Regional Office for the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia
http://ochaonline.un.org/romenacaThe Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia region spans two continents and covers 27 countries and territories. Its humanitarian concerns are diverse and it is prone to an array of sudden and slow on-set natural and man-made disasters.
The region is characterized by several of the world’s most complex and combustible conflicts – including Afghanistan, Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territory. These conflicts have resulted in massive population displacements estimated at more than nine million refugees.
In 2009, the Regional Office for the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia (ROMENACA) will support governments with limited national disaster management capacities, including those in Lebanon, Iran, Morocco, Syria and Yemen, to strengthen disaster preparedness and emergency response and ensure that humanitarian needs are addressed. Support from ROMENACA will include better coordination amongst international humanitarian partners and in providing surge capacity when requested by national governments and United Nations partners. In 2009, ROMENACA will support Humanitarian Coordinators and Humanitarian Country Teams (HCTs) in Afghanistan and Iraq in coordinating regional humanitarian responses.
The facilitation of an Inter-Agency Coordination Network on Emergency Preparedness and Response in the Middle East and North Africa will be a primary component of OCHA’s engagement with humanitarian partners. The network will serve as a platform for UN regional offices and partners, including the International Organization for Migration, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and international NGOs to exchange information on coordination and joint emergency preparedness and response planning.
The regional office will strengthen its role by closely cooperating with the governments in the region, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference and Exhibition, the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) systems, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, NGOs, charitable organizations, academic institutions and the media.
In 2008, ROMENACA supported the establishment of the Aid Coordination Office in United Arab Emirates (UAE). In 2009, the regional office will make efforts to further strengthen this structure and encourage the creation of similar offices in other countries of the Gulf region.
Through a partnership programme, the Regional Office will continue to work with pre-eminent regional partners, including the League of Arab States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Gulf Cooperation Council in order to promote an increased recognition of and participation in the broader multilateral system. The Special Humanitarian Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, whom OCHA directly assists, will support these activities.
ROMENACA’s office is presently based in Dubai and oversees the Regional Disaster Response Advisor for Central Asia in Kazakhstan. Following discussion with UN agencies regarding a UN regional hub, ROMENACA will move operations to Cairo in 2009. The regional hub will strengthen existing partnerships as well as significantly improve the UN’s advocacy role in the region. A liaison office will remain in the UAE in keeping with OCHA’s commitment to engage and support the UAE and other Gulf States. ROMENACA will maintain a field presence in Iran, Syria and Yemen in 2009.
Key Objectives, Outputs and Indicators
Afghanistan
The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan deteriorated in 2008 exacerbated by severe drought and the ongoing armed conflict. The country harvested only two thirds of its food requirement, resulting in over nine million people being targeted for food assistance; and the armed conflict, which has been steadily escalating, has seen a sharp increase in civilian casualties. High food prices and an anticipated severe winter will likely worsen the situation. It is estimated that at least 150,000 people are long-term internally displaced in Afghanistan.
The conflict, combined with lawlessness, has adversely affected the operational environment for humanitarian actors, including the safety and security of staff. Consequently, nearly one third of the country, including much of the south, remains out of reach for most international humanitarian organizations.
A dedicated humanitarian capacity, in the form of a newly established OCHA office, will support coordination and effective response in addressing humanitarian issues. OCHA’s main office will be in Kabul and sub-offices are expected to be established in Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad – and possibly one or two other locations.
The initial priorities of the new OCHA office will include reinforcing partnerships in Afghanistan with humanitarian actors and promoting strengthened support to the clusters. Under the leadership of the Humanitarian Coordinator, the OCHA office will focus on supporting the Humanitarian Country Team in its efforts to provide strategic direction to humanitarian operations, in line with the priorities of the Humanitarian Action Plan.
OCHA will provide the standard information tools, including regular situation reports and analytical humanitarian updates. Other critical data provided will include mapping capacity and humanitarian contact lists. The monitoring and analysis of obstacles to humanitarian access are expected to assist advocacy efforts and enhance access to populations in need of assistance, through dialogue with all actors as necessary.
Given Afghanistan’s complex operating environment, with a multitude of military and armed actors – some of whom engage in relief activities – OCHA will provide civil-military coordination in order to promote humanitarian principles.
Regional Disaster Response Adviser, Central Asia
Increased risk and vulnerability to humanitarian crises in Central Asia has raised the demand for response preparedness as part of a wider disaster risk reduction strategy. The opening of the OCHA RDRA office in 2007 was opportune and has helped strengthen the capacity of humanitarian partners in the region to respond to emergencies.
Progress has been made in ensuring that available resources in the region are used effectively in the event of an emergency, but with only a handful of UN humanitarian agencies and NGOs present in the region, there is limited capacity in humanitarian programming. Efficiency of limited available resources can be improved by ensuring that these new partners are aware of the available coordination mechanisms and make use of them to inform their decision-making and response. With increased tensions over scarce resources, promotion of regional cooperation remains a key priority in 2009. Continued engagements with these partners, a greater emphasis on training (particularly relating to UNDAC and INSARAG) and stronger advocacy have therefore been identified as strategic priorities for 2009, as well as bi-lingual information dissemination.