About Us
Sunday, March 21, 2010   
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Somalia Map 2004 (Click for large PDF)OCHA’s presence in Somalia dates back to 1999 with the establishment of a UN Coordination Unit. A full-fledged OCHA office came into being in 2003. Since 1999, OCHA’s coordination role has grown in relevance as well as in size as the humanitarian situation has developed in Somalia. Since 2004, as the country has experienced drought, the tsunami, floods, inter/intra clan violence, chronic food insecurity, environmental degradation and displacement, OCHA Somalia has persevered in its efforts to mobilise and coordinate an effective and principled inter-agency humanitarian response. It has also expanded its in-country presence, which now includes eight sub-offices in the three zones of Somaliland (Hargeisa), Puntland (Garowe, and Bossaso) and South/Central (Dolow, Jamame, Marka, Mogadishu, and Wajid). The field offices are supported by a central office in Nairobi.

In a complex emergency, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator plays a critical role in mobilising and coordinating an effective and timely humanitarian response. OCHA’s mandate is to support this role. Humanitarian coordination is based on the belief that a coherent approach to emergency response will maximise its benefits and minimise potential pitfalls, such as duplication of aid response. A coordinated response will facilitate the development of common strategies and joint responses, thus maximisation of resources. OCHA promotes the respect for, and compliance with humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality, independence and “Do no Harm”, in particular for the protection of vulnerable civilian populations. Advocacy is a key element to bringing international attention and support to crises but also engagement and commitment by national and local authorities. In this regard, OCHA is particularly vested in securing unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access to vulnerable populations in need of assistance.

  
 A Brief History of OCHA Minimize

In December 1991, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 46/182, designed to strengthen the United Nation's response to both complex emergencies and natural disasters.  In addition it aimed at improving the overall effectiveness of the UN's humanitarian operations in the field. 

The resolution also created the high level position of Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC).  This new function would combine into a single UN focal point the functions carried out by representatives of the Secretary-General for major and complex emergencies, as well as the UN's natural disaster functions carried out by the UN Disaster Relief Coordinator, UNDRO. 

Soon after, the Secretary-General established the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) and assigned the ERC the status of Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Humanitarian Affairs with offices in New York and Geneva to provide institutional support.

Resolution 46/182 also created the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) and the Central Emergency Revolving Fund (CERF) as key coordination mechanisms and tools of the ERC.

As part of the Secretary-General's programme of reform in 1998, DHA was reorganized into the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA.  Its mandate was expanded to include the coordination of humanitarian response, policy development and humanitarian advocacy.

OCHA carries out its coordination function primarily through the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, which is chaired by the ERC.  Participants include all humanitarian partners, from UN agencies, funds and programmes to the Red Cross Movement and NGOs. The IASC ensures inter-agency decision-making in response to complex emergencies.  These responses include needs assessments, consolidated appeals, field coordination arrangements and the development of humanitarian policies.

Budget and staffing

The core functions of OCHA are supported by 860 staff members in New York, Geneva and in the field.  OCHA's budget for 2007 is $165,000,000, of which about 10 percent or $11,141,561, comes from the regular UN budget and the remainder (more than $99 million, including projects and field activities) from extra-budgetary resources donated by Member States and donor organizations. 
See OCHA in 2006 for more details.

Emergency Relief Coordinator

The functions of the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) are focused in three core areas:

(a) policy development and coordination functions in support of the Secretary-General, ensuring that all humanitarian issues, including those which fall between gaps in existing mandates of agencies such as protection and assistance for internally displaced persons, are addressed;

(b) advocacy of humanitarian issues with political organs, notably the Security Council; and

(c) coordination of humanitarian emergency response, by ensuring that an appropriate response mechanism is established, through Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) consultations, on the ground.

John Holmes of Britian was appointed by the Secretary-General to replace Jan Egeland of  Norway as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.  Mr. Holmes took up his post in March 2007.
  
This website was developed with the assistance of Thematic Funding from the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission in 2004 and 2005