UN REGULAR BUDGET SHOULD FUND HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS COORDINATION, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL IS TOLD

15 July 1998

Press Release
ECOSOC/5777

UN REGULAR BUDGET SHOULD FUND HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS COORDINATION, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL IS TOLD

19980715 Debate Begins on Improving Provision of Emergency Assistance; Delegates Express Concern at Failure to Meet Financial Requirements

It was clearly wrong that the coordination of humanitarian affairs -- a core function of the United Nations -- was not fully funded from the Organization's regular budget, the representative of Austria told the Economic and Social Council this morning, as it began its first-ever humanitarian affairs segment. The focus of the segment is the strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations.

Speaking on behalf of the representative the European Union and associated States, he said the funding situation of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs was a cause for concern and should be redressed as soon as possible. Greater efforts were also needed to meet the requirements set out in consolidated appeals. The Union urged that the base for financing of consolidated appeals be broadened to include both traditional and non-traditional donors.

The representative of Indonesia said the consolidated appeals process should not be based on the priorities set by a few donor countries or on any extraneous forms of selectivity. Speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, he said the process should be founded on the genuine needs and merits of each crisis situation. That was essential in order to reflect the entirety of the response strategy, inclusive of rehabilitation and recovery. The process should also demonstrate a long-term assessment and strategy which included development as a fundamental part.

The Council should provide policy directives and oversee coordination of the system-wide response to complex humanitarian emergencies, large-scale humanitarian crises and natural disasters, said the representative of Brazil. As emergencies occurred, the Council should be available to supervise policy supervision and ensure that member States were briefed on the action taken. The Council and the General Assembly should be permanently engaged in activities related to post-conflict peace-building, humanitarian relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development.

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The representative of Tunisia said the United Nations should establish a legal framework of international norms and principles to protect persons displaced through armed conflict. The international community also should ensure respect for the principles of international law. Protracted sanctions effectively took the future of an entire nation hostage. All sanctions should provide a mechanism for their ending.

Also this morning, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Sergio Vieira de Mello, urged that more should be done to protect humanitarian workers from injury, abduction and death. Introducing the Secretary-General's report on the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations, he said those staff members exposed themselves on behalf of victims and the humanitarian community. Member States must take measures to ensure accountability for those who perpetrated such attacks.

Statements were also made by the United States, Norway, Russian Federation, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Canada, Japan, India, Ecuador, China, Colombia, and Argentina. The observer of Switzerland also spoke.

A representative of the European Community also addressed the Council.

In introductory remarks, Council Vice-President Alyaksandr Sychou (Belarus) said the purpose of humanitarian assistance was to save lives and extend help to victims of violent conflict. There was no more urgent task facing the United Nations.

The Committee meets again at 3 p.m. today for an informal dialogue with members of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee and the Executive Committee for Humanitarian Affairs.

Council Work Programme

The Economic and Social Council is to begin the humanitarian affairs segment of its four-week substantive session. It had before it a report of the Secretary-General on strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance (document A/53/139-E/1998/67). During the past year, the Secretary-General reports, there has been further erosion in the respect for humanitarian principles, both in terms of denial of access to people in need and through deliberate violence against civilians and aid workers. In addition, the level of contributions from donors to humanitarian assistance programmes has noticeably declined. Concerted action is needed to address these extremely worrying developments.

The blatant disregard for basic principles of international humanitarian law, such as that witnessed in recent conflicts, has to be confronted on several fronts simultaneously, the report states. Efforts must be made to increase awareness of humanitarian principles among combatants in all conflict situations. A concerted programme of action has to be developed to ensure application of those principles and the protection of civilians.

Perpetrators of violence against civilians and aid workers must be brought to justice, he states. The capacity of the United Nations and agencies to protect staff had to be increased. Full support must be given to limiting the use of small arms and landmines that may be used indiscriminately against civilians.

Substantial progress has been made in reinforcing and improving mechanisms for the coordination of humanitarian assistance programmes, both at Headquarters and in the field, the report states. For example, there are cooperative activities in support of internally displaced persons, and in the areas of monitoring and evaluating programmes. A roster of candidates and a cadre of coordination support staff from the Inter-Agency Standing Committee is being developed. Funding and implementation plans are being developed as a matter of burden-sharing for common programmes, such as for security, communications and staff training.

There is a growing recognition that a comprehensive peace-building strategy is needed for countries emerging from protracted crises, the report states. That strategy needs to engage national authorities, civil society and all external stakeholders. The complex exercise requires the development of both conceptual models and practical strategies in specific situations.

In addition, the report states, natural disasters are a globally growing concern, and they must be addressed through efforts to prevent them and a rapid, coordinated and effective response in instances where they cannot be averted. Particular attention in this regard should be placed on developing

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the capacity of governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in disaster-prone countries.

Overall, a much wider segment of civil society must be involved to change perceptions and raise awareness of humanitarian issues, the report states. The NGOs play a particularly significant role in this regard, and links between the United Nations system and civil society are being developed to strengthen the advocacy of humanitarian principles and raise awareness of the need for supporting humanitarian programmes.

Finally, with regard to the serious gap between humanitarian needs and the funding provided by donors, the report states that United Nations agencies have made great strides in meeting donor requirements for reporting and consultation. A review of humanitarian programmes, coordinated with donor governments, is under consideration to explore the relationship between emergency and development funding. Emphasis will be on identifying means to quickly raise voluntary funds in rapid response situations, such as in the early days of a crisis.

Statements

In his opening remarks, ALYAKSANDR SYCHOU (Belarus), Vice-President of the Council, said it was the first time the Council had devoted a segment to the humanitarian question. Humanitarian assistance was about saving lives and extending help to the victims of violent conflict. There was no more urgent task facing the United Nations.

SERGIO VIEIRA DE MELLO, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, introduced the Secretary-General's report on the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations, contained in document A/53/139-E/1998/67. He said that since his appointment at the beginning of year, he had visited four regions where the United Nations was actively involved in humanitarian assistance programmes. Those countries were Afghanistan, Angola, Central Asia, and Sierra Leone. Those recent field visits had underlined the importance of the recommendations contained in the report. Afghanistan had been brought to its knees by a 20-year conflict and two recent earthquakes. In Sierra Leone, he saw the victims of unspeakable atrocities committed by members of the former junta. That country must resolve the underlying causes of human suffering.

In Angola, new waves of displacement were resulting from the elusive conclusion of the peace process, he said. New efforts were required to strengthen national response mechanisms and capacities. In all the countries he had visited, he saw how a crisis in one country could have serious consequences for its neighbours, affecting economic development and political stability. The United Nations must lead the effort to ensure that humanitarian assistance reached those who were most in need. In addition,

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more should be done to protect humanitarian workers from injury, abduction and death. Those staff members exposed themselves on behalf of victims and the humanitarian community. The international community must take measures to ensure accountability for those who perpetrated such attacks.

MAKARIM WIBISONO (Indonesia), for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, expressed concern that the capacity of the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had been further curtailed due to the lack of resources. He said the Group was also concerned that humanitarian assistance from the international community for victims of both conflict and natural disasters continued to decline. It also found it particularly troubling that, in some instances, that assistance had been hindered because the crises had not been sensational enough to capture the attention of the international media, and thereby merit a response.

He said the consolidated appeals process should not be based on the priorities set by a few donor countries, or on any extraneous forms of selectivity, but rather on the genuine needs and merits of each crisis situation. That was essential if that process was to reflect the entirety of the response strategy, inclusive of rehabilitation and recovery. The process should also demonstrate a long-term assessment and strategy which included development as a fundamental strategy.

He said that given the potential for slow reaction to humanitarian situations which lacked global visibility, it was critical that humanitarian responses were founded in reliable data and sound analysis. The capacity for effective action by the United Nations must be further strengthened. The Group reiterated the critical need to address development aspects and to establish a comprehensive approach that linked relief and development programmes. That called for integration of those programmes at the outset, so that clear and coherent strategic frameworks could be formulated from planning to implementation. That framework should also include the issue of sustainable development.

ERNST SUCHARIPA (Austria), speaking on behalf of the European Union and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, said the Council should identify key areas in humanitarian assistance that required international government guidance. Women and children comprised the majority of civilian victims of violence in situation of armed conflict. Thus, it was surprising that no reference was made in the report to work undertaken regarding a gender perspective or to the issue of children in armed conflict. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs should be working with key partners in the United Nations system to raise awareness and promote mainstreaming of those aspects. Humanitarian assistance must be accorded safe, unhindered and non-discriminatory access, and the civilian population and humanitarian personnel should be adequately protected.

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The European Union was concerned about the decline in the international response to appeals for humanitarian assistance, he said. Resources should be concentrated on longer-term development needs of developing countries. Yet, greater efforts were needed to meet the requirements set out in consolidated appeals. The Union contributed the greatest share of total assistance in that area. It urged that the base for financing of consolidated appeals be broadened to include both traditional and non-traditional donors. In addition, the Union was concerned about funding situation of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). It was clearly wrong that a core function of the United Nations -- the coordination of humanitarian affairs -- was not fully funded from the regular budget. That anomaly must be redressed as soon as possible.

Relief and development should be a major component of the agreed outcomes of the Council's humanitarian segment, he said. The Union would have preferred a more action-oriented approach on that issue in the Secretary-General's report. There were a number of ideas missing, such as the need to integrate emergency planning in development programmes, and vice versa. In complex emergencies, development planning should be undertaken during a conflict in order to build a constituency for peace and stability.

JULIA V. TAFT (United Sates) said strengthening the coordination of international humanitarian assistance was one of the greatest challenges facing the United Nations today. That challenge was exemplified by the humanitarian tragedy in Sierra Leone where the appalling inhumanity of rebels was seen in amputations and other atrocities perpetrated against innocent civilians. While the challenge of coordination was in part at the operational level, it was also at the strategic policy and planning level, she said. Although it was incumbent on the OCHA to coordinate the United Nations inter- agency team in humanitarian emergencies, it was also important that all parts of the United Nations system, including the OCHA, recognize the linkages between the humanitarian assistance, political factors, peacekeeping development, and human rights strategies.

She said that the United States supported the principle of developing coordinating mechanisms, such as the "strategic frameworks" for complex humanitarian situations. Once that was in place, it was incumbent on donors to financially support such frameworks. To be really useful, a consolidated appeals process must be more than a collection of individual agency appeals. It must reflect a coherent strategy and a prioritization of needs. It must also serve as a benchmark against which an operation's effectiveness could be monitored and evaluated.

HILDE JOHNSON, Minister for International Development and Human Rights of Norway, said her Government had always been strongly committed to its humanitarian responsibilities. Norway had repeatedly called for improvements in the international humanitarian response capacity and advocated that

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humanitarian issues be addressed in a more comprehensive and coordinated manner. Traditional approaches to humanitarian action had proved to be inadequate. In far too many cases, vast human suffering had recurred.

The problems on the humanitarian agenda could not be addressed in isolation, she continued. The prevention of conflicts and potential social and ethnic tension should be addressed. Effective international action must be based on sound political and humanitarian principles. There was a need to develop integrated approaches towards crisis management, which linked humanitarian considerations, respect for human rights and political, security and development policies in a coherent framework.

She went on to say that assistance and development strategies should be designed so that local capacity could be strengthen, local vulnerability reduced, and recovery from crisis could proceed. Long-term dependency on humanitarian assistance must be avoided. In improving the impact of humanitarian assistance, the United Nations should include a stronger component of local capacity-building in the consolidated appeals.

Humanitarian assistance had the potential to prevent conflicts, facilitate post-conflict reconstruction and, thus, consolidate peace, she said. Humanitarian efforts must be part of an overall effort of reconciliation, to strengthen peace and ensure that the relief phase was followed by long-term development. The United Nations system needed to be better equipped to ensure respect for universal human rights. Donors, countries, the United Nations and international agencies should create a mechanism linking humanitarian assistance with development efforts.

SERGEY ORDJONIKIDZE (Russian Federation) said he shared concern over the persistent inadequacy of available funding for OCHA activities. Appropriate measures needed to be taken to ensure the safety of personnel involved in United Nations humanitarian operations. In that context, it was necessary to strengthen the potential for informing all parties to the conflict of the necessity to respect international humanitarian law.

He said the dynamically evolving world situation necessitated the rethinking of the role and purpose of the United Nations system in the provision of relief and long-term support for sustainable development. His delegation felt that there was an urgent need to elaborate a holistic concept of humanitarian actions for the international community in conflict situations. That concept would work both at the stage of peacekeeping operations and at the subsequent stages of peace-building, rehabilitation and development.

ABDALLAH BAALI (Algeria) said conflict and post-conflict situations throughout the world were a constant reminder of the importance of building the international community's capacity to respond to the calls for emergency assistance. As part of the reform process, the Secretary-General had created

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a framework for action that was so new that any attempt for evaluation was difficult to carry out.

The capability of the Organization in the field hinged on the resources made available to it, he said. It was alarming that there had been a decline in those resources. Humanitarian assistance had been afflicted by a donor fatigue paired with a selectivity that was influenced by what kinds assistance looked good on television. In-depth consideration should be given to the allocation of more resources out of the Organization's regular budget to humanitarian assistance.

It would be regrettable if any strings were attached by donors to an increase in contributions for actions that should be free of selfish concerns, he said. Humanitarian aid could be prompt and advocacies could be neutral and impartial if the United Nations was given the tools it needed. Selective aid could be more harmful than the lack of aid.

Environmental catastrophes were affecting many countries throughout the world, and in particular developing countries, he said. Algeria was glad to see that the United Nations was paying more attention to increasing assistance for such disasters. The Organization should be concerned with fostering and strengthening capacities of countries to alleviate and stemming the consequences of humanitarian disasters.

ABDERRAZAK AZAIEZ (Tunisia) said the increasing scale of global emergencies was alarming. Occurrences such as El Niño, global forest fires and other natural disasters showed a need for the international community to effectively address such challenges. The Secretary-General's proposal to create a special reserve for humanitarian assistance within the United Nations trust fund deserved full support. Rules and procedures for emergency assistance should also be developed. Interaction between the OCHA, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) should also be encouraged. Apart from information sharing among those entities, they should also develop common activities in cooperation with the relevant governments involved.

He said that in the areas of emergency assistance and the subsequent strengthening of humanitarian operations, there was a need for the international community to ensure respect for the principles of international law. The organization should also be able to guarantee respect for civilians in areas of armed conflict. The United Nations should have a legal framework of international norms and principles to protect persons displaced through armed conflict. Protracted sanctions effectively took the future of an entire nation hostage and the impact on people and development was well known. All sanctions should provide a mechanism for their ending. They should not become perennial features that thwarted the development ambitions of people and nations.

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HENRIQUE VALLE (Brazil) said the Council must provide policy directives and oversee coordination of the system-wide response to complex humanitarian emergencies, large-scale humanitarian crises and natural disasters. The Council should give consideration to ways and means to further enhance its role in providing coordination and intergovernmental oversight of the United Nations activities in the humanitarian field. As natural disasters and complex emergencies occurred, the Council should be readily available throughout the year to ensure that member States were fully briefed on the action taken and exert policy supervision. The availability of the Council to informally discuss issues related to humanitarian assistance throughout the year was essential to enable timely coordination with the General Assembly, and with the cooperation of the Security Council. That was particularly relevant in relation to emergency relief in post-conflict situations.

He went on to say that the Council and the Assembly should be permanently engaged in substantive discussion, policy-making and further promotion of the activities related to post-conflict peace-building, humanitarian relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development. In fell within the purview of the Council's responsibilities to ensure the effective coordination of inter- agency efforts in the humanitarian field and to promote their link with the United Nations system of operational activities, the Bretton Woods institutions and regional development banks. The role of the operational activities for development was important in complex emergencies and in post-crisis situations. The funds and programmes should be involved, at an early stage, in the efforts to address the relief and development gap in countries emerging from crises.

AKMARAL KH. ARYSTANBEKOVA (Kazakhstan) said the need to unite global efforts in the humanitarian sphere was demonstrated by the serious socio- economic and ecological consequences of emergencies. She cited the negative impact on the natural environment of the ecological disasters involving the Aral Sea, El Niño, the Chernobyl nuclear incident, and the nuclear tests conducted over 40 years at the former nuclear testing-ground in the Semipalatinsk region. Those natural and artificial cataclysms were a serious reminder to the international community of the vulnerability of many parts of the world in the face of such disasters.

She appealed once again to delegations, and especially donor countries, to provide her country with the necessary financial and technical assistance to carry out programmes and projects for the rehabilitation of the Semipalatinsk region. Her delegation believed the global nature of the Aral Sea ecological disaster called for greater attention from the international community, since the crisis affected a region with a population of several million people. Her country shared the serious concern expressed by the Secretary-General over the decline in the size of donor country contributions for humanitarian assistance programmes.

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ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said his Government was alarmed by the persistent decline in resources mobilized for victims of conflict and natural disasters. That situation would have a far-reaching impact on achieving conflict resolution, stability, peace-building and reconciliation. The international community must reverse that disturbing trend. Well- coordinated programmes would result in reaching out to a larger number of people in need of help. The under-funding for humanitarian activities should not result in a change of priorities or cancellation of activities. Every effort should be made to continue the momentum of reducing the number of victims. There also had been a rapid decline in the resources available to the United Nations Trust Fund for Disaster Relief Assistance. The Fund was used as a reserve for immediate responses to natural disasters. Therefore, donors should come forward to replenish it so that the needs of unexpected crises could be met.

The provision of humanitarian assistance should not be driven by political importance or media interest, he said. The international community must ensure that assistance was responsive to the real needs of the victims of disasters or emergencies. There was also a need for greater coordination of humanitarian activities at the field level. While significant improvement had occurred in recent years, there was still room for further improvement. Bangladesh hoped that the Inter-Agency Standing Committee would identify the required steps and take up measures for enhancing coordination. In addition, a comprehensive peace-building strategy should be established. That could involve governments, civil society and external stakeholders for those countries which were emerging from protracted crises.

FRANCES SMITH, Deputy Director of the Humanitarian Office of the European Community, said a function as important as the OCHA's should be funded from the regular budget of the United Nations. The Community hoped the present funding imbalance could be redressed as soon as possible. The evaluation of humanitarian assistance in some of the major complex emergencies of the last years had again and again demonstrated the vital need for coordination from the very beginning of a crisis. The development of the consolidated appeals process into a strategic instrument involving donors, recipient countries and NGOs was the way to go. The experience of the last couple of years had shown that the international community could not defend its values if it closed its eyes to human rights abuses and disregard of humanitarian principles and international law.

She said the Community called on all participants to support the establishment of a strong international criminal court which was currently being discussed in Rome. Such a court would need a strong charter to allow it to act effectively against the multiple breaches of international humanitarian law which, in the past, had resulted in situations of de facto impunity. In that context, she highlighted the importance of security and humanitarian space in complex emergencies. The lack of access of those in need and the

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deliberate targeting of relief workers had severely hampered humanitarian assistance in the past and continued to do so today.

ROBERT FOWLER (Canada), speaking also for Australia and New Zealand, said significant progress had been made under the Office of the Emergency Relief Coordinator. That Office was most effective by focusing on its core responsibilities of policy development, humanitarian advocacy and coordination. Operational responsibilities devolved to other agencies. The Office recognized the importance of field-level coordination by attending to pressing policy issues on the humanitarian agenda, such as the need for having clear ground rules for humanitarian actors, considering the plight of internally displaced persons, and addressing the concern at the erosion of respect for basic humanitarian principles.

The tasks of effective coordination extended beyond the humanitarian community, he said. Attention to the relationship between emergency relief and development assistance was one component. Strategic frameworks drew on input from humanitarian, developmental and political actors alike. The links between the United Nations and civil society should be strengthened.

Assessing the initial experience and the appropriate modalities for future work in the humanitarian affairs segment of the Council was important, he said. To effectively discharge the function, member States had to meet the responsibility to provide the requisite political and material support to both the Office of the Emergency Relief coordinator and the United Nations agencies, especially with regard to ensuring the secure funding for the basic functions of the Relief Coordinator's Office.

MASAKI KONISHI (Japan) said the role of the OCHA should continue to be coordinating, rather than implementing, operations. His Government supported the streamlining of the OCHA structure to enable it to better perform that role. While Japan intended to continue its financial support for the Office's extrabudgetary activities, there also was a need for more of the regular budget to be allocated for the OCHA. In addition, there should be a greater international effort to secure a sound and stable financial base for its activities.

Japan also strongly supported the establishment of the United Nations Mine Action Service of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, he said. Anti-personnel landmine activities had important humanitarian implications, including saving the lives of civilians, assisting the social reintegration of mine victims and raising mine-awareness. Since so many agencies and bodies were involved, it was important to prioritize and coordinate programmes and activities. In order to assist the Mine Action Service in carrying out its activities, Japan had already contributed a total of more than $7 million to the Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance, and was prepared to make further contributions.

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The deteriorating situation of the safety of humanitarian workers was of grave concern to the international community, he said. Resolving that problem would require a coordinated effort by the United Nations system. One short- term measure would have each humanitarian coordinator play a stronger leadership role in collecting information regarding the security of humanitarian workers in his or her region. That information would act as the basis for decisions to increase protection. All agencies and organs in a region would need to cooperate fully with the coordinator in such an effort.

KAMALESH SHARMA (India) said enhanced field-level coordination arrangements had to be made in full consultation with the recipient government, whose involvement in all phases of humanitarian assistance was crucial for a satisfactory outcome. Reforms could not succeed without required resources. The decline in funding for humanitarian assistance over the last years was of concern. The perception of the decline being related to the political significance of crises or the level of media interest needed to be corrected.

He supported a comprehensive review of the funding of humanitarian programmes, he said, including the relationship between emergency and development funding. Clear distinctions needed to be made in defining the relationship between functions and imperatives of peacekeeping and peacemaking, and also in defining the principles of humanitarian access. Also, complex humanitarian emergencies carried the potential of attracting public interest, but it should be kept in mind that the vast majority of emergencies to which the international community was called upon to respond related to natural disasters, which often afflicted countries with the least capacity to cope with them. It was a welcome initiative to utilize capacities in developing countries to respond to disasters and emergencies, which were often closer to the site and at a lower cost, he said. The eradication of poverty through sustained socio-economic development offered the best opportunity to break through the vicious cycles of underdevelopment, conflict and misery.

FABIAN PALIZ (Ecuador) said preventing or responding to emergencies, working for economic recovery and rebuilding were integral efforts to reduce the vulnerability of developing countries. While natural disasters affected both developed and developing countries, it was the latter which suffered most from such phenomena. Disasters prevented the alleviation of poverty and impeded sustainable development. In that regard, it was, therefore, absolutely necessary to have effective prevention mechanisms and a solid international base for action in the century ahead. The United Nations system should continue to be empowered with the appropriate authority to deal with natural disasters.

He said there was need to respond well and in a coordinated manner to international emergencies. In the century ahead, there were new strategies to be devised for a safe world. His country had borne the brunt of the cyclical El Niño phenomenon between 1997 and 1998, and basic infrastructure, lives and

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agriculture were the hardest hit with damage estimated at $2.6 billion. Ecuador today faced the challenge of rebuilding and pursuing economic recovery.

YUAN SHAOFU (China) said the new Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had resolved aspects of key humanitarian issues by focusing on three core functions -- policy development and coordination, advocacy of humanitarian issues, and coordination of emergency response. The Office should maintain its lead in coordinating the work of agencies and in stressing the overall advantage of the United Nations system in providing humanitarian and disaster relief assistance to affected countries.

The inter-agency consolidated appeal process in the field of humanitarian assistance had to be improved, he said. It was of concern that in the first four-and-a-half months of this year, only 15 per cent of the financing target was achieved. That was a 50 per cent decrease from the level of the same period last year. A comprehensive review of funding was needed.

Since frequent natural disasters and emergency situations brought about immense losses to developing countries, the international community was duty- bound to make efforts to prevent disasters or reduce their consequences. It was also bound to help countries devastated by disasters make a speedy transition from relief and rehabilitation to development. The United Nations agencies should strengthen cooperation and explore ways and means to enhance the relations between humanitarian activities and operational activities for development.

JUAN CARLOS LONDOÑO (Colombia) said his Government supported the work performed by the emergency coordinator for internally displaced persons, the number of whom exceeded 20 million around the world. Colombia had faced that phenomenon, and it had defined the necessary guidelines to confront it. The Government had established regulations to protect those in peril and for the resolution of conflicts. A special programme had been established to seize illegally acquired lands and goods. The property seized was converted into funds for those people who were displaced by conflict.

Yet, those measures and resources were not enough, given the magnitude of the problem in the country, he said. Assistance to displaced persons should not be confined to the time of conflict or the post-conflict phase. Those programmes must comprise an aspect of peace-building. In addition, humanitarian workers should train individuals in the country affected, so they could carry out such work.

Colombia regretted that appeals made by international community had not allowed the aid for humanitarian assistance to reach the required levels, he said. His Government appreciated the work done by United Nations bodies to remove landmines and to limit the proliferation of small arms.

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LIVIA LEU AGOSTI (Switzerland) said that within the whole process of humanitarian assistance, it was humanitarian action itself which was threatened. It was undeniable that better coordination between humanitarian organizations and political bodies would reduce the risks run by relief personnel. Switzerland deplored the damage and suffering caused by anti- personnel landmines and stressed the need to ban such instruments. Presently, demining and assistance to victims of landmines were priorities for the Swiss Government. Coordination within the Inter-agency Standing Committee, with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) playing a leading role, should result in needs of internally displaced persons being addressed in better fashion.

Continuing, she said it was not a question of creating new rules, but of looking at and interpreting existing rules on internally displaced persons. Efforts should, therefore, be aimed at the dissemination and implementation of those rules. While coordination in the field was flexible and adaptable, it would be worthwhile to carry out a comparison of approaches on a case-by-case basis. The inter-sectoral approach to humanitarian assistance was key and the strategic framework would be an excellent tool in implementing such a plan. It was necessary, however, to ensure that such frameworks remained flexible, that they were guided by real principle and that they responded to the needs of populations in crisis.

CARLOS EDUARDO ZABALLA (Argentina) said the new integral approach to humanitarian assistance would permit an increasing number of actors to participate in the relief system. The integration of civil society and the Bretton Woods institutions ensured that in the stage of post-conflict reconstruction, all interested actors could participate in planning, programming and establishing priorities of activities oriented towards the immediate social and economic recovery of needy people.

The persistent and deliberate intervention of armed groups denying delivery of assistance to the needy was of concern, he said. Identifying suitable ways to carry out humanitarian and emergency assistance, and coordinating operations between all those involved, were a priority. That should be done without losing sight of the essence of such operations, which was to provide a quick response, while focusing on the victim situation and on the development of local capabilities.

He said he supported developing the coordination needed to involve many parties to act simultaneously in various situations. He also supported United Nations participation in pre- and post-conflict situations, in developing a flexibility within project operations, in working within the current framework of activities for humanitarian assistance, and in making adequate resources available from the regular budget, while increasing donor contributions.

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