ECOSOC ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT; MAKES RECOMMENDATION ON UNFPA PERSONNEL MATTERS

11.07.03


Begins Consideration of Special Economic,
Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Assistance


The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) this morning adopted a resolution on progress in the implementation of General Assembly resolution 56/201 on the triennial policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system. It also recommended to the General Assembly that formal authority in matters of personnel of the United Nations Population Fund be delegated by the Secretary-General to the Executive Director of the Fund.
In the resolution, the Council reiterated that regular/core resources were the bedrock of the operational activities of the United Nations and called upon all donor countries to increase substantially their contributions to the core/regular budgets of the United Nations development system. It also requested the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies to continue to ensure the alignment and integration of their operational activities for development with national development efforts and priorities.
Furthermore, in adopting the decision concerning the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Council took note of the decisions of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme and of UNFPA on its annual session of 2003 and recommended to the General Assembly that formal authority in matters of personnel of the UNFPA be delegated by the Secretary-General to the Executive Director of the Fund.
The Council also began consideration of its humanitarian affairs segment. In introducing the topic, the Vice-President of ECOSOC, Valery P. Kuchinsky, reviewed the subject matters of the three formal panels which would be held in the context of this segment. The panels would discuss humanitarian financing and the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance, the transition from relief to development, and responding to HIV/AIDS and other widespread diseases in humanitarian relief operations.
Introducing the report of the Secretary-General, Carolyn McAskie, Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that ECOSOC was the only forum in which donor and recipient countries came together with humanitarian practitioners to seek solutions; it thus constituted much more than “talking shop.” Yet, as the humanitarian community continued to work to strengthen the implementation General Assembly resolution 46/182, on the coordination of humanitarian assistance, it had to be done in a manner which protected the safety of humanitarian staff, who daily risked their lives on the front lines.
Armando Duque Gonzales, Chairman of the Joint Inspection Unit, introducing the report of the Unit, said that many of the issues highlighted in the report were under active consideration by the Council during this session, such as emergency preparedness and contingency planning, the transition from relief to development and humanitarian financing. It was hoped that the report would provide additional insight to Member States in their reflection on these issues.
The report of the Joint Inspection Unit, Mr. Gonzales said, called for more coordinated and integrated efforts by the United Nations to reform and enhance its emergency response capabilities in the framework of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). With regard to resource mobilization mechanisms used to respond to post-conflict transition, the report reviewed the funding mechanisms applied in East Timor, notably the experience of the World Bank-administered Trust Fund for East Timor (TFET) in relation to its impact on the role and activities of the United Nations Organization in East Timor, which had proved disappointing, as was reflected in the report.
Addressing the Council in the general debate on the humanitarian affairs segment were representatives of Morocco (on behalf of the Group of 77 and China), Italy (on behalf of the European Union), Japan, Australia, Russian Federation, United States, China, Pakistan, Switzerland, India, Republic of Korea, Ukraine, Canada and Azerbaijan. Representatives of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International Organization for Migration also addressed the Council.
The Council will reconvene this afternoon at 3 p.m. to hold a panel discussion on humanitarian financing and the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance.

Action on Resolution and Decision
The Council adopted, without a vote, a resolution on progress in the implementation of General Assembly resolution 56/201 on the triennial policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system (E/2003/L.20), by which it reiterates that regular/core resources are the bedrock of the operational activities of the United Nations and calls upon all donor countries to increase substantially their contributions to the core/regular budgets of the United Nations development system, in particular the funds and programmes, and wherever possible, to contribute on a multiyear basis. It requests the United Nations development system and its country-level structures to continue their efforts to enhance the quality of the Common Country Assessment (CCA) and to strengthen the operational impact of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). It also requests the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies to continue to ensure the alignment and integration of their operational activities for development with national development efforts and priorities. Furthermore, the resolution emphasizes the importance of the monitoring and evaluation of operational activities of the United Nations system and calls upon the Secretary-General to integrate a stronger focus on lessons learned, results and outcomes in future reports. It also calls upon all organizations of the United Nations system to make additional efforts to promote the development of national evaluation capacities and to improve their gender mainstreaming efforts in operational activities of the United Nations system in all fields.
It also adopted a decision (E/2003/L.13), without a vote, by which it takes note of the decisions of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme and of the United Nations Population Fund on its annual session of 2003 and recommends to the General Assembly that formal authority in matters of personnel of the United Nations Population Fund be delegated by the Secretary-General to the Executive Director of the Fund.

Statements under Humanitarian Affairs Segment
CAROLYN MCASKIE, UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, introducing the report of the Secretary-General, said that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) attached a great deal of importance to the humanitarian segment of the Council’s session. This was the only forum in which donor and recipient countries came together with humanitarian practitioners to seek solutions; it thus constituted much more than “talking shop.” As the humanitarian community continued to work to strengthen the implementation of General Assembly resolution 46/182, on the coordination of humanitarian assistance, it must be done in a manner which protected the safety of humanitarian staff who daily risked their life on the front lines.
Critical to ensuring effective disaster relief was the international community’s ability to mount a timely and coordinated effort, she said. During the past twelve months there had been significant efforts to strengthen system-wide disaster response mechanisms and tools. As requested by the Economic and Social Council, urban search and rescue mechanisms had been strengthened. These provisions had already been tested in the response to earthquakes in Turkey and Algeria.
HIV/AIDS had become a humanitarian crisis of catastrophic proportions, Ms. McAskie said. Ten times as many people died in Africa from AIDS, than they did from war. Moreover, where HIV prevalence was high, populations and communities were weakened, while conflict and famine aggravated the spread of HIV/AIDS. It must be acknowledged that women’s lack of equality in Africa was too often their death sentence, as they were forced to adopt coping strategies that increased their susceptibility to HIV/AIDS. The attention and resources now devoted to the fight against HIV/AIDS could provide entry points for interventions to fight this epidemic and to address the structural factors that made women and girls more susceptible to HIV/AIDS, yet much more needed to be done to address the related issues of HIV/AIDS, food security and good governance. The challenge of integrating a gender perspective into humanitarian coordination was of prime importance, but the United Nations had not made as much progress as hoped in this area, as evidenced by the many women in the Bunia region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who had been violently raped.
In regard of financing, she said that the Inter-agency Standing Committee had continued to implement the recommendations contained in the Action Plan for the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP). In the area of humanitarian financing, it was worrisome that humanitarian response in certain countries was continually hampered. Furthermore, given that 65 per cent of countries emerging from conflict in Africa lapsed back into conflict, it was vital to have an effective strategy to ensure that humanitarian activities were reinforced by corresponding rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts, and that humanitarian activities were not conducted in a manner that hampered them.
ARMANDO DUQUE GONZALEZ, Chairman of the Joint Inspection Unit, introducing the report of the Unit, said the East Timor case had presented the United Nations system with enormous challenges in emergency and post-emergency situations. The report recognized and applauded the contributions made by the United Nations Organization to the stability, reconstruction and development efforts in East Timor from early September 1999 until it independence on 20 May 2002. The report aimed to record this experience and highlight the wealth of lessons to be drawn from it to consolidate successes and avoid shortcomings in the future, notably with regard to the coordination among United Nations organizations in emergency and post-emergency situations. Many of the issues highlighted in the report were under active consideration by the Council during this session, such as the emergency preparedness and contingency planning, the transition from relief to development and humanitarian financing. It was hoped that the report would provide additional insights to Member States in their reflection on these issues.
The report called for more coordinated and integrated efforts by the United Nations to reform and enhance their emergency response capabilities in the framework of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). With regard to emergency preparedness and contingency, the Unit welcomed the assurances by the Chief Evaluation Board for Coordination (CEB) that the system had been taking appropriate steps in defining comprehensive policy guidelines that addressed problems experienced in East Timor. With regard to resource mobilization mechanisms used to respond to post-conflict transition, the report reviewed the funding mechanisms applied in East Timor, notably the experience of the World Bank-administered Trust Fund for East Timor (TFET) in relation to its impact on the role and activities of the United Nations Organization in East Timor.
As reflected in the report, this experience proved disappointing for the United Nations agencies as almost none of them got any funding from it, nor did they manage to provide technical expertise or assistance through its funding. The report suggested that an effort to address the sectoral gaps within the consolidated appeals process (CAP) would, in part, benefit from the strengthening and reform of the institutional capabilities for emergency response in the United Nations organizations. It might also be useful to review the underlying dynamics of the CAP to ensure that it did not create a competitive atmosphere that resulted in disincentives for good programming by the organizations of the system in their efforts to increase emergency funding allocation, and instead focus more on the identification of true needs.

Documents
Under its agenda item on special economic, humanitarian and disaster relief assistance, there is a report of the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Joint Inspection Unit entitled “Evaluation of United Nations system response in East Timor: coordination and effectiveness” (document E/2003/80). The objective of the report is to evaluate the system response in East Timor, including arrangements, processes and mechanisms applied, so as to highlight lessons from the experience with a view to improving coordination among United Nations organizations and maximizing the impact and effectiveness of their operations and post-conflict situations. The report also contains a section of the funding mechanism applied in East Timor and the experience of the Trust Fund for East Timor. There is an addendum to the report, in the form of a note which contains the Secretary-General’s comments, and those of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), on the report of the Unit.
There is also a report of the Secretary-General on strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations (E/2003/85), which addressed this theme with particular attention to humanitarian financing and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance and the transition from relief to development. The report examines some of the key humanitarian developments and challenges of the past year. Some of the issues addressed relate to the protection of civilians, internally displaced persons, contingency planning, natural disasters and HIV/AIDS in the context of emergencies. The report then provides a detailed analysis of its two main themes and addresses the major challenges faced in the context of the transition from relief to development and humanitarian financing.
Finally, there is a letter dated 28 May 2003 from the Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General (E/2003/86) transmitting the outcome the XVII Inter-American Conference on equity in health, road to development, held under the joint sponsorship of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Government of Chile, in Santiago, Chile, from 23 to 26 April 2003.

General Debate on Humanitarian Affairs Segment
LOTFI BOUCHAARA (Morocco), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said that the emphasis on financing and ensuring the efficiency of humanitarian aid this year was particularly welcome. The guidelines contained in the annex to resolution 46/182 should continue to be the basis for all responses to humanitarian emergency requests for assistance, which meant that primary responsibility for the organization and delivery of humanitarian assistance should fall upon the concerned States. Having witnessed an increase in the number of natural disasters in recent years, especially in developing countries, it was urgent to reduce vulnerable situations through a global approach based on international cooperation. It was, therefore, of paramount importance to strengthen national and local capacities, to transfer the appropriate technologies and to develop a system of advance warning in order to avoid natural disasters.
Welcoming the ongoing efforts of the Inter-agency Standing Committee to develop a code of conduct for humanitarian staff in order to prevent exploitation, sexual abuse and the misuse of humanitarian assistance, he acknowledged the urgent necessity of systematically taking into account a gender-specific approach in the development and implementation of humanitarian aid. All parties to an armed conflict should adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law, and safe and secure access should be granted to humanitarian personnel in order for them to access needy populations.
The issue of coordination among the various bodies and agencies providing humanitarian assistance within the United Nations system, in particular the transition from relief to development, was of growing interest, he said. While aid was abundantly provided in humanitarian emergency situations that benefited from widespread media coverage, as soon as the media attention faded so did the availability of resources become scarcer; this was a gap that needed to be bridged. There was also a need to mobilize to replenish the Global Fund to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
PAOLO BRUNI (Italy), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the humanitarian segment provided the humanitarian community with an opportunity to gather and deliberate on how to improve the coordination as well as the effectiveness and timely delivery of humanitarian assistance. The European Union was looking forward to an in-depth debate over the next three days that built on the report of the Secretary-General and the negotiations that had been taking place in New York. In the past year there had been several important developments in the area of humanitarian assistance, and new challenges had emerged for the actors involved. For the European Union, some of the most critical ones were: the establishment of a Joint Working Group on Transition Issues tasked to elaborate on challenges related to the transition from relief to development; the role of the United Nations in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Iraq; the establishment of the International Criminal Court; the work of the Security Council on the protection of civilians in armed conflict; and the adoption of the Inter Agency Standing Committee of a Plan of Action that established six core principles as minimum standards of behavior for United Nations civilian staff members.
The European Union and its Member States accepted their responsibilities as major humanitarian donors, recognized that many measures could be taken to enhance the coherence and effectiveness of their action and their accountability to beneficiaries. Nevertheless, the European Union believed that there was more to the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance than just the level and allocation of funding. Aid effectiveness also depended on inter-agency coordination. At the same time, it was imperative to underline that to meet the needs of affected populations, the various United Nations organizations, the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations had an obligation to deliver high-quality humanitarian assistance with maximum speed and efficiency. More could be done in the area of monitoring and evaluation in this area. However, it must be recalled that these organizations often worked in extremely difficult and hazardous conditions.
EIJI YAMAMOTO (Japan) said that in reinforcing international solidarity, human security should be promoted. To do this in a globalized world, it was necessary to launch a programme combining top-down security and people-centered bottom-up resilience, which could be realized through empowering each individual. Early preparedness for humanitarian crises was important to the strengthening of coordination in United Nations humanitarian assistance. As no single agency was perfectly equipped to deal with a given humanitarian situation, OCHA’s role as coordinator deserved the full respect and cooperation of all operational humanitarian agencies.
Although the international community had a collective responsibility to conduct humanitarian assistance, for which coordination with and among donors was also necessary, he warned that no matter how important coordination among donors was, donor governments’ needs to be accountable to their taxpayers would always be more important. Too much emphasis on harmonization leading to disregard for the requirements of specific donors could drive away those countries that had been contributing funds for humanitarian assistance.
PETER CALLAN (Australia) strongly supported the central role played by OCHA in humanitarian advocacy, policy and coordination and welcomed its mechanisms to deal with natural disasters and complex emergencies. But there remained much to do, as the Humanitarian Financing Studies and the Good Donorship Conclusions reminded Member States. The United Nations needed to produce better, more systematic and comparable assessments of humanitarian need as a basis for CAPs, CHAPs and donor decisions. Agencies in the field must improve their collaboration with each other and with other stakeholders, backed up by real cooperation from Headquarters. Managing the emergency cycle and the transition from relief to development called for stronger analysis and greater continuity of effort. The community of humanitarian actors needed to be more accountable to its key stakeholders, including beneficiaries. Were there enough frank and independent evaluations of responses to humanitarian emergencies, he asked. Australia welcomed the steps taken by the United Nations over the past year to mainstream gender into its policies and programmes and to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse. The protection of women and children was vital, also since women were effective agents for peace and recovery, for preventing conflict and for mitigating humanitarian impact.
VASSILY NEBENZIA (Russian Federation) noted that the overall volume of humanitarian resources contributed to the United Nations system was dropping, while the share sent through non-governmental organizations and bilaterally was increasing; this was a phenomenon that should be analyzed. In the current international situation, it was more necessary than ever to predict and prepare for emergency situations and to ensure the ability for rapid reaction. The need to plan for rebuilding and development assistance was also important. This was shown in Afghanistan where the prerequisites of establishing international peace and ensuring reconciliation were numerous. Furthermore, he said that all major participants in the recovery process had contingency reserves, which should, if necessary, be put into action without waiting for reaction from the donor community, as this could be slow. A clearer definition of humanitarian assistance and its relation to development assistance was also needed.
CLAUDIA SERWER (United States) said recent months had seen the resumption or intensification of numerous conflicts. Liberia was caught in a fierce downward spiral of violence, superimposed on an already fragile West African dynamic. The ongoing fighting, which had spread across the country and penetrated the nation’s capital, had made the provision of humanitarian assistance impossible in most of the country. This tragic scenario in Liberia stood as a grim hallmark of humanitarian crises, where the failings of political and social efforts had left a country on the verge of collapse and the people in a state of near constant despair. Reference was also made to the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the humanitarian impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In confronting today’s numerous crises, it was important to envisage an approach that transcended humanitarian responses. In complex emergencies, one must seek to protect and assist vulnerable civilian populations while simultaneously engaging political actors in solutions at a variety of levels. Efforts must address underlying causes of both conflict and natural disasters, and more concertedly focus on durable solutions.
LI TIANWU (China) stressed that in providing humanitarian assistance to affected States, the United Nations and the international community must always adhere strictly to the guiding principles of acting with humanity, neutrality and impartiality, fully respecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity of recipient States. Humanitarian assistance activities must be initiated with the consent of and on the basis of an appeal by the State concerned, without any conditions attached. The Chinese delegation believed that adequate funding for assistance was a necessary condition and a basic guarantee for shortening the transition from relief to development. The consolidated appeals process, as a tool for coordination, strategic planning and awareness promotion, had played an important role in financing humanitarian assistance. In recent years, however, the level of financing through this channel had been falling steadily in proportion, which was raising concern for all. In 2002, most appeals encountered funding shortages, as much as 70 per cent for some countries. It was hoped that work in this area would be further strengthened. In conclusion, he expressed China’s gratitude for the concern and assistance that OCHA provided to China after the earthquake in Xinjiang at the beginning of this year.
IMTIAZ HUSSAIN (Pakistan) said that the provision of predictable and stable resources to meet the needs of humanitarian assistance through the United Nations system was necessary to deal with emergency situations. Furthermore, full respect for international humanitarian law was the only guarantee for the protection of civilians and international humanitarian personnel. As one of the largest contributors of troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions, the safety of United Nations personnel was of primary importance to Pakistan; there should be no impunity for those harming international personnel and they should be bought to trial without delay. Moreover, the displacement of more than 19 million people around the world highlighted the enormity of the challenge facing the United Nations. The solution to this problem would only be realized through effective acceptance of responsibility and burden sharing. Yet, a unified and coordinated approach to natural disasters and humanitarian emergency had yet to become a reality.
TONI FRISCH (Switzerland) reconfirmed his country's commitment in participating in humanitarian assistance work, including protection and assistance. The aim must be to mitigate human suffering. Regarding the financing of humanitarian assistance, there was a need to broaden one’s perspective to include pre-emptive and post-emergency plans and programmes. Switzerland welcomed the activities of the Working Group of the Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs and would look carefully at the recommendations put forward to Member States. He stressed that preparedness factors must be given priority within humanitarian assistance, ensuring that assistance would be speedy and efficient. It was necessary to focus further on protecting innocent civilians during armed conflict, with particular attention being the plight of women and children. Protection and respect for humanitarian international law was incumbent upon all parties to conflict, and Switzerland encouraged all Member States that had not done so to ratify the Optional Protocols to the Geneva Convention. He called upon warring parties to respect fully the independence of staff and property of the humanitarian community, including the United Nations and non-governmental organizations. The important role of the International Criminal Court was stressed in this connection.
ACHAMKULANGARE GOPINATH (India) said that India attached the highest importance to the provision of humanitarian assistance to those in need. This was why, in spite of its resource constraints, India provided such assistance in the true spirit of south-south cooperation. India had recently announced humanitarian assistance totaling $ 20 million for the people of Iraq, the bulk of which would be channeled through the United Nations. India was concerned that the growth in the volume of humanitarian assistance had been accompanied by an overall decline in the flows of official development assistance. Humanitarian assistance was crowding out the resources required for development. This was unfortunate since it was development assistance which, in the long term, reduced the need for emergency humanitarian assistance. Such a situation had come about not only because of the high profile that humanitarian assistance received but also because of its value as a more flexible financial instrument for donors. Furthermore, humanitarian assistance was uneven and not clearly distributed on the basis of need since donor decisions were not driven by needs but more by domestic considerations, traditional patterns of expenditure and geo-political interests. This was, it had to be said, totally contrary to the basic tenets on humanitarian assistance contained in General Assembly resolution 46/182.
KYUNG-WHA KANG (Republic of Korea) said that in view of the many tragedies involving the abduction or killing of humanitarian staff, ‘blatant disrespect for humanitarian work’ and the ‘specific targeting of humanitarian personnel by belligerents’ should not be allowed to become a trend; governments and non-state actors must redouble their commitments not to let a climate of impunity prevail and to promptly bring to justice those responsible for such attacks. Emphasizing the need for greater integration of a gender perspective in all aspects of emergency humanitarian assistance, she said gender-mainstreaming was equally important for effective post-conflict reconstruction in war-torn lands as well as for transitions from emergency to normalcy in situations of natural disaster and other traumas. The need for humanitarian assistance remained extensive throughout the world. No group of people in dire circumstances should remain beyond the reach of the international community to deliver life-saving assistance. Yet, the issue of financing went beyond securing needed funds and other resources to ensuring the effective use of resources in a manner sensitive to needs on the ground.
MYKHAILO V. SKURATOVSKYI (Ukraine) highlighted the necessity of the renewed consideration of the transition from relief to development. This concept had gained particular relevance this year since the United Nations system was becoming more involved in major transitional programmes around the world. While welcoming the reported positive developments towards the settlement of long-standing conflicts in Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, Sierra Leone and Sudan, he expressed strong concern over the protracted and re-emerging conflicts in other parts of the world, aggravating human suffering. Reports also stressed the disturbing trend towards the increasing occurrence of natural disasters, leaving millions of people in urgent need of help. Concern was also expressed about the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS and Ukraine joined the Secretary-General’s appeal to implement the Declaration of Commitments on HIV/AIDS, setting the stage and agenda for decisively dealing with the epidemic in conflict situations. Efforts to cope with the problem could only be successful if reinforced by concrete action on the part of Member States, particularly through development of national strategies that addressed the spread of HIV/AIDS among humanitarian workers and international peacekeepers. As a major troop contributing country to United Nations peacekeeping operations, Ukraine had been among the first to incorporate HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention and safe behavior in pre-deployment training for its peacekeeping units.
ABBAS GULLET (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) said that language and attitudes must change and that new ways of achieving results must be found. This new way of thinking must include three elements: a resolve to address problems in an holistic manner; all humanitarian interventions must incorporate a long-term perspective from the outset; and all strategies must highlight and promote the role and contribution of women, as well as their protection. The need to find new ways of doing business was as acutely felt in the humanitarian financing debate, while the debate on the transition from relief to development should be broadened. While the transition from conflict to recovery remained important, countries emerging from natural disasters merited just as much attention. As part of its annual contribution to the humanitarian debate, the International Federation published its World Disasters Report, the subject of which was “Ethics in Aid” this year.
LOUISE MARCHAND (Canada) highlighted the year’s challenges in Iraq, Bunia, Aceh, and Monrovia, as well as due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa. The suffering of individual civilians caught up in various conflict zones this past year could have been reduced had the existing provisions of international law been respected, she said. If the international community was serious about meeting obligations to protect war affected civilians, Member States must translate rhetorical commitments to international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law into action, and make it meaningful on the country level. More positive developments over the past year included progress made to address sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian crises. The international community was far from seeing an end to this problem – in fact, increased awareness had brought more cases to light. Continued collaboration was encouraged among all actors on this issue, including Governments, to ensure that those already vulnerable were not further victimized by those deployed to assist them. Where there were clear geo-political interests, as in Afghanistan, it was easier to mobilize the will and resources to respond effectively to transition needs. The challenge was to mobilize that same will and resources for less visible crises where needs were just as acute.
ROBERT PAIVA (International Organization for Migration) said that IOM was committed to working with its partners, under OCHA’s leadership, in order to provide maximum added value to inter-agency responses to humanitarian emergency needs and transition programming. Welcoming the recent conclusions of the Stockholm Conference on Good Humanitarian Donorship, he said that integrated transition planning and longer-term poverty reduction strategies remained key to the ability to reduce future conflict sensitivity. Dealing with population displacement resulting from complex emergencies was becoming an ever greater challenge; to address better the specific needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs), IOM had been among the first to respond to OCHA’s call for support of the IDP Unit by seconding a colleague to it from the outset. IOM also associated itself firmly with its Inter-agency Standing Committee partners in calling upon both States and non-state actors to bring an end to such acts. After the end of conflict, IOM continued to play a role in managing the transition to peace through the reintegration of the displaced or the former combatant, rebuilding governments migration management capacities, fostering diasporas’ participation in electoral processes, peacemaking and development and facilitating property claim settlements.
HUSNIYYA MAMADOVA (Azerbaijan) said she supported the position of the Secretary-General when he attached global dimension to the problems of internal displacement and requested a cooperative based approach in assisting affected people. Azerbaijan considered the application of the approach designed to partially improve living conditions with respect to internal re-settlers. Azerbaijan, being a conflict-affected country as a result of the Armenian aggression had one of the largest displaced populations in the world. Approximately one in every eight persons was either internally displaced or a refugee. Azerbaijan therefore believed that it should have been considered in the report of the Secretary-General. She informed ECOSOC that the present situation of the “frozen conflict” must not be forgotten by international attention and regretted current donor fatigue. Such a situation could do nothing but negatively affect the living conditions of refugees and internally displaced persons. Referring to recent natural disasters, she told the Council about the serious floods and landslides that had struck Azerbaijan, creating a critical emergency situation. The Government therefore called on all relevant stakeholders to assist in this situation, as well as to participate towards capacity building and early warning systems.



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