The mandate for United Nations humanitarian action stems from the 1991 General Assembly Resolution 46/182, which was adopted in order to strengthen the organization's response to complex emergencies and natural disasters. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is tasked with the overall coordination of the humanitarian response of all relevant UN entities and international and national actors. OCHA’s overall mission is to “…alleviat[e] human suffering in disasters and emergencies; advocate for the rights of people in need; promote preparedness and prevention; and facilitate sustainable solutions."
OCHA has a mandate for coordination of humanitarian response, policy development and advocacy. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs - Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) has primary responsibility for advising the United Nations Secretary-General on all issues related to humanitarian emergencies and is often requested to brief the Security Council and other UN departments and agencies on impending or deteriorating crises.
The Emergency Relief Coordinator also serves as chair of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the committee through which OCHA carries out its coordination function. The IASC is composed of humanitarian partners including all relevant UN entities, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, and several NGOs.
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OCHA and the prevention of Genocide
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ policy and advocacy mandate places it in a unique position to aide in the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities. Victims of genocide and mass atrocities fall squarely within the vulnerable groups that OCHA is working to protect and deliver services to.
OCHA plays a lead role in coordinating advocacy on humanitarian issues, giving a voice to victims and working to ensure that humanitarian issues and concerns are fully considered by all relevant international policy decision-makers. With regards to the ongoing conflict in Darfur, both the former ERC Ian Egeland and current ERC John Holmes continue to be outspoken with UN decision-makers and member states about atrocities which have driven approximately 2 million people from their homes in Darfur since the conflict began in 2003. Addressing the Security Council on 22 April 2008, John Holmes told council members, “I am saddened and angry that, after five years of suffering, and four years since this Council became actively engaged, we have still not been able to find a lasting solution to the suffering of [the] millions of men, women and children.”
Additionally, OCHA coordinates advocacy positions on issues such as sanctions, the proliferation of small arms and landmines. OCHA has also become a key player in the debate on the protection of civilians. In 1999, recognizing the complex dynamics of conflict and the devastating effects of armed conflict on civilians, the UN Security Council requested that the Secretary-General report on how the Security Council can better act to protect civilians in armed conflict. OCHA is responsible for the preparation of these SG reports. Since 1999, five reports have been presented to the Security Council. The Security Council is committed to holding semi-annual briefings on the topic and the Security Council has adopted three resolutions on the issue.
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The Advocacy and Information Management Branch (AIMB) of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, through several sub-units and projects, works to promote effective advocacy, public information, and information management on humanitarian issues. AIMB is well equipped to monitor, collect, and disseminate early warning information on developing and deteriorating crises including situations indicative of genocide and mass atrocities. Maximizing its presence in 43 countries and through information tools such as ReliefWeb and the Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN), OCHA has successfully demonstrated its capacity to provide 24-hour monitoring as well as reports and analysis on complex emergencies and natural and environmental disasters in a timely manner to policy decision-makers at the national, regional and international level.
Finally, in January 2007, OCHA set up the Early Warning and Contingency Planning Section (EWCP) within the Coordination and Response Division (CRD) in New York. The EWCP is responsible for training OCHA field and headquarters staff on how to use early warning indicators to assess risks, analyze trends, and profile human vulnerability to potential conflicts.
The EWCP seeks to mainstream the "early warning - early action" culture by identifying best practices, improving the sharing of those practices and other tools, and developing a system which establishes stronger links between the information management side, on the one hand, and the response and emergency preparedness side, on the other.
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