Economic and Social Council ADOPTS RESOLUTIONS ON STRENGTHENING COORDINATION

OF United Nations EMERGENCY HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE, DECENT WORK FOR ALL

Concludes Humanitarian Affairs Segment after General Discussion

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 17 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) this afternoon adopted a resolution under its humanitarian affairs segment on strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations and another under its coordination segment on the role of the United Nations in providing full and productive employment and decent work for all.

In the resolution on strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations, ECOSOC requested the relevant United Nations organizations to continue to engage systematically with relevant authorities and organizations at the regional and national levels to prepare for and respond to humanitarian emergencies.  It urged Member States to prepare and update disaster preparedness plans at all levels and to conduct regular disaster preparedness exercises, and encouraged the international community and relevant United Nations entities, within their respective mandates, to support, upon request, national efforts in this regard.  It requested the Secretary-General to review and report, in consultation with Member States, on the use of military assets for disaster relief with the aim of improving the predictability and use of these assets, based on humanitarian principles.

In the resolution on the role of the United Nations system in providing full and productive employment and decent work for all, ECOSOC called on the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies to assess and adopt in their action plans the three-phased approach to promote the goals of full employment and decent work for all.  It requested the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies to coordinate their employment and decent work-related activities and programmes in order to promote coherent and mutually supporting multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approaches.  It also requested the Secretary-General to encourage the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to review the integration and implementation of the policies and plans to achieve the goals of productive employment and decent work for all, including women and youth.

John Holmes, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said in concluding remarks that the work for humanitarians had become more difficult and unsafe nowadays.  The resolution just adopted reflected a year of continued progress.  It also acknowledged the effort to make the response to humanitarian needs faster.  But there was a huge distance still to travel.  The success of the resolution would then be measured by the lives saved.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Council held a general discussion under its humanitarian affairs segment during which speakers said that humanitarian needs, particularly associated with natural disasters, were on the rise due to both an increased vulnerability to disasters, and to the effects of climate change.  The future sustainability of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) was very important, and as such, more innovative measures were needed to widen the donor base.  Gender mainstreaming must be promoted in humanitarian responses and in interagency coordination, speakers said, adding that it was vital that every humanitarian agency adopted a gender perspective in each stage of the humanitarian assistance process, from planning and logistical preparation to responding to emergencies on the ground.  The work of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and other humanitarian organizations in their efforts to mitigate the sufferings of millions of people in need of humanitarian assistance was commended, and there was concern that in many instances humanitarian personnel worked in insecure and difficult conditions.  Some speakers said that the United Nations had a valuable role to play in bringing about disaster risk reduction, through, inter alia, bringing prevention, mitigation and preparedness to the fore of the development agenda by advocacy, policy dialogue, technical advice and capacity building initiatives.

In the course of the general discussion, representatives of the following States took the floor: Mexico, Sudan, Israel, El Salvador, Tanzania, Venezuela, Bolivia, Republic of Korea, Algeria, Colombia, Argentina, Barbados and Malawi.  Representatives of the following organizations also took the floor: International Federation of the Red Crescent and Red Crescent Societies, Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Economic Community of West African States, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations Children's Fund and International Organization for Migration.

ECOSOC will next meet on Thursday, 19 June, at 10 a.m., when it will begin its consideration of its agenda items on the implementation of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits and on the implementation of General Assembly resolutions 50/227, 52/12B 57/270B and 60/265 under its general segment.

Resolution Adopted at Conclusion of Humanitarian Segment

In a resolution on strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations (E/2007/L.15), adopted without a vote, the Economic and Social Council, among other things, requests the relevant United Nations organizations to continue to engage systematically with relevant authorities and organizations at the regional and national levels to prepare for and respond to humanitarian emergencies, and invites Member States to support, as appropriate, those efforts; urges Member States to prepare and update disaster preparedness plans at all levels and to conduct regular disaster preparedness exercises, and encourages the international community and relevant United Nations entities, within their respective mandates, to support, upon request, national efforts in this regard; requests the Secretary-General to review and report, in consultation with Member States, on the use of military assets for disaster relief with the aim of improving the predictability and use of these assets, based on humanitarian principles; requests the Secretary-General to encourage the relevant organizations of the United Nations system to continue to identify and use, as appropriate and available, local resources and expertise from within the affected country and/or its neighbours in response to humanitarian needs; encourages Member States, relevant humanitarian organizations and non-governmental organizations to provide timely and accurate information on contributions and the use of humanitarian funds through the financial tracking service; invites Member States to make contributions to humanitarian funding mechanisms, including consolidated and flash appeals, the Central Emergency Response Fund and other funds, recognizing the importance of providing humanitarian assistance in a manner that is flexible, predictable and, where possible, multi-year and additional, taking note of chronically under funded emergencies; and requests the Secretary-General to reflect the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the present resolution in his next report to the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly on the strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations.

Resolution Adopted under Coordination Segment

In a resolution on the role of the United Nations system in providing full and productive employment and decent work for all (E/2007/L.14), adopted without a vote, the Economic and Social Council, among other things, calls on the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies to assess and adopt, as appropriate within their respective mandates, in their action plans the three-phased approach to promote the goals of full employment and decent work for all presented in the report of the Secretary-General entitled “The role of the United Nations system in promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all”; requests the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies, as appropriate within their respective mandates, to coordinate their employment and decent work-related activities and programmes in order to promote coherent and mutually supporting multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approaches, including approaches on mainstreaming gender; also requests the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies, including non-resident agencies, and invites the international financial institutions, as appropriate within their existing mandates, to promote synergies and strategic collaboration, involving relevant stakeholders, including Governments and representatives of employers and workers, for the formulation and delivery of specific outcomes related to full and productive employment and decent work goals at the country level in support of national strategies and programmes, including the decent work country programmes driven by the International Labour Organization; and requests the Secretary-General, in his capacity as the Chairman of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination, to encourage the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates, to review the integration and implementation of the policies and plans to achieve the goals of productive employment and decent work for all, including women and youth, and in this context requests that they be brought to the attention of Member States and the relevant governing bodies of United Nations organizations.

General Debate on Special Economic, Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Assistance

MABEL GOMEZ OLIVER ( Mexico) said the progress that the United Nations had made in reforming the multilateral system for humanitarian assistance was welcomed, in particular, among others, the strengthening of mechanisms overseeing resources.  The creation of the Central Emergency Response Fund was essential in this field, and just two years after its establishment, results had reached expectations.  The process of reform had started after many commitments, and there were many challenges ahead.  It was in this respect that international and inter-agency coordination should be more effective.  In this regard, Mexico was positively assessing the efforts of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and other relevant actors with regards to the cluster approach, and was ready to discuss this matter in the forthcoming General Assembly.

The division of labour between the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly had no doubt contributed to the Council’s focus on the specific current challenges.  While the Council had already dealt with adopting mandates to strengthen the action for humanitarian affairs in fundamental aspects such as drinking water and shelter, there were still many important issues that remained to be dealt with, such as epidemics, preventable diseases, and appropriate training for United Nations staff on the violence that women and children faced in many areas.  Mexico welcomed that the draft resolution that would be adopted in the context of this segment included a request to the Secretary-General to produce a report on the inclusion of the gender perspective in United Nations humanitarian agencies.

NADIA MOHAMED K. OSMAN ( Sudan) said that Sudan valued the statement made by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, this morning.  Today’s world was facing increased natural disasters.  Therefore, the coordination actions in this field also needed to increase.  Some disasters were due to climate change.  Sudan was grateful for the humanitarian assistance extended to it by the international community.  Sudan had a unique experience in humanitarian matters.  In March 2007, Sudan signed a joint statement where it agreed to follow up on the implementation of operations.  Regular visits were being paid to Darfur.  The cooperation and coordination of Sudan with its partners had contributed to a drop in the mortality rates and an improvement in the health and nutrition standards.  Sudan urged all to take into account the positive steps taken.  Yet, some challenges remained.

Sudan called upon the international community to urge the non-signatories to sign the peace treaty.  The delegation wished to stress the importance of respecting neutrality and territorial unity.  While Sudan welcomed efforts to coordinate actions at the regional level, and underlined that coordination with the national institutions must also be taken into account.  Cost and performance evaluation had to be undertaken.  It was important to give priority to national capability.  Stressing food aid had a negative impact on the national economy.  The shift from humanitarian assistance to development should be undertaken rapidly.  Sudan would like to benefit from the experience of other countries.

TIBOR SHALEV-SCHLOSSER ( Israel) said that recent events had taught the international community that humanitarian disasters, whether natural or man-made, required a rapid, flexible and targeted response.  The cluster approach was supported as a framework through which to deliver a more efficient response to humanitarian disasters.  When disasters struck, the first few days were often the most critical for life-saving activities.  Recent humanitarian disasters had emphasised the critical role that military actors could play in partnering with civilian actors in responding to emergencies.  Military actors, who placed a premium on preparedness and the capacity for rapid deployment, were a resource that could not be overlooked in the quest to improve the international community’s response to humanitarian crises.  Nevertheless, they were but one component of a multi-faceted approach that should include United Nations agencies as well as non-governmental organizations.

All parties to a conflict should ensure respect for the security and access of humanitarian workers, and the international community should do everything possible to prevent attacks on the latter.  There was an occasionally delicate balance required between allowing humanitarian access to populations in need and a State’s obligation to ensure the security needs of its citizens in a climate of imminent threat.  The progress of the Central Emergency Response Fund to date in fulfilling its objectives was noted with interest.

BYRON FERNANDO LARIOS LOPEZ ( El Salvador) said El Salvador was happy to be actively participating in the humanitarian segment.  El Salvador was concerned about the increasing scale and number of natural disasters.  Therefore, it became more necessary to strengthen national capacity to reduce social exclusion and promote social cohesion, including access to education, basic infrastructure and sanitation, inter alia.  Bearing in mind the commitments from the action plan, El Salvador had been implementing a strategy to reduce the risks from natural disasters.  In the regional system, the country had given greater care to the population living near riverbeds to minimize the risks occurring in the rainy season.

There was a network of workers in El Salvador giving assistance to the people, especially when the volcanic activity was increasing in the country.  El Salvador believed that the United Nations should foster private insurance coverage and give assistance in case of natural disasters.  A more equitable distribution among all sectors was important.  The coordinator for emergency assistance should strengthen its efforts in order to promote the design of extraordinary funding.

MATERN Y.C. LUMBANGA ( Tanzania) said Tanzania expected the panel discussions for this year to provide experiences and ideas for further strengthening the delivery of humanitarian assistance.  Tanzania was deeply concerned over the rise of armed conflicts and the continued suffering of civilians, particularly women and children.  Such conflicts continued to put stress on the limited resources available for humanitarian assistance.  However, it was encouraging that there were positive developments in several other long-standing emergencies.  The peace processes in the Great Lakes Region were of particular interest for Tanzania.  With regards to the use of military assets in natural disasters, the Government of Tanzania noted the usefulness of such assets in emergencies; however, it should be demand-driven, cost-effective, at the Government’s request, and be within the guidelines for their use.

Tanzania commended the work of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and other humanitarian organizations in their efforts to mitigate the suffering of millions of people in need of humanitarian assistance, and it was concerned that in many instances humanitarian personnel worked in insecure and difficult conditions.  There should be safe and unhindered access of humanitarian personnel and delivery of humanitarian supplies and equipment.  Humanitarian personnel should adhere to the principles of humanitarian assistance in the delivery of their work.  The cluster system, by adequately coordinating humanitarian actors, could lead to cost-effectiveness, avoid duplication, and increase accountability of the humanitarian response, and the lead agencies should use the cluster approach to facilitate the process.

JOSE LUIS BETTANCOURT ( Venezuela) said that Venezuela fully endorsed the statement made by Pakistan on behalf of the G77 and China.  Venezuela attached great importance to the subject of humanitarian relief in disasters.  There must be a better awareness for the problems that the world was facing.  All actors should be involved, not only governments but also organizations related to this subject.  There was no excuse.  The international community could count on Venezuela as a natural ally.  Venezuela was according high importance to the inclusion of every actor of the society in the country.  This was done through raising awareness in the community council.  There was a task force established for disaster mitigation.  Financial support had been given to help prevent disaster and offer relief afterwards.

Venezuela was giving support to the displaced Lebanese people after the war of last summer, he said.  An organization was working on the monitoring of disaster risk and strengthening the early warning.  Venezuela was also supporting regional and sub regional organizations.  The country considered it important to appeal to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to maintain independence with regard to the appeal of assistance.  Venezuela wanted to contribute to OCHA with its task force.  Venezuela reiterated its appeal concerning the disbursement of the funds for humanitarian assistance.  The country wanted to invite the secretariat of ECOSOC and OCHA to visit the stand of the task force in the Palais.

FRANKLIN CONDORI-CHALLCO ( Bolivia) said that important progress had been made to provide humanitarian assistance around the world, and Bolivia shared and would always respect neutrality and humanitarian principles in giving assistance.  The signs of solidarity and assistance in the last two years had been appreciated as they had never been before by Bolivia, which wished to thank all those who had helped it.  Disaster prevention activities were necessary to provide coordination, as there was a need to implement the HUGO platform.  Despite constant threats of natural disasters, there was also a need to reduce social and institutional vulnerabilities, and thus coordination and prevention activities should be enhanced.  Coordination challenges for appropriate humanitarian assistance should be improved.

There should be enhanced transparency and better management of resources in order to access extra-financial assistance, especially for post-disaster relief and rehabilitation.  All agencies, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Central Emergency Response Fund should come forward and help Bolivia, as it was in a situation of total disorganisation which meant it could not provide response in the situation of disaster.  With the support of humanitarian agencies, Bolivia would be able to change and make progress.  There had been a deterioration of living conditions, migrations from rural to urban areas which were reducing production abilities and capabilities, and there was little investment in development.  There was a need for better coordination with international agencies.  The politicisation of humanitarian activities should be avoided.

YUN HYUN-SOO ( Republic of Korea) said that the Republic of Korea hoped that Japan would overcome the effects of the recent earthquake and typhoon as soon as possible.  The Republic of Korea wanted to share the main points of discussion at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Donor Support Group (ODSG) Partnership Meeting, which was held last month in Seoul.  The meeting’s participants shared the view that significant trends in the international system of humanitarian assistance included increased urbanization, increasingly severe natural disasters, climate change and the growing threat of pandemics.  The current challenges to the system such as providing access to humanitarian assistance at the onset of crises, ensuring the security of civilians and humanitarian workers, and improving civil-military coordination was also noted there.  The Republic of Korea wanted to highlight two key issues: needs assessment and gender mainstreaming.  The Republic of Korea believed that it was crucial to distribute funding and assistance based on needs.

This approach was only possible if needs assessments were provided, he said.  Another factor to consider was the tendency to pay attention to those crises that were covered by the mass media, while less publicized emergencies were often chronically under-funded.  The Republic of Korea stressed that gender mainstreaming must be promoted in humanitarian responses and in interagency coordination.  Women were more vulnerable than men in emergency situations, and they accounted for the majority of victims in emergencies.  In light of these realities, it was vital that every humanitarian agency adopted a gender perspective in each stage of the humanitarian assistance process, from planning and logistical preparation to responding to emergencies on the ground.

NOUREDDINE BENFREHA ( Algeria) said this theme of the humanitarian segment was an opportunity to examine the new challenges of humanitarian assistance in a context of an increase of complex emergencies resulting from armed conflicts and natural disasters, as well as the best ways and means of managing and meeting needs for humanitarian assistance.  The multiplication of challenges in humanitarian assistance required a strengthening of the coordination of the efforts of the United Nations system with regards to humanitarian aid.   All responses to humanitarian emergencies should be guided by the guiding principles of neutrality, humanity, impartiality and independence.  However, management of humanitarian assistance continued to give rise to situations in which the principles of humanitarian action were put to the test.

Humanitarian assistance should be part of a long-term approach, through better management of coordination of efforts to reconstruction and development.  In the reconstruction phase, through a flexible process of humanitarian assistance, there should be a balance between the needs of States and their management capacities, and donor offers.  The United Nations competent bodies and non-governmental organizations in the humanitarian field should step up their cooperation and coordination with national and regional bodies in order to accelerate and support activities for humanitarian assistance.  It was essential to continue to work on developing synergies between the various organizations and to take into account the close linkage between humanitarian assistance and human rights, in which gender equality was only one element.

CLEMENCIA FORERO UCROS ( Colombia) said Colombia appreciated the report of the Secretary-General on strengthening coordination for humanitarian disaster relief.  It associated itself with the statement made yesterday by Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77.  Colombia understood the need for strengthening the interagency coordination for humanitarian aid.  Humanitarian assistance should be given in conjunction with the national authorities of the affected countries.  Coordination and the rationalisation of efforts and resources were essential factors in this equation.  It was therefore important that interagency coordination used national capacity and strengthened the joint work of entities, bearing in mind the priorities at the national level of the population in need.  Colombia had defined three priority areas in which it was working in a coordinated way with the United Nations system in the field, such as complying with the Millennium Development Goals, protecting the environment, and strengthening the Government.

Colombia was paying special attention to the displaced populations in the country.  The Government received therefore aid from the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme and other organizations.  The efforts of all those organizations were coordinated and integrated.  There was an agency leading the coordination for displaced persons.  Colombia was trying to bring about the social and economic integration of displaced persons.  It was necessary to move from the assistance approach to the development approach.  There must be productive elements.  Economic stabilization and cooperation were vital factors to reintegrate displaced people in an orderly and speedy way.

ALICIA DE HOZ ( Argentina) said Argentina supported the work being carried out by the United Nations in the humanitarian field, and there should be full access for humanitarian staff to needy populations under the guidance of the humanitarian principles that should guide the assistance.  The growing incidence of natural disasters and their effect on populations required further coordination in order to reduce risk.  There should be strengthening of preparedness for natural disasters.  The incidence and seriousness of natural disasters were increasing, often due to climate change.  It was necessary to coordinate agendas in order to reduce risk, and to avoid overlapping in activities which would make aid very incoherent.  Structures should remain coordinated through the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and there should be a global planning process in which all the international community could participate.

There should be eradication of hunger, reduction of poverty, and cooperation during disasters to mitigate these phenomenon and prevent their repetition.  It was important to pay attention to the humanitarian cause and to protect the staff working in this area, as they acted selflessly in all corners of the world.

SELWIN HART ( Barbados) said that as a small island developing state located in a region particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, Barbados attached the highest importance to the theme of this year’s segment.  With the recent scientific evidence on climate change, including the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Caribbean region would experience stronger and more destructive hurricanes and other extreme weather events over the coming decades.  Therefore ensuring more predictable, coordinated and timely responses by the international community to natural disasters was a regional priority.  Barbados fully supported efforts to improve the timeliness of disbursements by the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) as contained in the Secretary-General’s report.  Barbados further believed that consideration should be given to providing access to the CERF to other entities, other than the United Nations agencies.

In order to ensure greater familiarity and to build awareness among emergency management stakeholders on United Nations humanitarian reform issues and the operation of the CERF, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency was seeking to organize a regional forum, he said.  The United Nations Member States were called upon to support this Regional Humanitarian Reform Awareness Forum in the Caribbean, scheduled for December 2007.  Barbados called for the wider dissemination and promotion of the Oslo Guidelines and fully supported the recommendation of the Secretary-General that Member States should consider integrating the guidelines on the use of military and civilian defence assets for natural disaster relief into national preparedness plans.

LILIAN D. NG’OMA ( Malawi) said disasters were a major source of shock to an economy and to vulnerable people.  Climate change was affecting Malawi in ways that had yet to be understood - disasters had increased over the past decade, mirroring the global trend.  These events were no longer occasional.  Many lessons could be and had been learnt from the 2004 tsunami, including the benefits of stronger partnerships between Governments, donors and civil society, the critical importance of accountability processes, and most importantly, that humanitarian programmes registered much success when Government took up leadership and ownership of programmes.

The future sustainability of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) was very important, and as such, more innovative measures were needed to widen the donor base.  Strengthening the CERF Secretariat should also be a priority, and lack of direct access by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to the CERF was an issue that should be seriously examined in view of the critical role of NGOs in the delivery of humanitarian assistance to populations in need.  The United Nations had a valuable role to play in bringing disaster risk reduction, through, inter alia, bringing prevention, mitigation and preparedness to the fore of the development agenda by advocacy, policy dialogue, technical advice and capacity building initiatives.  Disaster risk could only be minimised, and not entirely eliminated; the international community should continue to build the capacity of the United Nations system and the regional, national and district level authorities to improve emergency management and response systems and to ensure effective humanitarian response.

ENCHO GOSPODINOV, of International Federation of the Red Crescent and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said that there were many good reasons for focusing on needs-based humanitarian assistance.  Evidence showed that humanitarian need, particularly associated with natural disasters, were on the rise due to both an increased vulnerability to disasters, and to the effects of climate change.  The climate centre in The Hague was central to the analysis of the humanitarian consequences of environmental hazards including climate change.  IFRC also noted the links between hydro-meteorological disasters and threats to public health, such as cholera and malaria.  The surge of localised disasters, far from the headlines and the attention of the international community, would increasingly require vulnerable people to respond to their own needs.  This was why IFRC continued to place such stress on integrating preparedness, response and recovery and why it continually said there must be a real and purposeful attention to local capacity building.

IFRC welcomed United Nations efforts to develop partnerships, whether in humanitarian assistance or development, he said.  In these partnerships, IFRC continued to stress the importance of community-based work.  The assessment of Africa’s immediate humanitarian needs because of HIV/AIDS led the IFRC earlier this year to issue an appeal for $ 250 million for the work it did at the community level, including through the Global Partnership, to help cope with this threat.  While working closely with the United Nations system in regard to the Central Appeals Process, the IFRC maintained its own appeal mechanism, designed to provide support to the Red Cross and Red Crescent Society disaster response mandate, as defined by each Society’s role as auxiliary to the public authorities in the humanitarian field.

MARIE-THERESE PICTET-ALTHANN of Sovereign Military Order of Malta said in his report on strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance the Secretary-General had highlighted the necessity of broadening humanitarian partnerships, and, with full respect of their independence and neutrality, invited all relevant organizations to coordinate their work.  Mobilising local people and building on existing capacities enhanced the effectiveness of needs-based humanitarian assistance.  The Sovereign Military Order of Malta shared the Secretary-General’s deep concern with regard to security problems faced by aid workers in several parts of the world, and supported his appeal to Governments to facilitate the safe and unhindered access of humanitarian personnel to populations whose survival was at risk, in accordance with international humanitarian law.

On the dramatic subject of gender-based violence in humanitarian emergencies, the Relief Coordinator was thanked for drawing special attention to the extremely worrying upward trend in the numbers of victims of sexual violence.  With regards to the Central Emergency Response Fund, it had been noted that consideration was being given to allocating funds to non-United Nations actors.  Such direct contributions to independent aid agencies would no doubt strengthen the humanitarian response system and it was therefore interesting to see further developments in this approach.

HENRIETTA DIDIGU, of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), said that ECOWAS wanted to congratulate Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes for his work.  The theme of the humanitarian affairs segment was very important for ECOWAS.  At the same time, there was a need to strengthen the role of the national mechanisms and ECOWAS had established the emergency response strategy team.  ECOWAS was convinced that the strategies put in place such as the Central Emergency Response Fund and the cluster approach would go a long way in strengthening the coordination of humanitarian assistance.  ECOWAS had adopted a policy at the sub regional level.  It was delighted that it had been given the opportunity to participate in this session and was looking forward to a vibrant partnership with United Nations organizations in the field of humanitarian relief.

DANIEL ENDRES, of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said the humanitarian reform process and the related cluster approach had led to a more comprehensive, predictable, accountable and coordinated response to natural disasters and situations of internal displacement due to conflict.  UNHCR supported the view of many actors, that the cluster approach now needed to be evaluated, and that its formal activation should continue to be based on requests from country-based actors, who were best placed to identify gaps in the humanitarian response.  Country-based actors were also best placed to assess what clusters might be needed to full such gaps, whether sufficient resources could be brought to bear, and whether the operational environment was conducive to effective implementation.

The rapid and direct deployment of civil defence and military capacity was often critical in successfully addressing humanitarian crises, especially in large-scale disasters and complex emergencies.  As with all forms of humanitarian assistance, military and civil defence support should be appropriate to the size, scale, and specific requirements of the emergency, and should be provided with the consent of the affected Government.  UNHCR continued to highly value the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), supported more active engagement of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with the CERF, and advocated obtaining better involvement of both national and international NGOs in each phase of the CERF process as a way of enhancing stronger partnership with them.  Despite progress, the humanitarian community remained challenged by limited access, security restrictions and insufficient resources.  Overcoming these challenges was imperative to ensure an effective collective response.

DANIEL TOOLE, of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said that UNICEF wanted to echo the comments of previous speakers.  It welcomed the emphasis placed on humanitarian access and humanitarian-needs based financing in the main report as these were critical to ensuring timely and effective response to meet the needs of those most affected by crises.  In natural disasters, the ability to use military resources when available and in accordance with agreed guidelines, including approval by the host country, could provide much needed support to scaling up humanitarian assistance.  UNICEF remained committed to the concept of more effective and strengthened leadership and response in all humanitarian sectors.  The cluster approach would enable the organization to support capacity building programmes for national authorities and local and national organizations, thereby strengthening their ability to provide humanitarian assistance in times of crises.

Demonstration of results for beneficiaries must remain the cornerstone of the efforts.  There was a need to ensure that when appointing the Resident Coordinators, consideration was given to the specific skills and experiences required to address the humanitarian situation and/or to fulfil humanitarian coordination functions.  UNICEF was committed to implementing basic partnership principles outlined by the Global Humanitarian Partnerships.  As stated in the Oslo guidelines, contributions of military assets should be provided in addition to funds earmarked for humanitarian relief assistance and with strict adherence to these key humanitarian principles such as neutrality and impartiality, while ensuring that military assets were used only as a last resort, when no civilian alternatives were readily available.

ANKE STRAUSS, of International Organization for Migration (IOM), said strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance was a topic intrinsically characterised by collaboration and partnership with a broad range of humanitarian actors, particularly in the areas most relevant to IOM’s operational work: situations of population displacement and sudden population movements.  2006 had been a year of implementation of the humanitarian reform programme in all its sectors, and IOM had played its part in this reform process.  Inter-agency collaboration in the implementation of the cluster approach within the Inter-agency Standing Committee was already giving preliminary indications of the opportunities that lay ahead for improved coordination and coherence if this approach was followed consistently by all partners.

While still in its early stages, the cluster approach had provided an improved, more collaborative inter-agency framework, stimulating a more responsive, timely and effective mechanism both at the global and country levels.  With the globalisation of information, which ensured dissemination of news around the globe within minutes, public expectation continued to grow that the humanitarian response was also instant.  The ability for humanitarian actors to meet expectations and deliver aid remained a significant challenge, since access was often hindered.  It was crucial for Governments to guarantee the access and for all parties involved in conflicts to respect international humanitarian law and allow that access.

Concluding Statement by Emergency Relief Coordinator

JOHN HOLMES, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said in concluding remarks that the deliberations were useful and productive.  He wanted to thank all of the participants for their contributions.   The work for humanitarians had become more difficult and unsafe nowadays.  The resolution just adopted reflected a year of continued progress.  It also acknowledged the effort to make the response to humanitarian needs faster.  But there was a huge distance still to travel.  The success of the resolution would then be measured by the lives saved.  The humanitarian system was structurally complicated.  The cluster approach was designed to precisely address this fragmentation.  It also allowed for better mechanisms for coordinating.

The need for more information on the cluster approach was acknowledged, Mr. Holmes said.  An independent evaluation of the cluster approach had just begun and should be available in 2008.  With regard to improving the efforts for natural disaster response, there was some progress made worldwide in reducing the disaster risk.  But the continuing challenge was that the progress was still uneven.  Many countries were lacking the expertise, technology and funds.  Member States were called upon to share their knowledge and funds.  Risk reduction was very important; the example of the earthquake in Japan and the floods in Pakistan showed this very clearly.  During the panel discussion on the use of military assets, all the participants spoke in favour of this measure under certain conditions.

Humanitarian relief should primarily remain a civilian endeavour, Mr. Holmes said.  Recent trends in funding flows suggested an increase in the diversity of the organizations and a broadening base.  The funds should be more impartially applied.  More rigorous data collection and better management system at headquarters and in the field was needed in the future.  A more predictable and equitable humanitarian financing system was needed.  The access of the population to the humanitarian assistance was vital to humanitarian work.  Improving access was a key priority.  Many speakers had proposed that ECOSOC should become a more active body, calling in ad hoc meetings as well.  The fruits of the collected thinking should be put into action.

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