On behalf of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies (IFRC), let me first thank you for the opportunity
to speak today on this most important item.
As the largest humanitarian network in the world and a trusted
partner of the United Nations, we particularly appreciate the
recognition given to National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
and to our humanitarian principles by Under Secretary General
Jan Egeland and the speakers who followed him in our debate.
We also appreciate that the UN Secretary General's reports for
this particular segment identify a number of important achievements
and challenges in our humanitarian work, and thematic concentrations
like the need to address chronically under-funded crises are
of the utmost importance.
Mr. President, 2005 was marked by an unprecedented number of
natural disasters, and 2006 has been marked by wide-ranging
post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation activities for millions
who suffered around the world.
Having assisted 1.7 million people affected by the Indian Ocean
Tsunami, the IFRC is now busy providing housing and water and
sanitation services, developing livelihoods, and rehabilitating
schools, community centres, and health facilities.
In Pakistan, where 123,000 families received emergency assistance,
the focus on relief, shelter, and medical assistance has given
way to efforts to restore livelihoods and housing.
Our operations in Central America and the Caribbean assisted
170,000 people during the 2005 hurricane season, and have since
focused on strengthening community capacity to respond to natural
disasters, rehabilitating water and sanitation systems, and
raising public awareness of basic health practices.
In the Sahel region, where the IFRC provided food to over 600,000
people, the focus is now on the provision of cash grants for
livelihood development.
And in Java, Indonesia, the IFRC is looking at the recovery
needs of those affected by the May 27 earthquake, having already
provided 65,000 families with emergency relief.
This unprecedented burden for people already in a state of extreme
vulnerability has placed great strains on humanitarian organisations
too. The International Federation has received generous support
for its program work, but we share with other organisations
a concern about how that early support will be sustained as
many different disaster situations move from the need for emergency
support into longer term recovery action.
Our focus on recovery activities this year has provided further
reflection on how to approach the delicate transition from relief
to development following a natural disaster.
As we have been saying for many years, it is essential that
recovery planning must begin in the immediate aftermath of a
disaster.
Delayed planning of recovery work prevents international actors
from harnessing the early efforts of survivors themselves, who
typically begin piecing their lives and livelihoods together
days - and not weeks - following an event.
Disaster relief and recovery are not sequential, but overlapping
processes, so the provision of relief goods must be done in
tandem with early efforts to develop livelihoods and transitional
housing.
By integrating risk reduction measures into recovery activities,
it is possible to lay the groundwork for safer and stronger
communities, while maximising the benefits of financial resources
allocated for short and medium term use.
Recovery is a multi-dimensional process, involving physical,
psychological, economic and environmental aspects that are largely
inseparable. The rehabilitation of livelihoods not only restores
incomes and dignity, but also provides beneficiaries with a
sense of control and ownership that positively impacts their
psychological recovery.
From this, it is clear that disasters offer unique opportunities
to "build back better" and to strengthen community resilience.
Based on these observations we wish for greater and earlier
attention to, and increased funding for post-disaster recovery.
Indeed, the IFRC believes that to ensure a holistic and coherent
recovery, greater coordination between relief and development
actors - including development banks - should be promoted.
Donors, specifically, should be encouraged to recognise the
benefits of integrating risk reduction activities in recovery
efforts, and to consider more flexible funding that is not contingent
upon strict definitions of relief, recovery, and development
phases.
It is also crucial to balance the natural human desire for quick
spending for with the need to ensure that consultation and planning
processes include the local communities as well as government
authorities.
Without that community consultation it is difficult to predict
that recovery will be sustainable.
Mr. President, let me now touch on the importance of strengthening
local, national and regional capacities to prepare for and respond
to crises, for it is central to improving the coordination of
emergency humanitarian assistance today. It is also, for us
in the International Federation, a central issue which should
receive concentrated attention in this Humanitarian Segment.
It is a basic element in any national or international strategy
for disaster reduction, as is clear from many declarations and
other documents, including the Hyogo Framework for Action.
As many here know, the IFRC's work is based on recognition of
the primacy of domestic actors in responding to their own emergency
needs.
The auxiliary role of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to
their public authorities is proof of this, and we continue to
work daily to help interested national authorities develop disaster
management institutions, contingency plans, and preparedness
measures, which have proven to reduce the impact of and improve
response to such disasters.
Supporting local authorities in disaster management is an important
part of this, given the inevitably localised nature of disasters,
and the need to align recovery efforts with local plans, to
ensure their sustainability.
After all, once the international community leaves, it is communities
and local authorities that inherit the responsibility for following
up on important rehabilitation work.
The IFRC works hard to build wider understanding of the central
role of communities themselves and the volunteers within them,
in responding to humanitarian needs, in both natural disasters
and complex emergencies.
Through participatory methods, the IFRC engages communities
actively in defining their needs and in designing assistance,
in accordance with both local community needs and government
policy.
An example of this can be found in Sri Lanka, where the IFRC
supports the development of owner-built housing for Tsunami-affected
people, and where experience to date has shown that such beneficiary
involvement reduces the cost of assistance, increases the speed
of delivery, builds local skills, supports the local economy,
and supports psychological rehabilitation.
In recognition of the role played by communities, one of our
core mandates is the development of local capacity, and we were
pleased to see that our community-based approach was commended
by the Secretary General in his report, and that the essential
role of volunteers was also recognised.
Our work to support community participation includes building
understandings among donors of the importance of accountability
to beneficiaries and their involvement in the evaluation of
assistance.
An example of this is an effort undertaken in five Tsunami affected
countries, where the IFRC, WHO, UNDP are working with governments
to establish a system of surveys and indicators - including
at the household level - to measure if recovery is achieving
its desired effects for the intended beneficiaries.
It is also well-known that the International Federation and
its National Society membership seeks to reinforce local capacity
through volunteer training and education.
This, despite many kind words and statements, remains one of
the most chronically underfunded aspects of humanitarian assistance
programming.
Despite those words, and despite the clear evidence of the value
and cost-effectiveness, the harsh fact is that volunteers remain
an often overlooked resource for humanitarian assistance.
We therefore reiterate our call on Governments to improve the
environment for volunteers and to support volunteer organisations
with the resources they need to do their work.
Time does not permit a deeper examination of underfunded emergencies
themselves, but the issue has been covered well in the Secretary-General's
report.
We agree with the conclusion that while there are many reasons
for imbalance in humanitarian aid flows, there needs to be consistent
attention to needs and that it is a good idea to link targets
to official development assistance and to the Millennium Development
Goals .
Indeed, this year's World Disasters Report will be reviewing
under-funded emergencies, and we hope that next year it will
be possible for ECOSOC to devote real time to this important
subject.
The past year has also been a momentous time for the humanitarian
system, given the implementation of a number of important reforms.
At the last ECOSOC session, we expressed our support for strengthening
the coordination of humanitarian assistance, and we would like
to do that again today.
We value our excellent cooperation with OCHA and support the
important role of the Inter Agency Standing Committee in bringing
greater coordination among humanitarian actors. In this regard,
we welcome the expansion of UN disaster management teams at
the field level, and welcome the opportunity to participate
in IASC fora at the field level, to enhance information sharing
and joint-decision making.
Allow me now to share some brief considerations on the progress
of reforms, as we see it at this point.
The cluster approach. As you may know, the IFRC has agreed to
take a key role in coordinating the provision of emergency shelter
in natural disasters, and to actively participate in other relevant
clusters, as appropriate.
Our discussions with OCHA and the Emergency Relief Coordinator
have made clear our readiness to play a role alongside other
actors and coordinate our work and address humanitarian challenges
with other humanitarian actors, acting all the time within our
own Fundamental Principles and particularly those of independence
and neutrality.
Our recent experience as emergency shelter cluster convenor
in Java was positive from that standpoint. It demonstrated that
we can effectively provide leadership for the emergency shelter
response, and can work cooperatively with the whole UN humanitarian
system but outside the management responsibility of the Emergency
Relief Coordinator or his field staff.
Our experience as an emergency shelter cluster convenor also
highlighted a number of challenges presented by such a role,
including the problem of defining emergency shelter in relation
to transitional housing, of delineating shelter activities that
might overlap with those performed by other clusters, and of
ensuring an adequate exit strategy at the end of the emergency
phase.
It was also our impression from participating in discussions
within a number of other clusters that critical attention must
be given to the coordination of needs assessments, the gathering
and sharing of information, and to ensuring the full involvement
of local and national capacity.
On this last point, the IFRC is committed to building its role,
through the IASC, in support of the improvement of disaster
response capacity at the local, national and regional levels.
At another level, we continue to discuss the forward implications
of the work we initiated in 2001 on International Disaster Response
Laws, Rules and Principles (IDRL).
A strengthened mandate was given to the IFRC on this topic by
governments and National Societies at the 28th International
Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in 2003, and we
are preparing a substantive report with recommendations for
the next Conference, at the end of 2007.
Consultations have involved many governments, organisations,
NGOs, communities, academics and others. We are now in an advanced
stage of stakeholder definition, using work done in the field
in different parts of the world to get a clear indication of
what we should bring for further discussion at the 2007 Conference.
The first of a series of regional meetings was held recently
in Antalya, with the generous assistance and support of both
the Government and the Red Crescent Society of Turkey.
We are also hosting a side event during this session of ECOSOC
to discuss the work done so far and draw attention to some of
the findings of case studies done in certain of the countries
affected by the 2004 Tsunami.
Mr President, The other important thematic issue for the segment
this year is gender-based violence.
Our task is to ensure that in all phases of humanitarian action
we proactively work for the protection of vulnerable people
from additional harm.
Protection is a broad concept but one part of it that we would
like to highlight here is that of the prevention of sexual exploitation
and abuse.
This topic, like too many others in this humanitarian zone,
is surrounded by statements of good intentions but there is
often too little action.
We recognise that the IFRC has a special task because of our
ability to support the work of National Societies in their work
to protect the vulnerable from sexual violence and other assaults
on dignity.
We are strengthening the work of National Societies and the
IFRC Secretariat on this issue. This has been done alongside
a growing collaboration with intergovernmental organisations
and NGOs aimed at sharing training resources and preventative
approaches.
We will take this further with OCHA and others concerned in
IASC and elsewhere, for we are firmly of the view that the measures
against gender-based violence must come from and to all levels
of government and society.
To conclude, Mr President, we in the International Federation
see this ECOSOC segment as an opportunity to engage in a series
of formal and informal dialogues on matters of great importance
to us all.
There is, however, still room for improvement and we look forward
to contributing views on how better to involve those most vulnerable
to disasters as the work proceeds.
We also look forward to considering ways to put concrete targets
alongside aspirational texts like the Hyogo Framework for Action
and even the outcomes of the Third Early Warning Conference
held this year in Bonn.
We will take this further in preparations for the 30th International
Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, to be held in
November-December 2007 in Geneva.
Your expertise, Mr President, and that of the Bureau and other
contributors to this segment will be invaluable during that
process. |
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