Building a Stronger, More Predictable Humanitarian Response System

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Building a Stronger, More Predictable
Humanitarian Response System
Humanitarian Reform Support Unit, OCHA
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Some Findings from the 2005 Humanitarian Response
Review

• Well-known, long-standing gaps
• Limited linkages between UN and non-UN actors
• Coordination erratic and dependent on
  personalities
• Insufficient accountability (particularly for
  IDPs)
• Donor policies inconsistent

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Changing Environment for humanitarian operations

• Proliferation of humanitarian actors
• Changing role of the UN (less direct
  implementation, more standard-setting and
  facilitation)
• Competitive funding environment
• Increased public scrutiny of humanitarian action

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Humanitarian aid NGOs growing in terms of
expenditure
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FOUR PILLARS OF REFORM
CLUSTER APPROACH Adequate capacity and
predictable leadership in all sectors
HUMANITARIAN COORDINATORS Effective leadership
and coordination in humanitarian emergencies
PARTNERSHIP Strong partnerships between UN and
non-UN actors
HUMANITARIAN FINANCING Adequate, timely and
flexible financing
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• Whose reform?
• Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)
• Composed of NGO consortia, Red Cross and Red
  Crescent Movement, IOM, World bank and UN
  agencies

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PILLAR 1
CLUSTER APPROACH Adequate capacity and
predictable leadership in all sectors

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IASC GUIDANCE NOTE ON THE CLUSTER APPROACH
June 2006 IASC issued Preliminary Guidance Note
(invited comments from all stakeholders) Dec
2006 IASC issued Revised Guidance Note
The Guidance Note will continue to be reviewed
periodically and revised as necessary
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AIM

• High standards of predictability, accountability
  and partnership in all sectors or areas of
  activity
• More strategic responses
• Better prioritization of available resources

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SCOPE

• GLOBAL LEVEL
• Strengthen system-wide preparedness and response
  capacity
• COUNTRY LEVEL
• Apply in all countries with HCs
• (by definition, countries where humanitarian
  needs are of sufficient scale and complexity to
  justify a multi-sectoral response with a wide
  range of humanitarian actors)

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GLOBAL LEVEL
Global Leads (already established)

• Agriculture FAO
• Education UNICEF
• Food WFP
• Refugees UNHCR

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GLOBAL LEVELNew Global Cluster Leads

• Technical areas
• Nutrition UNICEF
• Water/Sanitation UNICEF
• Health WHO
• Emergency Shelter IDPs (from conflict) UNHCR
• Natural disasters IFRC Convenor
• Cross-cutting areas
• Camp Coord/Mgmt IDPs (from conflict) UNHCR
• Natural disasters IOM
• Protection IDPs (from conflict) UNHCR
• Natural disasters/civilians
• from conflict (non-IDPs) HCR/OHCHR/UNICEF
• Early Recovery UNDP
• Common service areas
• Logistics WFP
• Telecommunications
  OCHA/UNICEF/WFP

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Global Cluster Appeal 2006 Improving Global
Humanitarian Response Capacity

• Appeal for USD 39 million
• Launched in March 2006
• Received so far USD 22 million
• (Nearly 60)

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Responsibilities of global cluster leads

• Normative
• Standard setting and consolidation of best
  practice
• Build response capacity
• Training and system development at local,
  regional and international levels
• Surge capacity and standby rosters
• Material stockpiles
• Operational Support
• Emergency preparedness
• Advocacy and resource mobilization

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COUNTRY LEVEL

• Cluster/Sector Leads, responsible for ensuring
  the following
• Inclusion of key humanitarian partners
• Establishment of appropriate coordination
  mechanisms
• Coordination with national/local authorities,
  local civil society etc.
• Participatory and community-based approaches
• Attention to priority cross-cutting issues (age,
  environment, gender, HIV/AIDS etc)
• Needs assessment and analysis
• Emergency preparedness
• Planning and strategy development
• Application of standards
• Monitoring and reporting
• Advocacy and resource mobilization
• Training and capacity building
• Provision of assistance and services as a last
  resort

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RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT MOVEMENT

• ICRC
• ICRC is not taking part in the cluster approach
• Coordination between ICRC and the UN will
  continue to the extent necessary to achieve
  efficient operational complementarity
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• IFRC
• convener rather than cluster lead for
  emergency shelter in disasters
• not committed to being provide of last resort,
  nor is it accountable to any part of the UN
  system

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Rationalizing meetings

• Small organizations have limited capacity to
  attend large numbers of individual sectoral
  meetings
• Meetings should be well managed and productive
• Primacy should be given to Humanitarian Country
  Team meetings (at both capital and provincial
  level)
• Some sectoral groups may
• decide to meet collectively
• No unnecessary meetings

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PILLAR 2
HUMANITARIAN COORDINATORS Effective leadership
and coordination in humanitarian emergencies
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Strenthening the HC System

• A comprehensive strategy for

• Selecting
• Mentoring
• Training
• Appointing and
• Holding accountable
• individuals that can deliver
• effective leadership in
• humanitarian emergencies

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Actions to strengthen the HC system

• Establish broad-based humanitarian country teams
• Develop a pool of HCs (from UN and non-UN) for
  short-term and/or immediate deployment
• RC/HC score card
• Develop new training packages

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PILLAR 3
HUMANITARIAN FINANCING Adequate, timely and
flexible financing
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Actions to improvehumanitarian financing

• Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) initiative
• (being piloted in Burundi and DRC)
• Establishment of CERF
• Other initiatives

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CERF

• General Assembly Resolution A/RES/60/124 decided
  to upgrade the CERF to US 500 million (US 50
  million Loan component plus US 450 million Grant
  component).
• Pledges for 2006 USD 260 million
• Fully funded CERF represents 4 of global
  humanitarian funding (USD 500 million out of USD
  13 billion)
• NOT a substitute for donor contributions to the
  CAP

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Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)

• Created to help ensure timely, adequate and
  flexible funding
• Two Windows
• Rapid Response
• Under-Funded Emergencies

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CERF Criteria

• Funds will target core life-saving activities as
  per the assessment of the RC/HC

• Activities that remedy, mitigate or avert direct
  physical harm or threats to a population or major
  portion thereof
• Also common humanitarian services that are
  necessary to enable life-saving activities

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Rapid Response Allocations Jan Aug 2006
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Under-funded Emergencies Allocations Jan Aug
2006
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PILLAR 4
PARTNERSHIP Strong partnerships between UN and
non-UN actors
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Building more effective partnerships

• IASC Country Teams now a requirement in all
  countries with HCs
• Ongoing UN/non-UN dialogue, began with Geneva
  meeting in July 2006
• Humanitarian Community Partnership Teams to be
  piloted in 3 countries

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Humanitarian Reform Where to go for help?

• Key documents
• Guidance Note on Using the Cluster Approach to
  Strengthen Humanitarian Response
• IASC Interim Self Assessment of the Cluster
  Approach
• Specific cluster guidance, provided by global
  cluster leads
• For assistance
• Humanitarian Reform Support Unit hrsu_at_un.org
• CERF Secretariat cerf_at_un.org
• IASC website www.humanitarianinfo.org/iasc
• Humanitarian Reform Website coming soon!