ECONOMIC, HUMANITARIAN AND DISASTER RELIEF ASSISTANCE
ECOSOC/5960
12 July 2001
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL BEGINS DISCUSSION ON SPECIAL
ECONOMIC, HUMANITARIAN AND DISASTER RELIEF ASSISTANCE
GENEVA, 11 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) began debate this morning on United Nations efforts to provide special economic, humanitarian, and disaster relief assistance, hearing contentions by field experts and national delegations that more funding had to be found for such responses and for resources to be provided well after humanitarian and natural catastrophes had faded from the headlines.
The discussion came as the Council began the humanitarian affairs segment of its 2001 substantive session, which will conclude on 27 July.
Kenzo Oshima, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, introducing the report of the Secretary-General on strengthening the coordination of United Nations emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations, said, among other things, that donor response to emergencies was generous, but more funds, nonetheless, were needed. In particular, donors were requested to address the disturbing situation whereby the provision of non-food items, such as medical and sanitation supplies, often fell short of the provision of food aid.
Catherine Bertini, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), told the meeting that the emergency phase of response to well publicized disasters was usually well funded, but assistance tended to fall off very quickly after a few months. There needed to be much more funding over the longer term to help people to return to their earlier states -- and those earlier states often were not very good.
Those speaking from the floor told the Council, among other things, that greater attention and response was needed to the increasing problem of internal displacement and to the safety of United Nations staff working in the field.
Also contributing to the debate were representatives of Iran (on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China), Belgium (on behalf of the European Union and countries associated with it), United States, Japan, Canada, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Switzerland, Norway, Belarus, Brazil, and the Russian Federation.
The Council will reconvene at 3 p.m. today to continue its discussion of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance.
Humanitarian Affairs Segment
Under this agenda item, the Council has before it a report of the Secretary-General (document E/2001/85) on further progress in strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations which notes, among its conclusions and recommendations, that the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council might wish to invite Member States and humanitarian organizations to support the strengthening of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) in its efforts to improve coordinated responses; to urge Member States to coordinate the allocation of resources to the consolidated appeals process and ensure balanced funding for the entire package of projects; to invite Member States to pay particular attention to funding staff security; to invite donor governments to consider ways and means to ensure timely funding of transition activities; to request the international community to provide more support for strengthening regional and national prevention, preparedness and response capabilities; and to encourage Member States and regional bodies to develop and maintain humanitarian contingency plans for natural disasters and environmental and complex crises.
Statements
KENZO OSHIMA, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, presenting a report of the Secretary-General on strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations (document E/2001/85), said it had been 10 years since the adoption of General Assembly resolution 46/182. That resolution had set the framework for much of the current work and had been essential for strengthening the coordination of the United Nations humanitarian work. The tools and mechanisms established by the resolution had proven their value and effectiveness in the past decade, although they would benefit from further strengthening and refinement. This milestone should be used to look at concrete ways to build upon the efforts and experience gained. The Secretary-General's report had outlined some of the ways that improvements in this vital area were being made.
Today, Mr. Oshima said, with many parts of the United Nations system engaged in humanitarian action, along with the Red Cross movement and numerous governmental and non-governmental organizations, a key task was to ensure the proper coordination of work of those different actors for the optimal use of resources for those in need. In the field of natural disasters, there was a need to strengthen efforts to build national and local capacities to respond to emergencies. That was a crucial area in which investments today would certainly save lives tomorrow. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) were also a problem. In 1997, the Secretary-General designated the Emergency Relief Coordinator as the focal point within the United Nations with the responsibility of examining and addressing the needs of the internally displaced. That was done in part in recognition of the fact that IDPs did not fall within the responsibility of any single agency and that that gap needed to be filled in a collaborative, inter-agency framework.
Mr. Oshima, speaking about resources, said the United Nations system had received generous voluntary contributions in response to the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) and through other efforts to raise resources for humanitarian crises. But it was not enough, and the Council needed to underline the gravity of the humanitarian situation existing in so many places around the world. In particular, donors were requested to address the disturbing phenomena whereby the provision of non-food items, such as medical and sanitation needs, often fell short of the provision of food aid. With the Council's support, a review would be launched of funding patterns to see whether there were ways in which those imbalances could be addressed. For efficiency, lack of funds should not be a hindrance to providing life-saving emergency relief, whether in places of armed conflict or natural disasters. Donors were asked to continue to increase support for the collective humanitarian operations. There was a need to strengthen the partnership between the United Nations system and the governments of the affected States. The task ahead was to look at new and innovative structures and methods of coordination and cooperation.
CATHERINE BERTINI, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), said the WFP was a major tool in the United Nations overall response in emergencies -- such work, along with work with refugees, amounted to some 80 per cent of WFP's activities, and last year the agency's budget was $1.7 billion. The WFP and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had extensive contacts and agreements for working in tandem, and WFP's response to natural disasters had increased as the rate of natural disasters had increased. Clearly, strengthening coordination was useful and effective. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was WFP's largest programme -- it reached 1.8 million people there -- and work with the United Nations Resident Coordinator there was vital; without such cooperation, WFP's efforts would be impossible. Coordination and efficiency in cooperation with other United Nations agencies in Afghanistan also had improved in recent years, and there had been similar progress in the massive institutional response to the drought in the Horn of Africa. Those were examples of what ECOSOC hoped for when it talked of the need for coordination.
Relief-to-recovery transitions were an important part of responding to disaster, and, at this point, mechanisms did not really exist, especially in terms of funding, Ms. Bertini said. The emergency part of programmes in response to well publicized disasters was usually well funded, but assistance tended to fall off very quickly, after a few months. There needed to be much more funding over the longer term to help people to return to their earlier states -- and those earlier states often were not very good. It appeared that emergencies motivated people, and limited resources, as donors saw it, had to go elsewhere to respond to other emergencies. The "in-between part" was being neglected. Perhaps there could not be a United Nations answer to this problem, but thought needed to be given to this difficulty, and some kind of answer needed to be found for it. Perhaps the solution was that when a donor responded to an emergency, the same donor should also schedule a smaller amount over a longer term for the extended recovery period that disasters almost always involved.
She wished to echo Mr. Oshima's plea for greater security for international agency staff, Ms. Bertini said -- another staff member had been killed last week, this time in the Central African Republic.
BAGHER ASADI (Iran), on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said the nature of emergencies had substantially changed during the past decade. In the post-cold-war era, new dimensions emerged for such emergencies, in particular, the emergence of internal conflicts, which engulfed a number of developing countries, especially in Africa, consuming most of their human, physical and financial resources, and devastating their economic infrastructure and social fabric. Increases in the number of large-scale natural disasters and their impact in the form of massive human casualty and economic loss had been another negative development in the humanitarian emergencies field. The Secretary-General's report indicated that about 90 per cent of disaster victims lived in developing countries, which called for a much higher level of attention and assistance by the United Nations humanitarian agencies and other humanitarian actors in the field. Although the United Nations had become more prepared to respond to such emergencies, the challenge of coordination of such activities in the United Nations system, as well as of addressing these emergencies in a timely, adequate and efficient manner, still remained to be met.
The Group of 77 and China believed that the guiding principles contained in the annex of General Assembly resolution 46/182 should continue to be the basis for response to humanitarian emergencies, he said. During the past decade, those guiding principles had contributed tremendously in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the United Nations, as well as other humanitarian actors in the field. Within this framework, the affected State had the primary role in the initiation, organization, coordination and implementation of humanitarian assistance, which made all the more imperative capacity building at the national level.
During the past decade, displacement had become larger, more complex and geographically more widespread, he continued. And still worse, in the case of internal armed conflicts, civilians, especially women and children, had become the principle victims. Having gone through the rather protracted, if not acrimonious, deliberations in the humanitarian affairs segment last year, it was clear that the primary responsibility for protection of and assistance to the population affected by internal displacement lay with the governments of the affected countries. There was a certain important role to be played by the international community in assisting governments of the countries affected by internal displacement. But the extension of such assistance should be upon the request of the concerned government and with full respect to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity of the States involved. The same applied to the assistance work of relevant humanitarian and development agencies in their efforts geared to developing the capacity affected by internal displacement.
Humanitarian emergencies, in particular armed conflict, disproportionately affected civilians, especially women and children, and also other vulnerable groups, he said. It was, indeed, a sad fact that they were subject to many atrocities and violations during the conflicts and were simultaneously deprived of resources and necessary services. That called for a strong commitment and commensurate action. Empowerment of women and children should also contribute to conflict resolution. There was satisfaction that in various activities of the United Nations system in the field, the situation and empowerment of women and children had been considered in the designing and implementation, and had become an integral part of such operations.
MICHEL GOFFIN (Belgium), speaking on behalf of the European Union and countries associated with the Union, said the European Union supported the work of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and asked the Emergency Relief Coordinator to ensure that implementation of the restructuring of the Office, the strengthening of its coordination capacity in the field, and the setting up of a new unit to deal with internal displacements took place as rapidly as possible. But that should not happen to the detriment of operations in the field. Recent greater involvement of civil society with United Nations relief efforts was welcome, as the experience and expertise of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) contributed considerably to the effectiveness of response to humanitarian needs.
The European Union was by far the major contributor of humanitarian aid, he said. In 2000, it contributed 47.6 per cent of public humanitarian aid, or slightly more than €1.5 billion; and it planned to increase its contributions. It encouraged further coordination through the Inter-Agency Consolidated Appeals process and the IASC, although it regretted some lack of transparency in the Committee's working methods. The European Union felt there should be a more integrated approach when setting up peacekeeping or peacemaking operations, in synergy with humanitarian activities. It welcomed the setting up of regional disaster evaluation and response teams; thought more should be done in the field of prevention; and felt great concern for the personal safety of humanitarian staff in the field. It was in favour of a Protocol to the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations Personnel so that it could be extended to all staff engaged in humanitarian operations.
BETTY KING (United States) said the humanitarian community often had to deal with multiple crises -- international conflict; ethnic, religious and regional strife; drought and food shortages; natural disasters; and health crises, among many others. In combination, those problems were beyond the mandate of individual international agencies, beyond the resources of bilateral donor response, and beyond the capacities of the NGO community. In the last decade, since the adoption of resolution 46/182, it had become clear that coordination was the key enabling tool in humanitarian response. That was why the United States was a strong supporter of the creation of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Inter-Agency Consolidated Appeals process, and the IASC as part of the Trace II reform process.
One of OCHA's real successes since its inception had been the strengthening of the Consolidated Appeals process, she said. The Appeals themselves were steadily improving in quality, and the planning and consultation processes behind them deepened coordination in the field among the United Nations, NGOs and donors. However, to retain its usefulness, the Consolidated Appeals planning process should capture all of the resources being spent on humanitarian response, including NGO and bilateral humanitarian assistance.
At the country level, there was room for improvement in the management of the humanitarian coordination system, she continued. There should be a greater willingness to replace resident coordinators when it was clear that changing situations demanded different skills and backgrounds. There should be a roster of well trained potential resident coordinators for humanitarian emergency situations. And there should be consideration for the use of alternatives, such as lead agencies. Internal displacement had become one of the characteristic humanitarian issues that had to be dealt with daily. There were more IDPs in the world than refugees who had crossed international borders. The primary responsibility for assistance and protection of IDPs rested with the host authority. Also, as ECOSOC recognized in 1999, all States should apply internationally recognized norms with regard to IDPs. The United States continued to support the work of the Secretary-General's Representative on IDPs, specifically in his advocacy of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement as the normative standard for international treatment of internal displacement.
Perhaps the greatest impediment to the ability of the United Nations to protect and assist vulnerable people who suffered internal displacement was a lack of humanitarian access. The United States supported the role of the Emergency Relief Coordinator in negotiating improved access to vulnerable populations, including internally displaced populations, in order to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance. There was a welcomed major effort in improving the United Nations response to internal displacement -- the Senior Inter-Agency Network on Internal Displacement. Network field studies -- in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Burundi, Angola and Afghanistan -- confirmed the existence of serious gaps -- in assistance, in protection, and in the way the United Nations organized to address IDP needs. Specific attention should be drawn to the problem of sexual and gender-based violence in emergency situations. Over the past three years, the United States Government had been funding projects in the field for sexual and gender-based violence -- projects that addressed preventive and primary health care, psycho-social and mental health care, sexual violence prevention, reproductive health and female genital mutilation.
YOSHIYUKI MOTOMURA (Japan) said the international community should redouble its efforts to make emergency humanitarian assistance more effective and efficient by further improving coordination among the relevant United Nations activities. The issue of IDPs needed to be addressed more effectively, and Japan was prepared to provide up to $10 million from its Trust Fund for Human Security to IDP-related projects of the United Nations. It also supported the establishment of a small, inter-agency non-operational IDPs unit within the OCHA.
Preparedness for and response to natural disasters needed urgently to be pursued, and Japan strongly supported OCHA’s coordination efforts in that regard, he said. It had decided to disburse, from the Trust Fund for Human Security, funds for establishing an antenna office of the Relief Web in Kobe so that the Web could disseminate critical information 24 hours a day on natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere. Japan also was actively participating in the work of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group. Japan felt that the importance of ensuring the safety and security of humanitarian assistance personnel could not be overemphasized.
HUNTER McGILL (Canada) said there was much agreement about the need for coordination in humanitarian crises. The need for greater coherence was also much more widely recognized. That reflected a necessity and a maturity. Canada supported the strategic function of the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Oshima, and hoped he would strengthen OCHA so it could recognize the needs of its entire constituency. Tools outlined in resolution 46/182 would help the international community better respond to humanitarian crises. The tenth anniversary of the resolution showed that the drafters were very far-sighted. Their foresight had provided the tools and framework necessary to allow the international community to address and face humanitarian crises. The principles of the resolution were still relevant, and a more consistent application of them could lead to more coherent responses to humanitarian crises.
Canada believed that education training and natural disaster planning was central to prevention, he continued. Local authorities needed the tools to implement early warning programmes. United Nations agencies, and particularly the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), had an important role to play in this respect. Canada was pleased that ECOSOC was focusing on populations with particular needs. Those populations contributed to solving their own problems, and also participated in their subsequent development. Unfortunately, until recently, most humanitarian assistance failed to recognize how women's roles could be changed by humanitarian crises. It was believed that the agreed conclusions of the ECOSOC 1998 humanitarian segment was an important initial step in providing clear guidance to agencies on the need for concrete strategies on women's full and equal participation.
Similar lessons had been learned in the humanitarian work for children -- their roles were also altered during crises, he said. They could become orphans, or could become care-givers themselves for younger children or elderly family members. That disrupted a child's development. There needed to be a better understanding on how to address different segments of the population whose roles and needs had changed. Agencies should develop strategies to ensure staff was properly trained to recognize these changing needs. It was true in humanitarian crises when the greatest sensitivity was required.
LEE JAE-GIL (Republic of Korea) said his country applauded the positive effects of United Nations relief activities over the past 10 years since wide-ranging reforms had been put into effect. Still, there was the problem of increasing numbers of natural disasters and humanitarian catastrophes, and problems in protecting humanitarian staff in the field. Lack of preparedness and preventive measures made matters worse. Without a peaceful and secure environment, sustainable human development could not be achieved. The Republic of Korea approved of further United Nations efforts intended to respond to humanitarian problems, strengthen early warning mechanisms, set up emergency response teams, and improve search and rescue capacities.
Coordination efforts should be strengthened and steps absolutely had to be taken to better protect staff, among other things, through use of the Central Revolving Emergency Fund, appointment of a full-time United Nations Security Coordinator, and expansion of the scope of the relevant 1994 Convention on the safety of United Nations personnel. A gender element should be included in emergency response efforts; and women should be seen not only as a vulnerable group, but as key actors and agents of positive change in conflict situations. Use of information technology, if expanded, could help governments and international organizations respond to disasters.
GUSTAVO ALBIN (Mexico) said humanitarian assistance was one of the most noble expressions of solidarity among human beings. The international community should not be blind to the horrors experienced by people around the world. But it was important that the assistance be coordinated, and that it respect the sovereignty of the affected State. The impact of natural disasters had increased significantly -- in terms of both the number of disasters and the victims they produced. That also had an adverse effect on the economic and social development of the affected countries. There was a need to move from a reaction stance to a prepared stance. The report of the Secretary-General, unfortunately, provided a black picture. There had been an exponential growth in the number of disasters in the last 10 years, and more than 90 per cent of the victims lived in developing countries. Mexico had been aiding with procedures in the urban search-and-rescue area during earthquake recovery. States themselves needed to work on prevention measures, including early-warning programmes. National agencies needed to update their policies with regard to emergency response.
Mexico also supported the establishment of an information network so scientific and technological information could be shared, he said. That would enable the international community to have better coordination. Humanitarian assistance had to be provided by everybody working together. There had to be solidarity among all peoples to make that a reality.
TONI FRISCH (Switzerland) said that, recently, the greater occurrence of IDPs and the involvement of non-State armed groups had complicated humanitarian response efforts. Non-State actors were covered by the Geneva Conventions, it was worth pointing out, and Switzerland supported universal respect for international humanitarian law. Civilians were always the first to pay the price for barbaric behaviour and action. Forced displacements of people had become a daily phenomenon, and those most often affected were women, children and the elderly. And humanitarian staff were often attacked and even killed in flagrant disregard of humanitarian standards.
In recent years, the Geneva Conventions and their protocols had been constantly violated, along with other international standards such as the right to life and the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment. It also was important to remember that many conflicts had their roots in poverty and economic deprivation or -- and this happened more often recently -- because one side found it economically profitable to continue the fighting. It was vital to help local communities and to promote the development of States based on the rule of law. Switzerland supported continuing reforms at coordinating humanitarian assistance.
STEFFEN KONGSTAD (Norway) said the increasing number and scope of humanitarian crises that were due to either complex emergencies or to natural disasters posed a major challenge to the international community. In addition, the HIV/AIDS epidemic had aggravated the situation in many humanitarian disasters. The report of the Secretary-General highlighted most appropriately that a number of new opportunities had arisen during the last decade, offering possibilities for more rapid and efficient response to humanitarian emergencies. Indeed, the United Nations system was far better equipped to handle complex emergencies and natural disasters than it was 10 years ago. The role of OCHA had become more prominent over the last few years. The efforts of the Emergency Relief Coordinator had improved the overall response capacity of the United Nations. It should be noted that the United Nations had strengthened its coordination in certain respects, for example, through the Coordinated Appeals process. Further, information technology allowed for new opportunities to arise. Norway commended the efforts undertaken by OCHA in developing high-quality information tools such as ReliefWeb and IRIN. Timely and relevant information was essential for all actors engaged in responding to emergencies.
Increased awareness of the plight of the IDPs was another major achievement of the last few years, he said. Norway fully supported the work of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for IDPs. The politicized debate that had developed concerning the "Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement" was unfortunate, as it hindered aid workers from access to needy people and thus made it difficult to assist them. While there had been progress in responding to humanitarian emergencies, much more was required to ensure a truly efficient response. Member States and humanitarian organizations should support the efforts of the Emergency Relief Coordinator in discharging his tasks. That included the provision of adequate, timely and flexible financial resources through channels such as the Central Emergency Revolving Fund and the Consolidated Appeals process. It was noted that the fund had not been as effective as anticipated during the last few years, and there was interest in considering ways to improve its efficiency.
The chronic lack of adequate financial resources for multilateral humanitarian actors remained a major concern, he said. While Norway strongly supported the active participation of NGOs in humanitarian assistance, there was also concern that excessive humanitarian bilateralism should be avoided. There, he emphasized the need for the United Nations, the Red Cross Movement, and the NGO community to pull together. Much progress had been made in recognizing the need to ensure the transition from emergency relief to longer-term development. Effective measures to ensure timely funding and implementation of transitional activities were still lacking. Thus, the gap issue should still be on the priority list for years to come. When resolution 46/182 was approved 10 years ago, its intention was to improve the response capacity of the United Nations. Clearly, progress was being made. New instruments had emerged and proved their usefulness. Many lives had been saved. However, there was considerable room for improvement. One thing learned during this decade was that humanitarian action was not, and could not be, a substitute for political action. Concerted political efforts with the goal of finding durable solutions to the root causes of emergencies were more essential than ever.
VLADIMIR MALEVICH (Belarus) said the resumption of the process of adopting agreed conclusions during the substantive session would contribute to better efficiency of United Nations humanitarian activities. Belarus agreed on further enhancement of the role of the IASC as a coordinating and advisory body, but felt more attention should be given to developing and strengthening relevant structures on the ground. One good example of regional coordination in response to emergencies was the Fribourg Forum. Belarus was a State party to a series of international conventions relating to nuclear accidents -- no surprise considering the devastating effects on the country of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Despite the costs of that catastrophe, the country still managed to contribute to OCHA for humanitarian actions in Africa.
Belarus believed that priority should be placed on preventing potential emergencies, he said. In light of recent tragic events affecting humanitarian workers, it supported the proposal of the Secretary-General concerning establishment of a special, life-saving fund. It was concerned over the trend of constantly diminishing contributions within the framework of the Consolidated Appeals Process.
MARIA LUIZA RIBEIRO VIOTTI (Brazil) said time was ripe to get a refreshed perspective regarding the role of ECOSOC and how to make it increasingly relevant to humanitarian affairs. There should be work to set sensible goals in order to make a difference, keeping in mind that a revolutionary review of the system was probably neither necessary nor realistic. There was no need to engage in
negotiations of lengthy agreed conclusions that spent more time dealing with politically charged paragraphs than focusing on the ways and means to improve the delivery of assistance. There was no illusion that politics could be abolished, but at least there could be an avoidance of the over-politicization of issues if greater emphasis was put on the needs of victims rather than on the political agenda of governments.
Misgivings could be avoided by confidence-building measures -- relatively simple ideas that could create a whole new window of opportunities, she said. Brazil was convinced that the further flow of information could be improved and would open new channels for a more systematic and smooth exchange of views between the Secretariat and ECOSOC. It seemed that a three-day discussion was not enough to enable the Council to respond thoroughly to the requirements of coordination and policy guidance. It would be helpful if ECOSOC was made available for the holding of informal meetings throughout the year to discuss matters pertaining to natural disasters and complex emergencies. These meetings could provide an important opportunity for a fruitful dialogue with OCHA and representatives of other relevant agencies and programmes, such as the members of the IASC.
Sight must not be lost concerning the real picture of situations that required immediate action, she said. The reading of the report of the Secretary-General raised a shudder in anyone committed to upholding human dignity. The situation on the ground was appalling. As stated in the report, the chronic vulnerability to humanitarian crises was a reality in many parts of the world and continued to take a heavy toll on human lives. The report provided an overview of the efforts of the system to adapt to the new circumstances. It also submitted several recommendations that deserved attention, including prevention, coordination and protection.
In several armed conflict situations, the deliberate denial of access of humanitarian personnel to those in need was a powerful weapon against the civilian population, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, she said. States had the primary responsibility in providing assistance to their population. But if they were unable to do so, they should take into account their international obligations and facilitate the work of the humanitarian personnel. Donors should fulfil their pledges and increase their contributions to meet the requirements of the Consolidated Appeals process. Recipient countries should also show political will to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance and to address the root causes of crises. And everybody should adopt a generous, victim-centred approach to humanitarian emergencies.
YURI BRAZHNIKOV (Russian Federation) said the fundamental principles of humanitarian assistance should remain unchanged: neutrality, humanity, impartiality, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, and the consent of the State to receive assistance in accordance with international law and national legislation. ECOSOC’s discussion of humanitarian response should be further strengthened, and the choosing of a main theme should be carefully done. The subject chosen should be depoliticized and of practical value.
The Russian Federation supported the work of the IASC and supported the proposal for regular briefings for Member States on IASC activities, he said. It was deeply concerned about the safety of personnel carrying out humanitarian activities, and it supported continued development of prevention and early-
response efforts by the United Nations. It was important to expand on the use of advanced technologies in the field of disaster response, and the Russian Federation approved of the drafting of an International Urban Search and Rescue Convention. The Russian Federation was concerned that the lack for a second consecutive year of ECOSOC guidelines on United Nations humanitarian activities might have a negative impact on their effectiveness.
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