OCHA in General

2. How is OCHA set up?
OCHA, a department of the UN Secretariat, operates through a network of field offices which support UN Humanitarian Coordinators and country teams. It also maintains regional support offices and Regional Disaster Response Advisors in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

3. How does OCHA coordinate humanitarian relief?
OCHA facilitates the work of operational agencies that deliver humanitarian assistance to populations and communities in need. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) has overall responsibility for ensuring coherence of relief efforts in the field. OCHA supports the HC in needs assessments, contingency planning and the formulation of humanitarian programmes. OCHA also provides response tools, and advocacy and information services. The head of OCHA, as Emergency Relief Coordinator, chairs the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), which comprises all major humanitarian actors, including the Red Cross Movement and three non-governmental organization (NGO) consortia. By developing common policies, guidelines
and standards, the IASC assures a coherent interagency response to complex emergencies and natural and environmental disasters. OCHA also chairs the Executive Committee for Humanitarian Affairs (ECHA), which develops common UN positions on humanitarian issues.

4. What is OCHA's role in raising funds for emergencies and disasters?
OCHA solicits donor support mainly through the consolidated appeals process (CAP) and issues emergency appeals on behalf of countries affected by disasters. The CAP, through the consolidated humanitarian action plan (CHAP), is the UN's foremost tool for coordination and strategic planning during complex emergencies. It also provides an opportunity for advocacy. The UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator and country team are responsible for preparing, implementing and reviewing the CAP. On average, some 15 appeals are launched annually to meet the requirements of nearly 40 million people. In sudden-onset disasters OCHA may issue flash appeals for a three to six-month period.

In addition, OCHA manages the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), established by the United Nations to enable agencies to jump-start relief activities and ensure more timely and reliable humanitarian assistance to victims of natural disasters and armed conflicts. The CERF (http://www.cerf.un.org) is funded by voluntary contributions from around the globe from Member States of the United Nations, private businesses, foundations and individuals. The CERF is intended to complement, not substitute, existing humanitarian funding mechanisms such as the UN Consolidated Appeals.

5. How does OCHA help affected populations?
In today's complex emergencies, civilians are often the direct targets of violence. OCHA works with key stakeholders to develop policies and advocacy strategies designed to ensure the protection of civilians in armed conflict and respect for international humanitarian law. It also seeks to draw attention to "neglected crises" that are not in the media spotlight. Finally, OCHA works with operational agencies to aid an estimated 24 million internally displaced people in the world.

6. How does OCHA respond to sudden onset crises?
OCHA maintains an in-house emergency response capacity, supported by a 24-hour monitoring and alert system, to deploy staff at short notice to disaster areas. In addition, OCHA supports several "surge capacity" mechanisms and networks that enable the humanitarian community, as a whole, to respond quickly to emergencies and disasters. These include:

7. What information services does OCHA offer?
An important part of OCHA’s work is to gather, analyse and disseminate information from the field to key stakeholders. OCHA monitors and issues situation reports on natural disasters on a 24-hour basis. The tools used to collect and share information include:

OCHA in Indonesia

Why does OCHA operate in Indonesia?
OCHA has been present in Indonesia since September 1999, when an office in Dili was established to support the Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the East Timor Crisis. Jointly with that office, a small OCHA presence in Jakarta and Kupang was also set up.

In April 2000, as a result of the increasing humanitarian needs related not only to the remaining refugees in West Timor (East Nusa Tenggara province), but also to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Maluku, North Maluku and elsewhere, the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) at the global level decided to also appoint the UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator in Indonesia as the UN Humanitarian Coordinator (HC). In October 2000, following the appointment of a Chief of OCHA Office and Deputy to the HC, the OCHA presence in Indonesia assumed the name of “OCHA Indonesia” in line with the practice followed by OCHA field offices elsewhere in the world.

Where does OCHA operate in Indonesia?
As conflict spread over the next few years in Indonesia, OCHA expanded its activities to include the coordination of international response to the victims of violence and conflict in North Maluku, Maluku, Central Sulawesi, West Kalimantan, and Aceh. OCHA established field offices in Maluku, North Maluku, Central Sulawesi, Aceh, and posted a local staff in Papua and East Nusa Tenggara.

In recent years, Indonesia has made remarkable strides in restoring relative social and political stability in most of the conflict-affected regions. As a result of this peace, at the end of 2002, OCHA closed down its office in North Maluku. At the end of 2004, OCHA also closed its offices in Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara, and in mid-2005, it was the turn for OCHA’s Papua office. The closure of the Sulawesi office at the end of 2005 followed suit.

As a consequence of the powerful tsunami and quakes that hit provinces in Sumatera on 26 December 2004 and on 28 March 2005, OCHA’s presence in Aceh again expanded to respond to massive coordination demands to support the Indonesian Government. In 2006, OCHA’s efforts focused on supporting coordination and information management through the Office of UN Recovery Coordinator (UNORC) in Aceh and Nias.

As a response to the quakes that hit Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces on 27 May 2006, OCHA established a coordination center in Yogyakarta for six months, until the end of November 2006 when coordination of major recovery activities was handed over to UNDP.

OCHA currently operates in Jakarta a small core office, working closely with the Government, UN agencies, donors and international/national NGOs in monitoring the risk situation in the country and quickly responding to natural disasters in Indonesia.

What does OCHA plan to do in Indonesia in 2007?
In 2007, OCHA Indonesia aims to achieve the following key objectives:

How can my organization join OCHA’s monthly UN/NGO/Donor coordination meeting?
You can forward your interest to ocha-indonesia@un.org. We will include your contact info in our mailing list.

How can my organization be included in OCHA’s mailing list for situation reports and other information materials distributed by OCHA?
You can forward your interest to ocha-indonesia@un.org. We will include your contact info in our mailing list.

Has OCHA issued a Consolidated Appeal (CA) for Indonesia?
OCHA issued a CA for the first time in Indonesia in 1999 in response to the East Timor crisis. In 2000 and 2001, OCHA issued CAs particularly to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Maluku. From 2002 to 2004, the CA covered different crisis across the country, including Central Sulawesi, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, East Java, East Nusa tenggara, Maluku and North Maluku. All CAs documents for Indonesia can be located at: http://ocha.unog.ch/fts2/pageloader.aspx?page=emerg-emergencies§ion=CE&year=2006

What are Emergency/Humanitarian Response Funds (ERF/HRF)?
OCHA manages the Emergency Response Funds and the Humanitarian Response Funds which were established with contributions from the Governments of the United Kingdom and Australia respectively since 2001.

The objective of the ERF/HRF is to provide NGOs registered with the Government of the Republic of Indonesia with a rapid response mechanism to meet short-term emergency needs of vulnerable communities. The ERF provides initial financing that will enable implementing partners to respond to an emergency without delay.

How can my organization apply for the ERF/HRF?
You can forward your interest to ocha-indonesia@un.org or contact the OCHA office in Jakarta at (62 21) 314 1308.