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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
New Humanitarian Actors
>> Foreign Aid in the National Interest >> Chapter 5 >> New Humanitarian Actors Jump to Chapter 5 Sections:
>> Humanitarian aid in the 1990's >> New humanitarian actors >> Innovations, failures and the crisis in humanitarian aid >> Evolving practices and future changes >> Looking ahead >> Background paper >> References
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs was created to address coordination, but for many reasons (including insufficient authority, financial resources, and qualified staff), it has been unable to meet the challenges of complex emergency responses. Without radical restructuring of the humanitarian architecture (say, by creating a central response agency or pooling donor resources into a single response fund in or out of the UN options unpopular with both donors and UN agencies), prospects are poor for resolving the coordination conundrum in the near term.
International Agencies
On the civilian side, the International Committee of the Red Cross has been joined by a large contingent of other actors. Three operational UN agencies (autonomous and funded through voluntary contributions and reporting to separate governing boards) take the lead in responding to complex humanitarian emergencies. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is responsible for protecting and assisting refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund focuses on the needs of women and children, and the World Food Program emphasizes food movements and logistics. The United Nations Development Programme’s role has been limited by its traditional ties to country governments, but at times it has played an important coordination function at the field level. It is also playing new roles in crisis prevention and recovery. The Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization, though not central players, are also positioning themselves to become more involved in emergency settings.
These agencies have changed over the last decade.
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- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is doing more to help people in refugee-like situations. In Bosnia and Herzegovina it mounted a relief operation during a war for the first time in its history, aiding refugees, internally displaced persons, and other war-affected groups. But while its assistance capacity has expanded to address conflict settings, its protection abilities have failed to keep pace. Thus it is working to improve both legal protection for refugees and physical protection for all the populations it serves.
- The World Food Program has evolved from a predominantly development agency to one focused on emergency responses. In 1990 development programs absorbed about 70 percent of the agency’s resources-but today, just over 10 percent. New strategic priorities include a strong commitment to ensuring that women play a central role in gaining access to and managing the distribution of food.
- The United Nations Children’s Fund has taken steps to mainstream emergency responses throughout its systems.
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Last Updated on: October 07, 2009 |
