Joint OCHA-ECHO press release on guidelines on the humanitarian use of military and civil defence assets in complex emergencies

Joint Press Release by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) On the Occasion of the Launch of the Guidelines On The Use Of Military And Civil Defence Assets To Support United Nations Humanitarian Activities In Complex Emergencies
Brussels, 26 June 2003

Mr. Kenzo Oshima, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and Mr. Poul Nielson, EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, today launched the Guidelines On The Use Of Military And Civil Defence Assets To Support United Nations Humanitarian Activities In Complex Emergencies ("MCDA Guidelines"), in Brussels, in a ceremony aimed at taking note of and seeking support for a wide use of the document.

The Guidelines are the result of nearly three years of deliberations between Member States, International and Regional Organizations, and Agencies from both the humanitarian and the military communities. They are a non-binding, generic document that aims at facilitating the drafting of specific guidance papers (on conflict-related) on the use of military and civil defence assets for particular humanitarian complex emergency operations.

These new Guidelines are complementary to and build on those adopted by the international community in Oslo in 1994 for the use of military and civil defence assets in the context of natural, environmental and technological disasters.

The document lays down the main principles, concepts, tasks and responsibilities of the players in a complex emergency:

Humanitarian assistance must be provided in accordance with the basic humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality and neutrality. The UN seeks to provide humanitarian assistance with full respect for the sovereignty of States. Based on the degree of contact with the affected population, international military resources have been divided into direct assistance, indirect assistance and infrastructure support.

When military and civil defence assets are under UN control they are referred to as UN MCDA. Other deployed forces are all military and civil defence forces deployed in the region other than UN MCDA. They are divided into peacetime; UN commanded peacekeeping operations; other peace operation/peace support; and combat missions. A humanitarian operation using military assets must retain its civilian nature and character and must remain under civilian control and authority.

Military assets should be requested only as a last resort, where there is no comparable civilian alternative and only the use of military assets can meet a critical humanitarian need. Like all UN humanitarian assistance, they are to be provided at no cost to the affected State or receiving agency. Any use of military and civil defence assets should be clearly limited in time and scale and present an exit strategy element. Military personnel providing direct assistance should not be armed and should rely on the security measures of the supported humanitarian agency. Military and civil defence personnel employed exclusively in the support of UN humanitarian activities should be clearly distinguished from those forces engaged in other military missions.

The affected State has primary responsibility for providing humanitarian assistance to persons within its borders. UN MCDA shall have at least the same freedom of movement, immunities, privileges, and exemptions afforded the UN humanitarian agencies. Transit States will facilitate the movement of requested UN MCDA in the same manner that they facilitate the movement of UN relief goods and personnel.

Assisting States or regional organizations and peacekeeping forces involved in complex emergencies or other military operations beyond their borders are encouraged to include in the guidance or orders issued to force or contingent commanders the parameters for the use of their resources to support UN humanitarian activities in a complex emergency.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Military and Civil Defence Unit has acted as the facilitator and secretariat of the process, at the request of the international community. The Guidelines are available at http://www.reliefweb.int/mcdls/mcdu/mcdu.html.

Contact:

OCHA/MCDU
Ingrid Nordström-Ho, Deputy Chief
Tel. +41-22-917-2113
E-mail nordstrom-ho@un.org