95. Addressing the humanitarian consequences of today's disasters and emergencies remains a United Nations priority. The scale and magnitude of recent emergencies and disasters – in Darfur, in the Indian Ocean and in South Asia – clearly demonstrate the need for a timely and coordinated humanitarian response. Given the complexity of the United Nations humanitarian efforts, mandates in the area of humanitarian assistance cut across almost all types of United Nations activities and functions, and therefore the categories of mandates affecting the Organization's work in this area vary considerably. While some overlap in mandates among implementing entities exists, the key concern is that the principal organs often approach humanitarian assistance in a fragmented manner, which can result in implementation gaps.
Overlap among organs
96. There is a need to improve the way in which the intergovernmental machinery of the United Nations addresses humanitarian affairs. While parts of this problem are being examined in the context of the revitalization of the General Assembly, the issue deserves particular mention here because it has important implications for the way that mandates are issued. In the General Assembly, humanitarian agenda items are dispersed among the plenary and the Second and Third Committees. The plenary deals with coordination, staff security and natural disasters; the Second Committee addresses humanitarian assistance to specific countries and regions, disasters, vulnerability and risk reduction; under the purview of the Third Committee fall assistance to internally displaced persons and refugees and the new international humanitarian order.
97. The result of such fragmentation is frequent overlap between the mandates issued. Member States could take practical action to address this problem. In the coming months, and as part of their efforts to revitalize the General Assembly, Member States may wish to consider consolidating discussions on humanitarian issues in the General Assembly, and grouping humanitarian-related matters under a single "humanitarian umbrella" agenda item in the plenary, as a means of ensuring that they are better focused and more relevant. In the longer term, Member States may also wish to consider additional efforts to further improve institutional coordination and consideration of issues in this area.
Reporting requirements
98. Member States could also take quick action to focus intergovernmental reporting procedures. Intergovernmental discussions on humanitarian assistance and coordination would benefit, in this as in other areas, from fewer and more focused reports.
99. As a first step, it would be beneficial for country-specific reports to be limited to the first year following a humanitarian crisis in that country, and for the issues thereafter to be highlighted in more thematic reports, where they would benefit from intergovernmental discussions and action designed to address humanitarian response as a whole. In the longer term, reporting on humanitarian issues would better contribute to Member State decision-making and follow-up by the United Nations system if reports were more targeted and linked to specific, thematic sub-items within the humanitarian "umbrella" discussed above. For example, the report and the consideration of the resolution on "White Helmets" might be incorporated into the sub-item on coordination so as to contribute to a thematic discussion on improving standby capacity. Similarly, the report and resolution on the new international humanitarian order might be folded into the coordination sub-item as part of discussions on humanitarian reform.
Institutional architecture for implementation
100. There exists a division of labour relating to the disaster management cycle which may benefit from being revisited. The Emergency Relief Coordinator and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs have a clear mandate for disaster response (including coordination and preparedness), while responsibility for natural disaster mitigation, prevention and preparedness (with the exception of response preparedness) lies with UNDP . Recent disasters have shown all too clearly, however, that there is no agreed institutional leader for early disaster recovery. To address the immediate needs of disaster management, and in accordance with the call in the Summit Outcome to support the efforts of countries to strengthen capacities to prepare and respond rapidly to natural disasters, Member States should clarify and strengthen the United Nations leadership in all phases of disaster management at both Headquarters and field levels, including by considering a coherent structure for disaster assistance, and by taking into account proposals to be advanced by the High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence. In addition, the Inter-Agency Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction should be strengthened as a means of giving more prominence and attention to disaster risk reduction and the economic and social consequences of natural disasters.
101. In the assistance to and protection of internally displaced persons multiple mandates have created a complex system which, while reflecting the concern of Member States about the issue, has not necessarily served this population well. There is a mandate designating the Emergency Relief Coordinator as the system's central coordination focal point on assistance to and protection of internally displaced persons. The Emergency Relief Coordinator is supported in this task by the Inter-Agency Internal Displacement Division, within the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The Commission on Human Rights has also mandated responsibility for the human rights of internally displaced persons to the Representative of the Secretary-General. Additional mandates request the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to engage in issues related to internally displaced persons.
102. In the context of the current humanitarian reform effort, UNHCR has been asked – and has accepted with the endorsement of all humanitarian agencies within the Inter-Agency Standing Committee – to be the United Nations agency with primary responsibility and accountability for the operational response for internally displaced persons in complex emergencies in the clusters related to protection, emergency shelter, and coordination of camp management. While this initiative has provided more clarity for the coordination arrangements in these specific operational areas, there still exists overall confusion and incoherence resulting from mandates, especially concerning country-level assistance and protection to internally displaced persons. To further improve the current reform and to reduce potential overlap and fragmentation, it would be prudent for the membership to re-examine mandates concerning internally displaced persons, with a view to clearly determining responsibility for assistance to this population, including reinforcing the role of the Emergency Relief Coordinator in coordinating country-level assistance and protection.
103. A gap also exists in addressing the needs of returnees and their repatriation and reintegration, mainly in post-conflict situations. Several mandates have been issued that recognize the role that United Nations agencies can play in facilitating assistance to and repatriation of returnees and that request UNHCR and other agencies to continue efforts to promote permanent and speedy solutions. However, in terms of sustainable voluntary repatriation, the needs of returning refugees are too often not adequately addressed in the development plans of the United Nations country teams. Recent initiatives within the framework of the United Nations Development Group seek to address this problem and should be supported. The establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission may also assist in focusing attention on the transition needs of post-conflict countries, and returning refugees should benefit from this support. As the Peacebuilding Commission takes full form and decisions are taken on which country situations it will address, Member States may wish – in order to fill the gap of addressing the needs of returnees – to review the relevant mandates in relation to those countries, with the aim of ensuring coherence between the actions of the Peacebuilding Commission, UNHCR and related entities.
Mandates and resources
104. In some areas, while mandates strengthening humanitarian activities have been adopted, some of those commitments have not been followed up and supported by adequate and predictable funding. For example, though strengthening the effectiveness of United Nations humanitarian response is a stated aim of the 2005 Summit Outcome , the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs still cannot rely on predictable resources for some of its activities, and the Inter-Agency Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction relies entirely on voluntary contributions. The recent upgrading of the Central Emergency Response Fund is a good step in the right direction, since it should ensure that resources are made available in the initial phases of a humanitarian crisis, once a disaster strikes. However such funds are not a substitute for the adequate and predictable support which is needed in all areas of disaster management. It may therefore be important for Member States to consider improving the predictability of funding, in order to strengthen risk reduction activities.
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