Opening Statement of Ms. Carolyn McAskie, Emergency Relief Coordinator, a.i., at the Humanitarian Segment of the Economic and Social Council
Mr. Vice-President, Excellencies, Ladies
and Gentlemen,
1. It is an honor and a pleasure
for me to address this session of the Council today. On behalf of the Under-Secretary-General,
Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, I would like to extend to you his deep regrets
for not being able to join us today. As you are all aware, his functions
as Special Representative of the Secretary General for East Timor have
kept him away from headquarters since November last year. However,
despite his heavy responsibilities, Mr. Vieira de Mello and I remain in
close contact and he maintains a regular involvement in the overall direction
of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and an active
interest in the work of the Council.
2. I very much appreciate the opportunity to participate in this humanitarian segment, my first as Emergency Relief Coordinator a.i. As many of you will know, I am more used to being on the other side of the podium.
3. The report of the Secretary-General which is before you today (Document A/55/82-E/2000/61), illustrates the extremely wide range of activities in which the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are involved. Once again we have been stretched to the limit - all of us, yourselves included - to respond to new emergencies in East Timor, Mozambique, the DRC, Kosovo and the Horn of Africa, while continuing, of course, to cope with recurring or unresolved crises in Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Somalia and the Sudan, among others. Since the report was written, the devastating effects of the droughts in Asia, stretching from the Middle East, through Central Asia and into southern Asia, have become apparent.
4. In this introduction to today's debate, I wish to offer a perspective, first, as Emergency Relief Coordinator, on some of the key issues which confront humanitarian agencies today and which affect OCHA and its partners in the field; and secondly, as the official responsible for managing OCHA, I want to inform you briefly of our efforts to make this small Office more effective.
Natural Disasters
5. A major focus of the theme of this year's Segment has been the harnessing of new technology to support national efforts in disaster response. Yesterday we heard Resident Coordinators in Venezuela, Turkey and Mozambique, three important disaster-prone countries, each of which faced a devastating disaster in the past year, describe the uses to which technology was put, and the ways in which technology might be of more help in the future.
6. Rapid advances in technology require a number of actions by humanitarian agencies:
First, we must constantly monitor technological advances and anticipate their application to disaster response and preparedness. We must work together to achieve this: much of the work is already being done by national governments; we need to expand our partnership with you.
Second, we need to explore opportunities for cooperation with the private sector. This could be a highly productive partnership, within specified guidelines. One excellent example, the Ericsson "First on the Ground" Initiative will provide improved communications networks for rapid emergency response and disaster management, much of it at the expense of Ericsson - the company's own contribution to humanitarian response. We are currently developing an operational plan for this partnership in a number of pilot countries, with Ericsson, OCHA, the UNDP and the IFRC. You will recall that Ericsson gave a well-received briefing to Council members on this initiative on 12 July.
Third, taking full advantage of technological resources, however, will require the removal of the regulatory barriers which in many cases still hinder their use. The Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunications Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations has been created for this very purpose, and it is hoped that an increasing number of States will sign and ratify this important treaty in the near future. In addition, we should explore other examples.
7. I would like to take this opportunity to convey through our Chair to his government our appreciation for the fact that Bulgaria has just ratified the Tampere Convention. The Bulgarian government has shown the way for the many other states which will hopefully follow the Secretary-General's appeal to sign and ratify major international treaties on the occasion of the forthcoming Millennium Summit in September this year.
8. Initiatives such as these need to be developed with the Government and civil society in every disaster-prone country.
Dual use of facilities
9. Experience in the past year has shown us that several of the structures and mechanisms developed for natural disaster response can be of great use in responding to complex emergencies, while the reverse is also true.
10. The UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination Teams (UNDAC), Military and Civil Defense support teams and OSOCC (On Site Operations and Coordination Centers) were all developed with natural disaster response in mind, but these have all been used in complex emergencies. The Tampere Convention and the INSARAG guidelines should also help in ensuring rapid deployment of emergency telecommunications, on the one hand, and search and rescue on the other, in both natural disasters and complex emergencies. In relation to this, I feel very strongly that we have created an unnatural divide between natural disaster and complex emergency response.
11. Conversely, OCHA offices in the field, established for complex emergencies, can also assist with coordination in other types of emergencies such as environmental and natural disasters. For example, when a joint UNDAC - UNEP team coordinated the assessment of the cyanide spill in the river Danube, it was only natural that the OCHA Belgrade office should support them. However, OCHA is in 20 countries only, whereas disaster can strike anywhere.
12. On a related issue, I am encouraged by the support we have received for the appointment of Regional Natural Disaster Advisers. The first three appointments have been made in East Asia, South America and the Pacific. It is our intention to make similar appointments in other parts of the world as soon as resources are available.
13. The capacities which have developed within OCHA and our partners to respond to natural disasters and complex emergencies are highly complementary. As I mentioned, we believe that there is considerable advantage to be gained through increased integration of these capacities.
14. Before turning to the second major theme of this year's discussion, the displaced, let me touch on a number of critical issues which have concerned the humanitarian community this year.
Protection of Civilians
15. A major concern has been the protection of civilians.
16. My first field mission after assuming my duties in OCHA last year was to Sierra Leone. It is impossible not to be moved, even enraged, by the appalling suffering inflicted on the civilian population of that country. War is war, but abuse of innocent civilians is not war, it is purely criminal. Children have been mutilated as victims and abused as child soldiers. Women have endured violence and torture and been left to bear alone the burden of supporting an entire family and community. And it is not only in Sierra Leone that these atrocities are being committed.
17. In September last year the Secretary-General submitted his report (S/1999/957) to the Security Council on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict. Later, the same report was transmitted to the General Assembly (A/54/619). For this reason, the report which we are considering today presents a number of recommendations which the Secretary-General believes will fall within the remit of this Council. I would draw your particular attention to those relating to the treatment of women and children during armed conflict, and the services and opportunities which need to be offered to them.
18. The system has very specific instruments in place to address the needs of children: UNICEF first and foremost; the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict, and a number of peacekeeping operations where we have child monitors in place. What is missing is a capacity for the system to address the terrible crimes committed against women, often as a deliberate act of war. I intend to make this a particular focus of our work in the coming months.
Security of personnel
19. If we are to provide protection and assistance to the civilian victims of armed conflict, we need to ensure the security of our staff. The best way to do this is to create a secure environment for humanitarian work through constant negotiation with parties to conflicts, dissemination of humanitarian principles and also unrelenting focus on security consciousness and competence among our staff. OCHA has taken part in inter-agency initiatives led by the Deputy Secretary-General, intended to improve all aspects of security management. An essential element of this approach is for security training to become a precondition for the deployment of staff to the field. We have seen that profound sensitization on security can lead to an extraordinary drop in security incidents. I welcome the very vigorous initiative of WFP to institutionalize security training for all their staff, and acknowledge the fact that they have agreed to allow OCHA personnel to join their programme.
Access
20. Let me now touch on the question of access. One of the most important areas of our work continues to be negotiation of access to those in need of humanitarian aid. Some of our most experienced Humanitarian Coordinators have developed excellent negotiating skills and techniques. We believe that others should be able to draw on their experience. We are presently carrying out a series of interviews of senior colleagues about their experience in access negotiations and I hope to be able to present to all of you the results of our study in a couple of months.
Relief and development linkages
21. Relief and development linkages were the focus of last year's humanitarian segment. We are aware that this will continue to require our attention, particularly in addressing in a timely way the gaps that emerge in post-conflict situations. The IASC Reference Group on Post-Conflict Reintegration has recently completed a series of useful missions to four countries which are at different stages of the "gap" - Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Republic of Congo and - with some hope - Somalia. This has highlighted some basic steps needed to minimize the risks of damaging post-conflict gaps.
Displacement of populations
22. Allow me to turn now to address the second major theme of this segment: the displacement of populations. As we hold our meeting these three days, I am very aware of the fact that new humanitarian crises are unfolding. I have just returned from Eritrea where half of the population is displaced by war or drought. When you see the extent of the suffering, it is truly horrifying. We must make real progress in developing comprehensive approaches to these crises. We must take into account their constantly changing nature. (We indeed had difficulties in producing the report you have before you, recognising that any information on displaced persons will be outdated immediately). The problem of the involuntary displacement of civilians due to disasters or conflicts has become an increasingly burning issue. The sharp rise in the numbers of persons uprooted by violence and conflict and seeking refuge within the borders of their own country is alarming.
23. The Secretary-General's Report provides an analysis of the challenges facing the humanitarian community in addressing internal displacement, along with a number of recommendations. Let me highlight three points which I also touched upon briefly at yesterday's panel on internally displaced persons:
24. We need to further develop our humanitarian advocacy on behalf of the displaced. We must avoid over-simplifications with regard to IDPs. As has been said by many, the term "IDP" is itself somewhat dehumanizing. The intricate political implications of the phenomenon must not make us lose our focus on the very real human face and human predicament of the displaced.
25. Cooperation with member states is indispensable. We need to build a broad consensus on ways of preventing internal displacement in the first place, and on joint action to respond to humanitarian needs and seek remedies, once internal displacement has occurred. In particular, we need to intensify the policy dialogue with governments of affected countries, both in-country and at an intergovernmental level.
26. And last but not least: We must make a difference to the lives of those concerned, the displaced themselves, by taking appropriate measures on the ground, without bureaucratic or institutional delays. The humanitarian community in the field - and this includes, of course, the competent authorities in affected countries - must have decisive and high-level support from agency headquarters and from my office, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Strengthened coordination arrangements are being put in place in Headquarters to enhance the collective response of the United Nations to situations of internal displacement. I will appoint a senior coordinator within my Office, who will - with the agencies and the Representative of the Secretary-General on IDPs - ensure that we are absolutely satisfied that all country teams are responding effectively.
Coordination mechanisms
27. Recent experience in responding to sudden emergencies, such as in Kosovo and East Timor has raised once again the question of the best choice of coordination arrangements. In most situations the first choice has been found to designate the UN Resident Coordinator as the Humanitarian Coordinator. In a few others, the lead agency model has been chosen, and in others a Humanitarian Coordinator separate from the Resident Coordinator has been appointed. Many factors influence the choice. However, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator combined model is most often used because it is seen as most effective in pulling together the wide array of resources made available by the humanitarian community. In addition, the Humanitarian Coordinator is directly accountable to the Secretary-General through the ERC. This greatly assists the process of integrating various components of the UN's work in a particular situation, as it means that the authority of the Secretary-General can be brought to bear to ensure full collaboration.
28. In December last year, at the annual meeting of Resident/Humanitarian Coordinators, I had the pleasure of meeting with all of them and hearing from them some of their concerns and their ideas for improving our response. My meetings with them and my visits to our teams in the field, have reinforced my conviction that the Coordinators and their staff are the most precious resource and that in many cases they are inadequately supported. A major part of my efforts in the future, in partnership with our colleagues in the IASC, will be devoted to strengthening the capacity of our offices in the field. This is something which member states are demanding that we do. However, it will require resources, both in the field and for improved backstopping capacity at headquarters.
29. Two months ago, I decided to launch an internal review of OCHA's operations to address some of these issues. Following this review I would like to briefly inform the Council about the main thrust of our efforts to better mobilize and coordinate the collective resources of the international community to meet the needs of those exposed to human suffering and material destruction.
- We will develop a consolidated and integrated approach to our work, encompassing both natural disasters and complex emergencies. I should point out that this refers only to the work of OCHA. The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat remains a separate, autonomous body reporting to the Office of the Under-Secretary-General. It is not our intent that the ISDR Secretariat be merged with OCHA's disaster response capacity.
- Coordination capacity in the field must be strengthened if we are to respond adequately to the needs of the operational agencies.
- OCHA requires a "surge capacity", which will allow us to deploy people within 24 hours to a country where a crisis erupts without affecting our capacity to backstop the field at HQs. This will be built upon the rapid response capacity already available in the UNDAC system to which I referred earlier, in partnership with 32 countries and 5 international organizations.
One of the main findings of our review is that OCHA, in the years since DHA was transformed, has performed exceedingly well on the operations side, but that it has not put in place adequate management systems. The huge pressure of responding to emergencies during the past year hit us very hard, removing key staff for extended periods at critical times - at one stage last year, three out of four top managers were in the field. OCHA has transformed itself in just over two years into an institution whose services are sought after by Governments and partners. Now is the time for us to consolidate that reform process. The strengthening of management within the Office will require us to develop the capacity to respond immediately to needs in the field, without decimating our Headquarters structures.
31. Let me close by thanking you all for your support. The humanitarian community is a true partnership, encompassing: governments, both funding and affected; partners, whether NGOs, the Red Cross Movement, bilaterals, and now even the public sector; my agency colleagues, whom I have discovered over the past year are hardworking and deeply committed to the cause; and of course the millions of people around the world who suffer on a daily basis. I am privileged to be part of this community.
Thank you very much.