ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL CONCLUDES HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS SEGMENT;

ADOPTS VICE-PRESIDENT'S SUMMARY

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 13 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) this morning concluded its humanitarian affairs segment by adopting the Vice-President's summary, which contended, among other things, that there was a serious lack of funding for United Nations humanitarian activities and an uneven level of funding between crises in different geographic locations, with indications that there was a correlation between lack of funding and lack of attention or media interest on the world scene.

ECOSOC Vice-President Mikail Wehpe said there was agreement amongst all delegations that there was grave concern about increase in the number and impact of natural disasters.  Further, there was general consensus that natural disasters needed to be given a higher priority, in light of the increasing vulnerability of populations to natural hazards, particularly those prone to disaster.  It was also noted that the impact of natural disasters did not need to be so enormous as, with contingency planning, early warning, preparedness and rapid response, much damage could be mitigated.

The summary capped three days of debate and discussions on the coordination efforts of the United Nations, its specialized agencies, and other international and non-governmental organizations in areas of the world requiring humanitarian assistance because of natural disaster or armed conflict.

Kenzo Oshima, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, said it was clear that efforts had to be increased in response to natural disasters, especially in developing countries, and he would work closely with relevant agencies to augment and invigorate the necessary action in this vital area.  He would work to develop standardized principles for emergency response, including in the area of search and rescue, and would explore with Member States whether such activities should be incorporated into a legal framework.

Ruud Lubbers, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said the agency's understanding of partnership was broad and inclusive, and while it worked most extensively with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

(OCHA), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), it also coordinated its activities with the Red Cross, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the European Commission, regional and bilateral donors, the International Labour Office (ILO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Other speakers referred, among other things, to the situation of the people in Afghanistan who were living under the Taliban regime, the violence in the Middle East, the armed conflict in Angola, and other challenges facing the humanitarian community.

Participating in the debate were representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Afghanistan; the Syrian Arab Republic; Cuba; the International Organization for Migration (IOM); Angola; Bulgaria; and Sudan.

The Council will meet on Monday, 16 July at 9:30 a.m. to start its high-level segment, which is devoted to Africa this year.  Secretary-General Kofi Annan will open the meeting.

Statements

RUUD LUBBERS, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said the agency's understanding of partnership was broad and inclusive, and while it worked most extensively with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), it also coordinated its activities with the Red Cross, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the European Commission, regional and bilateral donors, the International Labour Office (ILO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).  The UNHCR's most important partners were refugees; it partnered with refugees to empower them and, when empowered, they became the agency's most useful partners in searching for durable solutions.

Internal displacement was an issue of growing importance, Mr. Lubbers said, and UNHCR was a willing partner when its involvement made sense and donors came forward with the necessary resources.  But it did not see itself as the sole or even as the main actor.  The dimensions and complexity of internal displacement meant the humanitarian community could only have an impact by working together in a coordinated manner, and UNHCR endorsed the Secretary-General’s recommendation to establish within OCHA a non-operational unit on internally displaced persons.

The UNHCR had taken a number of steps to provide its staff with better protection, Mr. Lubbers said, and it supported the enhancement of the UNSECOORD, the UN security mechanism.  But the increased UNSECOORD expenditures called for were not foreseen in UNHCR's budget, and unless additional funds were forthcoming, it would be forced to make uncomfortable and unfair trade-offs between protecting and assisting refugees and ensuring the security of its staff.   Expressions of sympathy for the deaths of colleagues meant little when the resources needed to improve security were not forthcoming, and while the Consolidated Appeals process called for greater inter-agency coordination on security matters, a coordinated response was needed from the donor community to pay for it.

UNHCR was also working to improve the transition from emergency responses to development efforts, Mr. Lubbers said, and it believed the concept of "development" applied to refugees.  The transition "gap" remained very much a reality.  Part of the problem was that development programmes emphasized ownership by recipient Governments, and Governments were naturally disinclined to bring refugees within development planning, as they were not part of their political constituencies.

NILS ARNE KASTBERG, of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said the four mechanisms that were detailed in resolution 46/182 of 19991 -- the Emergency Relief Coordinator; the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the Central Emergency Revolving Fund, and the Consolidated Appeals process (CAP) -- were used effectively by UNICEF.  But 10 years later, the situation had grown more dire.  There were child soldiers, and children being used as mercenaries.  There was continued proliferation of small arms.  There was now talk about making education part of the humanitarian response.  There was talk about access to those with special needs.  These would be the topics for the next several years.  The Emergency Relief Coordinator had made proposals that were important, including changes to the Central Emergency Revolving Fund.

In a 1995 ECOSOC resolution, the Council had decided to strengthen the institutional capacity so that there would be better coordination.  The nature of conflict was changing, and this needed to become a priority in relief operations.  But there needed to be a quantum leap forward.  The High Commissioner for Refugees had talked about the need to cut staff.  The effort given to the international community 10 years ago was being implemented, but everybody needed to be part of this, advocacy was needed and contributions were needed. 

OMAR BAKHET, of the Emergency Response Division of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said the agency had begun to implement a strategy document on crisis and post-conflict situations, and over the course of the last year had placed much emphasis on reviewing the challenges of transition and the gap in linking relief to development.  A Transition Recovery Team (TRT) concept was being developed; the main activities of such teams would be the formulation of comprehensive early recovery frameworks, support to strategic and operational coordination arrangements, and consolidation of an effective resource mobilization strategy.  Earlier this year a pilot TRT had been dispatched to Gujarat, India, following a devastating earthquake, and it had worked with a consortium of local non-governmental organizations, local authorities and international financial institutions in planning a rehabilitation process.  Progress had been made, but the TRT concept needed further refinements and required coordination and alignment with the efforts of other agencies.

The UNDP also was mainstreaming various dimensions of development into conflict prevention and peace-building projects through its small-arms reduction programme, mine-action programme, increased collaboration with UNAIDS, and by ensuring that gender considerations were incorporated into these programmes.  The agency also was working to strengthen regional, national and local capacities in natural disaster prevention, preparedness, mitigation and recovery, including through support to over 50 programmes at country level in all regions; many of these programmes also focused on communities and local authorities.

HUMAYUN TANDAR (Afghanistan) said not all disasters were natural or predictable.  The Afghan people were victims of a prolonged armed conflict which went back 25 years.  This had been imposed on them by foreign powers.  More than 1.5 million people had been killed, and there were several hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons.  There was also a massive drought, and the threat of famine.  Life had no value for the Taliban, an armed militia.  They planned long-term poverty and ignorance for the people there.  They chased people from the villages, and practised a scorched-earth policy.  They were practising sexual apartheid.  And they were practising shameful blackmail of the various humanitarian agencies, including UN operations.  Humanitarian aid workers were constantly threatened.  But the humanitarian workers had not given up their work.

Humanitarian assistance aid for internally displaced persons (IDPs) was limited to a single sack of wheat per family through the difficult winter.  A suggestion had been made about opening an office in Tajikistan, near the border with Afghanistan, so it would be out of the reach and threat of the Taliban.  An end should be put to the war in Afghanistan.  The trouble-maker had to be isolated.  The people only wanted to live in peace.  Maximum pressure should be put on the Government of Pakistan that tolerated the Taliban.

FAYSAL HAMOUI (Syrian Arab Republic) said humanitarian response coordination should be strengthened, while maintaining respect for national sovereignty, and staff security should be improved.  Syria thought it deplorable that there would be no agreed conclusions under the Council's humanitarian segment -- a vice-president's statement, which was comparatively weak, would be used, and Syria hoped such a tactic would not be employed next year.  It was important, even with controversial topics, to discuss them and to do the work necessary to reach consensus.  The international mass media should increase its coverage of humanitarian catastrophes so that greater awareness was raised.

It was true that some actors in conflicts had found that war was more lucrative than peace; this was evidenced by the barbaric and deliberate destruction recently carried out by Israeli forces of dozens of houses owned by Palestinians, and by the destruction of hundreds of hectares of Palestinian agricultural land.  The Israeli policy would make matters worse, as noted recently by the Secretary-General.  The Jewish settlements built in the occupied Syrian Golan were totally unacceptable from a humanitarian point of view, and the Council should take appropriate measures to deter the Israeli Government from continuing its settlement policy.

JORGE FERRER RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said that as early as 1963, Cuba had made its first contribution to humanitarian assistance by sending a health unit to Algeria.  It was too bad that the Council had not been able to adopt agreed conclusions on this segment for the second consecutive year.  The international community should be concerned about the exponential growth of disasters.  These happened time and again to the same countries, most of which were developing countries.  In 1994,

80 per cent of the humanitarian needs were met, but the figure had dropped to

59 per cent by 2000.  That crisis was prompted by the increase of natural disasters, which soon moved to the back pages of the newspapers.  Preparation prevention, early warning, and response time were empty words unless they were accompanied by international cooperation.  The 1991 resolution was still a valid legislative frame.  Such activities had to continue, respecting the sovereign territory of States.  Resolution 55/101, which called for humanitarian assistance to be given in strict adherence to the UN Charter, was also valid.  Cuba was thankful for the assistance that came from international agencies to help mitigate the intense drought in eastern Cuba.

ROBERT G. PAIVA, of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said the UN humanitarian response system had improved over time, from contingency planning to operations to assessment, and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee was a significant component of the overall coordination effort.  The Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) was far ahead of where it was even a few years ago in presenting a comprehensive picture of the needs of a given situation and the humanitarian community's coordinated plans for dealing with it, so as to improve donors' consideration of their own responses.  The IOM was understandably concerned that despite the investment of so much time and energy and improvements in the CAP process, the response to appeals frequently remained disappointing.

The increasing complexity of emergencies, often compounded by natural disasters, posed a serious challenge, of which the situation of Afghanistan was a telling example.  That country was especially high on IOM's agenda, as IOM had a large role in internally displaced persons' (IDP) camp management as well as in transportation of refugees.  The effects of the conflict had been worsened by drought and loss of traditional occupations through eradication of poppy cultivation.  Other important challenges to the international humanitarian community were in dealing effectively with the post-conflict phase and in battling the spread of HIV/AIDS in humanitarian emergency situations.

ROLANDO FELICIDADES NETO (Angola) said the country continued to experience a serious and alarming humanitarian situation.  About 4.3 million people were being affected by internal conflict and natural disasters.  About 1.2 million internally displaced persons were receiving assistance from various UN operations.  Others were receiving assistance from the Red Cross.  The damage caused by flooding in the southern part of the country had given rise to a large number of homeless people.  There were large needs for shelter and food.  About 15,000 people had been temporarily displaced because of the flooding.  The Government and humanitarian workers estimated there were about 500,000 people who were living in extreme need, but could not be accessed by workers.  Further, there was poor security on the road, bridges had been destroyed, and the airport was at risk.  The rebels had been kidnapping children, and fired missiles at planes that were bringing WFP aid.  This led to a suspension of WFP flights, and had hindered the distribution of food and non-food assistance.

The Government had undertaken several initiatives, including waiving the airport tax for humanitarian planes, and guaranteeing the protection of humanitarian workers and convoys.  The Government was aware that it needed to help those in need, and it was committed to helping humanitarian workers in any way it could.  Angola was very alarmed by the impoverishment of women and children and other vulnerable groups, and it requested the international community to support any initiative to ease their poverty.  Angola supported extending micro-credit programmes to women.  It appealed to the international community to continue in its aid.  It was noted that the amount of pledged funds through the Consolidated Appeals was still low.

NUGROHO WISNUMURTI (Indonesia) said humanitarian response programmes, while following the fundamentals of humanity, neutrality, and impartiality, should also respect the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the equality of all States.  Resources were not always commensurate with needs, and that was a matter of concern not only in the case of responses to CAP appeals but in the case of multilateral assistance programmes.  Special groups such as women and children should also receive strengthened support during humanitarian crises. 

In addition, increased resources were needed for the acquisition by developing countries of the technical means and human resources required to access the advanced technology and globalization characteristic of the modern world.

Indonesia was seriously affected by natural disasters, and over the last few years such events, along with communal conflicts, had uprooted and displaced more than 1 million Indonesians.  Although Indonesia was doing its best and was actively setting up its own prevention programmes, it nevertheless welcomed any international assistance and cooperation offered for the purpose of developing solutions to such difficulties.

ALEXANDER PEYTCHEV (Bulgaria) said continuing reforms in humanitarian response coordination should build on useful past experiences and ongoing activities such as the Fribourg Process, in which Bulgaria was participating.  Effective responses depended both on national capacity and on regional cooperation, and such cooperation was being bolstered in South-East Europe through such efforts as a recent workshop on disaster preparedness and prevention held in Geneva on 26 and 27 June, which had demonstrated the interest of all States in the South-East Europe region in a comprehensive regional strategy for disaster preparedness and prevention.  Furthermore, a Council for Mutual Emergency Preparedness had been established in Sofia on 3 April by four countries of the region.

Bulgaria had also concluded in recent years a series of bilateral agreements for coordinated disaster response and was working on similar agreements with other neighbours.  It was particularly glad to hear yesterday of the positive assessment of cooperation given by its good neighbours, Greece and Turkey.  Bulgaria joined other countries in condemning the recent heinous acts of unacceptable violence against UN and relief personnel in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic.

OMAR BASHIR M. MANIS (Sudan) said the Government supported the programme for the consolidation of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in order for it to better carry out its role in the humanitarian area.  Humanitarian action should respect the principle of sovereignty of States.  Sudan, while expressing its regret that this year's meetings did not come up with agreed conclusions on humanitarian action, hoped it would not become a precedent for forthcoming meetings.  The sanctions imposed by the Security Council proved in many cases that they gave rise to negative effects, from an economic and social standpoint, for the people who lived in those countries.  They were innocent bystanders, and the sanctions compounded their suffering.  It was essential to revise the situation with regard to sanctions.

Sudan appreciated the content of the Secretary-General's report which suggested moving from response and reaction to prevention when dealing with natural disaster.  Sudan was convinced that prevention could lead to long-term development.  It suggested a strengthening of international cooperation between the UN and regional and subregional organizations.  It was closely following the heroic action of United Nations employees in circumstances that were extremely complicated.  At the same time, it wanted to express its grave concern about attacks on humanitarian workers.  Most crimes committed against them were carried out by rebel movements, and non-Government parties.  It was regrettable that the failure to end those crimes encouraged these groups to continue carrying them out.  What was needed was a commitment to identify the aggressors and to identify them in public, so that they could be tried as war criminals.

KENZO OSHIMA, Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the debate under the humanitarian segment had been thoughtful and thorough.  He would consult with Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) members as to how the Committee could provide informal briefings for Council members at least twice a year, and would attempt as well to brief countries on major crises as they occurred.  It also was clear that efforts had to be increased in response to natural disasters, especially in developing countries, and he would work closely with relevant agencies to augment and invigorate the necessary action in this vital area.  He would work to develop standardized principles for emergency response, including in the area of search and rescue, and would explore with member States whether such activities should be incorporated into a legal framework.

He looked forward to working closely with partnership agencies in the establishment of a small unit within the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to deal with issues related to internally displaced persons, Mr. Oshima said, and he would focus more attention on matters related to vulnerable groups.  As for staff security, that had to be given attention, and he hoped forthcoming debate within the General Assembly would result in an enhanced staff-protection system.  The question of resources had to be addressed -- both in terms of the overall level of funding and the lack of balance in funding.  He proposed to launch a review and analysis of funding patterns to determine the reasons behind the current funding imbalance and to explore how more effective funding mechanisms could be established, and how such funding could effectively be used to support the transition from emergency response to development.

The summary of VICE-PRESIDENT MIKAIL WEHPE of debate under the Council's Humanitarian Segment said among other things that many of the delegations had referred to the importance of ECOSOC in providing guidance to the United Nations on the coordination of humanitarian assistance and maintaining separate segments.  Many delegations expressed the view that they would have preferred to see agreed conclusions this year.  They had stressed that this should not set a precedent and stated that they looked forward to formulating agreed conclusions in 2002.

The summary expressed grave concern about the serious lack of funding for the United Nations humanitarian activities, and agreed that more support should be given to the Consolidated Appeals Process.  Some delegations argued that the process should be more inclusive and should involve all humanitarian actors.  Many delegations noted with concern the uneven level of funding between crises in different geographic locations, with some pointing out the corollary between lack of funding and lack of attention or media interest on the world scene; some delegations also referred to the imbalance in funding among sectors and pointed out the impact of the decline in multilateral funding, including the limits it placed on programme delivery and coordination; many delegations, whilst noting that funding through bilateral and other means had increased, stated that multilateral funding should not diminish; most delegations acknowledged that there had been important improvements to the preparation and presentation of the Consolidated Appeals Process, but stressed that more was required, particularly in the areas of strategic planning, prioritization and monitoring; there was also significant emphasis on incorporating the long-term perspective into planning for and responding to humanitarian crises; the importance of sustaining humanitarian gains by having mechanisms for funding the smooth transition from relief to development was repeatedly stressed; in a similar vein, even whilst urging increased support for emergency humanitarian assistance, several delegations emphasized that this should not be at the expense of or drawn from development funds.

Many delegations urged that positive consideration should be given to the Secretary-General's recommendations that the use of the Central Emergency Revolving Fund be expanded to include assistance for natural disasters, protracted emergencies and for staff security.

All delegations were gravely preoccupied with the increase in number and impact of natural disasters; there was general consensus that natural disasters needed to be given a higher priority, in light of the increasing vulnerability of populations to natural hazards, particularly those prone to disaster; it was frequently noted that the impact of natural disasters did not need to be so enormous as, with contingency planning, early warning, preparedness and rapid response, much damage could be mitigated; several delegations underlined the link between poverty and lack of development and the overwhelming damage caused by the majority of today's disasters.

Several delegations welcomed the assistance provided by the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) teams and Regional Disaster Advisers and supported the expansion of these two mechanisms, based on recent lessons learned.

Many delegations commented on the ongoing discussions among Member States aimed at the development of a legal framework for international urban search and rescue operations.

All delegations reiterated the importance of gaining access to vulnerable populations to provide humanitarian assistance, with many noting that this should be done in the context of the principles of neutrality, impartiality and humanity; there was consensus on the fact that the plight of internally displaced persons represented one of the major humanitarian issues and that the scale of this problem was increasing; a few delegations noted that the numbers of internally displaced were almost double those of refugees; on the question of IDPs, all delegations recognized and emphasized that the primary responsibility rested with the State concerned but it was also noted that many internal displacement crises called for the assistance of the international humanitarian community; many delegations expressed support for the establishment of a small non-operational unit within OCHA; all delegations welcomed the attention being paid to emergency assistance to groups with special needs; many delegations emphasized that these

groups should not just be seen as vulnerable, but also in terms of their potential to contribute to the effective and targeted delivery of humanitarian assistance and other recovery processes; in particular, delegations expressed strong support for the gender dimension of humanitarian assistance and incorporating the gender perspective into all activities; they highlighted the importance of the role of women in contributing to peace promotion, security and human rights and asked that more support be given to women's groups engaged in these activities.

All delegations noted that children were the main victims of all emergencies; there was particular concern expressed about children in conflict, including with respect to the increasing numbers of child soldiers and sexual violence against girls; some delegations expressed their concern about the humanitarian situation for the Arab peoples in the occupied territories, and stressed the importance of strict adherence to the provisions of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions in addressing the needs of the affected populations; and all delegations attached enormous importance to the safety and security of humanitarian staff.

The Vice-President cited among areas of broad consensus and support the value and significance of the guiding principles as laid down in General Assembly resolution 46/182, and support for strengthening of the tools and mechanisms established therein.  He said members of the Council had highlighted the need to increase national and regional capacities for preparing for and responding to natural disasters, particularly in the areas of early warning systems, contingency planning, response mechanisms and disaster reduction and mitigation; and he noted that there was a strong emphasis on the primary responsibility of the State concerned to protect and assist civilian populations, particularly the vulnerable and displaced, and the humanitarian workers engaged in supporting those efforts.  The importance of access was stressed.

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