Valerie Amos, who recently returned from Syria: “The rules for humanitarian aid must be reviewed”
The groups providing humanitarian aid must be extended to include non-traditional donors and the Arab countries. This message was emphasised by UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos during her visit to Finland.
According to Valerie Amos, change requires active dialogue and cooperation between all central developing countries, and to some extent it can also mean a revision of the old game rules.
“It is not enough that we keeps calling out to others to come here to our tent. We must also be able to agree on changes that make the tent comfortable and spacious for others, too,” Amos stated.
Valerie Amos participated in the meeting for Nordic donors organised in Finland by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. At the same time, she met with Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala; she briefed the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Finnish Parliament about the situation, among others, in Syria, South Sudan and the Horn of Africa, and held talks with Finnish humanitarian aid actors.
Amos came to Finland from New York, where she made a quick stop to change suitcase when returning from her assessment trip to Syria, which has been torn by violence.
Division of tasks between UN agencies still faltering
The Nordic meeting focused largely on humanitarian aid in the reform process. Humanitarian reform has been promoted, among other things, by establishing CERF, the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, a 500 million dollar emergency fund which can grant money within 24 hours of a mega-disaster.
The division of tasks between UN agencies, in turn, has been clarified by dividing sector responsibilities among the various organisations. In practice, however, coordination often falters and meetings have become more like massive information events rather than strategic decision-making opportunities.
OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, has not always been able to be the first on the scene in times of crisis, nor have the organisations in the field always agreed to be coordinated.
Especially in connection with major disasters, such as the earthquake in Haiti and the floods in Pakistan, the UN’s activities and ability to work in a coordinated fashion have been criticised.
A new rapid-action model adopted
Amos has been quick to address these problems and has embarked on an ambitious agenda with a view to trimming the system to be faster and to work together. A new rapid-action model has been agreed in the UN so that in connection with major disasters, agency leaders are immediately called to a meeting to agree on strategic policies.
“UN agencies should be aware that individual performances cannot be assessed in the face of humanitarian crises; it is how the United Nations as a whole is able to respond to crises. In the future, we aim to measure the results specifically at a collective level. The main emphasis is on achieving tangible results,” Amos stressed.
OCHA is now focusing on emergency preparedness across the board. In particular, investment is made in leadership and in strengthening the capacity of humanitarian coordinators by means of training and field assistance made available to them.
Attracting new donors
Amos also stressed that the group providing humanitarian aid needs to be expanded. This calls for active dialogue and cooperation between all central developing countries. For example, Turkey and Brazil have shown interest in increasing their humanitarian activities. The Arab countries must be more involved.
This may to some extent also mean a revision of the old game rules. “However, this does not mean abandonment of the basic humanitarian principles,” Amos said.
The neutrality of humanitarian aid must be upheld
In the case of Syria, and also of Libya, Amos has had to fight tooth and nail on behalf of the impartiality of humanitarian aid.
“We need to find more effective ways to promote the necessary political solutions while at the same time maintaining the neutrality of humanitarian aid. The problem is that when a political solution is not easy to find, too many people want to jump on the bandwagon of humanitarian aid and use it as a hobby-horse for other objectives,” she continued.