Microsoft PowerPoint - OCHA_Generic_Presentation

8/17/2009

THE HUMANITARIAN

ASSISTANCE SYSTEM OF THE

UNITED NATIONS

UN CHARTER ARTICLE 1.3:

“ … to achieve international

THE UN CHARTER
PRINCIPLES FOR HUMANITARIAN ACTION

cooperation in solving
international problems of an
economic, social, cultural or
humanitarian character…

… through …

UN CHARTER ARTICLE 1 4

UN CHARTER ARTICLE 1.4:

… becoming a centre for
harmonizing actions.”

8/17/2009

1991: General Assembly
Resolution 46/182 created the
Emergency Relief Coordinator

th f

i t

OCHA’S MANDATE

as the focal point and voice
for humanitarian
emergencies.

The same resolution created
the Department for
Humanitarian Affairs (became

(

OCHA in 1998), the Inter-
Agency Standing Committee
(IASC) and the CERF.

THE KEY ACTORS

Upon request
OCHA assists
governments
in mobilizing

in mobilizing
international
assistance
when the
scale of the
disaster
exceeds the
national
capacity.

8/17/2009

WHY DO WE NEED
COORDINATION?

We need to deal with a

AID IS AN ABSOLUTE RIGHT

multiplicity of actors.

We need to work with

limited resources.

We need to avoid the

politicization of aid.

d t

We need to avoid gaps,

duplications, and assure the
responsibility of each
humanitarian partner.

AID IS AN ABSOLUTE RIGHT

COORDINATION
MECHANISMS

GLOBAL: Executive

Committee for Humanitarian
Affairs (ECHA), Inter-Agency
Standing Committee (IASC),
Global Humanitarian Platform
(GHP)

COUNTRY LEVEL

COUNTRY LEVEL:

Humanitarian Coordinators,
Humanitarian Partnership
Teams, Consolidated Appeals.

8/17/2009

Inter-Agency

Standing Committee

Inter-Agency Standing Committee

Full Members and Standing Invitees

Full Members

Food and Agricultural

Organisation (FAO)

Office for the Coordination of

Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Standing Invitees

International Committee of the

Red Cross (ICRC)

International Council of Voluntary

Agencies (ICVA)

Standing Committee

(IASC)

•

Composed of NGO
consortia, Red Cross and
Red Crescent Movement,

United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP)

United Nations Population Fund

(UNFPA)

United Nations High Comissioner

for Refugees (UNHCR)

United Nations Children’s Fund

(UNICEF)

International Federation of Red

Cross and Red Crescent

Societies (IFRC)

American Council for Voluntary

International Action (InterAction)

International Organisation for

Migration (IOM)

Office of the High Commissioner

for Human Rights (OHCHR)

IOM, World bank and
UN agencies

World Food Programme (WFP)

World Health Organisation

(WHO)

Office of the Special

Representative of the Secretary

General on the Human Rights of

Internally Displaced Persons

(RSG on HR of IDPs)

Steering Committee for

Humanitarian Response (SCHR)

World Bank (World Bank)

Why did we need

Humanitarian Reform?

•

Myriad of actors – coordination difficult

•

Gaps in response

•

Unpredictability of response

•

Insufficient accountability

•

Inconsistent donor policies

=>In September 2005 the IASC endorsed the cluster

d f

i i

approach as default way of organizing the
international response to any new humanitarian
emergency.

8/17/2009

reform

HUMANITARIAN

THE KEY ELEMENTS OF

HUMANITARIAN REFORM

CLUSTER APPROACH

Adequate capacity and

predictable leadership in

all sectors

HUMANITARIAN
COORDINATION

Effective leadership and

coordination in humanitarian

emergencies

HUMANITARIAN

FINANCING

Adequate, timely and

flexible financing

PARTNERSHIPS

Strong partnerships between UN and non-UN actors

reform

HUMANITARIAN

•

ERC decides on case by case basis on appointment of HCs

Humanitarian Coordinator (HC)

•

ERC first looks at suitability of incumbent Resident Coordinator
(RC)

•

If he/she lacks humanitarian experience or for other (e.g. political)
reasons the RC is not suitable, ERC will usually select an HC from
the ‘HC pool’

•

HC Pool was established in 2006

ongoing training in

•

HC Pool was established in 2006 – ongoing training in
humanitarian coordination/leadership, tools etc (HC pool includes
many RCs)

•

HC is Head of the (UN) Humanitarian Country Team

•

Direct reporting line to the ERC (currently John Holmes)

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reform

HUMANITARIAN

Fl h A

Humanitarian financing

•

Flash Appeal

•

Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP)

•

Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)

Clusters
strengthen
partnerships

THE CLUSTER
APPROACH

and responses
to humanitarian
emergencies
by clarifying
the division of
labor among
aid organizations.

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reform

HUMANITARIAN

Cluster Approach

Aim

Higher standards of predictability, accountability and partnership

in all sectors or areas of humanitarian activity

More strategic responses

Better prioritization of available resources

Terminology

Each country to decide on appropriate terminology, based on the
working languages and local preferences

working languages and local preferences

But a ‘cluster’ is basically the operational body for a ‘sector’ and the
change is about securing clear leadership for that sector

Allocation of Cluster Leads

at country level

•

The HC, in consultation with the Humanitarian

Country Team, is responsible for designation
of cluster/sector leads at country level

•

Where possible, cluster leads at country level
should be in line with leads at global level but
this may not always be appropriate

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reform

HUMANITARIAN

•

Normative

Standard setting & consolidation of ‘best practice’

Responsibilities of Global Cluster Leads

Standard setting & consolidation of ‘best practice’

• Capacity-Building

Training and system development at all levels

Surge capacity and standby rosters

Material stockpiles

• Operational Support

- Emergency preparedness
- Advocacy and resource mobilization

reform

HUMANITARIAN

Terms of Reference for Cluster/Sector Leads at

Country Level

Inclusion of key humanitarian partners

Establishment of appropriate coordination mechanisms

Coordination with national/local authorities, local civil society etc.

Ensure participatory and community-based approaches

Attention to priority cross-cutting issues (age, environment, gender,

( g

HIV/AIDS etc.)

8/17/2009

reform

HUMANITARIAN

Emergency preparedness

Planning and strategy

Acti

development

Needs Assessment and Analysis

Application of standards

Monitoring and reporting

Advocacy and resource

bili ti

ities of

cluste

ities of

cluste

mobilization

Training and capacity building

Provider of Last Resort (POLR) –
what does that mean???

r leads
r leads

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Specific Context of Humanitarian

Assistance in the Pacific

•

High degree of disaster risk

•

The vast ocean mass

•

Small and scattered population on small islands

•

Local responders quickly overwhelmed

•

Regional responders operate from different
l

i th P ifi

locations in the Pacific

Challenges for effective & timely response and

coordination

Background

•

Humanitarian Reform and Cluster Approach at the
global level

•

Lessons from the

Solomon Islands Tsunami/

Earthquake in April 2007

which highlighted the

challenges in response and the importance of
disaster preparedness

•

Objective: more effective & predictable
humanitarian assistance in the Pacific

•

Inter-agency coordination and collaboration and
emergency preparedness are an important part of
this effort

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Lessons from SI EQ/Tsunami

•

Data preparedness and collection

•

Data preparedness and collection

•

Sustained coordination at multiple levels

•

Information management for coordination
and decision-making

•

Logistics transport and supply

•

Logistics, transport and supply

•

Roles and responsibilities of various actors

Outcomes from inter-agency

collaboration

Pacific Humanitarian Team

•

Comprising all disaster response actors that
have a regional capacity to deploy in Pacific
Island Countries

•

6 Prioritized clusters

(1) Health & Nutrition (2) WASH (3) Emergency

Shelter &Camp management (4) Logistics (5)
Information Management (6) Protection

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6 Pacific Priority Clusters

Humanitarian
Cluster

Global cluster
lead

Pacific cluster
lead

Pacific cluster partners

Health & Nutrition

WHO & UNICEF

WHO & (UNICEF)

WHO, UNICEF, USG, Red Cross
(RC), UNFPA, WV, UNDP, UNEP,
SCF, OXFAM, NZ, AUS, Fiji School

f M di i

of Medicine/Monash

Water, Sanitation &
Hygiene (WASH)

UNICEF

UNICEF

UNICEF, RC, OXFAM, NZ, WV, SCF,
USG, JP, WHO, AUS

Shelter & Camp
Management

IFRC & IOM

IFRC (convener for
Shelter)
IOM (for Camp
Management)

IFRC, SCF, HFH, WV, Oxfam, NZ, JP,
AUS, IOM?

Logistics

WFP

(WFP)

WFP, Oxfam, Red Cross, USG,
Church, FRANZ

Church, FRANZ

Information
Management

Cross-cutting issue

UNOCHA

UNOCHA, OXFAM, SCF, RC, USG,
UNFPA, UNICEF, Monash/ FSM,
UNESCO, FRANZ, SOPAC?, NZCID,
ACFID? PIANGO?

Protection

UNHCR

UNHCR/UNICEF/
OHCHR

UNHCR, UNICEF, OHCHR,
OXFAM,WV, SCF, OCHA, USG,
UNFPA, NZ, RC, Churches, UNDSS,
AUSAID

•

Coordination - IASC: Cluster leads + UNRCs

–

Inter Cluster Coordination
Inter Agency Standing Committee of the Pacific Humanitarian Team

Outcomes (cont’d)

–

Inter-Agency Standing Committee of the Pacific Humanitarian Team
(PHT - IASC):

WHO, UNICEF, IFRC, OCHA, UNDP and

others as per request

•

Utilization of Pacific Disaster Net as an
information tool

•

Country level Contingency Planning exercises
(2008/2009)

(2008/2009)

–

Regional humanitarian organizations (PHT) will support
and compliment the existing national disaster preparedness
and response structures and plans

–

Focus on priority countries

8/17/2009

Planning assumptions

•

Most likely worst case scenario: Rapid

•

Most likely, worst case scenario: Rapid
onset natural disaster affecting up to 30,000
people, including displacement, shelter, etc.
in multiple locations/countries

•

This preparedness capacity should be able
to deal with most other (smaller)
emergencies (natural and man-made)

Experience & Results

•

Fiji floods (Jan 09)

•

Fiji floods (Jan 09)

•

Solomon Islands Floods (Feb 09)

•

Ambrym Floods & Eruption (Apr 09)

•