Part II
HEADQUARTERS CORE ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS

Inter-Agency Standing Committee/Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs Secretariat

		New York	Geneva	Total
	Requirements	552,222	390,622	942,844
	EXPENDITURE
	Staff Costs	355,320	223,260	578,580
	Consultant Fees and Travel	–	9,505	9,505
	Travel	31,250	23,815	55,065
	Operating Expenses	–	–	–
	Contractual Services	–	–	–
	Supplies, Materials, Furniture and Equipment	–	–	–
	Fellowships, Grants and Contributions	–	–	–
	Programme Support Costs	35,262	33,402	68,664
	Total Expenditure (US$)	421,832	289,982	711,814
Income for Core Activities is recorded in total under the Trust Fund for the Strengthening of OCHA

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) was established in 1992 in response to General Assembly Resolution 46/182, calling for strengthened coordination of humanitarian assistance. The IASC is a unique inter agency forum for humanitarian dialogue and decision making, involving UN and non-UN humanitarian partners. Under the leadership of the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), the primary role of the IASC is to shape humanitarian policy and ensure coordinated and effective response.

The Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs (ECHA) is one of four committees created by the Secretary-General within the framework of United Nations reform. Under the leadership of the Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Humanitarian Affairs, the primary aim of ECHA is to bring together political, peacekeeping and security departments of the United Nations Secretariat and United Nations agencies, funds and programmes to address critical policy and operational matters concerning humanitarian issues and crises. A joint IASC/ECHA Secretariat facilitates the work of the
IASC and ECHA as effective, action-oriented and well-coordinated decision-making bodies. It supports the USG/ERC in his capacity as chair of both committees and the Director of OCHA Geneva in his capacity as chair of the IASC Working Group.

In 2006, the IASC/ECHA Secretariat contributed the implementation of OCHA’s broad mandate to mobilize and coordinate effective humanitarian action by facilitating inter-agency policy discussions on key aspects of humanitarian reform (and since May with the Humanitarian Reform Support Unit [HRSU]), including implementation of the cluster approach, strengthening of the humanitarian coordination system and increasing dialogue between UN and non-UN agencies, particularly NGOs.

Objectives

Strengthen support to the IASC and ECHA, contributing to the broad mandate of OCHA to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action.
Ensure the efficiency of the interface of the IASC and ECHA with other inter-agency bodies (in particular the United Nations Development Group Office and the Executive Committee on Peace and Security), to strengthen links between humanitarian, political, development and human rights actors.

Activities and Accomplishments

In 2006, the IASC reached agreement on a number of key policy initiatives to improve coordinated humanitarian response in the field. The IASC Secretariat facilitated regular meetings of the IASC Principals and the IASC Working Group to achieve progress in humanitarian policy. Weekly information sharing meetings in Geneva and New York were also held to keep IASC members informed about humanitarian policy and operational initiatives.

The Secretariat helped to facilitate the Dialogue Meeting held in Geneva in July with the participation of 40 CEOs from UN and non-UN humanitarian organizations, leading to the establishment of the Global Humanitarian Platform. In preparation for that meeting, in May the Chief of the Secretariat participated in a joint United Nations/ NGO mission to Somalia and Kenya to look at cooperation instruments between UN and non-UN agencies – in particular assessing how to better promote humanitarian CTs. The IASC Secretariat also participated in the executive boards of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies and Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response.

The Secretariat developed the IASC website which serves as the primary portal for humanitarian partners and the wider public accessing information about the IASC, its products and its key materials. In 2006, the IASC website had more than 21,000 unique visitors.

www.humanitarian.org/iasc

Monthly ECHA meetings were convened to support a cohesive and concerted approach to the major humanitarian crises in 2006, including those in Côte d’Ivoire, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and Timor-Leste. In addition, six ad-hoc ECHA meetings took place, with four devoted to the Lebanon crisis in mid 2006. Under the leadership of the USG, ECHA’s meetings focused on advocacy, resource mobilization, humanitarian access, regional approaches and achieving more effective and efficient humanitarian assistance through political and security interlinkages.

Performance Evaluation

An Action Plan for Strengthening the HC System was endorsed by the IASC Principals, including the establishment of an HC pool (with members from both within the United Nations system and outside it) and the approval of the procedures to manage it.
An IASC Guidance Note on Using the Cluster Approach to Strengthen Humanitarian Response was endorsed.
Together with the HRSU and NGO partners, the IASC/ECHA Secretariat supported the establishment of inclusive humanitarian CTs in the field.
During 2006, the IASC and its Working Group made over 150 actionable recommendations, of which two thirds were implemented. The majority of the pending action points are covered in the 2007 IASC Work Plan. In addition, a number of recommendations carried over from 2005 were finalized in 2006.
During 2006, the ECHA Secretariat supported nine monthly ECHA meetings and six ad-hoc or ECHA core meetings. Out of the 70 action items resulting from these meetings, two thirds were implemented in 2006.