By
Jennifer K. Garrison

Since the end of the Cold War, there has been an upsurge of humanitarian activities throughout the globe. Humanitarian activities have included relief in both wartime and peacetime, and more specifically during natural disasters, and economic and social collapse. Relief given to civilians includes food and shelter, medical assistance, military protection, and the distribution of supplies. However, with the increased number of humanitarian causes, there remains the need to strengthen the coordination of relief assistance.

In 1999, there was an increase of humanitarian relief assistance in emergencies compared to the number of cases in 1998. Crises escalated in Kosovo, Republic of Congo, Chechnya, East Timor, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. Other conflicts such as those in Angola, Sudan, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Colombia continued to worsen. Civilians were victims of bombings, rape and other forms of sexual torture, forced relocation, and other human rights violations including the denial of humanitarian assistance.

Natural disasters also generate the need for humanitarian assistance. In late 1999, Turkey fell victim to two earthquakes killing nearly 18,000 people and injuring 50,000. Also, cyclones in Africa led to floods devastating Botswana, Madagascar, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, where a combined total of over a million people were affected. Relief operations were mobilized in each case.

Currently, the relief assistance process is inefficient. According to the U.N. press release following the June 2000 Fribourg Forum, relief assistance is often provided without prior consultation, and consequently money is wasted, delays are widespread, and earmarked funds are never allocated. The Forum concluded that coordination of relief efforts would become more efficient by reducing the collision of mandates between countries and non-governmental organizations, removing outdated protocols for the movement of relief goods, and improving the coordination of response between adjacent borders of states.

As the annual report of the Secretary-General on the Coordination of Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Assistance stated, once again humanitarian agencies have been stretched in the effort to bring efficient and timely relief in emergencies. The report finds that "within the context of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) agencies have constantly looked for ways of ensuring a more efficient, effective, and coordinated response." The IASC encouraged strengthening legal and physical protection; recognition of relief constraints, including the lack of resources; the improvement of United Nations actions; and finally, the strengthening of coordination activities. Furthermore, all of these efforts require constant support from international donors.

Based upon the 1999 Report, many challenges to humanitarian assistance persist. In most of the emergency situations, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were denied access to the affected areas for long time periods, which contributed to the intensified suffering of the victims. As the Report also stated, access was blocked in many cases by the deliberate policies of governments and other parties to conflicts. Opponents of international assistance argue that the principle of state sovereignty precludes outside intervention in the internal affairs of states thus protecting small states against the major powers. They also argue that "outside military forces make more problematic the task of the affected country’s own civilian authorities". However, nonintervention can lead to further instability and therefore weakens democratic movements and institutions.

Social relations in several parts of world have led to the destruction of social advancement for many of society’s members, especially women and children. The majority of internally displaced persons and refugees around the world continue to be women and children. In several conflicts, women suffered the most from violence and abuse, including cases of rape and other forms of sexual torture as in Kosovo. In some situations, women were discriminated against in the allocation of goods and relief. Such was the case in Afghanistan. Children are also victimized in some situations. For example, thousands of children were denied basic rights of life, food, health care and education due to conflict.

Another challenge to effective relief efforts involves attacks on humanitarian personnel. "In 1998, twenty-two United Nations staff members involved in complex emergencies lost their lives. The loss of humanitarian personnel in several direct attacks in Angola and Somalia illustrated the extent of this growing problem". The General Assembly press release 9663 also addressed the issue of attacks on humanitarian personnel. The document found that the increasing number of incidents have hindered the ability to assist civilians. The press release continues by stating that the United Nations must be adamant that governments investigate all security incidents that involve its personnel. The General Assembly should also reinforce the call of both the Secretary-General and the Security Council to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian personnel.

The economic and financial changes that are currently taking place in some countries in order to compete in the global market also pose a challenge to the relief community. The United Nations stated that "the challenge of adjustment to global markets resulted in financial crises in a number of regions of the world, leading to rising levels of dire poverty and political instability, in some cases triggering a need for humanitarian assistance". These complex situations require an integrated response from development and humanitarian actors.

Finally, the uneven distribution of funds to consolidated appeals poses challenges to relief coordination. The main problem with this distribution is that the quantities of goods contributed do not ensure the necessary minimum care. For example, food contributions in kind cannot be made use of in the absence of cash contributions to finance transportation and distribution systems.

Furthermore, uneven geographical and sectoral funding leaves some countries in a situation of critical under-funding, due to the fact that some emergencies require more funding than others. Such a case occurred in Africa, which has had the most severe natural and humanitarian disasters in recent years, when relief operations received less than forty percent of the required $800 million of relief funds. This unbalanced funding threatens to undermine the basic principle of humanitarian assistance.

The UN inter-departmental Framework for Coordination Team has increased its membership in the last year to include such agencies as the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and UNHCR. Its primary aim is to sustain "preventative action and develop improved mechanisms for early warning, contingency planning and awareness". There have since been several missions under the Framework for Coordination Team that gathered facts and prepared contingency planning which is intended to increase the preparedness of UN Country Teams in the event of a humanitarian crisis. This coordination team was developed in 1993 by the United Nations Disaster Assessment (UNDAC) team and currently has 131 members. It was designed to provide rapid support of a disaster-stricken country at the country’s request.

Another action taken by the United Nations was under the 1999 Agreed Conclusions of the Economic and Social Council, which "requested that further work be undertaken to strengthen the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) in the areas of prioritization and strategic monitoring, and by the inclusion of requirements for the security of humanitarian personnel". After realizing that CAP provides the necessary tools for the efficient coordination for the international response to emergencies, meetings of donors were held in Montreux, Switzerland to discuss the implementation of CAP on a year-round basis. The donors also discussed the implementation of CAP in their respective ministries, requesting further bureaucratic assistance for CAP for any funding differences.

As highlighted in his annual report to ECOSOC, the Secretary-General supports further strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian assistance. The recommendations include endorsing the need to create rules and procedures that would allow the United Nations to respond to an emergency quickly and efficiently. Member states are encouraged to commit adequate resources to humanitarian operations through multilateral channels. The Report also urged that member states generously contribute to CAP in order to achieve a greater balance in geographic and sectoral coverage as well as to improve overall conditions of civilians and humanitarian personnel in complex emergencies. Finally, the Secretary-General also recommends that intergovernmental bodies and Member States cooperate to "strengthen early warning, prevention, and preparedness mechanisms in natural disasters and other emergencies".

1. What should be the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief efforts?
2. How should the funds be allocated among member states for the CAP program?
3. What measures should be taken to ensure the security of humanitarian personnel and civilians when relief missions are in process?
4. How should the resources and funds contributed by Member States be allocated among humanitarian relief operations? What would be a better approach to financing humanitarian and disaster assistance?