109.  The past year has been marked by humanitarian emergencies that far surpassed predicted worst-case scenarios. Protracted conflicts in Afghanistan, Angola, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Sri Lanka and the Sudan continued unabated. Crises escalated or erupted in the Republic of the Congo, Kosovo, East Timor and Chechnya, and between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The situation in Burundi deteriorated because of Government-led mass forced relocation programmes, and the outbreak of violence in Sierra Leone in May 2000 has had serious humanitarian consequences. Civilians continue to bear the brunt of these violent conflicts, as victims of direct attacks, indiscriminate bombings, rape and sexual torture, forced relocation, the denial or restriction of access to humanitarian assistance and numerous other human rights violations.

110.  Apart from these complex emergencies, natural disasters have once again wrought devastation in many developing countries. Mongolia, Turkey, India, Venezuela and southern Africa, among others, were severely affected by the consequences of snowstorms, earthquakes, cyclones, mudslides and floods, while drought spread in the Horn of Africa and gained momentum in Central Asia. The number and scale of natural disasters are growing rapidly, demanding greater international cooperation for the provision of assistance to affected populations.

  Coordinating humanitarian action

111.  This past year, improved coordination of international humanitarian action has been characterized by the implementation of innovative approaches in major emergencies in Kosovo and East Timor, and by the challenges of providing protection to internally displaced persons and civilians in armed conflict. In response to the humanitarian crisis in the Balkans, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs seconded personnel to perform coordination functions in support of the lead role of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the region. They helped to create the Emergency Management Group in Albania, and later established an Inter-Agency Coordination Unit and a Humanitarian Community Information Centre in Kosovo.

112.  In response to the East Timor crisis, a senior humanitarian coordinator was immediately deployed by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to lead an inter-agency team of specialists. This deployment provided vital coordination services until the humanitarian component of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) could be established. The Office also supported my Special Representative for East Timor in designing, staffing and providing initial funding for the humanitarian component of UNTAET.

113.  An inter-agency response was developed to address the rapid growth of internally displaced persons in a number of countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Emergency Relief Coordinator and the members of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee also intensified their efforts to improve the coordination and delivery of programmes for internally displaced persons.

114.  Since internally displaced persons remain by definition citizens of their own country, international responses to specific situations are designed in collaboration with Governments and local authorities in each affected country. It had been clear for some time that the international response mechanisms needed to be reviewed, and that clearer lines of responsibility and accountability had to be agreed upon. A series of reviews were undertaken and a policy paper on the protection of internally displaced persons has been produced. The central premise of the policy is that the responsibility for internally displaced persons lies first and foremost with their national Government, but it is recognized that the capacity and willingness of authorities to fulfil their responsibilities may be insufficient or lacking altogether in some conflict situations. The policy therefore urges humanitarian agencies to cooperate with national and local authorities and other relevant actors to support and supplement their efforts on behalf of the displaced. In adopting these guidelines, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee has sought to resolve some of the ambiguities that impede effective humanitarian action in crises.

115.  The Committee also advocates strengthening the legal and physical protection of civilians caught in armed conflict. In September 1999, I presented to the Security Council my report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, which contained 40 recommendations aimed at reducing the threats to civilians in armed conflict. The report was transmitted to the General Assembly in November. The Security Council has adopted several resolutions supporting my recommendations, and has undertaken to give special emphasis to the protection and rights of children in armed conflict. Those resolutions constitute a significant milestone in the humanitarian community’s long-standing efforts to ensure that the causes of humanitarian crises are addressed politically at the highest international level.

116.  The response so far to the consolidated inter-agency appeals for the year 2000 has been disappointing. As at 30 June 2000, midway through the appeal cycle, just 34 per cent of the total requirements were available. This amount is lower, in percentage terms, than pledges made to the 1999 consolidated appeals by the same time last year, despite acknowledged improvements in the quality of the appeals. Further efforts are being made to strengthen the consolidated appeal process in the coming year and more innovative approaches are being considered to help mobilize resources for these “forgotten emergencies”.

117.  In the consolidated appeals for 2000, requests for funding to meet security needs were introduced for the first time, US$ 8.5 million being sought for security-related activities in 10 countries or regions. All future consolidated appeals will include a comprehensive review of security requirements.

118.  Efforts to improve the United Nations response to the growing number of natural and environmental disasters include the appointment by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of regional natural disaster response advisers in Asia, Latin America and the Pacific. The advisers counsel and assist Governments and regional networks in natural disaster preparations. They also assist in the deployment of United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination teams from within the disaster region and elsewhere around the world.

119.  In 1999, those teams were deployed on 12 occasions. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also assisted the members of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group in coordinating the international search and rescue teams that were deployed in response to earthquakes in three continents.

120.  Member States recognized the achievements of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, and the need to continue disaster reduction activities under the leadership of the United Nations system, in Economic and Social Council resolution 1999/63 and General Assembly resolution 54/219, concerning future arrangements for natural disaster reduction. The new strategy helps communities to resist the effects of natural, technological and environmental hazards and reduce their social and economic costs. The initiative also seeks to integrate risk-prevention strategies into sustainable development activities. During the past year increasing emphasis has been placed on multidisciplinary approaches to disaster reduction. Priority is being given to using scientific and technological innovations relevant to disaster reduction and to engaging local decision makers and citizens’ groups in developing sustainable long-term disaster reduction strategies at the regional and national levels. An inter-agency task force has been established to facilitate the new multidisciplinary approach. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) chairs a working group to develop measures to quantify risk, vulnerability and impact indicators; the United Nations Environment Programme chairs a working group on early warning systems; and the World Meteorological Organization chairs a working group on forecasting the socio-economic impacts of future occurrences of El Niño, climate change and variability.

  Delivering humanitarian services

121.  During the past year, areas receiving United Nations humanitarian assistance included Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, Colombia, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, Kosovo, Mozambique, Mongolia, the Russian Federation, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, the Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda, Venezuela, and the Great Lakes region in Africa.

122.  In 1999, the World Food Programme (WFP) provided food aid to nearly 89 million people worldwide, much of it in the form of emergency and recovery operations. The number of people assisted represented a 17 per cent increase over the 1998 total. Some 41 million of those assisted were victims of natural disasters. Approximately 18 million more vulnerable civilians caught in conflict situations, including internally displaced persons and refugees, were also assisted.

123.  Seventy-five per cent of the people reached by WFP humanitarian activities in 1999 were women and children. In nearly all ongoing humanitarian operations, in compliance with the policies of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee and its own “commitments to women” policy, WFP and its partners have concentrated efforts to tackle the gender-related aspects and social dimensions of food insecurity, embedding gender concerns within humanitarian assistance programmes.

124.  The response of WFP to rapid onset crises, like those in the Balkans and East Timor, demonstrated the Programme’s ability to facilitate effective food aid coordination and provide logistic and telecommunication support to humanitarian partners from the very outset of such crises. WFP and its partners are now able to rapidly develop coordinated intervention strategies that target the needs of the most vulnerable.

125.  As a consequence of its improved analytic and forecasting capabilities, WFP was one of the first agencies to detect signals of an impending, drought-related regional food crisis in the Horn of Africa late in 1999, and alert the international community to the severity of the situation. In response to that crisis, in March 2000 I appointed the Executive Director of WFP as my Special Representative for the Drought in the Horn of Africa.

126.  Staff security continues to be of great concern to the World Food Programme. Seven staff members lost their lives in the field in 1999. WFP persists in its efforts to strengthen the Organization’s capacity to protect its staff in the field and nearly all staff have now undergone security training.

127.  The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) provides early warning of impending food emergencies, produces information on crop and food supplies, assesses emergency needs in the agricultural sector, provides agricultural inputs so that people can grow their own food and reduce their dependence on food aid, assists Governments in coping with crises and gives technical advice to non-governmental organizations active in agriculture.

128.  Thanks to donor funding, and United Nations system partners such as WFP, UNHCR and UNDP, FAO together with its non-governmental organization partners has been able to conduct major campaigns to provide agricultural inputs to internally displaced persons, returnees and refugees and to implement early rehabilitation programmes. FAO has also continued to work closely with WFP and UNHCR in assisting refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees and host populations to improve their food security situation. FAO has provided technical assistance for disaster mapping and for establishing integrated information management systems for disaster management.

129.  Immunizations, nutrition, pharmaceuticals, controlling epidemics and mental health remain World Health Organization (WHO) priorities. This past year, WHO has called attention to such critical global health threats as malaria, poliomyelitis, HIV/AIDS and maternal mortality. Efforts to overcome these challenges have been complicated by the increased number of natural disasters and complex humanitarian emergencies. With the support of the Organization’s central management bodies, intensified efforts have been made to enhance the readiness of WHO country offices and to assess and address the health needs of those affected by natural and human-induced disasters in a timely manner.

130.  In the field, and with enhanced support from regional offices and headquarters, WHO has focused on health and nutritional surveillance, providing the data that is critical for coordinated planning and implementation of assistance, both in emergencies and post-crisis reconstruction.

131.  In 1999-2000, special efforts have been made to eradicate polio, to control malaria, and to define new strategies for HIV/AIDS control and safe motherhood in complex emergencies. WHO has also continued to monitor the equitable distribution of commodities imported into Iraq under Security Council resolution 986 (1995). Work continued in the Palestinian self-rule areas to reform health care systems. Strengthening the dialogue and coordination between national and international health actors, and bridging the gap between recovery, rehabilitation and health development, have continued to be high priority issues for the Organization.

132.  The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), together with its United Nations and non-governmental organization partners, provided humanitarian aid and protection to more than 48 million children and women affected by man-made and natural disasters in the past year. In response to the resolution adopted in August 1999 by the Security Council, stressing the need for greater and more effective efforts to protect children caught in armed conflict, UNICEF developed a comprehensive package of programmes and interventions for children and mothers in emergency situations, including baby-care, pre-school and primary education, recreational activities, and education about health and nutrition. UNICEF also increased its support for demobilization and reintegration programmes for children in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and strengthened and expanded programmes in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kosovo and East Timor supporting the reunification of families separated by conflict. Psycho-social support for children affected by conflict and displacement was provided in Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey. In Kosovo, East Timor and many other emergency situations, UNICEF support to basic education and schooling has helped to restore some normalcy to children’s lives.

133.  National Immunization Days were conducted throughout the year in an effort to eradicate polio in Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Sudan and the United Republic of Tanzania. In pursuing these campaigns in countries embroiled in violent conflict, UNICEF worked with WHO to negotiate “days of tranquillity” to enable children to be immunized safely.

134.  In 1999, UNICEF launched a Global Peace and Security Agenda to help guide international efforts on behalf of children and women in armed conflict. The set of goals, presented to the Security Council by the Executive Director, calls for an end to the use of children as soldiers; the protection of children from the effects of sanctions; the inclusion of specific provisions for children in peace-building; an end to impunity from war crimes — especially those committed against children; early warning and preventive action for children; and improvements in the safety of humanitarian workers.

135.  During the past year my Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict has focused on engaging regional, intergovernmental and civil society organizations with the plight of children in armed conflict and advocating the application of relevant norms and standards; raising the age limit for the recruitment and participation of young persons in armed conflict; addressing cross-border issues affecting children, with special attention to the West Africa region; seeking to bring those who have violated international human rights and humanitarian law to justice; working to ensure that children’s rights are protected within the rules of evidence and procedure of the International Criminal Court; and encouraging the involvement of children and young people in peacemaking and peace-building efforts.

136.  I am gratified that this year the Security Council, building on the more general resolution 1261 (1999), has adopted another resolution (1314 (2000)) on children affected by armed conflict, by which it puts in place a number of concrete provisions for the protection of war-affected children. I am also pleased to announce that these initiatives have led to commitments from the Governments of Burundi, Colombia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and the Sudan to protect children.

137.  The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) combines humanitarian and developmental strategies in providing education, health and relief and social services to approximately 3.7 million refugees in its five fields of operation: Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Syrian Arab Republic. In May 2000, the Agency commemorated 50 years of service in the field. The work of UNRWA, carried out principally by more than 20,000 dedicated local staff, has continued to produce impressive achievements, often under challenging circumstances including emergencies and conflict situations. However, serious shortfalls in funding the Agency’s budget have inevitably had a negative impact on the level and standard of services. The voluntary donor contributions on which UNRWA depends must be secured and enhanced if the Agency is to meet the challenges it is sure to face in the years ahead.

138.  In recognition of its unique role in promoting reproductive health and preventing sexual violence in emergency situations, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) became a full member of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee in April 2000. Following an assessment of the extent of sexual violence towards Kosovar women, UNFPA set up an office in Kosovo to re-establish reproductive health care and to provide counselling and services to women and their families. The guidelines in the Inter-Agency Field Manual for Reproductive Health in Refugee Situations were updated and training was provided to staff from UNFPA, other United Nations bodies, non-governmental organizations and national agencies in the use of the guidelines and to sensitize them to the reproductive health needs of refugees. UNFPA also participated in discussions with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations on HIV prevention within peacekeeping missions. At its annual session in June 2000, the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA endorsed the use of up to $1 million from special UNFPA interregional programme funds as a leveraging base from which to build appeals for extrabudgetary resources to tackle this problem.

139.  An integral component of the overall planning framework of UNDP is to reduce the incidence and impact of complex emergencies and disasters — natural, environmental and technological — and to accelerate the recovery process towards sustainable human development. The main objectives in disaster reduction and recovery are to achieve a sustainable reduction in disaster risks and the protection of development gains; reduce the loss of life and livelihood due to disasters, and ensure that disaster recovery serves to consolidate sustainable human development. To achieve these goals, UNDP works through its system of country-based resident representatives, regional bureaux and specialized programmes, such as the Division for Sustainable Energy and Environment, co-sponsorship of the Global Environment Fund and the Office to Combat Desertification and Drought. The UNDP Disaster Reduction Programme, a component of its Emergency Response Division, is the focal point for ensuring that disaster reduction concerns are integrated into development strategies. A central objective of the Division is to strengthen, at all levels, the capacity of institutions to manage disasters more effectively and to promote and develop disaster reduction strategies.

140.  UNICEF continued to promote the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, and to advocate its universal ratification. As at 21 August 2000, the Convention has been signed by 133 countries, and ratified by 101. UNDP, in close collaboration with the Mine Action Service of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, is responsible for supporting national and local capacity-building, and addressing the socio-economic consequences of landmines. With 12 active UNDP programmes, and 5 new initiatives, the UNDP Mine Action Team, which is an advisory element of the Emergency Response Division, is responsible for policy development, policy guidance, and operational support for UNDP mine action programmes.

141.  Since the phases of relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development often overlap in post-conflict situations, UNDP has adopted a comprehensive and integrated approach to countries in and emerging from crisis. Humanitarian and development strategies that focus on preventing crises, mitigating their consequences and promoting sustainable recovery must be carried out in concert if they are to be effective. In order to achieve this goal, capacity-building, infrastructure rehabilitation, promotion of the rule of law, and reintegration programmes which assist displaced as well as local communities have become an integral part of UNDP activities in post-conflict situations.

142.  In all countries, UNDP works through the resident coordinator system, emphasizing joint planning, demand-driven rather than agency-driven assessments of needs and local capacities, the importance of a clearly agreed division of labour through inter-agency collaboration, and the need for more flexible financing systems for transitional programming. Every effort is made to support the central role of national authorities in the management of these processes and to engage all international actors in a common, inclusive and participatory approach.

143.   Since the end of 1996 the “oil-for-food” programme, established by the Security Council and administered by the Office of the Iraq Programme, has provided a means for Iraq to sell its oil and use two thirds of the revenue to purchase, with sanctions Committee approval, humanitarian supplies and, more recently, spare parts and equipment for damaged infrastructure including the oil industry. Thirty per cent is used by the United Nations Compensation Commission in Geneva for war reparations. Tight limits on the value of oil sold in each 180-day phase were eased in 1998 and then lifted completely in 1999. As at the end of July 2000, Iraq had sold $32 billion worth of oil and received $8 billion worth of supplies, with another $5 billion approved and en route. Nevertheless, the people of Iraq continue to suffer from the effects of sanctions.

  Protecting and assisting refugees

144.  Although in global terms there was relatively little change in the number of refugees and persons of concern to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees between the beginning and the end of 1999 (21.5 million as against 22.3 million), it was, nevertheless, a year of major challenges. Conflicts in Kosovo, East Timor and Chechnya, Russian Federation, dominated the media and absorbed a large share of UNHCR resources, but there were many other humanitarian crises around the world, especially in Africa, that received less media attention. These disparate situations posed dilemmas and difficult decisions, not only for the United Nations refugee agency but also for the wider humanitarian community.

145.  In Kosovo, the massive emergency that erupted late in March 1999, leading to the exodus of over 800,000 people, was followed 10 weeks later by one of the most spectacular reverse population movements in contemporary history, obliging humanitarian agencies to shift gears from a large-scale emergency operation to one supporting return and reintegration. The continuation of ethnic violence in Kosovo, primarily by ethnic Albanians against the Serb and Roma minorities, has frustrated one of the declared purposes of international action, namely, to preserve a multi-ethnic society in Kosovo. Against this troubled background, UNHCR is attempting to ensure a smooth transition to longer-term reconstruction, and has handed over its responsibility as head of the humanitarian “pillar” of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo to the civil administration and economic reconstruction pillars. Elsewhere in the region, the first half of 2000 has witnessed encouraging signs of minority communities returning to their homes in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

146.  The bitter conflict in East Timor led to the displacement of more than 75 per cent of the population, many of whom crossed into West Timor. Following the deployment of the Australian-led multinational force in October, thousands of refugees began to return home. UNHCR and its partners provided protection and assistance to some 160,000 refugees, including extensive reconstruction of housing in East Timor. Continuing intimidation of refugees in the camps in West Timor has required ongoing humanitarian assistance in the region.

147.  The situation around Chechnya deteriorated sharply in the second half of 1999, and led to over 200,000 people fleeing into neighbouring republics, several thousand more into Georgia and others further afield to Kazakhstan. Working closely with its partners in the United Nations system, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and non-governmental organizations, UNHCR has continued to assist these internally displaced persons and refugees, despite severe operating constraints. Limited aid is also being provided to those returning to Chechnya on a voluntary basis.

148.  The intensification of the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia that marked the early months of 2000 forced close to 100,000 refugees to flee from Eritrea into the Sudan, while hundreds of thousands more have been internally displaced. Since the beginning of this conflict more than two years ago, over 1 million people have abandoned their homes in both countries. With the ceasefire brokered by the Organization of African Unity in June 2000, there were hopes for lasting peace and solutions for the victims. An appeal to meet the needs of those returning was launched by UNHCR in July 2000. Meanwhile, plans are under way to resume the repatriation of other Eritrean refugees who had been residing in the Sudan for many years. The programme had been suspended owing to the renewed conflict.

149.  Many other refugee movements have occurred away from the glare of the media, and the international response, particularly in support of peace, has been slow, timid and piecemeal. In the Great Lakes region, continued fighting between Government and rebel forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement of July 1999, caused over 136,000 people to flee into neighbouring countries, with thousands of new arrivals in Zambia and the United Republic of Tanzania. Heightened rebel activity in Burundi caused new movements into the United Republic of Tanzania, bringing the number of refugees from Burundi there to nearly half a million. Although the situation in the Republic of the Congo improved slightly, a further 49,000 Congolese fled to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. Gabon was also confronted with the sudden arrival of more than 12,000 refugees from the Republic of the Congo. The list of these and other ongoing refugee situations, many of them protracted, is depressingly long. In West Africa more than 15,000 Sierra Leoneans and 8,000 Liberians fled to Guinea during 1999, bringing the total number of refugees in the country to well over 460,000. This has led to large-scale demand for humanitarian assistance with little prospect of voluntary repatriation despite the Lomé Peace Agreement of May 1999.

150.  The escalation of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka since March 2000 has meant that the number of internally displaced persons in the Jaffna Peninsula climbed to 170,000, giving rise to concern for the fate of civilians trapped in the conflict areas. Together with the International Committee of the Red Cross, UNHCR and its partners continue to provide emergency relief aid to those in need.

151.  The most severe drought in 30 years has struck south-western Afghanistan and adjacent areas in Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran, further complicating the provision of assistance to refugee populations, many of whom have been awaiting an opportunity to return home for many years. On a more positive note, a joint programme with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees has been launched, allowing the return of some 29,000 persons since April 2000. The programme has now been suspended largely because of circumstances linked to the drought.
 
152.  The challenges for the coming year remain daunting. Among the most serious of these remains the plight of internally displaced persons. The growing tendency to deny humanitarian agencies access to war-affected areas for long periods, thus exacerbating the suffering of civilian victims, is an issue of particular concern. Security poses further major challenges including the protection of refugees and refugee operations; the security of refugee-populated areas; the safety of States jeopardized by mass population movements; and the well-being of humanitarian staff. UNHCR has made a series of proposals to address these issues comprehensively, including a strategy aimed at improving security in refugee-populated areas, camps or settlements. The emphasis is increasingly on prevention. To this end, UNHCR is in the process of establishing standby arrangements with a number of Governments for the provision of public security experts to be deployed as an integral component of UNHCR emergency response teams at the beginning of a refugee crisis. In addition, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has indicated its willingness, within the limits of available resources, to evaluate situations of insecurity that pose a threat to regional peace and security, and recommend an appropriate response.

153.  Another major undertaking in respect of the international protection of refugees is the reaffirmation of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees as the universal foundation of refugee protection. The fiftieth anniversary of the Convention falls next year, following that of UNHCR in December 2000. To strengthen refugee protection policies, UNHCR will soon initiate a process of global consultations with senior government representatives and refugee protection experts. A central aim will be to clarify the provisions for refugee protection in situations not fully covered by the Convention.