humanitarian aid

United Nations Security Council: The Question Concerning Haiti

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The Security Council met to discuss the situation in Haiti. The meeting began with a briefing by the Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations. Much progress had been made. Police in Haiti are more professional and are overall maintaining humanitarian standards in dealing with the country’s instability. On the socio-economic front, the IMF, Haitian central bank, and Haitian government reached a deal on March 8th for a three year loan to help the most vulnerable parts of the population. Problems do persist, however. Gangs are still clashing. The prime minister’s government has been subjected to votes of no confidence and has begun consultation for the selection of his 3rd government. Overall, the Under Secretary remained optimistic about the end of the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti which is coming up soon. He recommended transitioning to a smaller political advisory group within Haiti, a sentiment echoed by later briefers and delegates.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights discussed the state of humanitarian aid going to Haiti. Structural challenges continue. There is limited employment opportunities, especially for youth. Natural disasters have inflicted damage over the past few years. Heavily armed gangs in the capital are taking advantage of the limited presence of the state. There is a 1,100 day average pre-trial detention period for prisoners, well over the limit established by international law. The results are overcrowding, lack of hygiene, and a lack of resources spent on prisoners.

Loune Viaud, the executive director of Zanmi Lasante, Partners in Health’s sister organization in Haiti, talked about sexual assault and gender inequality in Haiti. Haiti has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. Cancer in Haiti primarily affects women, as 75% of Viaud’s patients are women. While the organization is doing its best, obstetric and cancer care are still lacking.

Meeting​: United Nations Security Council: The Question Concerning Haiti

Date/Location​: Wednesday April 3, 2019; 10:00 to 12:00; Security Council Chamber, United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY

Speakers​: Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Executive Director of Zanmi Lasante, United States, Belgium, Cote D’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Peru, Kuwait, South Africa  

Written by: WIT Representative Bertina Kudrin

Humanitarian Relief in Armed Conflict

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sudan_envoy_-_humanitarian_relief

 

In situations of global armed conflict, civilians are in need of vital supplies, such as food, water, clothing, and shelter. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in partnership with the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict launched the “Oxford Guidance on the Law Relating to Humanitarian Relief Operations in Situations of Armed Conflict.” According to Mr. Dapo Akande, one of the authors, its aim is to continue execution of the laws within the document as they stand, but provide better clarity with regard to humanitarian relief operations in situations of armed conflict.

One of the biggest problems humanitarian organizations face is obtaining consent from parties involved in the armed conflict in order to conduct humanitarian operations within their territory. The Oxford Guidance addresses the responsibility of the states or parties to meet the needs of their civilian population. If civilians are not being adequately provided with essential supplies as a result of state neglect, consent for the humanitarian relief operations must not be arbitrarily withheld. In response, failure to meet such responsibilities by withholding consent or denying civilians access to humanitarian relief programs will subject the states or parties to being charged with war crimes.

Non-belligerent states must allow neglected civilians access to humanitarian relief as well. These states must “allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief supplies, equipment, and personnel.” These states may also have technical arrangements that allow them to search any of the supplies or personnel, so long as it does not delay progress within the humanitarian operations.

Meeting: “Oxford Guidance on the Law Relating to Humanitarian Relief Operations in Situations of Armed Conflict”

Date/Time/Location: 27 October 2016; 10:00 to 12:00; Conference Room 11

Speakers: Ryan Goodman, Professor of Law at the New York University School of Law; Hansjoerg Strohmeyer, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Chief of Policy Development and Studies Branch; Dapo Akande, Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oxford; Emanuela-Chiara Gillard, Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict

Written By: Leticia Murillo, WIT Representative

 

More Aid, More Problems: How to Help the Helpers in the Middle East

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Syria Agrees To Delivery Of Humanitarian Aid

Today, the Security Council ran two meetings, beginning with the adoption of the agenda and an introduction to the situation in the Middle East. A letter dated 22 January 2016 from the Panel of Experts on Yemen was read, discussing the significant challenges to the implementation of humanitarian aid and the destructive impact that the humanitarian situation in Yemen has had on civilians. The urgency to simplify the process of aiding others was stressed: to move a single truck, the UN team needs to go through repeated rounds of everything from the target location to the route and dates and times. This toiling process hinders the efficiency of the task at hand.

Recently, a WFP plane sent from the UN and its partners dropped some necessities in Syria that have reached 110 people in besieged places, with 230 more people that can be reached through airdrops, and an additional 170 people are in need. This month, aid was brought to 960 people, which is a 48% increase from January. It was stated that with the highest price of the Syrian conflict being paid by the men, women, and children who are witnessing their homes being torn apart, granting access should not be dependent on political situations.

Next, Dr. Ja’afari wanted to shed light on the brutality: some states impose unilateral measures on the Syrian people, which merely aggravate the suffering; some accuse the government of purposely seizing and starving the civilians. He disputed these claims by stating, “Only civilians are hungry, not terrorists. Terrorists do not go hungry. It is inevitable that only civilians go hungry. It has become clear that the improvement of the Syrian situation is necessary.” Finally, the President adjourned the meeting with an invitation to the council members for an informal discussion.

Meeting: Security Council: 7630th, 7631st Meetings

Date/Location: Wednesday, February 24th, 2016; 10:00-11:00; Security Council Chamber

Speakers: Rafael Ramirez, President of Security Council from Venezuela; the Panel of Experts on Yemen; H.E. Bashar Ja’afari, Ph.D., the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic.

Written By: WIT Representative Jin Yoo

Edited By: WIT Representative Alex Margolick

Photo Credit: United Nation Relief and Works Agency via Getty Images

Funding Relief: Prioritizing International Aid

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Today there was a meeting organized by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to address the High-level Panel on Humanitarian Financing.

The insufficiency of the $25 billion that the world spends to provide for the 125 million people struck by natural disasters and wars shows the striking need to a solution on providing for these people. A nine-person panel assigned by the UN Secretary-General aims to close this financial gap with three aspects of the challenge: reduce the needs, mobilize additional funds, and improve the efficiency of humanitarian assistance.

The briefing began with an introduction by Mr. Eliasson. Regarding Syria, he said that “this is the time for unprecedented humanitarian needs.” He introduced Ms. Georgieva, a co-chair of the panel. She retold a conversation she had with a Syrian girl who wished she could go to school. She believes it is necessary to aid those like the Syrian girl by implementing funds in more efficient ways.

To deal with the growing needs, the panel suggested to address their root causes by allocating to peace operations, setting up emergency reserve funds for countries at risk of natural disasters, and increasing the current level of funding of the Crisis Response Window by at least threefold. The panel also proposed that all states should contribute to humanitarian action rather than solely relying on ODA donors. The private sector, media, and humanitarian organizations should encourage raising funds. The panel also introduced a Grand Bargain, an agreement for organizations and donors to not only give more, but also give better, being more flexible and improve response time.

Lastly, the ambassador for PR in UAE stated how impactful the aid is and how fitting the proposed solutions are. The meeting was adjourned with an open floor for questions and comments.

Meeting:  “Too important to fail – addressing the humanitarian financing gap”

Date/Location: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016; 10:15-11:15; Conference Room 7

Speakers: H.E. Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General; Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Bulgaria, Vice President for Budget and Human Resources, the European Commission; HRH Sultan Nazrin Shah, Malaysia, Ruler of Perak, Malaysia; Ambassador for Public Relations in the United Arab Emirates

Written By: WIT Representative Jin Yoo

Edited By: WIT Representative Alex Margolick

Photo Credit: Gokhan Sahin via Getty Images

Finding Funds for the Syrian Refugees

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Syrian children sit on the ground in Domiz refugee camp, northern Iraq

    Today, Mr. O’Brien hosted a briefing in which he highlighted the need for greater funding to be allocated to Syrian refugees and internally displaced people within Syria. He began by stating that this year’s Syria response plan will require $3.2 billion in aid along with more flexible programming and preparedness to deal with immediate needs on the ground.  He also encouraged member states to attend the upcoming Syria Donors Conference that will be held in London in February and which aims to secure funding for long and short term initiatives related to getting children back in schools and adults back in the workforce in Syria.  

    Next, Mr. Grandi briefly spoke of the external components of the 3RP and emphasized that resilience is important for both refugees and host countries.  Additionally, he stated that despite worrying refugee trends, such as the increase in the sheer number of refugees and the increased pace of secondary movement from countries bordering Syria to European countries, assistance has been helpful to these populations.  He mentioned dedicating additional funding to particularly vulnerable refugees, such as unaccompanied minors and Palestinian refugees from Syria.  He concluded with urging member states to attend the upcoming conference in London.

    Lastly, Ms. Clarke urged greater funding for the 3RP in the areas of water and sanitation, infrastructure development, and small agriculture support, all of which will enable refugees and internally displaced people to support themselves. After the briefing, various representatives from Syria, UK, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Turkey, Kuwait, and Japan pledged their support for the conference in London.   Representatives from WFP, WHO, and FAO additionally spoke of the need for greater funding to address the food insecurity and lack of medical supplies within Syria.

Meeting: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): Briefing All Member States on the Syria Regional, Refugee, and Resilience Plan (3RP), the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), and the London Conference.

Date/Time/Location: Tuesday, January 12, 2016; 15:00 -16:00; Conference Room One

Speakers: Mr. Stephen O’Brien, The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA’S USG/ERC); Mr. Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner for Refugees; Helen Clarke, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator; Representatives from Syria, the United Kingdom (UK), Norway, Sweden, Italy, Kuwait, Japan, Turkey, the World Food Program (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Written By: WIT Representative Shubhangi Shukla

Photo Credit: Peter Biro/IRC

Placing the Displaced: Accomodating the Refugee Crisis

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   The Third Committee hosted a meeting to address the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The report focused on the refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East, where hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to seek safety over the last few months. 60 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced as a result of war and persecution. In the past five years alone, the number of people forced from their homes every single day has quadrupled from under 11,000 in 2010 to 42,500.

   The meeting began with remarks from delegates. The first delegate was the representative of Kuwait, and he paid tribute to the High Commissioner for extending humanitarian efforts to the refugees even under every difficult conditions. He stated that Kuwait emphasizes continuation and support to the high commission, and that the country has participated voluntarily to 1 million dollars in aid. The representative also explained that he was very concerned by the suffering of refugees and displaced people in Iraq, which resulted from activity carried out by the Islamic State extremist militant group.

   Another notable speaker was the representative of Pakistan, who stated that the process of helping the refugees has been much too slow and inadequate, and that the international community has ignored this for far too long. The delegate explained that only 127,000 people were able to return home this year, which is the lowest number since 1983. One of the biggest issues is the lack of nutrition and education among children, which could lead to the risk of losing an entire generation.

   A representative who offered a different perspective was the delegate from Kenya, who explained that the burden of hosting refugees is enormous, especially financially. However, Kenya continues to welcome refugees in accordance to tradition.

Meeting: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, questions relating to refugees, returnees and displaced persons and humanitarian questions

Date/Location: Wednesday November 4, 2015, 10:00 – 13:00; Conference Room 1

Speakers: Representative of Kuwait; Representative of Nigeria; Representative of Pakistan; Representative of Japan; Representative of Kenya; Representative of India

Written By: WIT Representative Kangho (Paul) Jung

Edited By: WIT Representative Alex Margolick

Photo Credit: Frank Augstein/AP

Security Council Voted Unanimously to Give Aid to Syrians

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UN Security Council voted unanimously on Resolution 2165, which authorized direct provision of humanitarian assistance to Syria through four checkpoints from the neighbouring countries without the consent of the Assad regime.

Syrian Vote

The authors of the resolution took the floor immediately after the vote to explain the rationale of passing the resolution. Australia stated that the resolution “should not have been necessary”, for it was the consistent non-compliance of previous resolutions 2135 and 2139 that gave rise to the instant resolution. The Austrian Ambassador added it is the “cynical manipulation of humanitarian aid by the regime” and “calculated denial of life-saving medical supply” that caused the council to act in unison. Luxembourg spoke on the monitoring procedures of the resolution, stating that a Secretary-General initiated monitoring regime will ensure that only aid and aid workers pass through the specified checkpoint. The third author, Jordan, reminded the council that the new resolution should be read in concert with previous ones, and that the previous resolutions are still in force. Other members of the council explained their vote by reiterating the “untold suffering of Syrian people” and the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis in Syria. They also highlighted the need to find political solutions for the political problems facing Syria. Many, including American Ambassador Samantha Power, commended the council for the new unity in handling the Syrian crisis. Members also urged all sides in Syria to work with the Secretary-General’s new envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura.

In response to the resolution, the Syrian Ambassador reiterated his government’s provision of humanitarian aid, and stated that the opposition is part of the humanitarian crisis but not the solution of it. He denounced some countries for supporting the opposition, stating that such stubbornness of these governments encouraged terrorism from Iraq spilling over to Syria.

Meeting Title –7216th meeting of the UN Security Council
Speakers – Permanent Representative of Argentina, Australia, Chad, China, Chile, France, Jordan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Republic of Korea and Rwanda, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States to the United Nations
Location – Security Council Chamber, United Nations Headquarters
Date – July 14th, 2014
Summary Written By – Harrison Chung

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

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The Eighteenth Meeting of State Parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was held this morning. The main purpose of the meeting is to elect 12 members to replace those whose terms are due to expire on 31 December 2014.

Ms. Curry mentioned the State of Palestine has become a party to the Covenant since the last election in June 2012. Currently, there are a total of 188 States parties. In addition, the Committee has continued to adopt recommendations in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations. At present, the Committee is working on several general recommendations concerning women asylum seekers, refugee and stateless women, rural women, access to justice, girls’ and women’s right to education, climate change and natural disasters. The Committee also adopted statements on thematic issues such as treaty body strengthening; strengthened cooperation with UN Women; the role of women in the process of political transition in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia; sexual and reproductive health and rights; and women’s rights in the post-2015 development agenda.

Moreover, the Committee has continued to streamline and harmonize its working methods in order to improve the management of time and resources. They will incorporate the guidelines on independence and impartiality of members of the human rights treaty bodies.

On 9 April 2014, the General Assembly adopted resolution 68/268 on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system. At the outset, the Meeting elected Ambassador Juan Manuel González de Linares Palou, Deputy Ambassador of Spain as its Chair upon his nomination from the Western European and other States. Ambassador Jeanne d’Arc Byaje, Deputy Permanent Representative of Rwanda and Dragana Anđelić, Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina were elected as Vice-Chairs and twelve experts were being elected in a single round of voting.

Meeting Title: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: 1st Meeting
Speakers: Ms. Gaynel Curry, Acting Chief of the Global Issues Section within the New York Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Representative of the Secretary‑General; Ambassador Juan Manuel González de Linares Palou, Deputy Ambassador of Spain
Location: Conference Room 1, United Nations HQ, New York 
Date: 26 June 2014
Written By WIT representative: Samantha Kong
Edited by WIT representative: Sophia Griffiths-Mark 

 

New ways to provide food assistance

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ImageTo encourage innovative means to provide food assistance to regions in need of humanitarian aid, Ambassador Patriota convened a panel discussion on this matter. In doing so, the Ambassador highlighted the Brazilian application of cash transfer to implement the “Bolsa Familia” safety-net programme as a way to motivate families to send children to school and to clinic check-ups.

In the context of short-term action, Mr. Mogwanja highlighted the difference between direct provision of food aid and cash-transfer style food assistance, the latter being preferable as it is a more economically sustainable tool. Mr. Janz stated that cash-transfer is a viable form of food assistance, as it pinpoints to the problem of lack of purchasing power of disaster victims without having crippled the local agricultural market by flooding the market with relief food. Mr. Janz elaborated on the benefit of cash-transfer food assistance, stating that it gives disaster victims dignity by giving them choices in food and enhances efficiency of aid by reducing the logistical cost of transporting food aid. Ms. Souza stated how the World Food Programme implemented the cash-transfer in conjunction with local purchase of relief material to further enhance food assistance’s positive impact to the local economy, a point which Ambassador Boureima echoed when detailing the “Nigerien feeds Nigerien” initiative in his country.

Speaking on behalf of the donors, Ms. Fink-Hooijer stated that the donor community in general support the cash-transfer initiative, but adopts a wait-and-see attitude when it comes to the effectiveness of large-scale implementation in disaster relief. Ambassador Shearman echoed this point, and added that he hopes future cash-transfer can be implemented in form of cash handout instead of voucher to further reduce its distortion of the local market.

Meeting Title: Cash Transfers, Local Purchases and Social Safety-Nets: Bridging the Divide between Assistance and Development
Speakers: Martin Mogwanja, Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF; H.E. Ambassador Boubacar Boureima, Permanent Representative of Niger to the United Nations; Darana Souza, Programme Coordinator for World Food Programme; Udo K. Janz, Director of UNHCR Office in New York; Israel Klug, Project Coordinator of PAA Africa Programme; Minister Counsellor Nuria Mohammed, Permanent Mission of Ethiopia to the United Nations, H.E. Ambassador Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations; Florika Fink-Hooijer, Policy Director of ECHO; Martin Shearman, Ambassador for Development and Human Rights, UK Department for International Development; H.E. Ambassador Michael Grant, Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations; Jordan Ryan, Assistant Administrator of UNDP; Scott Paul, Humanitarian Policy Advisor of OXFAM; Hansjoerg Strohmeyer, Chief of Policy Development and Studies Branch of UN OCHA
Location: Conference Room 5, United Nations HQ, New York
Date: 24 June 2014
Written By WIT representative: Harrison Chung
Edited by WIT representative: Sophia Griffiths-Mark 

 

Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies

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As part of the ECOSOC humanitarian affairs segment, a meeting was held to discuss how to respond to the needs of people in complex emergency situations. Beginning the meeting, H.E. Mr. Dabbashi, gave a statement on how to provide more sustainable solutions for internally displaced persons (IDPs), and stated how partnerships between international and local actors must be strengthened in order for humanitarian aid to have the greatest effect.

Following, Ms. Amos, the USG for Humanitarian Affairs, stated that 75% of crises requiring humanitarian response are due to conflicts or complex emergencies, and 33.3 million people worldwide are displaced in their own countries due to conflict. Furthermore, she emphasized the importance of talking with armed groups in conflict zones in order for aid workers to be able to gain access to the effected civilians.Image

Next, Mr. Ramos Horta from the UN peacebuilding office spoke about how civilians oftentimes bear the brunt of casualties from conflicts, especially in Syria, Central African Republic, and Iraq. In these areas conflict and violence against civilians are leading to massive displacement, loss of livelihoods, restriction of movement, sexual violence, and long periods of insecurity. Mr. Ramos Horta emphasized that shifts in global geopolitical and economic power must be accompanied by a growing responsibility of these actors to respond to humanitarian crises, and that this humanitarian action must be complimented by more intensive investment in peacebuilding, conflict prevention, mediation of political settlements, and post conflict recovery.

Following, Mr. Al-Kholani spoke about the growing crises in his home country, Yemen, where thousands of IDPs are in vulnerable situations due to conflict. Yemen has created a single governmental authority, the Executive Unit for Internally Displaced Persons, to handle their IDP crisis. Dr. Philip Spoerri from the Red Cross then spoke about using the international humanitarian law (IHL) framework to protect civilians in armed conflict, and to restrict the flow of weapons. IHL imposes obligations on both state and non-state actors, and the biggest challenge to IHL is that in conflict situations it is often blatantly ignored.

 

Meeting Title: Economic and Social Council Humanitarian Affairs Segment: Panel Discussion on “Serving the needs of people in complex emergencies”
Speakers: H.E. Ibrahim O. Dabbashi (Libya), Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council; Ms. Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator; Mr. Jose Ramos-Horta, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau; Mr. Ahmed Al-Kholani, Director of the Executive Unit of Internally Displaced Persons and Camps Management, Yemen; Dr. Philip Spoerri, Director for International Law and Cooperation, International Committee of the Red Cross; Mgr. Dieudonne Nzapalainga, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bangui; Imam Oumar Kobine Layama, President of the Islamic Council in the Central African Republic; Reverend Nicolas Guérékoyame-Gbangou, President of the Central African Republic’s Evangelical Alliance
Date: 25 June 2014
Location ECOSOC Chamber, United Nations HQ, New York
Written by WIT Representative: Marli Kasdan