ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL CONCLUDES HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS SEGMENT

Press Release
ECOSOC/5918

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL CONCLUDES HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS SEGMENT

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) was ready to implement a comprehensive action plan integrating HIV/AIDS prevention into humanitarian action, the Economic and Social Council was told this morning as it finished discussing special economic, humanitarian and disaster relief assistance.

The Security Council had made history recently by adopting a resolution on HIV/AIDS, Ulf Christofferson, the Humanitarian Coordinator for UNAIDS said. That resolution was the first time the Security Council had taken such an action on a health or development issue, said. By that action, the Council had recognized the disease as a potential threat to peace, security and worldwide stability. It had also recognized that it adversely affected all sectors and called for special attention to prevention during peacekeeping operations.

The plan had been endorsed by the Interagency Standing Committee (IASC) in May, he said. Target countries for the first phase had been chosen and initial contacts made. The plan made provisions for training, counselling, testing and collaborating with national military organizations. It called for ensuring minimum standards of prevention and care before, during and after conflicts or disasters occurred. It called for cooperation at the global and country levels during complex emergencies, including for the acute phase of a crisis when social services were in disarray and government structures were weak.

The representative of Libya described the social, environmental and health crises created by internal displacement. When forced to flee, people settled in areas not suitable for habitation. Many internally displaced persons migrated to urban areas, resulting in negative psychological impacts such as declining living standards and deterioration of both the family and the social fabric. Those conditions were exacerbated by the sheer number of those displaced around the world, which had grown astronomically.

The representative of Namibia noted that many parts of Africa had no access to modern communication other than the radio. It was therefore very difficult to provide communities with accurate and pertinent information about issues and events affecting them, especially in times of crisis due to either natural disasters or conflicts. Governments, donor countries, financial institutions and humanitarian agencies must recognize and support communication initiatives in the fields of development, conflict and humanitarian aid, he said.

The representatives of Indonesia, South Africa, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, India, Mongolia, Suriname, Ethiopia and Namibia also addressed the Council. The representatives of Eritrea and Ethiopia spoke in exercise of the right of reply.

Economic and Social Council - 1a - Press Release ECOSOC/5918 34th Meeting (AM) 21 July 2000

A statement was made on behalf of Francis Deng, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Displaced Persons. Carolyn McAskie, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, a.i., summarized the discussion on humanitarian assistance. The segment chair, Vladimir Sotirov (Bulgaria) made a closing statement.

Also speaking before the Council were representatives of the International Labour Organization and the New York Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. A representative of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies also spoke.

Before completing the meeting, the Council decided to request, by suspension of the relevant rule, Felix Mbayu (Cameroon) to preside over the general segment in the unavoidable absence of Martin Belinga-Eboutou, also of that country.

The Council will meet again at 3 p.m. this afternoon to begin the general segment of its 2000 session.

Council Work Programme

The Economic and Social Council met this morning to continue its general discussion of special economic, humanitarian and disaster relief assistance as part of the humanitarian affairs segment of its 2000 substantive session.

Statements

MAKMUR WIDODO (Indonesia) stressed the importance of multilateral responses in humanitarian emergencies to support national efforts. The number and range of organizations providing humanitarian assistance was increasing, he said, but that did not free Member States from responsibilities to support and strengthen the multilateral response capacity. An urgently needed integrated and strategic approach, employing all available resources with maximum efficiency and effectiveness was best achieved through multilateral channels.

Touching on the issues of technology transfer and the need to increase the budget for assisting internally displaced persons, he elaborated on the difficulties created by both natural disasters and complex emergencies. National governments were primarily responsible for their welfare. International assistance should be provided only upon request of that government. The definition and status of internally displaced persons should be clarified. The situation whereby a disproportionate share of limited assistance was distributed to high profile situations should be rectified.

J. KRISHNAMURTY, International Labour Organization (ILO), said the four strategic objectives of the ILO were: the implementation of fundamental principles and rights at work, the creation of greater employment and income opportunities for women and men, the extension of social protection, and the strengthening of social dialogue and tripartism. The ILO saw gender and development as cross-cutting themes. A special programme on crisis response and reconstruction had been set up to address the economic and social impacts of different kinds of crises.

The first priority must always be to provide immediate assistance, he said, but one should not forget that people also needed to get back to work as soon as possible under the conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure was another priority. It was often claimed that such rehabilitation would lead to significant job creation and local income generation, he noted. However, that required a conscious effort and greater use of local labour and materials. Unemployment, poverty and social exclusion should be taken into account in designing responses. In the case of internally displaced persons, there had been no emphasis on the problems of providing them with jobs.

Employment-friendly infrastructure would contribute to development, he said. That worked best when complemented by other measures to directly promote investment and the revival of local economies damaged by disasters and conflicts. The ILO was uniquely placed to assist in the revival of economic activities through local economic development because of its close links with employers’ and workers’ organizations. It helped to create self-reliance and could also promote reconciliation through the process of local dialogue.

The ILO was concerned about the recruitment of child soldiers and the need to reintegrate them, he said. When disaster struck, there was the possibility of an increase in child labour, including child prostitution. He was concerned about strengthening social service nets. Training was an important element in the reintegration of displaced populations. Early warning systems should also provide information on employment and wage trends which might help to forecast crises in entitlements. Such information, as well as information on industrial and social trends, might be relevant for early warning systems relating to other types of humanitarian emergencies.

He stressed that the path from emergency to rehabilitation to reconstruction and development was often a complex and uncertain one. When making emergency interventions, sight of longer-term development objectives should not be lost. The ILO was committed to working with both humanitarian and development agencies in tackling the employment and other social and economic impacts of crises in the short, medium and long run.

ULF KRISTOFFERSSON, Humanitarian Coordinator for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), recalled that history had been made earlier in the week by the Security Council adopting a resolution on HIV/AIDS -- the first time it had taken such an action on a health or development issue. The resolution had recognized that the HIV/AIDS pandemic could threaten peace, security and worldwide stability. It had noted that its adverse effects touched all sectors of society. It called for special attention to be paid to prevention during peacekeeping operations, including through training, counselling, testing and collaboration among national military organizations.

Citing statistics on the prevalence of AIDS and reviewing the causes, he recalled the comprehensive action plan endorsed last May by the Inter-agency Standing Committee (IASC), which had integrated HIV/AIDS into humanitarian action. Among others, that plan called for ensuring minimum standards of prevention and care before, during and after conflicts or disasters occurred. A Humanitarian Coordination Unit would spearhead implementation. Many countries had been identified for the first phase of the effort and master plans for moving forward and each were being developed in partnership at both the global and country levels.

Two basic packages for HIV/AIDS prevention and care in complex emergencies would be developed, he concluded. One was for use during the acute phase of a crisis, when social services were in disarray and government structures were weak to non-existent. The other was for use in pre-and post-crisis situations, where a certain degree of stability remained or where the rehabilitation phase had begun. Intensive discussions were underway on ways to promote responsible behaviour among staff providing humanitarian aid and among peacekeeping troops to ensure they were fully aware of measures to protect against HIV infection.

HAIKO ALFELD (South Africa) welcomed the increased attention being paid to the plight of internally displaced persons, particularly in Africa, as well as to the question of the harnessing of technology to mitigate the effects of natural disaster. The recent floods in Mozambique and neighbouring countries had had a catalytic effect on the development of a process of regional integration and coordination in the domain of natural disasters in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

Lessons learned from recent disasters must be heeded and implemented, he said. One of those lessons was the necessity of speedy intervention. Given that prevention was better than cure, and that natural disasters could be reduced if not prevented, or that their effects could be mitigated by reducing the vulnerability of the most vulnerable, he lamented the pace and orientation of the implementation of the “International Strategy for Disaster Reduction”.

Turning to the issue of refugees, he said the recent development by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) of an excellent Plan of Action for improved emergency response and contingency planning deserved commendation. It had been developed in response to shortcomings identified by the independent evaluation of UNHCR’s operation in Kosovo. He commended the High Commissioner’s “Ladder of Options” to address the security and civilian character of refugee camps and settlements. Innovative work had been done on stand-by arrangements, including the deployment of refugee security experts, he added.

TEKIEMICHAEL WOLDEGIORGIS (Eritrea) drew attention to the humanitarian emergency in his country. As a result of invasion by Ethiopia, social and economic disruption had affected over a million people, or over one third of the population. A concurrent drought had brought the number of those in a serious humanitarian situation to 1,665,000 people, or about half the resident population. The sudden invasion had caused people to flee in panic and disarray. The Government had been left to care for the people under the conditions of an acute and complex emergency, meaning under the duress of war, with precarious relief supplies, limited technological and logistical facilities and general poverty and underdevelopment.

He said the Government had dealt with the situation by making the safety and assistance of its people the first priority. It had depleted reserve stocks and committed all its meagre resources to feeding the afflicted people. It had established a coordination mechanism and geared its institutions to the services and management of the humanitarian crisis. Public services and administrative structures had been relocated to assist the displaced persons so as to maintain both ethics and morale, thus avoiding chaos. Traditionally strong societal support bonds were activated, local social and civic support was harnessed, and international agencies were requested to help in a coherent, coordinated manner.

Eritrea believed in delivering assistance to its people directly in their villages, he said. That prevented the concentration of people near and around distribution sites. It avoided the waste of people needed to collect assistance in distant places, ensured that the weak who could not travel were also helped and finally, enabled people to live relatively normally and continue their day to day activities. As much as possible, organized camp life was discouraged as degrading and served as a disincentive to self-help activities.

The government greatly appreciated the role of the international community in providing and coordinating assistance, he said. Yet the response had been far below the need. The country was still faced with an acute shortage of emergency supplies, especially food and shelter. Failure to acquire those emergency supplies would result in a human catastrophe all would regret. The United Nations Country Team Appeal for Eritrea should receive attention and response.

NICOLAS BWAKIRA, Director of the Liaison Office in New York of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said UNHCR had been reviewing its emergency management system to enhance its preparedness and response capacity. A new Emergency Response Service would report directly to the High Commissioner.

He said a number of measures had been taken to improve the security of staff and civilians, as well as in refugee populated areas. The emphasis in those measures was on the role of information technology in ensuring staff security and increasing operational capacity. State-of-the-art communications and information technology support had become increasingly essential for responding effectively to emergencies. Training and coordination had also become increasingly important. The Emergency Field Coordination Team system would constitute a great improvement in responsiveness. However, the under-funding of multilateral humanitarian operations was of concern.

LARRY DE BOICE, Deputy Director, Emergency Response Division, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said that the discussions during the Economic and Social Council Humanitarian segment had thus far shown that coordination must be considered from a number of perspectives, most importantly with a view to the roles and responsibilities of the national and international communities. At the same time, it had also been noted that what was required to adequately address complex humanitarian issues such as displacement and national disasters was a comprehensive approach.

Such an approach must not only provide for efficient, effective relief action, he continued, it must also draw on the assessment, planning and operational activities of the development community. The success of that approach had been reaffirmed in the Secretary-General's reports on Liberia, Madagascar and Mozambique.

He said that what remained was to further adapt and harmonize the United Nations community's respective approaches and instruments and to determine ways and means to mobilize the resources necessary to implement assistance and cooperation. It would likewise be necessary to develop widely acceptable mechanisms, including trust funds, to better manage those resources.

In its turn, he said, the UNDP continued to seek additional ways to strengthen country-team coordination, utilizing the IASC as well as the Executive Committee framework established by the Secretary-General. Those efforts would be largely successful where United Nations agencies and organizations actively participated in the resident coordinator system and contributed to the shared mechanisms and responsibilities foreseen by that system. In that regard, the UNDP relied on Member States to maintain their support of the resident coordinator programmes.

ZAMIRA TOHTOHODJAEVA (Kyrgyztan) thanked the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for developing a fruitful relationship with her country. In that context, she cited OCHA’s assistance during a 1997 earthquake. It was primarily up to each individual State to initiate the organization and implementation of response to natural disasters. When such disasters were of an immense scale, however, nations might not be able to cope with the consequences, and international assistance could be important.

Her country was often affected by earthquakes, landslides and other disasters. The risks posed by uranium wastes deposited in “tail waste depositories” were of increasing concern. Her Government had set up a centre for the monitoring of dangerous industrial substances and developed a draft law on tail waist depositories, dedicating substantial resources to the problem, she said. It was necessary to resume government oversight and attract investments for environmental clean up. Resources were insufficient and international assistance would be useful. She underlined the importance of early warning in her territory.

SIVVANKA DHANAPALA, New York Representative of the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons, speaking on behalf of the Special Representative, Francis M. Deng, said that the problem of internal displacement was a global one. Although Africa was host to half of the world's internally displaced persons, that crisis affected some 20-25 million people in over 50 countries -- literally every region of the world.

A recent panel during the Economic and Social Council’s humanitarian segment had provided an essential “snapshot” of the complexity and magnitude of the problem of internal displacement, he said. An important lesson learned was that internal displacement situations superceded “complex emergencies”; indeed, it had been found that there were many displacement situations that needed attention long after an emergency had passed.

Whatever the circumstances of the displacement, he continued, protection concerns, in addition to assistance for basic needs such as adequate shelter, food and safe water, were often paramount. Too often, however, assistance was only focused on when physical insecurity and human rights concerns demanded urgent attention.

Protection and assistance needs were particularly acute in Angola, where an estimated 3.8 million persons were internally displaced, he continued. The tenuous situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was also a cause for serious concern. Humanitarian needs remained significant there, as the protracted conflict had displaced over one million persons. While efforts to bring peace to that region and ensure protection of the internally displaced persons there had not been felt on the ground, Georgia on the other hand might benefit from the “New Approach” to this problem.

He said that this New Approach, developed by the UNDP and other United Nations agencies including OCHA and the World Bank, continued to advocate for the right of internally displaced persons to return to their homes in safety and dignity. In the absence of those conditions, it recognized their right to be treated in the same manner as all citizens and to be able to resume productive lives in the areas where they now resided. The New Approach also sought to provide, through income-generating and other projects, an opportunity for internally displaced persons to build skills and self-reliance, and thereby bridge the gap between humanitarian relief and development assistance.

The plight of internally displaced persons remained one of the most serious humanitarian, human rights, political and security problems confronting the global community. One of the tools that had been helpful in dialogues with Governments on this issue had been the Guiding Principles of Internally Displaced Persons. Those Principles had been drafted with broad-based participation, including international legal experts and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), in an attempt to develop a comprehensive normative framework for the internally displaced.

Though not a binding instrument, he said, those Principles set forth the rights of internally displaced persons and the obligations of governments, insurgent groups and other actors toward those populations in all phases of displacement. They brought together in one compact document existing international law applicable to this issue. So there was a definite need for the entire international community to work together to ensure that the pressing needs of internally displaced persons were adequately addressed and that the Principles were observed. There was also a need to ensure that the institutional divisions of labor decided upon were effective in delivering both protection and assistance.

SATYABRATA PAL (India) said some emergencies were killed with kindness. Kosovo had been described as a “humanitarian Klondike”, but for most, assistance was failing. The first improvement needed was to ensure that all emergencies were fairly treated and got the attention they deserved.

It was worrisome that the reports did not look closely enough at serious problems caused by uncoordinated humanitarian assistance, such as medicines sent for disaster relief that were either past their useful date or inappropriate for local conditions. In the former Yugoslavia, 250 tons of dangerous medicines had to be destroyed in 1995. It was a problem that continued to bedevil every humanitarian assistance operation. In Africa, reports indicated a significant black market in those drugs. In the midst of complex disasters, governments had to divert attention and resources towards screening assistance. That was one example of many that could be given of areas where coordination was needed, but where there was none because political correctness and intergovernmental timidity would not have it.

In recent emergencies, increasingly, armed forces were used to deliver humanitarian assistance, he said. Where the forces concerned were impartial, the professional expertise would be useful. However, in at least two recent instances, armed forces engaged in military operations in a country had decided to take a high profile in the provision of humanitarian assistance to redeem their local image. The United Nations association with those enterprises tarnished its image as an impartial humanitarian actor.

J. ENKHSAIKHAN (Mongolia) said like many other natural disasters, the evolving “dzud”, or the extreme harsh winter in Mongolia, was closely related to the climatic changes registered and occurring throughout the world. The dzud was recognized as a multiple disaster, the cumulative result of the drought of the summer of 1999 and the extremely harsh and cold winter that had followed soon thereafter. There was a high probability of another drought this summer.

In a country where animal husbandry produced more than 30 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and on which every third person directly depended for food, that natural disaster had had a severe impact. It had reduced domestic production and export earnings. The Government was taking all possible measures to overcome those difficulties, but overall, preparedness and disaster response needed to be improved. He expressed sincere gratitude to all who had rendered valuable assistance in the time of need.

The past relief operation in Mongolia offered some lessons, he said. There was a need for quicker reaction to appeals, faster assessment of disaster damage and needs, and faster implementation. Time should not be lost between the pledges of assistance and its practical delivery. A culture of disaster prevention was needed to reduce to the minimum the time for immediate relief activities. He underlined the importance of strengthening early warning systems and of having comprehensive vulnerability analysis.

SUBHAS C. MUNGRA (Suriname), speaking on behalf of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), said in 1994, at the United Nations Global conference on the Sustainable Development of SIDS, a Plan of Action was adopted by the international community to protect their fragile environments. That was a first test of global partnership between developed and developing countries. A review had revealed that the commitments of the global partnership were unfulfilled and implementation was undertaken largely at the national level by the SIDS.

The critical situation of SIDS had worsened since 1994. The costs of natural disaster, which had intensified, had gone beyond infrastructure to rebuilding of lives, a burden borne mostly by women and children. There had been a rise in the mean surface temperature of the earth. For SIDS that meant higher sea levels, coastal erosion, loss of land mass, contamination of freshwater resources, and a serious threat to biodiversity. It was estimated that the Caribbean alone could be forced to spend $1.1 billion on new construction to protect against sea-level rise. From 1977-1996, 44 SIDS were struck by 153 cyclones and hurricanes, he said.

He reiterated the call for a vulnerability index to be concluded and used in assessing SIDS for concessional and preferential treatment, and for a Disaster Fund to be established to assist SIDS, not only in relieving immediate suffering, but also for reconstruction and rehabilitation in the context of sustainable development. He also stressed the important role of technology in addressing natural disasters, and called for the transfer of early warning, prevention, preparedness and mitigation technologies to SIDS on preferential and concessional terms.

He strongly appealed to the international community to honour the global partnership commitments of 1994, and address in specific and effective ways the urgent situation of SIDS and their vulnerabilities, both environmental and economical, to assist in the sustainable development of those structurally weak and vulnerable Member States of the United Nations family.

A.J. ABDALLA (Libya) said the focus of all efforts dealing with displacement and with refugee status was to improve the welfare of the human beings caught in those situations. Internal displacement created all kinds of social and environmental havoc, including desertification and health emergencies. The numbers of the internally displaced had reached alarming proportions. Further, because the displaced often migrated to urban areas, the condition created further negative psychological impacts such as declining living standards and deterioration of both the family and the social fabric.

The strain on national resources caused by internal displacement was inestimable, he continued. When it was considered that even land around urban areas became overworked, the burden seemingly rendered all efforts to improve the situation insufficient. Displacement forced people to accept relief and assistance, which led to a spiraling of social ills in such manifestations as complacency or dependency, placing more demands on society for training and reintegration.

He said the High Commissioner for Refugees had indicated the broad range of causes and situations of the displaced from one country to the next. When it came to refugees, international assistance given to countries was a drop in the bucket. International aid covered no more than 25 per cent of the cost of relocating refugees. That didn’t even take into consideration the social and political elements that needed to be addressed, nor those situations when refugees could no longer stay in the host country or were ready to repatriate.

Wars and destruction caused social and psychological havoc, he said. While it was necessary to rely on international agencies to help coordinate assistance, reliance on relief helped neither human beings nor societies. Both refugees and internally displaced persons needed to be treated with the respect due to human beings.

FESSEHA A. TESSEMA (Ethiopia) said the recent drought and a war of aggression in his country had affected millions of citizens. Guided by a clear National Policy, his Government strove to fulfil the responsibility of disaster mitigation in close collaboration with donors, United Nations Agencies and operational NGOs. His Government had adopted a two-pronged approach: making a preliminary assessment of the following year’s relief needs three months ahead of the end of the year and issuing a bridging appeal; and conducting the regular appeal based on more reliable information.

In January 2000, the jointly agreed figure among all partners concerned was about 8.1 million people affected by both drought and war. He noted a frustrating time gap before relief resources were made available to contain the impending famine. Despite the delays, however, there had been encouraging responses from the international community. Assisting the needy in their villages was much more cost effective compared to the cost of assisting the same number of people in camps. That would require readily available relief resources, availability of access, infrastructure facilities, and relief food outlets, among other things.

One of the country’s preparedness modalities was the Emergency Food Security Reserve. The Reserve had been undermined, however, due to high outstanding loans, leaving the Reserve below minimum stock level at the time of the onset of the current emergency. He also mentioned the urgent need to resettle and rehabilitate the displaced population due to the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. If those victims were to support themselves in the coming years, adequate actions should be taken immediately. He hoped that the present famine threat would be reversed through the coordinated efforts of all humanitarian organizations.

MARTIN ANDJABA (Namibia) noted that the communications revolution had missed most parts in Africa -– many areas had no access to modern communications other than the radio. It was therefore very difficult to inform communities with accurate and pertinent information about issues and events affecting them, especially in times of crisis due either to natural disasters or conflicts. It was vital for governments, donor countries, financial institutions and humanitarian agencies to recognize and support communication initiatives in the fields of development, conflict and humanitarian aid.

He said the number of internally displaced persons was estimated to be about 20 to 25 million globally. The capacity of the United Nations had been stretched to the limits in dealing with the issue. The internally displaced remained citizens of the countries in which they were displaced. Their governments had primary responsibility for them. International efforts supported and complemented national efforts. Many international organizations had developed specialized capacities and strategies in specific sectors of activities. The diversity underscored the need for effective coordination. However, history had shown that the root causes of crises would only be effectively settled by dealing with issues such as poverty, food security and delivery of basic social services.

ELLEN FREY-WOUTERS, Representative of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, said millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, including children, the victims of civil wars, as well as those people exposed to natural and man-made disasters, ran a risk of depression, anxiety disorders and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In addition, United Nations peacekeeping forces and humanitarian personnel were often exposed to trauma. The challenge was to combine concern for mental health and trauma with humanitarian assistance and protection efforts, especially in the post-conflict reconstruction periods.

The training programme of United Nations peacekeeping and humanitarian staff, with special emphasis on reaching traumatized people with adequate services, should be enlarged, she said. The cooperation existing between the United Nations and NGOs should be intensified, and the United Nations should strengthen its emergency preparedness at all levels. Not enough attention was given to the provision of services for traumatized help-givers, including peacekeeping forces and humanitarian personnel.

“Loud” emergencies drew the concern of the international community, while “silent humanitarian emergencies”, such as poverty, famine and homelessness, which claimed more victims each year, were largely forgotten. If no action was taken in the near future, social, economic, political and mental health consequences of that crisis had to be faced.

Mr. TESSEMA (Ethiopia), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said the Council’s humanitarian segment was not the right place to bring up the conflict. Both parties had agreed to refrain from adverse actions against each other during the peace process initiated by the cessation of hostilities, including by not making allegations against each other. He recalled the background to the conflict and said the Eritrean Government had no right to make charges against Ethiopia. He appealed for help with those Ethiopians caught in detention camps in Eritrea.

TESFA ALEM SEYOUM (Eritrea), speaking in right of reply, said he did not intend to make this segment into a debate of politics, but he did confirm the facts in his delegation’s earlier statement. He cited a BBC report filed on 21 June, which described the results of looting of Tesseny, a city that had been occupied by Ethiopia. According to that report, destruction was widespread, but there had been no fighting in the town. That was just one example of the crimes of the Ethiopian army, he said.

Mr. TESSEMA (Ethiopia) said the Eritrean leadership was trying to misinform the international community. He asked since when the BBC had the last word on that issue. Most Ethiopians living in Eritrea had been rounded up. Eritrea had said it had camps to protect Ethiopian people living in Eritrea. Eritrea was to blame for the conflict. There were international laws, but in Asmara, only the law of the jungle existed.

Mr. SEYOUM (Eritrea) said a camp had indeed been established for the safety of Ethiopians living in Eritrea. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had been involved and had been a witness.

CAROLYN MCASKIE, Emergency Relief Coordinator a.i., summarized the discussion during the Council’s consideration of the humanitarian segment, focusing on special economic, humanitarian and disaster relief assistance. She stressed that the non-combatant components in emergency situations must not be forgotten. Every conflict had many more innocent victims than fighters. Local capacities of national governments had to be built up to help them cope with emergency situations, but that was a critical challenge. New technologies could help. Still, primary responsibility for emergencies lay with governments.

While acknowledging all that had been done to increase responsiveness to emergencies, she said much more needed to be done. Coordination was stronger than ever but it wasn’t good enough. Security needed improvement and mechanisms needed development, including early warning systems and diplomacy. Finally, she emphasized the importance of effective prevention, multidimensionality, and synergy, such as between relief and development efforts. The humanitarian challenge remained as critical as ever, she said, because so many people in the world were getting less than they deserved as human beings.

VLADIMIR C. SOTIROV Vice-president of the Economic and Social Council, in summing up the consideration of the segment, said many constructive proposals had been made. He expressed appreciation for Ms. McAskie's participation in panels and discussions. He stressed that the deliberations had proved the necessity of strengthening the guiding role of the Council on the issues addressed.

Action on Oral Decision

Mr. Sotirov (Bulgaria) then notified the Council that Martin Belinga-Eboutou (Cameroon), the Council's Senior Vice-President, would not be available to chair the general segment.

The Council decided unanimously to recommend suspension of the relevant rule and request Felix Mbayu, (Cameroon) to preside over the upcoming general segment.

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