Humanitarian aid in a changing world - Rob Thomson

There are more conflicts in the world than 30 years ago. They are lasting longer, and peace agreements are fewer and more brittle, and the UN less able to make peace than in previous decades.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated, approvingly, in January 2025 that the post-Cold War ‘unipolar’ moment of US dominance was over, replaced by a more normal ‘multipolar order’. The geopolitical implications of this are vast and policy outcomes stark, marked best in the humanitarian and development sphere by the US stop order in early 2025.

European states have steadily cut their overseas assistance in the post-COVID era, responding to challenging domestic issues, the war in Ukraine, and a push for greater defence spending. Meanwhile, conflicts like that in Gaza, Sudan and Myanmar continue to underline the comparative inefficacy of collective, multilateral action.

This talk will explore how humanitarian and development agencies like The HALO Trust are adapting to this fragile reality and an era marked by lower funding, reduced access, and less durable outcomes. It will make an argument for a greater balance of pragmatism with principle in order to keep serving those in need of assistance, by working alongside rather than against defence and diplomatic actors to ensure greater effectiveness in ever more complex environments.

About the speaker

Rob has a background in leadership that includes holding the role of CEO for AGL Communication, a London based communications coaching and consultancy business. Most recently Rob has been an adviser on leadership, strategy and communications, in the UK and beyond, including in Somaliland, France, Malawi and Togo.

Prior to this Rob served in the Army for 34 years, on operations in Northern Ireland and abroad in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. At the end of his time in the Army Rob became been more of a soldier diplomat, first as the UK’s Defence Attaché in Paris and then as the Administrator of the UK Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus and Commander British Forces Cyprus.

Educated at Cambridge University (History) and Kings College London (Defence Studies), Rob was commissioned into the Royal Green Jackets in 1988, which became The Rifles in 2007.

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This event has been organised by the East regional committee.

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