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EU Presidency Statement - Special economic, humanitarian and disaster relief assistance - ECOSOC

Mr. President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The acceding countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the countries associated with the EU - Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey - as well as the EFTA country of Iceland have aligned themselves with this statement.

The European Union attaches great importance to the humanitarian segment of ECOSOC. This segment provides the humanitarian community with a unique annual opportunity to gather and deliberate on how to improve the coordination as well as the effectiveness and timely delivery of humanitarian assistance.

The themes selected for this year's session are particularly relevant to us and promise to generate a fruitful discussion and - hopefully - operational follow-up: strengthening the coordination of humanitarian assistance, financing and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance, the transition from relief to development, and the effect of HIV/AIDS and other widespread diseases on relief operations. We wish to compliment the Secretary-General for his comprehensive report on these themes, which provides useful information and some innovative recommendations, and we thank the acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ms. Carolyn McAskie, for her comprehensive introduction. We also thank the UN Secretariat for organizing three panels and several briefings on issues of interest to the humanitarian community.

The EU is looking forward to an in-depth debate over the next three days in Geneva that builds on the report of the Secretary General and the negotiations that have taken place in New York. We are confident that ECOSOC will be able to offer, once again, appropriate guidance to the various stakeholders on the provision of humanitarian assistance. We also welcome the decision to aim at concluding the segment by adopting a resolution.

Mr. Chairman, in the past year there have been several important developments in the area of humanitarian assistance, and new challenges have emerged for the actors involved. For the European Union some of the most critical ones are as follows:

• One of the positive outcomes of last year's resolution 2002/32 is that the UN Development Group and the Executive Committee on Humanitarian Assistance have established a Joint Working Group on Transition Issues, tasked to elaborate on the challenges related to the transition from relief to development. The EU believes that humanitarian assistance should be provided in ways that are supportive of recovery and long term development, and that promote self reliance among the affected populations and sustainability of the humanitarian efforts. In complex emergencies a sound transition phase, with well coordinated and appropriately sequenced relief and development interventions, could also play a role in preventing the recurrence of conflicts, and should have this as an objective. We welcome the UN's work in this area. Its outcome will undoubtedly contribute to further evaluation within ECOSOC of transition issues, hopefully in a manner integrated with other relevant segments at next year's session.
  
  
• Much of the attention of the humanitarian community has been focused on Iraq. We welcome the efforts of the UN - whose leading role in providing humanitarian assistance is uncontested - in addressing this crisis. A number of lessons can be drawn from the Iraq experience. First, the importance of contingency planning and preparedness in facing major potential humanitarian demands. Second, the importance of effective coordination within the UN system and between the UN and the occupying power. And third, the need to ensure appropriate interaction between humanitarian actors and the military. In this regard, the EU welcomes the Secretary-General's note on "General Guidance for Interaction between United Nations Personnel and Military and Civilian Representatives of the Occupying Power in Iraq" and the launch in Brussels in June of the "guidelines on the use of military and civil defence assets to support UN humanitarian activities in complex emergencies".
  
  
• The establishment of the International Criminal Court, which is now fully operational, will inter alia help ensure that those responsible for intentional attacks against humanitarian personnel are brought to justice. The EU pays close attention to the safety and security of the humanitarian personnel and expects the ICC to also play an important preventing role in this regard, deterring attacks on such personnel.
  
  
• Of prime importance in situations of armed conflict is the protection of civilians, and the EU welcomes the work of the UN Security Council in addressing this issue. The EU reaffirms its continuing support for these efforts, and joins with the UN system in promoting a culture of protection, especially for children, women, older persons and persons with disabilities.
  
  
• Allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation of vulnerable people by humanitarian personnel are very disturbing and seriously undermine the credibility of the whole humanitarian system. The EU welcomes the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee's adoption in July 2002 of a Plan of Action that establishes six core principles as minimum standards of behaviour for UN civilian staff members. We advocate further development of these principles and encourage their use by all agencies and member states.

Mr. Chairman, the Secretary-General's report highlights that, by comparison to the early nineties, humanitarian assistance has more than doubled in recent years. This demonstrates the increasing commitment of donors to respond to both long-standing and emerging crises. The European Union plays a prominent role in international relief efforts throughout the world, contributing approximately 47 % of global humanitarian assistance. In 2002, EU member states contributed over two billion Euros. In the same year, the European Commission allocated more than 537 million Euros in financing for humanitarian projects in more than 60 countries through its humanitarian Aid Office, - ECHO. Many of these projects were carried out by UN funds and agencies. On 29 April 2003, the UN and the European Commission signed a revised Financial and Administrative Financial Agreement to facilitate a closer partnership in the areas of development and humanitarian aid. It is also worth noting that ECHO is continuing to pay special attention to "forgotten crises", by intervening where few other donors are present or where specific sectoral needs are not covered.

The EU and its member States accept their responsibilities as major humanitarian donors and recognize that many measures can be taken to enhance the coherence and effectiveness of their actions and their accountability to beneficiaries. We welcome steps that have been taken to establish principles of good donorship behaviour and practice along with mechanisms for their review. The Secretary-General's report also makes several recommendations in this regard, some of which were explored at recent conferences such as the 25 February Rome Conference on harmonization and the 17 June Stockholm Conference on good humanitarian donorship. Member States willing to implement these recommendations will work towards: improving needs assessment and analysis, providing more predictable, timely and needs-based funding, more equitable funding across crises, more un-earmarked contributions, more harmonized reporting requirements, more attention to impact and lesson-learning for evaluation, and joint selection, financing and evaluation of the CAPs.

Nevertheless, the EU believes that there is more to the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance than just the level and allocation of funding. Aid effectiveness also depends on inter-agency coordination, and the EU would like to take this opportunity to emphasize the central and unique role of the UN through OCHA in providing leadership and coordinating international humanitarian action and humanitarian advocacy. Indeed, the coordination mechanisms set up by General Assembly resolution 46/182 of 19 December 1991 - namely the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, the Consolidated Appeal Process and the Central Emergency Revolving Fund - have proven their effectiveness.

At the same time, it is imperative to underline that to meet the needs of affected populations, the various UN organizations, the Red Cross Movement and the NGOs have an obligation to deliver high-quality humanitarian assistance with maximum speed and efficiency. While much progress has been made in this area, we expect more to be done, particularly in monitoring and evaluation. It should also be recalled that these organizations often work in extremely difficult and sometimes hazardous conditions, and we wish to pay tribute to those who have lost their lives trying to bring relief to people in dire need.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, affected countries have the primary responsibility for the victims of humanitarian emergencies within their borders, including IDPs, as well as a primary role in the organization, coordination and implementation of humanitarian assistance within their territory. Their role is crucial in permitting and facilitating humanitarian access to the people in need. Effective humanitarian response should, to the greatest possible extent, be based on the full involvement and participation of affected communities.

In many cases, however, the magnitude and duration of some emergencies may be beyond the response capacity of the affected country. In this respect, the EU's humanitarian policy is committed to strengthening the capacity of affected countries and local communities to prevent, prepare for, mitigate and respond to humanitarian crises.

The EU is confident in a successful outcome of this segment, which - we trust - will help improving the co-ordination and effectiveness of international humanitarian assistance. We look forward to a constructive dialogue on these issues and to a sound operational follow-up.

In concluding, Mr. Chairman, allow me to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to former USG for Humanitarian Affairs, Kenzo Oshima, for his capable leadership and to wish his successor, Jan Egeland, the best success in his new and challenging work.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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