ECOSOC HOLDS PANEL DISCUSSION ON EMERGENCY HUMANITARIAN

ASSISTANCE FOR GROUPS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 12 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) this afternoon continued with its consideration of special economic, humanitarian and disaster relief assistance and held a panel discussion on emergency humanitarian assistance for groups with special needs.

Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), noting that the majority of crises in the last decade had been caused by internal fighting, said such conflicts required not only humanitarian solutions but political solutions.  The Security Council, she said, had become a new important forum for advocating for children and other vulnerable groups caught up in armed conflicts.  Staff safety and security continued to be a major concern for international agencies, and support from Member States for assured funding for adequate safety and security measures was needed urgently.

Speaking about conflict situations in western Africa, particularly Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers said the region was poisoned with violence.  Refugees were the victims of the fighting, especially women and children.  He noted that when children were forced from their homes, education was no longer an option.  Aid workers, he said, should focus on durable solutions, including returning the refugees to their homes when stability returned, or returning them to a safe, neighbouring country.

Jean-Daniel Tauxe, Director of Operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said ICRC's largest operation currently was in Afghanistan.  Although ICRC programmes did not discriminate negatively between women and men, he said, they often discriminated "positively" depending on the additional and specific needs of women and children. 

Also speaking extensively on the situation in Afghanistan was Michael Sackett, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Afghanistan.  Describing the situation as "complex" with "enormous humanitarian needs", Mr. Sackett said aid personnel must define on a daily basis who was the hungriest, who was the most at risk of early death as a result of war, human rights abuses, drought, poverty and the deliberate obstruction of access to humanitarian help.

Carolyn McAskie, the Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), was also a member of the panel.

Representatives of various national delegations also contributed to the debate, commenting on various issues, including the practices of the Taliban in Afghanistan; the effect the economic sanctions in Iraq had on children; the humanitarian commitment to west African nations; refugees from Sierra Leone; responding to assistance pleas for drought relief in Afghanistan; the commitment of African leaders to find solutions to the problems on the African continent; humanitarian agencies' contact with regional organizations in Africa; the education of girls in Afghanistan; concern about kidnappings in western Africa; sexual slavery in western Africa; displaced persons in western Africa and Afghanistan; creating a uniform policy to deal with internally displaced persons (IDPs); landmines in the safe zone between Ethiopia and Eritrea; making the education of children part of humanitarian response; the Government of Guinea's welcoming hundreds of thousands of refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia; safety and security of personnel; the policy of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on repatriation; health programmes in Afghanistan; and causes of death because of internal conflicts.

Addressing the comments, panellists offered further points, among them, that there was extensive contact with leaders of African regional organizations; there were more conflicts now than at any period since the Second World War, and continued investment was what was necessary; the internal support system, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), in Afghanistan; the dearth of strategic information passing between countries in western Africa; how the international community was making a difference for the most vulnerable groups; the equipping of staff in the field to meet victims of sexual violence; the need for a professional security apparatus, a security protocol, and the active involvement of security personnel in gaining access to people in need; efforts to downsize the UNHCR; and UNICEF's commitment to education in Afghanistan through informal schools.

The Council will meet at 10 a.m. on Friday, 13 July, to conclude its humanitarian affairs segment.

Panellists

CAROL BELLAMY, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said General Assembly resolution 46/182, passed 10 years ago, had established four core mechanisms for humanitarian coordination -- the Emergency Relief Coordinator, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the Central Emergency Revolving Fund, and the Consolidated Appeals process.  These mechanisms were playing an increasingly important role in coordinating humanitarian response by the United Nations system and by other key actors; the IASC, in particular, was the main coordination forum and had a critical role in bringing together all key actors for strategic policy dialogue and for discussing and resolving operational issues involving a number of agencies.

The nature and magnitude of conflicts had changed over the last 10 years, Ms. Bellamy said; most recent crises had been caused by internal conflicts arising out of human rights violations and political disenfranchisement; they involved the use of child soldiers, the collapse of governments, and the struggle for resources and power.  In Afghanistan, the international community had faced the challenge of coordinating assistance in areas controlled by non-State entities; in west Africa, a key lesson had been the need for a regional approach since there were cross-border flows of refugees, child soldiers, diamonds and small arms.  Internal conflicts required not only humanitarian solutions but political solutions, and the Security Council had become a new important forum for advocating for children and other vulnerable groups caught up in armed conflicts.  Staff safety and security continued to be a major concern for international agencies, and support from Member States for assured funding for adequate safety and security measures was needed urgently.

One example of where inter-agency collaboration in emergencies was vital was HIV/AIDS, Ms. Bellamy said -- the disease could only be addressed effectively in a multidimensional way, as it touched on so many cultural and political issues.  Armed conflict exacerbated the spread of the disease, and it was worth noting that 13 of the 17 countries with over 100,000 children orphaned by AIDS were either in conflict or on the brink of emergency.  The upcoming special session on children would consider the impact of HIV/AIDS and would focus on three other priority areas:  health, education, and protection of children.

RUUD LUBBERS, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said operations in west Africa were good examples of the problems that the UNHCR faced.  There was a humanitarian emergency there.  But for the UNHCR, it was not just dealing with that, the agency also helped with preventive measures.  It was rough there.  There was a culture of fighting for power in the region.  There was fighting over minerals and diamonds.  They convinced children to become soldiers.  That was part of the reality of the region.  In Guinea, there was a more and more difficult problem because the authorities there did not accept UNHCR’s work with refugees.

The UNHCR also took care of internally displaced persons.  They were so evident in Guinea, something had to be done.  The work of the UNHCR involved not only receiving the refugees, but also finding a safe place for them.  There was a risk of establishing refugee camps near the borders.  On one hand, it was favourable to have the camp near the point of entry.  But the borders were often the areas where fighting was, and refugees had to be moved away from the conflict area whenever possible.

These countries were poisoned with violence.  The victims in the first place were women and children.  Internally displaced persons were uprooted from their homes, and education was no longer an option.  There was no easy solution.  Durable solutions were returning them to their native homelands when it became safe, or settling them in a neighbouring country.

JEAN-MICHEL TAUXE, Director of Operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said the current situation in Afghanistan was almost disastrous.  Contrary to previous years, fighting now did not stop during the winter; in addition, there had been an increased military buildup and the spread of fighting to new areas; that and the absence of any peace talks were likely to lead to an intensification of the conflict.  Donors, recognizing the severity of the situation, had expressed their willingness to discuss with the Taliban an increase in humanitarian assistance to be based on clear conditions not yet defined.

Afghanistan was the ICRC's largest current operation, with over 60 experts and 1,200 national employees; the approach taken was multisectoral and aimed at protection, assistance, and prevention.  Unfortunately, the organization faced difficulties in reaching certain areas where there were enormous needs.  Although ICRC programmes did not discriminate negatively between women and men, they often discriminated "positively" depending on the additional needs and specific needs of women and children.  Currently, the ICRC was the humanitarian organization with the largest presence in Afghanistan, and it felt a special responsibility for coordination; yet, while the level of coordination could be described as good, logistical difficulties and the fact that United Nations agencies and the main NGOs had to operate out of headquarters in Pakistan did create problems in tackling down-to-earth operational issues.

In west Africa, especially Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, Mr. Tauxe said, the ICRC faced a situation where governments, their armies and militias were confronting a loose coalition of rebels.  War moved from one country to another, and masses of people fled either as internally displaced or as refugees.  Efforts had been made to coordinate ICRC responses with those of other humanitarian actors, fairly successfully in Guinea and Sierra Leone, and rather shakily in Liberia, since the same particular institution was both promoting coordination and imposing sanctions against Liberia.

MICHAEL SACKETT, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Afghanistan, said the situation there was complex -- it combined conflict, drought, and displacement and enormous humanitarian needs, as well as huge development and rights deficits.  Afghanistan was a poor and underdeveloped country before the war began.  Twenty-two years of war had devastated most of the physical infrastructure, impacted badly on agriculture and irrigation systems, destroyed much of Kabul and other cities, including schools and clinics, and wiped out practically all institutions of governance.  The challenges for aid agencies were enormous.  Afghanistan was not only one of the most difficult countries in which to survive, one of the three hungriest countries in the world, and one of the most internationally isolated and sanctioned -- it was also one of the most difficult to work in because of volatility, hostile terrain and uncooperative authorities.

Aid personnel on a daily basis defined who was the hungriest, who was the most at risk of early death as a result of war, human rights abuses, drought, poverty and the deliberate obstruction of access to humanitarian help.  Agencies used broad categorizations, such as "disabled", "elderly", "female headed households", "IDPs", or even "internally stuck persons" -- those who had little or no access to food or water at home, but who lacked the assets to move to the cities to seek assistance.  In reality, the majority of Afghans who were not part of the military or of the remnants of the State apparatus had a case to make when it came to needing help for everyday survival.

Assistance from the international community was not negligible -- it was about $800,000 per day -- but gaps remained.  The continuing war and the lack of a peace process disallowed investments in longer-term rehabilitation.  The discriminatory policies of the authorities, particularly the Taliban, resulted in the frequent denial of access to certain groups, for example, ethnic or religious minorities, or to basic social services, for example, education for girls and employment outside the confines of the Ministry of Public Health for women. Agencies were still trying to undertake large-scale subsidies; bread sales; programmes for destitute widows (World Food Programme); run women-oriented community development and income generating programmes (Habitat); and operate girls' schools in IDP camps (UNICEF).  These activities were all being severely thwarted and the United Nations Afghan women staff involved were at risk.  Formal United Nations efforts to secure agreement on basic humanitarian principles of non-discrimination had been repeatedly made, with crucial provisions meeting outright rejection.

Discussion

      A representative of Afghanistan thanked the panellists for the efforts of the international community in providing humanitarian assistance to the people affected by the Taliban, and for trying to bring an end to the military conflict in the country.  Further, he appreciated what the varying agencies had done to help the Afghan people cope with drought.  Mr. Tauxe responded by saying that the Taliban had extended the areas of conflict in Afghanistan, and further outside help was required.  Among other things, he said the ICRC was not properly equipped, from a medical point of view, to deal with problems concerning sexual violence in Afghanistan.

Another delegate referred to Afghan refugees streaming into Pakistan and Iran.  It was estimated that 250,000 refugees had crossed the border into those countries, and he wondered at what point repatriation of these people would be appropriate.

A representative of Iraq said that the economic sanctions being levied against Iraq since 1990 had had a crippling effect on the economy and society.  Hundreds of thousands of children, who were the most vulnerable, had died.  It was time to lift the sanctions pushed by the United States and the United Kingdom, which violated international law.

A representative of Guinea said that the country had accepted hundreds of thousands of refugees because of the instability and conflicts in Sierra Leone and Liberia, which totalled about 10 per cent of the Guinean population.  The Government had done its best to help those in need.  But the international community must help control the crises that occurred along the borders.  Guinea would continue to welcome the refugees, but they should be returned to their homes when the situation became more stable.

Another delegation spoke about the commitment of the leaders of African countries to bring peace to the entire African continent.  There was also a question about the international agencies’ contacts with regional organizations and groups in Africa.  Mr. Lubbers said that the UNHCR was in constant contact with local groups there, meeting constantly with them in order to get a better understanding of the situation.

Further points were raised about kidnappings in western Africa, and the trafficking in humans for domestic or sexual work.  The panellists said there was a dearth of strategic information that passed between African countries, particularly in the western part of the continent.  Improved coordination among the information channels could lead to an improved sharing of effective policies.

Another representative noted that there was a problem with IDPs all over the world, and suggested implementing a uniform policy in dealing with the IDPs.

Responding to a question, Ms. BELLAMY said that educating children who were receiving humanitarian assistance, in refugee camps, for example, should be part of the international humanitarian response.

Other comments raised by national delegations concerned the humanitarian commitment to west African nations; responding to assistance pleas for drought relief in Afghanistan; the education of girls in Afghanistan; displaced persons in western Africa and Afghanistan; landmines in the safe zone between Ethiopia and Eritrea; safety and security of personnel; UNHCR's policy on repatriation; health programmes in Afghanistan; and causes of death because of internal conflicts.

Addressing the comments, panellists offered further points, among them that there were more conflicts now than at any period since the Second World War, and continued investment was what was necessary; the internal support system, including NGOs, were imperative in Afghanistan; how the international community was making a difference for the most vulnerable groups; the equipping of staff in the field to meet victims of sexual violence; the need for a professional security apparatus, a security protocol, and the active involvement of security personnel in gaining access to people in need; efforts to downsize the UNHCR; and UNICEF's commitment to education in Afghanistan through informal schools.

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