Summary: July 13, 2005: EU Presidency Statement on Strengthening the co-ordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations, delivered by the United Kingdom Mission to the UN on behalf of the European Union at ECOSOC 2005 substantive session (New York)
Mr Chairman,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. In addition, the acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey and Croatia,* the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegvoina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Liechtenstein, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align
themselves with this declaration.
Mr Chairman,
I should like to thank you and Mr Egeland for your opening remarks and the Secretary-General for his informative and comprehensive reports. The European Union welcomes this opportunity to bring together the humanitarian community, to reflect upon our collective achievements, to consider the challenges that lie ahead, and to identify ways to improve humanitarian response. Our collective efforts must be guided by realities on the ground, including through lessons learned, which is why the
European Union welcomes the strong operational focus of the Secretary-General's reports. It is also why the European Union supports the process, initiated by Mr Egeland, for a Humanitarian Response Review.
Mr Chairman,
The number and scale of humanitarian emergencies in the last year alone has presented significant challenges for the humanitarian community. Most notable of all was the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004 due to the number of people and countries affected, not to mention the overall levels of destruction, as well as the complexities of co-ordination and the deployment of logistical support. Despite these and other difficulties, the affected governments demonstrated
strong leadership in guiding an immediate and effective response. Their efforts were commendably supported by the United Nations system, especially its Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as well as the wider international community, in a reliable and timely manner. The European Union sees scope for further work, however, in improving co-ordination in the aftermath of disasters, including in the area of civil-military co-operation, bearing in mind, in this regard, and
as appropriate, relevant guidelines on the use of civil-military defence assets. The European Union commends the efforts undertaken by all stakeholders in response to the tsunami and hopes that these will be sustained during the reconstruction phase. Although this work is now underway, we would like to have seen faster progress in restoring livelihoods and in reducing the need for temporary shelter. Now that reconstruction planning is completed and agreements are in place, we hope to see more
rapid progress. The European Union will continue to remain engaged and has pledged € 2.3 billion for humanitarian programmes and reconstruction combined, which includes contributions from the European Commission. The exceptional levels of solidarity generated as a result of the tsunami demand exceptional efforts in terms of financial transparency and accountability.
The European Union appreciates the efforts of the United Nations in this regard, to track donor contributions and to monitor the effectiveness of our collective response.
Mr Chairman,
Whilst humanitarian response to the tsunami affected region was, on the whole, reliable and effective, this cannot always be said for responses to other emergencies, particularly those in Africa. As the reports of the Secretary-General point out, some factors affecting response are specific to individual crises - such as the lack of access and obstruction of aid - whereas other challenges seem to be systemic in nature. Some of these are being addressed through the Good Humanitarian Donorship
initiative, which the European Union welcomes and supports - and we hope to work with others to make further progress in the following areas, in particular:
I. Co-ordination Capacity
The European Union concurs with the Secretary-General's view that co-operation and collaboration of all stakeholders at the field level is crucial in ensuring that the system-wide capacity works effectively. The European Union believes such co-ordination could be greatly enhanced by strengthening the quality and leadership of United Nations humanitarian co-ordinators, who should lead the development of more inclusive and strategic Common Humanitarian Action Plans and Consolidated Appeals - with
improved priority setting, as well as clearer goals and performance indicators. Such indicators should help measure the timeliness and effectiveness of humanitarian response; they should also help promote accountability. Additionally, the European Union would like to see humanitarian co-ordinators lead stronger IASC (Inter-agency Standing Committee) country teams. Pooling funds behind humanitarian co-ordinators, for distribution in accordance with agreed priorities and pressing needs, might
also help improve field level co-ordination. But in order to achieve these goals, we need to improve and accelerate the recruitment, training and development of humanitarian co-ordinators within the UN system.
The European Union also underlines the need for improved co-ordination, assistance and protection for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The European Union therefore welcomes the Secretary-General's proposal to strengthen the inter-agency response to IDPs and calls upon humanitarian agencies to participate more pro-actively in implementing the Collaborative Approach, which has not always worked well in practice.
II. Surge Capacity
The European Union agrees with the Secretary-General that the speed of deployment in humanitarian emergencies is essential in ensuring effective co-ordination and timely service delivery. The European Union therefore supports efforts to mobilise technical expertise rapidly, as well as essential common services, including at the regional, national and local levels. We look forward to receiving further guidance and recommendations on this issue in the context of the Humanitarian Response
Review.
III. Sectoral Capacity
The European Union notes that gaps in sectoral capacity continue to affect emergency response efforts. Therefore, the European Union supports the Secretary-General's proposal to develop specialist technical expertise for major crises in water and sanitation, shelter and camp management, and protection, tapping into NGO capacity and the expertise of other organisations, where they exist.
IV. Funding Capacity
The European Union recognises the need for more equitable, flexible and timely funding for humanitarian crises and, in this regard, welcomes the Secretary-General's proposal to improve the Central Emergency Revolving Fund (CERF). We hope that progress can be made on this issue at the forthcoming session of the General Assembly, whilst recognising the need for additional information on the modalities for an improved fund.
Mr Chairman,
The systemic issues I have mentioned so far are not only relevant to immediate humanitarian crises but also to situations of transition. As the Secretary-General's report notes, national ownership, effective co-ordination, realistic and timely needs assessments and early funding are vital for transition situations - whether in periods of recovery following a natural disaster, or drought, or in the stabilisation, recovery and reconstruction of a country emerging from conflict.
The European Union believes that an essential element of a successful recovery from a natural disaster is disaster risk reduction efforts both as a preventative measure and during reconstruction. We welcome the Hyogo Framework for Action agreed at the World Conference for Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan. The European Union underlines its support for the process, initiated by the Emergency Relief Co-ordinator, to strengthen the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). We call upon
Member States to give more weight to disaster mitigation and preparedness in development planning and poverty reduction strategies.
The European Union welcomes progress made by the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) and the Executive Committee for Humanitarian Affairs (ECHA) in the development and use of a Post Conflict Needs Assessment framework, which has helped ensure more coherent UN development and humanitarian efforts. But there is a need for further coherence between the efforts of UNDG-ECHA and the United Nation's political, peacekeeping and human rights actors in post-conflict countries. The European Union
believes that in order to have an effective post-conflict response, all facets of the United Nations must, as the Secretary General puts it, "unite behind a unified strategy and purpose". The European Union fully supports the proposals for a Peacebuilding Commission and Support Office as a means of promoting this unified approach and we hope to see agreement on issues at the September Summit.
Mr Chairman,
It is clear the UN must work more effectively in restoring peace, security and governance in post-conflict situations, building on the skills and competencies of each part of the UN system - and this brings me on to the subject of integrated missions. In this context, the European Union would like to emphasise the importance of co-ordination and information sharing between all relevant UN actors - not only in the field, where the UN country team has a key role to play, as part of the
mission, but also from the early stages of mission planning and design. For some issues or sectors, such as disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR), it may be necessary to have a more closely integrated approach - a joint unit or team, for example. There is no blueprint as to how "integrated" UN structures should be in the field; rather the form of a mission should follow the function it is expected to carry out. The European Union firmly believes that in all cases, the mandates and
practice of integrated missions must be organised in such a way that ensures respect for humanitarian principles for the provision of humanitarian assistance.
Mr Chairman,
The European Union would like to underline the importance of those principles - humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence - for the provision of humanitarian assistance, as well as the need to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law for the protection of civilians. Both of these, in addition to ensuring a predictable and effective humanitarian response, are fundamentally important for preserving human dignity - as is access, which
continues to be a recurrent problem. The European Union therefore would like to reaffirm the responsibilities of parties to conflict to ensure safe and unimpeded access to affected populations. The European Union believes that the United Nations and its Member States have a responsibility to ensure security and safe working environments for humanitarian workers.
Finally Mr Chairman,
The European Union would like to offer its full support for Mr Egeland and thank him for all his good work. He has demonstrated extraordinary commitment and leadership at some very difficult and challenging times. Many challenges remain, however, and we look forward to working on these with him, and others, to improve humanitarian response and to reduce human suffering. Thank you.
* Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
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