would like to express particular thanks to René Cavilli for his valuable French interpretation support and to Sara Romano for her Spanish language support, which allowed a more direct and participatory exchange among all those present.

We were eight people gathered around an operational table, but those eight people represented a much wider network: volunteers, representatives, missions and organizations present in nearly 60 countries.

During the meeting, an initial international programmatic work agenda for 2026 was defined, in continuity with the programmatic plan of the Secretary General for the new mandate of the Secretariat, published in February.

The agenda will aim to strengthen coordination between CNU and its confederated organizations, promote the sharing of operational information, build common lines of intervention and develop shared projects in the fields of human rights protection, humanitarian assistance, territorial cooperation and the protection of vulnerable communities.

The central point that emerged is very clear: CNU and its Confederated Partners intend to pursue a different way of understanding the defense of human rights and humanitarian action.

We do not want to limit ourselves to a purely assistance-based vision.

We do not want to feed a form of charity that creates dependency.

We do not want to adhere to a rhetoric of peace proclaimed from above, often far removed from the real needs of populations.

Our direction is different: to transfer knowledge, competence, tools, training and operational capacity.

For us, defending human rights also means helping people and territories become more autonomous, more aware and stronger. It means building responsibility, dignity and concrete capacity for action.

Yesterday’s meeting therefore represents an important step for the entire Confederation. It confirms that CNU is not merely a formal structure, but a living network made up of people, organizations and territorial missions that are learning to work in an increasingly coordinated way.

The next steps will focus on defining shared projects, collecting and circulating operational information, strengthening cooperation among confederated bodies and building common initiatives in the various countries where our network is present.

The strength of the Confederation comes precisely from this: not from the isolated action of a single organization, but from the ability to walk together.

General Secretariat
Confederation of Humanitarian Nations – CNU