REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - Annual Report 1995 on Humanitarian Aid
T V ** COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES Brussels, 18. 03. 1996 COM(96)105 final REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Annual Report 1995 on Humanitarian Aid Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 2 3 4 Institutional Framework Legal Basis 1. 1 Emergency Food Aid 1. 2 Financial basis 1. 3 Means of action 2. 1 2. 2 Framework Partnership Agreements Databases and management systems Humanitarian operations in 1995 Statistical overview 3. 1 General issues 3. 2 Former Yugoslavia 3. 3 Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Countries 3. 4 3. 4. 1 The region of the Great Lakes 3. 4. 2 Angola 3. 4. 3 Sudan 3. 4. 4 Somalia 3. 4. 5 Liberia 3. 4. 6 Sierra Leone 3. 4. 7 Haiti Commonwealth of Independent States Eastern Europe Asia 3. 5 3. 6 3. 7 3. 8 Middle East and North Africa 3. 9 Latin America Horizontal Activities 4. 1 4. 2 4. 3 Inter-service coordination Information and Visibility "Humanitarian Summit" in Madrid Coordination/cooperation 4. 3. 1 4. 3. 2 Member States 4. 3. 3 European Parliament 4. 3. 4 Non-Governmental Organisations 4. 3. 5 United Nations 4. 3. 6 United States third 4. 3. 7 Other organisations countries. and , '. international 4. 4 4. 5 Evaluation Disaster Preparedness 5 Prospects for 1996 and beyond 5. 1 5. 2 Foreseeable needs in 1996 Conclusions and future strategy P\ 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 8 10 11 11 13 13 14 15 15. 15 15 16 16 18 18 19 19 20 21 21 22 22 23 24 26 26 27 28 29 29 30 and regional DOCUMENTARY ANNEXES MADRID DECLARATION List of Disaster Preparedness Projects financed in 1995 EU-USAID High Level Meeting The NOHA Diploma ACRONYMS USED IN THE REPORT STATISTICAL ANNEXES NOTE ON THE STATISTICAL ANNEXES 32 33 37 39 41 42 43 44 Annex SI, of Finance 1991-95 Overview of Financial Decisions for EC Humanitarian Aid by Source Annex S2, Humanitarian Aid 1993-95 Summary of Financial Decisions for Countries Benefitting from EC Annex S3, Financial Decisions for Humanitarian Aid by Region in 1994-95 Annex S4, EC Contracts for Humanitarian Aid 1991-95 Annex S5, of the affected Population (Oct. 1993-Dec. 1995) Rwanda/Burundi Operations: Summary of Financial Decisions in favour Annex S6, 1991-1995 ; By Relief Items, 1995 Breakdown of Community Aid to the Former Yugoslavia: By Republic, Annex S7, Breakdown of Items for Humanitarian Assistance, 1993-1994-1995 FIGURES IN THE TEXT Figure 1, Financial Decisions for Humanitarian Aid by Region in 1994-95 (page 5) Figure 2, Financial decisions by Source of Finance 1993-1994-1995 (page 6) Figure 3, EC Contracts For Humanitarian Aid 1991-95 (page 7) > Executive Summary In the last five years the humanitarian operations carried out by the Commission on behalf of the Union have grown sevenfold to make the EU now the foremost single public donor of humanitarian aid. From ECU 114 million in 1991, the figure reached ECU 764 million in 1994, and in 1995 stood at around ECU 692 million. As in 1994, the main theatres of operation this year continued to be former Yugoslavia and Rwanda/Burundi. This notwithstanding, a presence was maintained in some sixty crisis-stricken countries around the globe, most significantly in Angola, Sudan, Haiti, the Russian Federation (Chechnya), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Cuba. Humanitarian assistance is implemented within the Commission by its Humanitarian Office (ECHO). ECHO was established in 1992 and became fully operational in 1993. 1995 was therefore the third full year of operations. Although the Commission has been involved in humanitarian operations on a smaller scale for many years, the dimension that the problems have taken since the end of the Cold War clearly more than justify a dedicated structure. 1995 may be seen as the year in which ECHO moved towards completing the consolidation of its functions. The year saw the Office take full responsibility for all the Commission's humanitarian operations, as well as the essential work towards the setting-up of its own database and the adoption of a Council Regulation covering EC humanitarian aid. It also reinforced its efforts in the field of evaluation, as well as its policy instruments and capacity. 1995 saw a new Commission take office. As far as humanitarian aid is concerned, the basic principles underlying ECHO'S work were reinforced rather than changed. As in the past, its modus operandi continued to be based on the principle of partnership together with some 170 NGOs - for the most part European - UN agencies and the Red Cross, signatories in almost all cases to a Framework Partnership Agreement with the Commission. ECHO aid continued to be granted without discrimination on the basis of race, religion or political ideology, to benefit the many millions of human beings victims in 1995 of natural disasters and of man- made chronic crises, but above all of civil war. In recent years humanitarian operations funded by the Commission have taken place in increasingly difficult and wide-ranging contexts, and 1995 was no exception to this trend. The conflict-related crises which account for the vast majority of interventions have proven to be complex and persistent. In general, the roots of such conflicts lie in deep socio-conomic imbalances, which sometimes take on an ideological or ethnic tinge. Neither their causes nor their effects disappear from one day to the next. In many cases, the Commission assumed a key role amongst donors in such crises. It was the single biggest donor not only in ex-Yugoslavia, but also in Afghanistan. South Sudan, Liberia and Sierra Leone, among others. While tenaciously defending the autonomy and independence of humanitarian assistance, this presence also allowed it - indeed obliged it - to draw attention to conflict prevention and resolution issues both at country level and more widely, even where such issues were not prominent on domestic or international political agendas. The year saw the adoption by the Commission of a communication on the external X dimension of human rights policy noting their relevance to conflict prevention1. On other In such occasions, humanitarian assistance helped prevent a tragedy from getting worse. countries as Haiti, Angola, Liberia and parts of Latin America, and even in the Israel/Palestine context, it contributed to fostering the first fragile moves towards peace, reconciliation and reconstruction. Throughout the year the Commission has taken a close interest in the debate staged in the international humanitarian community on the need to reinforce links between relief and development, and the discussion paper it produced on the subject has already been widely debated and will be developed in 1996. Flagrant violations of international humanitarian law sadly continued to mark the context of the Commission's work in 1995. Atrocities carried out on civilians in many theatres of conflict caused outrage in the international community and led to situations in which assistance was rendered difficult, dangerous and sometimes outright impossible. This notwithstanding, the Commission continued to be present through its partners in such countries as the Sudan, Somalia, and Sierra Leone, even where other donors withdrew, shouldering a correspondingly greater burden and responsibility. indeed Even where an uneasy peace was established, fundamental humanitarian and socio-economic problems remained, most notably that of land-mines, the elimination of which remains a top priority for action by the international community. If natural disasters cause in general less loss of life and suffering, they nonetheless can have an enormously damaging impact on developing societies. An approach aiming at preparedness is often preferable from the point of view of reducing suffering and diminishing the economic consequences of disasters, and this was an important element of ECHO'S often pioneering work in this field in 1995. Even in the absence of large-scale conflict or natural disaster, chronic and deteriorating situations such as those in Algeria, Cuba and Iraq similarly called for humanitarian assistance to alleviate the worst sufferings of particularly vulnerable groups of population. Outside of particular crises, the Commission's role and influence within the international humanitarian community in general continued to develop throughout the year. Links with the US were significantly strengthened within the overall context of the EU-US Action Plan agreed in Madrid at the end of the year. Operational and policy links with the UN and its agencies, especially UNHCR, but also WFP and DHA, were also developed, in crisis situations and in overall planning, including support to initiatives such as ReliefWeb, MCDA, and IDNDR. Information and transparency remain a top priority for ECHO and continued to be developed, not only as regards the Member States but also vis-à-vis the whole array of humanitarian actors. The statistics annexed to the present report once again demonstrate the COM(95) 567 final Commission's commitment to this principle. This year also saw the finalization of the refugee reporting system and a new ECHO presence on Internet. Towards the end of the year a number of leading humanitarian agencies and donors attended a particularly significant event organized in Madrid on the initiative of Commissioner Bonino to discuss the problems confronting humanitarianism at the dawn of the twenty-first century. The event culminated in the adoption of the "Madrid Declaration", attached to this report, underlining a remarkable degree of convergence in the analysis of the major challenges on the part of all participants. The coming year is likely to see humanitarian efforts being deployed at least on a par with 1995. While there are encouraging developments in some parts of the world, instability in others is unlikely to disappear and may well worsen. New forms of humanitarian assistance, particularly in aid of displaced persons, are likely to play a key role in the Bosnian peace process and in calming tensions in the region of the Great Lakes in East Africa and elsewhere. If the destructive impact of natural disasters is to be reduced, important challenges are before us in terms of preparedness, prevention and mitigation. Links between relief and development have to be reinforced to the benefit of both. The Union's humanitarian assistance enjoys widespread support and growing visibility. With the hopefully imminent adoption of the new legal basis, it will enter a new phase. Yet it is still important to underline that it addresses the symptoms, not the causes, of conflict. Indeed, conflict prevention and resolution lie, needless to say, in the political, diplomatic or sometimes military spheres and require formal instruments and policies which the Union does not yet have. The task of the 1996 Inter-Governmental Conference will be to rise to this challenge. m 1 1. 1 Institutional Framework Legal Basis 1995 was marked,. among other things, by discussions with the Council and the European Parliament over the Commission proposal for a Council Regulation concerning humanitarian aid2. Hitherto, European Union activities in this field have been conducted only on the ad hoc basis afforded by the allocation of funds within the budgetary procedure. In view of the importance of the sums involved - over two billion ECU from 1992 to 1995 - the Commission and the Member States shared the view that the time had come to formalise this, and the new Regulation aims to provide a more precise legal basis for the management by the Commission on behalf of the Community budgetary resources made available for humanitarian aid. The Commission's proposal, based on Article 130w of the Treaty, seeks notably to codify the scope and nature of humanitarian aid, the relationships with humanitarian partners, and introduce procedures for consultation with the Member States before decisions are finalised. The draft regulation has been examined at length by the European Parliament under the cooperation procedure. Parliament delivered its opinion following the first reading during its second plenary session of November. Its reaction to the Commission's proposal was very favourable, and most of the amendments proposed by it were incorporated by the Commission into a revised proposal. The debate in the Council showed that a majority of Member' States sought a much more constraining mechanism than the consultation procedure proposed by the Commission, wishing themselves the conception, decision-making and implementation of humanitarian aid. The Council's common position was adopted at the Development Council held in Brussels on December 20. It responds to Member States' wishes while preserving the Commission's room for manoeuvre, especially in emergency situations. to become an effective party to Partner NGOs have also assiduously followed the debate in Council and Parliament. They are clearly keen to ensure that their interests, including flexibility, speed of response and political impartiality, are given due recognition and support in this exercise. They have made substantial efforts in their own right to ensure that these interests are duly heeded in the decision-making process of the Union's institutions. If Parliament now endorses something similar to the Council's common position, it is hoped that the latter will be able to take its final decision on the Regulation in April or May 1996 under Italian Presidency. COM (95) 201 final of 31 May 1995 COM (95) 721 final of 15 December 1995 1 1. 2 Emergency Food Aid Together with the proposed new legal basis for humanitarian aid, the Council received a Commission proposal for a new Regulation to replace the existing Food Aid Regulation. This Regulation is the responsibility of DG VIII and covers food aid, food aid management and special operations in support of food security. The proposal defines the objectives, means and procedures for long-term food security policy. It no longer refers, as before, to emergency food aid operations, which have been under the responsibility of ECHO since a Commission decision of December 1994. This decision, which completes the transfer to ECHO of operational responsibility for all areas placed under its competence by the Commission, led to responsibility for funds totalling ECU 51 million being transferred from DG VIII to ECHO in 1995 for implementing humanitarian food assistance operations in favour of refugees, displaced persons and the most vulnerable groups in crisis situations, mainly through the World Food Programme (WFP), UNHCR, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and NGOs. This aid was for the main part disbursed in the region of the Great Lakes, Angola, Iraq and the Caucasus. ECHO's involvement in food aid is not confined to the crisis period, but continues in the post-emergency period so long as imperious humanitarian needs remain. The transition is closely managed to the point where DG VIII may (as necessary) take over. 1. 3 Financial basis The great majority of the Commission's operations through ECHO are financed from the General Budget of the European Union. To a small extent, and in 1995 much less than in previous years, operations in favour of ACP countries have also been financed under the financial protocol to the Lomé IV Convention. In the last five years the humanitarian operations carried out by the Commission on behalf of the Union have grown sevenfold, to make the EU now the foremost single public donor of humanitarian aid. From ECU 114 million in 1991, the figure (including a special allocation of ECU 150 million from Lomé convention funds for the Rwanda crisis) reached ECU 764 million in 1994, and in 1995 stood at around ECU 692 million. In 1996, initial appropriations under the "humanitarian aid" chapter of the EU Budget (B7-21) were' ECU 319. 5 million. Other funds may be made available during the year depending on the evolution of the humanitarian situation to which the Commission may be called upon to respond. The financial position of EC humanitarian aid is nonetheless less than satisfactory in some ways. The main problem is the lengthy procedure required to release appropriations from the reserve part of the EU budget, coupled with the requirement first to have disbursed 80% of the funds initially attributed. These administrative requirements have sometimes proved to be at variance with crisis needs. 2 2. 1 Means of action Framework Partnership Agreements In the course of the year a further 17 NGOs and international organisations signed the Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) with the Commission, bringing the total to 170. Naturally enough, NGOs from the three new Member States of the EU - Austria, Finland and Sweden - were prominent among the newcomers. Partner NGOs played a leading role in the work of the extended Dialogue Group set up to review the functioning of the FPA and identify possible improvements. The Dialogue Group did submit, in November 1994, a proposal to revise the FPA, which was carefully examined by ECHO at the beginning of 1995. Although the suggestions formulated by the group were very helpful, the result of the legal basis exercise (see section 1. 1) will clearly be important in determining the Commission's future way of working and the policy options. ECHO is therefore awaiting the outcome of this exercise before deciding how to proceed with the further development of the FPA. 2. 2 Databases and management systems Humanitarian assistance embraces a wide variety of scenarios, conditions, actors and requirements, spread across the surface of the planet. Proper communication is a must if all the various factors are to be mobilised with adequate cohesion to help the massive victim population and make best use of the available resources. Modern electronic databases and informatics-based communication and management systems have an increasingly key role to play, and the Commission has gone out of its way to develop such capacities and skills. Its first concern was to rethink and modernise its own informatics tools. Late 1995 saw the operational commissioning of the first phase (relating to financial management) of ECHO'S new database, the Humanitarian Office Programme Environment (HOPE) under development since spring 1994. Early in 1996 the contract management modules too will be commissioned. Increasingly, HOPE will permit the storage and active management of all data pertinent to ECHO'S work. Migration in early 1996 to the X400 Commission e-mail facility (Route 400) will open up new and advanced scope for electronic communication within and between services, between institutions of the Union and above all with the outside world: ECHO's partners and theatres of operations. informatics-based The Commission's longer-term goal is to help promote international communication and management tools between the main actors in the international humanitarian community. To this end, ECHO has been actively involved in discussions with several international partners, including the United States authorities and the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs, with a view to promoting a humanitarian Relief Web to foster information exchange. ECHO is also seeking ways of promoting closer interchange between the humanitarian bodies of the Member States of the Union and between these and It is also aware that there is much to learn from the experiments in the Commission. electronic database and communications systems that are being carried out by NGOs and other international agencies specialising in humanitarian relief. ECHO went up on the Commission's World Wide Web server (EUROPA) with a range of information in November 1995 (see section 4. 1). The address of the home page is: http://www. cec. lu/enJcommlecho/echo, htm] 3 Humanitarian operations in 1995 3. 1 Statistical overview The production of comprehensive and sound statistics has been a priority for ECHO and the means to achieve this goal were further developed in 1995. Such statistics are a vital management tool, and also serve important information, coordination and transparency needs. Statistics are now issued from ECHO on a quarterly basis, to which refugee statistics from the PISG database will soon be added (see section 4. 3. 1. 1). A number of the statistical reports ECHO produces are annexed to the present report (Statistical Annexes SI to S7). Operations in 1995 were on a comparable scale to those in 1994 with, as has been said, a headline figure of ECU 692 million for decisions adopted during the year. While statistics by country are available for the entire sum committed during the year, it should be noted that contracting inevitably continues, in some cases, into the following year. Statistics by partners are based on amounts contracted by end of year and therefore come to a lower figure. At the end of 1995, this amount was ECU 494 million, representing a contract to decision ratio by end of year of 71% (in 1994, the figure was 79%. and reached 99%) in the course of 1995). A list of funding decisions by country is provided in Annexes S2 and S3 and by partner in Annex S4. These figures are summarised in figures 1 and 3 overleaf. In order to avoid repetitiveness. the amounts involved are not always mentioned in the country sections which follow. At the end of its third full year of operations, ECHO is still, at a relatively early stage of its development, and any talk of trends needs to be cautious. Nonetheless, it should be noted that the figures show a striking increase in the proportion of aid channelled through NGOs in 1995 as compared to 1994, up from 41% to 56%, mainly at the expense of the UN system. FINANCIAL DECISIONS FOR HUMANITARIAN AID BY REGION 1 9 94 Figure 1 As per: 09/01/96 (35,3%) EX-YUGOSLAVIA (0,5%) GLOBAL (2,8%) LATIN AMERICA (0,5%) NORTH AFRICA (3,4%) ASIA %) IRAK EASTERN EUROPE (11,9%)C. I. S (42,4%) ACP (0,4%) EASTERN EUROPE (3,6%) IRAK (0,6%) GLOBAL (33,9%) EX-YUGOSLAVIA (30,6%) ACP (0,6%) DISASTER PREPAREDNESS (4,0%) LATIN AMERICA (0,7%) NORTH AFRICA (5,7%) ASIA (19,9%) C. I. S Financial Decisions by Source of Finance 1993 -1994 -1995 Figure 2 o LU CT\ 1000 800 600 400 200 0 LOME III LOME IV BUDGET TOTAL Total Humanitarian Assistance 1991 -1992 -1993 -1994 -1995 Figure 3 amounts in ECU UNITED NATIONS ! OTHER INTERN. ORG. 400 300 to c o = 200 100 0 D 1991 0 1992 B 1993 1 1994 S 1995 2 013 855 11 368 642 55 194 966 116 225 415 69 062 696 13 461 500 21 526 340 3 546 195 6 173 000 7 920 000 0 25 325 000 10 400 000 1 800 000 119 578 87 685 529 111 446 577 264 250 750 308 334 733 275 783 820 4 778 000 1 552 000 2 424 257 7 089 870 3 652 676 3 652 400 1 089 626 4 740 000 600 000 1 513444 46 524 500 122 843 166 189 723 733 240 672 705 83 941 166 33 244 000 36 809 900 67 674 267 72 434 812 52 359 152 A part of this increase is probably due to random factors during the year, and in any case the final disbursement figures may be expected to redress the imbalance somewhat. Another part is arguably due, however, to a diversification of ECHO's activities as it continued to develop in 1995 and as the context of its work shifted somewhat, both geographically and functionally. Although ECHO was involved in slightly fewer countries in 1995, its funds were spread more evenly than in 1994. In this respect, it should be borne in mind that the UN agencies are more geared to immediate crisis response, whereas NGOs often have a comparative advantage in emergency rehabilitation, chronic disaster relief and first steps towards reconstruction, which constituted a greater proportion of ECHO'S activities in 1995 as it was able to improve its perspective vis-à-vis crisis situations. It is interesting also to see how ECHO aid may be broken down by type of assistance. This is done in Annex S7. Unsurprisingly, and as in previous years, some 40% of ECHO assistance was spent on food aid. The other major items were transport, medical supplies, and local and expatriate staff costs, making up altogether 83% of the overall total. Communications equipment accounted for another 7. 5%. 3. 2 General issues In the increasingly difficult environment in which the Commission has had to provide humanitarian assistance in recent years, a number of general issues have emerged which were highlighted by events in 1995 and which will be discussed in this section. In the following sections, country-by-country accounts outline briefly the specific operations in which the Commission was involved and the backdrop against which they took place. (i) Humanitarian aid in relation to crisis resolution It is evident that humanitarian assistance does not have the means to address the root causes of conflicts, and cannot be a substitute for other measures to resolve them. On the other hand, it may accompany and provide breathing space for the resolution of conflicts in cases where the necessary political will is present. Such has been the case in Haiti, Angola or even Liberia and parts of Latin America where it has contributed to restoring peace by diminishing the inevitable tensions ensuing from struggles over resources which the crisis has made scarce. While such synergies exist, lines need to be clearly drawn if the impartial, neutral and independent character of humanitarian aid - so essential to its effective and safe delivery - is not to be compromised. (ii) • Linking relief and development The Commission is well aware of the need to ensure a smooth transition from humanitarian assistance to rehabilitation, reconstruction and development measures as soon as possible once the crisis is over - always with an eye to addressing the factors which caused it in the first place. Indeed, even during a crisis every attempt must be made not to undermine but to reinforce local capacity to cope and to recover. In some instances, ECHO has been successful in preparing long-term activities but more has to be done to achieve this aim. In full recognition of the inter-service character of such linkages, in December 1995 the Commission produced a Discussion paper on "Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development". The document was the result of a joint exercise by ECHO, DG VIII, DG IA and DG IB. Before the paper was finalized it was further discussed in a workshop, financed by ECHO, with experts drawn from Member States, USAID, UN agencies, NGOs and academic institutions. The final document, which incorporates many of the ideas presented during the workshop, was put to informal meetings both of Member State Directors-General for development and for humanitarian aid as well as to the Development working group in the Council. The document was well received and it was decided to develop it further during the first half of 1996 by, inter alia, including reference to linkage efforts by the Member States before a final document is presented to the Development Council, due in May. (Hi) Crisis prevention Involvement in humanitarian assistance can scarcely fail to evoke a strong sense of the need for more efficient measures to address crises in the making. Not only is this a moral imperative: it also makes far more financial sense. However, existing provisions have yet to prove their worth, and it seems clear that a qualitative leap forward is required. Crisis prevention has both developmental and diplomatic dimensions - as well as, no doubt, a military one on occasions. If it is true that these are not issues for humanitarian assistance in the strict sense, they can often benefit from a humanitarian stimulus to their discussion. The humanitarian services of the Commission have often been called upon, in many different European and international fora, to contribute to discussions of "lessons learned" from various field operations. (iv) Development of global humanitarian plans to address major crises Major crises call for global plans, be it in terms of types of aid or geographical strategies and priorities. The Commission has continued to develop such plans in 1995, within which all the operations it finances are integrated. The added coherence and synergy thus generated have enabled the impact of operations to be maximised while avoiding overlaps or gaps in the coverage of humanitarian needs. Such global plans relate to a fixed amount of funding, providing for rational use of available funds. The perspective necessary to develop such plans is not always present in crisis situations, however. Apart from the Great Lakes region and former Yugoslavia, such plans were developed in Cuba, Haiti, the southern Caucasus and Iraq; on the other hand, the unstable situations their development. in Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Somalia, for example, prevented (v) "Forgotten" crises The Commission is present in a number of "forgotten" crises - such as those in Afghanistan, southern Sudan, Liberia or Sierra Leone, in all of which it is the premier donor of humanitarian aid. This fact should not allow other donors to evade their responsibilities, and the Commission therefore intends to continue working to draw attention to these tragedies, often as terrible as others relayed more directly to our living rooms. "Forgotten" crises may also be of a sectoral nature, such as the diphtheria epidemic throughout the former Soviet Union and the ongoing effects on health of the Chernobyl disaster. (vi) Obstacles set in the way of humanitarian assistance While ECHO'S partners are ever more solicited by the demands the humanitarian situation places on them, their work is severely handicapped in many parts of the world by flagrant and unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law. In internal conflicts under conditions often approaching anarchy, civilians have far too often become the target of atrocities explicitly orchestrated by the belligerent parties. The inevitable consequence of such disregard for the principle of humanity is a similar lack of respect for humanitarian assistance. In a disturbingly long list of countries, humanitarian operations have been compromised, threatened and attacked: restrictions on access to victims, deviation of aid, theft, kidnapping and physical attacks on aid workers, sometimes even assassinations, have occurred. Local authorities may see aid entering or passing through the territories under their control as a legitimate tool to gain tactical advantage in conflict situations. In any case, security measures regularly hinder or entirely prevent the deliver}' of aid. The Commission has paid more attention than ever to avoiding that its aid "feed" the war or fall victim to it. At the same time, it is evident that humanitarianism - based as it is on a minimum of civilised values - needs to be emphatically reaffirmed. 3. 3 Former Yugoslavia Following initial optimism at the end of 1994 and a static though tense situation during the first months of the year, former Yugoslavia was characterised in 1995 by extremely dramatic and contrasting developments. Throughout the conflict, the European Union has been the main donor of humanitarian relief assistance and in 1995 the Commission granted ECU 234 million in aid to the victims, taking the total figure for 1992-95 to ECU 1 185 million. More detailed statistics are provided in Annex S6. The failure of the warring parties to extend the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement upon its expiry in April 1995 was followed by an alarming deterioration of the overall situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Fighting escalated and humanitarian operations as a whole faced increased levels of obstruction. The Commission committed ECU 94 million in humanitarian aid in May. In July and August tens of thousands of civilians were uprooted as a result of the fall of the Srebrenica and Zepa enclaves and more fighting in both central and north-western Bosnia; to which the Commission responded with a further grant of ECU 5 million to reinforce the assistance provided. The Croatian army offensive on former Sectors West (May 1995), North and South (August 1995) triggered the massive movement of 200 000 refugees into northern Bosnia, most of whom subsequently proceeded into Serbia and Montenegro. More fighting in north-western Bosnia in September and early October sparked off further movements of population, as approximately 100 000 persons fled towards Banja Luka, making it necessary to commit a further ECU 15 million in relief assistance. 10 In the first weeks of August approximately 25 000 refugees from Velika Kladusa (Northern Bihac) fled to Croatia to seek refuge and were stopped in Kupljensko. They subsequently endured inhumane living conditions on account of harassment by the Croatian police, who were obstructing the delivery of vital supplies to the camp, as well as the unsuitable site of the camp itself. The Commission granted ECU 4. 6 million for the refugees in the Kupljensko camp in September. The fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina resulted not only in ever larger groups of population being moved and displaced, but also led to such movements occurring in increasingly distressing conditions, with mental and physical injuries being inflicted, in a climate of flagrant disregard for human rights. Vulnerable groups - the elderly, the disabled and children - were resettled in destroyed "newly liberated" cities taken during recent offensives and/or on the front line. Thousands of displaced or expelled civilians, isolated, lacked the most essential utilities and relief supplies. The practice of ethnic cleansing continued unabated. Brutal evictions of minorities from the Banja Luka region in northern Bosnia intensified from August onwards. From October on, substantial progress was nonetheless made in the search for a solution to the conflict. The upholding of the cease-fire agreement since mid-October, coupled with the restoration of utilities and access to Sarajevo, as well as the opening of land access to the enclave of Gorazde, led to optimism regarding the prospects of finally reducing the scope of the humanitarian tragedy. In November, the Commission decided to provide an additional ECU 110 million in relief assistance to cover the winter needs of the 3. 6 million beneficiaries of humanitarian aid in the region. The signing of the peace agreement on 14 December in Paris gives grounds for hope that the humanitarian situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina will gradually improve. By the end of the year, the encouraging political and military developments had already had a positive impact. The end of the year was characterised both by greater access to humanitarian aid for victims and the prospect of greater freedom of movement for civilians and goods, together with the dismantling of internal checkpoints by the end of December. 3. 4 Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Countries In 1995 the Commission spent ECU 212 million on humanitarian aid for refugees, displaced persons, returnees and the most vulnerable groups of population in ACP countries. 3. 4. 1 The region of the Great Lakes The situation in the region of the Great Lakes (Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zaire and Uganda) hardly improved in 1995 and was characterized by instability due to three factors: the presence of 1. 7 million Rwandan refugees and over 200,000 Burundian refugees, which represent a heavy burden for the host countries and for the international community; the frequent incursions and acts of sabotage in western Rwanda perpetrated by armed Hutu bands 11 based in Zaire, and the increasingly confrontational stance of the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic populations. Faced with such large numbers of refugees, the regional approach developed by the Commission since the onset of the crisis in Rwanda in April 1994 was confirmed. In order to maximise coordination, speed and efficiency, the novel step was taken of designating UNHCR as lead agency, granting it ECU 118 million from April 1994 to date for humanitarian operations in favour of the refugees and returnees in the region, to finance both the operations of UNHCR itself and those- of a number of NGOs. At the same time a joint ECHO/UNHCR Task Force was set up in order to organize practical initiatives to encourage the return of refugees to their country of origin. Thus, information programmes were launched for refugees, and justice and confidence-building measures were also supported. A further ECU 42. 25 million for UNHCR to use in the region was granted by the Commission in November 1995. Within Rwanda, the Commission continued to support twenty or so NGOs working in the health field, providing care for unaccompanied children, support to vulnerable groups and basic rehabilitation. Through these activities, it proved possible to reopen health centres, pharmacies and hospitals throughout the country so as to ensure adequate health cover for the population. Supply of medical and sanitary products was mainly carried out by ECHO'S partners. This assistance culminated in the reopening and reorganisation of the Rwandan Pharmaceutical Office (OPHAR). In addition, more than two hundred schools were restored and re-equipped making it possible to resume school education. Beyond supporting nutritional programmes for children and pregnant and nursing mothers, the Commission lent its support to the work of care centres for unaccompanied children as well as to the ICRC tracing programme aimed at reuniting families. In all its operations the Commission was careful to respect local salary levels and administrative requirements such as the need for NGOs to be registered with the government, and encouraged its partners to think in terms of the transfer of their activities to development organisations or local authorities by including training elements and making use of local staff. Some such programmes were indeed successfully transferred in this way in 1995. Lastly, the Commission supported the restoration of the judicial system as. well as other confidence-building measures within the country. In Burundi the situation within the country worsened considerably during 1995. At the beginning of the year the Commission launched a global plan of assistance to displaced and dispersed persons to encourage them to return to the villages by re-establishing acceptable living conditions there. By funding ten or so NGOs, medical, nutritional and sanitary assistance was provided, "as well as support for some small-scale housing and water supply rehabilitation programmes. Despite the caliber of the partners chosen to carry out these programmes, their activities were hindered by serious security problems, daily outbreaks of renewed violence, lack of protection for their staff and difficulties in reaching affected populations. Humanitarian work in Burundi became and remains very difficult. 12 Tliroughout the Great Lakes region the Commission has provided constant support for the international organisations and NGOs carrying out assistance programmes addressing the needs of the stricken populations. A specialist team based in the region regularly evaluated needs and monitored operations. A statistical overview of operations carried out in response to the Rwanda/Burundi crisis is provided in Annex S5. 3. 4. 2 Angola In Angola the end of the civil war signalled by the signature of the peace agreement at Lusaka in November 1994 meant only a small reduction in the level of humanitarian assistance, from ECU 24 million in 1994 to ECU 17 million in 1995. Access to whole regions which had been inaccessible due to the war was restored. Funding was therefore channelled to these regions as a priority, and to the health sector in general. The peace process and the country's economic reconstruction cannot be expected to be anything but slow and fragile after twenty years of civil war. Mine clearance and the demobilisation of troops are specific obstacles to economic recovery. To meet the still pressing needs of the most vulnerable groups and to support and encourage the peace process, the Commission funded the programmes of twenty NGOs in 1995, covering all the accessible. areas. Support for mine clearance is also provided to NGOs within the limited framework of their operational contracts, and significant assistance has been provided to war wounded. 3. 4. 3 Sudan The civil war in Sudan which opposes the predominantly Islamic Government in the North and the animist/Christian South started in 1983. In addition, there is open warfare between factions in the South, whose loyalties are often divided along tribal lines. In spite of the official four-month cease-fire declared in April 1995, fighting actually intensified with disastrous consequences from the humanitarian standpoint as politics took priority over humanitarian concerns for all warring parties. NGOs were forced to evacuate sites for extended periods; compounds were looted; staff threatened and some even taken hostage. This situation culminated in a 13-day total flight ban in November-December on all humanitarian flights into South Sudan instigated by GOS while the SPLA gained ground around. Tuba. It is estimated that there are 4. 25 million war-affected persons in Sudan, of which 3. 6 million in South Sudan, 350 000 in the Transitional Zone and 300 000 in camps around Khartoum (out of a total of 1. 2 million forced from their homes and living around Khartoum). A further 200 000 Sudanese are refugees in transit and settlement camps in northern Uganda. In 1995 the Commission granted over ECU 20 million to humanitarian programmes in Sudan and to assist refugees in Uganda. Needless to say, it targeted its assistance in such a way as to avoid "feeding the war" while ensuring effective implementation of aid programmes. Programmes in the North have focused on essential needs for the displaced around Khartoum, while in the South they have focused on three elements: household food security (fishing programmes, seed-barter shops, veterinary programmes, etc. ) in order to counter food-aid dependency and food-aid diversion while creating a minimum of sustainability; primary health care coverage using low-value commodities; and basic relief (shelter, domestic items, water and sanitation, nutritional programmes, etc. ) especially for the large number of displaced persons. 3. 4. 4 Somalia March 1995 saw the final withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces from Somalia, and with that the withdrawal of a large number of humanitarian organisations. Though the predicted intensification of the conflict did not occur, low-level fighting continued throughout the country, encouraged by massive unemployment, the removal of the dollar economy and increasingly limited access to food. Where the situation has stabilized, however, rehabilitation programmes have begun. In such areas a number of ECHO-funded programmes were taken over by DG VIII. can other regions, the In Commission has continued to limit funding for Somalia to e s s e n t i al h u m a n i t a r i an programmes where effective implementation be g u a r a n t e e d. T h e se programmes have focused on primary and specialist health care, supplementary feeding, water and sanitation, and food security. Partners have been careful to target only the most vulnerable groups and to use operating procedures which limit exposure to risk and the need for protection to the minimum. Nevertheless, and threats, kidnappings forced evacuations repeated have in November a staff member of Caritas was assassinated. continued, and The Commission continued to provide considerable support to efforts to control cholera and measles epidemics and funds to assist the victims of the the armed conflict North West of the country. in ECHO-FLIGHT 1995 saw the continuation of the ECHO-Flight service to the Horn of Africa which was set up in May 1994 in order to fly essential cargo and passengers into areas where no other access is possible. The service is primarily at the disposal of NGOs working in humanitarian operations and is free of charge to them. There are eight aircraft currently involved in the operation, based in Nairobi. Entebbe, Djibouti, Mandera and Lokichoggio. and serving humanitarian operations in Somalia, Kenya, southern Sudan and Uganda. Although security conditions forced the suspension of flights to various destinations on a number of occasions during 1995. notably in Sudan, on other occasions ECHO-Flight proved to be an invaluable asset in carrying out emergency evacuations. As part of the ECHO-Flight network, the Commission also supported a Hercules C-130 from the Belgian Air Force, which, based in Lokichoggio, air-dropped essential food aid into South Sudan as well as transporting seeds, tools, logistical equipment and so on, mostly into Sudan but also, when necessary, into Somalia. In July 1995 the Sudanese Government banned the BAF C-130 and, even after considerable pressure, this decision was not reversed. As the year came to a close, there was no heavy lift capacity in Lokichoggio, hampering the humanitarian operation and, as the hunger gap approached early in the new year, this situation risked threatening the effective implementation of aid. From May 1994 to the end of 1995, ECHO-Flight transported over 50 000 passengers, airfreighted over 13 000 million tonnes and flew over 15 500 hours. In 1995 ECU 16 million went to fund ECHO-Flight operations, including the C-130. 14 3. 4. 5 Liberia In Liberia, despite the peace agreement concluded between the various warring factions in August, the overall political situation remained highly volatile. Nevertheless the peace accords permitted access to several regions which had been isolated for the last two or three years, enabling the Commission to fund the programmes of ten or so NGOs to provide medical care, food aid and dietary supplements, and sanitation. In addition, the Commission funded a number of small-scale schemes to control cholera outbreaks and two major immunization programmes to control a yellow fever epidemic in Buchanan and Monrovia. Besides initiatives in Liberia, the Commission provided support for a number of programmes to assist Liberian refugees (about 1 million) mainly settled in Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire. 3. 4. 6 Sierra Leone In Sierra Leone relief efforts continued to be hindered by the climate of violence which prevails in the country as a result of the civil war. Numerous international organizations responded to the situation by repatriating their staff and keeping their aid programmes just ticking over. In such difficult circumstances, the Commission funded "strategic" programmes (in carefully targeted areas and sectors) so as to prevent further deterioration in the living conditions of both the displaced groups of population and those living in large towns who depend heavily on international assistance. 3. 4. 7 Haiti Following the return to power of President Aristide in Haiti, the European Union expressed its desire to play an active role in the reconstruction of the country. An ambitious programme worth ECU 23 million for 1994/5 was immediately approved. It included over twenty projects spanning health care, food and water supply and water purification. 3. 5 Commonwealth of Independent States As was feared at the end of 1994, events in the Northern Caucasus region of the Russian Federation provoked a major humanitarian crisis in Chechnya and other surrounding Autonomous Republics. After an initial response of ECU 310 000 at the end of 1994, aid granted during 1995 to this region totalled ECU 26 million. A careful choice of partners, limited to those who could already demonstrate an ability to bring the necessary relief into the area and to distribute it fairly among all the needy groups of population, ensured the success of the programme, the emphasis of which shifted as the population moved and, in most cases, returned to their areas of origin. What began as assistance in the form of food, medicines and basic shelter for up to one million affected people, developed into a carefully targeted programme of medical supplies for the entire population, food for vulnerable groups and the restoration of shelter, sanitation and water supplies. 15 The sums allocated to the Northern Caucasus meant less aid elsewhere in the CIS, but the Southern Caucasus - Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia - continued to benefit from a high level of support, receiving aid totalling over ECU 80 million as compared to ECU 55 million in 1994. Distribution was made marginally easier by the continued, if uneasy, peace within and between the three countries, but the basic humanitarian problems remained as daunting as ever. In addition to normal humanitarian aid (food, medicine, relief items and shelter), the problem of energy supplies was tackled, with heavy fuel and gas supplied to Armenia and Georgia and specially targeted supplies to vulnerable groups and social centres in all three countries. The three Southern Caucasus countries were once more the recipients of a special food aid programme, as did Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, although special assistance was no longer required for Moldova. This programme totalled ECU 197 million, as against ECU 204 million in 1994, with ECHO participation at the same level in both years at ECU 35 million. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan both received extra humanitarian assistance from the Commission, largely medical. Unfortunately, other claims left no room to continue aid to Belarus and Ukraine, although these countries did continue to benefit from two multi-country programmes covering the CIS. The multi-country programmes continued to address the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, affecting Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and to fund a large scale immunization campaign. Aid in the wake of Chernobyl consisted mainly in continued support for ongoing activities providing consumables for equipment already delivered, ongoing monitoring programmes and the supply of additional specialist equipment. In 1995 the focus of the 1994 immunization programme against common childhood illnesses shifted to the fight against diphtheria, some 200 000 cases of which were recorded in 1994, and was threatening to extend westwards into the European Union. Again a global programme was drawn up by UNICEF, IFRC and WHO with responsibility for activities in specific countries allocated to the first two organisations. The Commission has undertaken to continue playing a prominent role in what should be a three year campaign to control and eradicate this and other epidemics. 3. 6 Eastern Europe Leaving aside former Yugoslavia, humanitarian assistance in Eastern Europe was limited to providing ECU 1. 2 million for Albania, supplementing other Commission-funded aid; including the three Baltic States in the overall campaign against diphtheria; and providing ECU 0. 5 million for Romania to deliver food and medical aid to hospitals and other institutions. 16 3. 7 Asia If the man-made humanitarian crises in Afghanistan and Iraq continued to dominate the Commission's humanitarian activities in Asia, 1995 was also a year of natural disasters in the continent, particularly floods. In Afghanistan, the Commission continued to provide assistance to refugees and internally displaced populations, dovetailing with its other activities. Outbreaks of fighting in various parts of the country continued to make the delivery of humanitarian aid a complex and dangerous task. As in 1994, the emphasis was on providing medical and sanitation assistance with a view to ensuring minimum levels of health care and preventing the worst epidemics. Assistance provided by ECHO in 1995 stood at similar levels as in 1994 (around ECU 12. 5 million). In Iraq, the Commission continued to be among the largest providers of assistance with ECU 24. 9 million - a slightly higher total than in 1994. However, emphasis in the programme for the country shifted as it became ever clearer that humanitarian needs in the areas under central government control are rapidly equalling those of both the North and the In the North, food aid for targeted groups remained essential and Southern marshes. rehabilitation of social, medical and water facilities was undertaken, together with a continued programme aimed at restoring local agricultural production in close collaboration with the ODA. Such is the number of mines laid in the area, running into several millions, that mine clearance programmes could be continued virtually forever, and support has continued for the provision of artificial limbs for a still large number of victims. The current mine clearance programme is being undertaken jointly with the UK. Food and medical assistance continued to be given to Iraqi refugees in Iran who fled the southern marshes region and assistance was further expanded in areas under central government control, but again under strictly monitored conditions. From over 90% of aid disbursed in the North some two years previously, only ECU 17. 3 million — slightly under 70% of the total — was allocated to that region in 1995. Natural disasters called for assistance to Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos and Pakistan, and twice to Bangladesh and the Philippines. Refugees from Bhutan, Myanmar and Tibet received assistance administered in Nepal, Thailand and India. For the first time, responding to appeals from a number of partners, emergency aid was provided to North Korea following exceptional floods in many provinces. The fighting in Sri Lanka, which had already necessitated assistance in 1994, was the subject of two Commission decisions in mid 1995. However, violence broke out again later in the year requiring an additional decision to assist those forced to flee the northern city of Jaffna. At the end of the year the threat of a major man-made humanitarian disaster in the northern part of the island could not be ruled out. 17 3. 8 Middle East and North Africa The Commission continued to provide humanitarian assistance under its overall programme for the Autonomous and Occupied Palestinian Territories with a 1995 contribution of ECU 5. 3 million. Aid went to supplying urgently needed equipment and training in private and public hospitals inherited by the Palestinian authorities, and followed on from similar initiatives in 1994. Palestinian refugees in camps in Lebanon received medical aid worth ECU 1. 3 million, while the displaced and most vulnerable Lebanese populations received ECU 0. 6 million in food aid. In North Africa, in response to the exacerbation of civil strife in Algeria, humanitarian support in the form of food aid for the Sahrawi refugees was stepped up, to a total of ECU 4. 5 million. Medical and tune of ECU 0. 5 million. logistical aid was also supplied the to The Commission also provided assistance following an earthquake in Turkey, and, together with other donors, made a small contribution to Yemen towards an immunization campaign and to assist with the aftermath of civil war. Note that operations in Lebanon and for the Sahrawi refugees were preceded by specific needs-evaluation missions undertaken with Commission funding, and by consultation with the EU Member States directly interested in helping these populations. 3. 9 Latin America While the principal recipient of humanitarian aid in this region continued to be Cuba, there was nevertheless an overall increase in ECHO activities both in the aftermath of earlier civil wars and in response to natural disasters in Central America. In view of the worsening crisis affecting the health system and the provision of basic health services to the population, aid to Cuba was slightly higher in 1995 than in 1994, reaching a total of ECU 15 million, and provided essential medical and sanitary supplies, food for hospitals and purification products to avoid epidemics. The programme is being carried out by a number of European NGOs with full responsibility for the proper implementation of the programme down to beneficiary level. The aftermath of conflicts, and in particular the weakening of the health system, necessitated aid for Mexico and Nicaragua, while conflict between Ecuador and Peru affected the population of both countries. It should be noted that medical assistance provided through NGOs to the civilian population affected by the uprising in Mexico contributed to stabilizing the situation, which was seen as a precondition to successful peace negotiations. In Guatemala the Commission funded a general aid programme for returnees and internally displaced persons, closely coordinated with its other development activities. Natural disasters required assistance to Bolivia, which suffered from both drought and floods; and to Colombia and El Salvador. 4 4. 1 Horizontal Activities Information and Visibility Humanitarian aid is one of the success stories of the EU in the past three years, in terms of both its magnitude and the diversity of theatres of operation. It is therefore natural that the Commission should want to emulate its partners in providing information and publicizing its activities on behalf of the Union both in the Member States and in recipient countries. Indeed, the impact of humanitarian activities often depends on how visible they are. No doubt, visibility is primarily the result of immediate response in an emergency, using effective NGOs or international relief agencies as partners. But it is equally true that raising awareness of a crisis and informing the public on the way available resources are managed are also essential elements in humanitarian assistance. The Commission spends a very small proportion of its budget on visibility compared with the organisations it finances. The latter have a further advantage in that, as operators in the field, they naturally often get all the credit for an operation. In 1995, only approximately ECU 1. 5 million was spent on visibility measures, whence the need for the Commission to work closely with its partners to obtain a profile commensurate with its contribution. The strategy pursued has four main components: the media, publications and audio-visuals, joint activities together with NGOs and international organisations, and joint activities with Member States. To target the media, this year again a press release was issued for every allocation of aid: over 150 went out during the year. Material also started to be regularly made available on INTERNET (see section 2. 2). Thirdly, facility visits for journalists to theatres of operation were organised. This resulted in good coverage both in the press and on television. Some such visits were arranged on the initiative of NGOs and UN agencies. The media operation is backed up by a number of publications and audio-visuals. Publications currently comprise: (a) This 'Annual Report', distributed widely inside and outside the EU; (b) (c) 'ECHO News' - a quarterly newsletter in French and English, mainly aimed at a more limited audience within the European Union; 'ECHO Files' - comprehensive background briefings on particular humanitarian crises, eg. Rwanda, Somalia, Haiti; (d) An 'ECHO Calendar'; (e) Various brochures explaining how the Commission operates through ECHO and describing some of its major operations, for example in former Yugoslavia. 19 The audio-visual aspect relies on videos explaining the role of ECHO and giving the profile of the organisations and aid workers it finances, plus television news clips and a documentary. The Framework Partnership Agreement with NGOs and International Organisations (see section 2. 1) requires them to give visibility to the EU as the donor. This is done largely through stickers and other ECHO distinctives being affixed to the material that is distributed in the field, and is now by and large standard practice. However, the concept of visibility should go beyond mere stickers. In the past two years ECHO has been encouraging its partners to include it in their media projection just as ECHO does in its own. During the past year many NGOs have given extensive coverage to ECHO- fmanced operations in their own publications, which have a circulation that runs into tens of thousands. ECHO has now published brochures for general distribution jointly with the French and Spanish NGOs. Similar publications with the German and Italian NGOs are planned for next year. the French presidency, while To promote cooperation with the Member States, in view of the success of the Humanitarian Day in Berlin during the German presidency in 1994, this was repeated in Paris the Spanish presidency, a during "Humanitarian Summit" was organised (see next section). In both instances this was done in close collaboration with national authorities and NGOs. In Paris it included a two-day "green line" phone-in operation and a two-week exhibition at the Arche de la Défense. in Madrid, during 4. 2 "Humanitarian Summit" in Madrid On the initiative of Commissioner Emma Bonino, a meeting was arranged in Madrid on 14 December, with the purpose of highlighting issues of humanitarian concern common to donors and humanitarian agencies alike. The meeting brought together - for the first time ever - the EU and US, together with UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP and DHA, the Red Cross, and representatives of Médecins sans frontières and of EU and US NGOs. The event, which all participants rated a success, culminated in the adoption of an action-oriented paper setting out a new humanitarian agenda, termed the "Madrid Declaration". The Declaration, which draws attention to the limits of humanitarian aid and the need to address the root causes of crises promptly and effectively, is attached as Annex 1. Although unable to be present personally, Mrs Hillary Clinton, the wife of the US President, underlined her support for the event through a video which was shown at the meeting. The prominence of the event was also enhanced by a message of support from Pope John-Paul II, and by the active patronage of Queen Sofia and the interest taken by Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez of Spain in his capacity as President of the European Council. 20 4. 3 Coordination/cooperation 4. 3. 1 Inter-service coordination The value of individual humanitarian operations is not only determined by their intrinsic qualities but also by the place they occupy within a global analytical framework covering all the political, humanitarian and developmental aspects of a given crisis. This being so, the Commission is careful to coordinate its humanitarian activities closely with those it undertakes in other fields. Such coordination covers all stages from design to implementation. In view of the need to further expand the conceptual basis, however, the debate on how to link relief and development (see section 3. 2) took a broader look at some of the issues. 4. 3. 1. 1 Refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees As mentioned in the Annual Report for 1994, ECHO has been at the forefront of efforts to set up a permanent inter-service group (PISG) on refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees in third countries, as a forum to coordinate the Commission's policy in respect of these groups of people. The group is also responsible for preparing the Commission's position in high-level discussions with UNHCR (see below, section 4. 3. 5. 1). In 1995 the working of this group was consolidated. The inter-service clearance procedure has proven to work well both as a stimulus to internal coordination and on the rare occasions when, for one reason or another, a proposal had to be revised. The PISG has its own internal database which records all programmes related to refugees carried out by this or that department, and supports the production of a wide range of statistics. The database has logged all Commission activity since 1st January 1995. The first statistical report will be available early in 1996, and will be updated regularly. 4. 3. 1. 2 Other inter-service groups In order to increase the impact of the ECHO disaster-preparedness programme, and to avoid any risk of duplication between Commission departments, an Inter-Service Group for Disaster Preparedness was created. This met on average once every two months to discuss relevant issues and opportunities for further programme development. ECHO also participates in the permanent inter-service groups on Human Rights chaired by DG 1 A, and on immigration and asylum chaired by the Secretariat General. In the Human Rights context, it was involved in the preparation of the Commission's communication to the Council and Parliament on the external aspects of human rights policy. 4. 3. 1. 3 External relations coordination With a new Commission taking office as of January 1995, the Commission's external relations departments were reorganized, both at Commissioner and at departmental level. The four Directorates-General geographically responsible for external relations (DGs I, IA, IB and 21 VIII), together with ECHO and with the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG II) now meet regularly within coordination structures known as "Relex" coordination. This consultation mirrors the Relex group of Commissioners which also meets regularly to discuss issues of common concern. 4. 3. 2 Member States Discussions with Member States during 1995 focused heavily on the Commission's draft proposal for a Council Regulation on humanitarian aid, as discussed above (see section 1. 1). In addition to this, working relations with the Member States were maintained informally in crisis situations on the ground and in consultations in various international fora, particularly within the United Nations system, where the world's donor community discussed aid programmes. More specifically within the Union's own institutional framework, the regular Quarterly Meetings, which bring together Member State Directors of humanitarian aid and the Commission, continued their useful function as a discussion forum. Particularly exemplary in this respect was the meeting in early November which examined in detail the Commission's pending decisions for new humanitarian aid packages for former Yugoslavia and the region of the Great Lakes in East Africa. An initial discussion paper on linking relief, rehabilitation and development was also examined at this meeting (see section 3. 2). Bilateral contacts and cooperation with individual Member States were pursued in various forms and fora both officially and on a more informal basis, making an important contribution to constructive dialogue. It is worth mentioning that clear support for ECHO'S operations was expressed by the Members States at the meeting of April 1995. On that occasion, most countries argued against cuts in humanitarian aid despite current budgetary constraints. They also called for greater Commission involvement in rehabilitation programmes and for a gradual switch from straightforward humanitarian aid to "sustainable programmes". The enlargement of the Union on 1st January 1995 to include Austria. Finland and Sweden brought with it an unarguable enrichment of the context in which ECHO carries out its work. As neutral countries with a long tradition of humanitarian concern, they have taken a keen interest in ECHO'S work from the outset. 4. 3. 3 European Parliament 1995 was a year of intense parliamentary activity on themes directly or indirectly related to humanitarian aid. The discussions on the proposal for a Council Regulation on humanitarian aid have already been mentioned (see section 1. 1). It is in this context and on the occasion of one of its ordinary meetings that the parliamentary Committee on Development convened a meeting on 17 October bringing together Ms Bonino, the Community's partners involved in humanitarian 22 work (NGOs and international agencies) and representatives of the Member States. The meeting indicated that the proposal as put forward by the Commission enjoyed the support of both the parliamentary commission and the Community's partners. In addition, the committee monitored closely developments in the countries concerned and in their relief needs. In particular, the situation in the region of the Great Lakes in East Africa featured regularly on its agenda. The Committee on Foreign Affairs focused its attention on former Yugoslavia and the war in Chechnya. Besides ordinary parliamentary work, written and oral questions, resolutions, initiatives and reports, a number of significant events were organized within Parliament, namely the public hearings on anti-personnel mines on 21 and 22 March; on "50 years of United Nations: the humanitarian challenge" on 22 and 23 May and on "Evaluation, impact and perspectives of the human rights clause" on 20 and 21 November. The hearings have been a constant reminder of the keen interest shown by the European Parliament in all aspects of humanitarian work, cooperation and development, and observance of human rights. Meanwhile the European Forum for Active Conflict Prevention (FEPAC) continued to meet once a month in Strasburg to discuss topical matters in the presence of prominent personalities directly involved in its work. The forum enables views to be exchanged in a lively atmosphere and bears witness to the fact that however difficult dialogue might be, it is never impossible. Under the auspices of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly, a Refugee Working Group was established in 1994 (rapporteur the Hon. Mr. Vecchi, MEP). At the first meeting it was agreed that ECHO should attend future sessions, two of which were held in 1995. ECHO has taken an active part in discussions within this forum, which has shown a keen interest in the development of the Permanent Inter-service Group for Assistance Towards Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons and Returnees (PISG) (see section 4. 3. 1. 1). 4. 3. 4 Non-Governmental Organisations During 1995, about half of humanitarian aid funds administeried by ECHO were committed for operations carried out by non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This represents an increase even on the figures for preceding years, and underlines yet again the Commission's commitment to the partnership principle for its humanitarian operations and in particular the prominent role of NGOs in that partnership: they were involved in virtually every one of the almost sixty countries in which humanitarian assistance was funded. ECHO has continued throughout the year to seek opportunities for. and devote time to, dialogue with various groupings of partner NGOs in a number of Member States. This has been a valuable investment in that it has allowed all parties to keep up to date with trends in humanitarian affairs and to tackle problems, clear up any misunderstandings and familiarise each other with the constraints under which each has to work. 23 While giving scope for joint review of policy issues pertinent to humanitarian work, these organised contacts proved particularly fruitful as a way of looking at the many practical issues involved in managing humanitarian operations. As time goes by, it is clear too that increasingly close working relationships are developing between NGOs and ECHO desk officers and field correspondents. 4. 3. 5 United Nations Where humanitarian assistance is concerned, the Commission's stake in the UN system remained very important in 1995, although figures were down compared to the previous year. Of the total of ECU 494 million committed by the end of the year, 17% was channelled through UN agencies (as compared to a final figure of 32% in 1994). This figure breaks down as follows: UNHCR WFP UNICEF DHA UNRWA Others ECU 46. 9 million ECU 29. 2 million ECU 4. 7 million ECU 0. 55 million ECU 0. 14 million ECU 1. 45 million 9. 5% 5. 9% 0. 9% 0. 1% 0. 0% 0. 3% ECHO also contributed to the publication of a brochure on relations between the European Union and the United Nations to mark the latter's 50th anniversary. 4. 3. 5. 1 Office of the High Commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) UNHCR is by far the Commission's most important single operational partner in delivering humanitarian assistance, and the converse is also true (in 1994, the Commission financed an estimated 22% of UNHCR"s budget, of which the lion's share came from ECHO). Indeed, support to UNHCR in 1995 went beyond simple financing of operations to encompass wide-ranging policy discussions and coordination initiatives, exemplified by the case of Rwanda/Burundi (see section ?). This symbiotic relationship has found expression in the establishment of a high-level group which met for the second time in May 1995. All relevant Commission and UNHCR departments take part in this structured dialogue, which is chaired by ECHO. Not limited to this context, constant dialogue and policy discussions with UNHCR at all levels and in various fora led to the development of targeted strategies and a good deal of convergence in the analysis of needs and priorities. In summary, as far as the operations funded by the Commission are concerned, UNHCR has proven to be an efficient implementing agency and relations between the two are good, to such an extent that it could be said that their relationship has been and is a major contributory factor to a more efficient international humanitarian relief effort. 24 4. 3. 5. 2 DHA (Department of Humanitarian Affairs) The Commission has continued to follow with interest DHA's efforts to become an effective coordinating instrument within the overall UN humanitarian system. Some recent discussions in the revitalised Inter-Agency Steering Committee hold out the hope of specific progress with respect to issues such as internally displaced persons and the use of military and civil defence assets in humanitarian operations (MCDA). Relations with DHA have been good, concentrating specifically on the MCDA project and discussions over the development of the ReliefWeb concept. Work has also proceeded on the IDNDR project supported in 1994 (see section 4. 5). Training and standing procedures for air operations were supported under the MCDA project in 1995, followed by additional support, agreed upon towards the end of the year, for the development of a register of assets. ECHO has participated in and closely monitored work in the MCDA steering committee. Another area of cooperation with DHA has been in the context of the so-called Escrow account, a facility set up by the US government which enables DHA to carry out humanitarian assistance operations in Iraq by providing it with counterpart funds released from frozen Iraqi assets, equivalent to the pledges of other donors. 4. 3. 5. 3 World Food Programme (WFP) In 1995, WFP was once again a very important operational partner in delivering the Commission's humanitarian assistance. The operational problems highlighted in 1994, however, have not been solved. Specific failings have been highlighted in external evaluations commissioned by ECHO, notably in Tajikistan. WFP"s structure has been slow in adapting itself to the requirements of handling emergency aid. a fact which has been observed also by many other donors and by WFP's own external audits. On the other hand, the organization has considerable strengths when it comes to delivering large-scale food aid, e. g. in Rwanda/Burundi. WFP signed a Framework Partnership Agreement with the Commission in May 1995, and high-level contacts were pursued throughout the year with a view to ironing out some of the operational difficulties, not without some progress. 4. 3. 5. 4 United Nations Children 's Fund (Unicef A smaller but still significant partner. Contacts with Unicef were also frequent throughout the year. Relations are set to develop following the signing of a Framework Partnership Agreement between the two parties on 29 June 1995. Unicef s Executive Director, Mrs Bellamy, came to Brussels for the occasion, and this provided the opportunity for a fruitful exchange of views between herself and Ms Bonino. 25 4. 3. 6 United States Good relations with the US in the field of humanitarian assistance are a natural priority for the Commission in view of the fact that the EU, its Member States, and the US together accounted for some 86%) of all official humanitarian aid in 1994. Links already established in 1994 were strengthened in 1995. Alongside regular exchanges of information and contacts at working level, dialogue on matters of mutual interest in the humanitarian field was pursued through high-level consultations between the Commission and the Americans. On 24 and 25 May Ms Bonino had very fruitful meetings in Washington with Mrs Clinton, US politicians and high-ranking officials from the State Department and from the Agency for International Development (USAID). A further high level meeting between the Commission and USAID was arranged on 21-22 September in Brussels, in which ECHO took an active part. On this occasion, agreement was reached to cooperate on a number of joint concerns. Partly as a result, humanitarian aid and related issues were also identified as one of the priority areas for closer overall relations between the EU and the US in the context of transatlantic dialogue. This was expressed in the drawing up of a Joint EU-US Action Plan, which was released at the EU-US Summit of 3 December. The Plan covers many specific humanitarian concerns, including peace and reconstruction in former Yugoslavia and the Middle East, preventive diplomacy, development assistance, human rights, democracy, asylum and refugee issues, nuclear safety and health. The Plan also foresees the setting-up of a High- Level Consultative Group on Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance with a wide mandate, including all of the areas identified at the meetings with USAID in September (see Annex 3). To improve the exchange of information, the Commission continues to work together with the US in attempting to set up a global financial tracking system for humanitarian aid. Problems with collecting data from the various US departments responsible for humanitarian aid which would be comparable with Commission statistics mean, however, that the picture is still very incomplete. 4. 3. 7 Other third countries and international and regional organisations 4. 3. 7. 1 Other third countries Following contacts in 1994 when membership of the Union was under consideration, the Commission has maintained a working relationship with aid authorities in Norway, traditionally a country with significant involvement in humanitarian issues. Preliminary contacts were also pursued with Canada during the year and are likely to be intensified in 1996. 26 4. 3. 7. 2 Red Cross An important partner of ECHO's is of course the Red Cross, guardian of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Close working relationships were was maintained and even intensified in 1995, both with the International Committee (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and national Red Cross Societies. Regular planning and policy meetings with these two partners have been organized so as to capitalize on their expertise in complex humanitarian situations. During 1995 the Commission contributed ECU 40. 4 million towards ICRC activities to protect prisoners and their basic rights, trace family members and missing persons, and implement numerous medical and first aid programmes, most notably in Rwanda and Burundi. Through its liaison office in Brussels, in 1995 the IFRC was able to reinforce coordination between national Red Cross societies involved in ECHO operations, and remained an important operational partner in its own right. 4. 4 Evaluation The year was marked by growing interest on the part of the Member States and of ECHO'S partners in the evaluation of humanitarian aid operations and its methodology. This coincided with the Commission's resolve to evaluate its activities in all fields under the "Sound and Efficient Management 2000" initiative launched by the new Commission. ECHO has been among the first in responding to the challenge of evaluation, while bearing in mind the very specific nature of its own work. Good progress was made in 1995 both in finalizing an updated methodology which would fit in with ECHO's needs and its own modus operandi as well as those of its partners, and increasing the overall number of evaluations carried out. With the publication of a methodological manual containing practical and systematic guidelines for evaluating humanitarian aid, the first phase is now over. This handbook will not only serve the needs of the Commission, but also those of its partners and indeed of all those involved in humanitarian work. The Commission continued to evaluate operations funded by the EU and implemented by NGOs or UN agencies. Accordingly, operations carried out by 46 NGOs and by 5 UN agencies were evaluated in the course of the year. The evaluations covered all types of programmes and all theatres of operation. Having developed its own evaluation methods, the Commission has acquired sufficient experience to evaluate its own programmes, and in particular those in Southern Caucasus and Iraq. Evaluation has enabled the Commission to obtain first-hand information on the socio economic situation and on the impact of its work in each sector (medical, food aid, etc. ) with a view to improving the targeting of its activities in those regions. For instance, the evaluation of an immunization campaign in Southern Caucasus, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus carried out by different partners has enabled the Commission to identify the pros and cons of the various methods. In addition, in 1995 the Commission for the first 27 time evaluated 12 disaster-preparedness operations in Africa, Latin America and Southern Asia. Besides looking closely at the effectiveness of relief operations, the Commission has carefully monitored the impact of its initiatives, in particular on health indicators, the local market, the environment and on local institutional capacities throughout its evaluation effort, and has considered the need for continued funding of relief operations in the region. Despite the large number of evaluations carried out, it is too early to draw meaningful conclusions at this stage, since humanitarian operations differ widely reflecting as they do the complex and very specific situations in which they are carried out. The Commission sees to it that evaluation results are extensively discussed with its partners. Generally speaking, it could be said that a sound partnership is being built since the role of evaluation is well understood and its findings are an effective way of obtaining better results. 4. 5 Disaster Preparedness ECHO's Disaster Preparedness Programme, begun in 1994, was consolidated in 1995 and received increasing attention from international organizations and NGOs active in both emergency and development programmes. The budget reserved for disaster-preparedness activities in 1995 amounted to ECU 4. 2 million. ECHO started supporting 27 Preparedness and Prevention projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the NIS in 1995, and continued funding 6 projects which were launched in 1994. A list of the projects is attached at Annex 2. In addition to the three key elements of the Programme, namely: the development of human resources, the strengthening of institutional capacities, and the implementation of community-based, low-cost technology projects for preparedness and prevention, projects favoured in the selection process met several'of the following criteria: implementation in countries ranked unfavourably in the Human Development Index; focus on the needs of the most vulnerable groups; complementarity to national development programmes and relief operations: sustainability over the long term, and environmental soundness; community participation/management, strengthening of local capacities, and emphasis on the involvement of women. Besides supporting field operations, ECHO also contributed to the development of international policies and awareness raising on the subject of prevention and preparedness. In this context, a meeting of experts on "The Environmental Impact of Displaced Populations" 28 was organized in Brussels on 23-24 September 1995. Recommendations and technical papers, presented during the workshop, are currently being prepared for publication and dissemination. As stated above (see section 4. 4), by the end of 1995 evaluations of most of the operational projects had been conducted. Most of the evaluations have shown very positive results, despite modest financial support and often a small geographical impact area. Evaluators have praised the projects' cost-efficiency, their being rooted in local resources and their effective potential in preventing or mitigating disaster. The Commission's activities in the field of disaster preparedness take full account of the recommendations of the Yokohama Plan of Action agreed upon in the context of the UN International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR), in support of which it has played and continues to play an active role. The challenge for the future will be to further consolidate and develop the experience gained in 1995. A'particular challenge in 1996 will be to develop further some specific elements of the Disaster-Preparedness Programme, including the Preparedness Technical Advisory Committee (PREP-TAG) as an expert group to give advice on the Programme, and the regionally-based Focal Centres which will be set up to allow ECHO to implement training programmes directly at a regional level. As part of its mandate to coordinate Commission policies in the field of disaster-preparedness outside the territory of the EU, since March 1995 ECHO has been chairing an ad hoc inter- service group with the aim of addressing off-site nuclear emergency preparedness in Central and Eastern Europe. Following a successful meeting with prospective beneficiary countries in August, a major needs assessment study was commissioned in September. This study,due to be completed by January 1996, has the twin objectives of determining the current state of off-site preparedness in the partner countries and of identifying areas where assistance is needed to bring these arrangements to an adequate level. Following analysis of the results, a coherent multiannual programme aimed at improving local preparedness systems will be developed. Lastly. 1995 saw the further consolidation of the NOHA Diploma launched by ECHO together with DG XXII at the end of 1993 with the aim of upgrading the qualifications of humanitarian staff. Additional information on this can be found in Annex 4. 5 5. 1 Prospects for 1996 and beyond Foreseeable needs in 1996 No crystal ball is necessary to predict that instability, with its heavy toll of human suffering, will continue to haunt several regions of the world in 1996 and beyond. Humanitarian assistance in former Yugoslavia has acquired a dimension never yet known in Europe. The international relief aid on which millions of people have had to depend during 29 more than four years of fighting has become a constant of daily life for the population of this stricken zone. The enormous material and psychological damage inflicted by the conflict means that the population is highly vulnerable and will remain so for a long while. Moving back to normality will necessitate continued external support, with humanitarian assistance remaining high on the agenda in the short term, while needing to be conceived so as to reduce aid dependency and allow reconstruction to take over. The Commission's support for humanitarian agencies, notably the UNHCR as the lead agency for repatriation and resettlement questions, and the ICRC as regards protection, therefore remains crucial. At the same time, aid will need to be evaluated and re-examined on a permanent basis to respond to changing needs. Aware of the importance of the return and resettlement of displaced persons and refugees to the success of the overall peace process, the Commission will be increasing its humanitarian presence on the ground so as to monitor the situation and develop appropriate responses on a permanent basis. The granting of aid will continue to be guided by considerations only of needs, regardless of ethnicity, religion or political persuasion of the recipients. It may be hoped that this even-handed approach will in itself encourage some measure of conciliation between the communities. With the continuing Rwandan refugee crisis and the deterioration of the situation in Burundi, an EU humanitarian presence will remain indispensable in Africa, especially in the region of the Great Lakes, but also in Sudan, Somalia, Liberia and Sierra Leone as well as Angola. Short of any clear signs of stabilisation, humanitarian needs are likely to persist in northern Iraq and in Afghanistan as well as in parts of South-East Asia and of the CIS, especially the Caucasus. In each of these regions, ECHO is unlikely to be able to phase out its intervention in the short term. Building on results to date, the Commission has also identified disaster preparedness and prevention as a special priority for ECHO's work in 1996. Well-chosen activities in this field have proven their effectiveness and value many times over. ECHO will also continue to liaise closely with other Commission departments and relevant outside bodies to ensure that humanitarian concerns are addressed in a timely and effective fashion. This includes contributing to discussions aimed at establishing links between relief and development and making sure that integrated Commission strategies vis-à-vis third countries take sufficiently into account the risk of disasters and the need to act to prevent them, as well as to be ready when disaster does strike. 5. 2 Conclusions and future strategy It is evident that ECHO operates in an environment where speed of response and efficiency are of the essence. Its activities enjoy ever-increasing visibility and widespread support amongst the general public. It has become a leading partner for the major international organisations dealing with humanitarian relief and the many NGOs representing the 30 commitment and concern of ordinary citizens faced with enormous humanitarian needs. It has acted as a powerful force to draw the attention of the EU and the international community to the need for political solutions to crises and for genuine preventive strategy. It has fostered the conditions necessary for moves towards peace in more than one troubled region of the world. It has helped towards the affirmation of a new but precarious solidarity of the rich world towards the victims of disasters. It has contributed substantially towards more effective coordination of international humanitarian efforts. ECHO's work is about people. People in need, who have nowhere else to turn. It is a task and a commitment which does the European Union credit and gains it enormous sympathy. In presenting its proposal for a new Regulation on humanitarian aid, the Commission has asserted its belief that ECHO has to carry out its work with neutrality and impartiality, guided only by the needs of victims of humanitarian emergencies. This vision was recently endorsed by the world's major humanitarian actors as they met in Madrid on 14 December. In adopting their common position on the Commission's proposal for a legal basis, the Member States have also affirmed that they share that vision and wish to be an active party in translating it into action. In this spirit, the Commission intends to continue fostering its relations with the US and bringing issues connected with the UN and other humanitarian partners into focus so as to develop this model of cooperation further. There is a need for relations to be built up with countries which already share or are desirous of sharing in the international humanitarian relief effort and, of course, are in a position to do so. 1996 will also see the opening of the Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) intended to review the functioning of the Maastricht Treaty and prepare the necessary treaty changes, notably, to allow the Union to continue to function effectively after enlargement. The future development of the Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy, which has not, it is generally agreed, worked well so far, will be one of the major challenges. In this context, it should be underlined that humanitarian assistance is neither an element of foreign policy nor an instrument of conflict resolution, since it treats the symptoms, not the cause. This is the principle which has guided the Commission's work through ECHO in the past and which it is crucial to uphold. However, the crisis situations in which ECHO is called upon to provide assistance highlight the need to strengthen the Union's capacity to act in the political arena, and especially, where foreign relations are involved, when conflict prevention and conflict resolution issues are at stake. As the Madrid Declaration underlined, recognition of the fact that humanitarian assistance does not have the wherewithal to address these issues must lead to the determination to use the political tools which are available. In the case of the European Union this also means reviewing the Treaty in such a way as to give the Union sufficient power to act - in defence of its own interests, and in defence of the defenceless. To do so is a matter which is independent from humanitarian aid, but which is central to humanitarian concerns. DOCUMENTARY ANNEXES iZ. MADRID DECLARATION ANNEX 1 We, leaders and representatives of prominent humanitarian agencies and donors, met this day, the 14th of December 1995, for a Humanitarian Summit. RECALLING: 1. 1 1. 2 1. 3 1. 4 1. 5 That in response to ever-growing needs, global humanitarian assistance has increased many-fold in the past five years to exceed today 4 billion dollars. In 1994 an estimated 45 million people depended on humanitarian assistance. However, it is clear that humanitarian assistance is neither a solution, nor a panacea for crises which are essentially man-made. This is true in Rwanda and Bosnia, but also in many other parts of the world, such as Afghanistan, Northern Iraq, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Tajikistan, and the Sudan; That in line with our respective mandates and responsibilities, we remain committed to relieve the plight of victims of man-made and natural disasters when and where we can, and to support and encourage local and regional initiatives to address crises. We will provide assistance, in particular, to protect and feed the victims, to organise shelter, to provide medical care and counselling and to reunite children with their families. We will ensure we coordinate closely amongst ourselves and with our partners to achieve maximum impact to reduce suffering; That since the end of the Cold War, the world is torn by some 50 armed conflicts. A large number of civilians have been and are being brutally murdered, wounded or forced to flee their homes on a scale unseen since the UN Charter was drawn up. Those who cannot flee, or have nowhere to go, have suffered untold misery and seen their lives traumatized and, in many cases, their existence rendered more fragile than ever. Basic principles of international humanitarian law are often disregarded; human rights continue to be trampled underfoot in many areas of the world; That too often the causes of humanitarian disasters still lie deep in the social and economic injustice existing within and between nations. Power struggles, poor governance and competition over scarce resources are also related to widespread abject poverty, overpopulation, and social inequality; That the work of humanitarian organisations is guided by the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence; WE APPEAL TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AT* LARGE FOR: 2. 1 2. 2 2. 3 2. 4 2. 5 2. 6 2. 7 Determination to take whatever resolute decisive action may be necessary to resolve crisis situations and not to use humanitarian activities as a substitute for political action. The independence and impartiality of humanitarian assistance must be fully recognized and respected. This is indispensable for saving lives in crisis situations. The development of a global system of proactive crisis prevention. Determination and political will are needed to address both the direct and indirect causes of conflict and other humanitarian emergencies. Early warning should lead to early action. A new and imaginative commitment to development assistance. Crises are greatly exacerbated by the current decrease in development assistance, just at a time when it needs to be increased to reduce the severity of humanitarian crises. Poverty leads to vulnerability and forces people into survival strategies that can further hasten the onslaught of crises. As a result, crises become more likely and more deadly when they strike. A global campaign against hunger which afflicts one out of every seven people on earth. Food security is one of the issues which must be singled out in view of the particular importance that food has in poor rural households in the developing world. Not only must food production and supplies be assured but also access at affordable prices for the poorest segments of society. Similar attention must be given to the supply of clean drinking water. Greater stress on and support for preparedness measures, especially for natural disasters. Reluctance to fund local initiatives, carry out preparedness programmes and support self-reliance may not only cause human suffering when the crisis strikes but it will also lead to much larger costs for victims and donors alike. Resources to bring relief and political solutions also to the many "forgotten" crises which do not hit. or quickly slip from, the international headlines. These crises, just like any others, threaten the survival of millions of people and can destabilise whole regions. Urgent steps to address the deliberate targeting of civilians in today's conflicts. Atrocities such as ethnic cleansing, torture and rape have become in many cases tools and objectives of warfare, in flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law. All parties to conflict should be held accountable. Impunity for human rights abuses must end. The International Criminal Tribunals for Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda must be enabled fully to carry out their mandates, with a view to the establishment of a permanent International Criminal Tribunal for the punishment of «zenocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. 34 2. 8 2. 9 2. 10 2. 11 Measures to address the specific protection and assistance needs of the millions of people who have fled within their own countries as a result of conflict. Guiding principles must be formulated to improve their plight, and to safeguard their right to physical and material security. We also support the development by the UN of improved facilities to prevent human rights abuses in cases of internal conflict. Moreover, the right of refugees to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution must be upheld. Urgent attention to be given to the needs and protection of all victims, with priority to women, children and the elderly, who are invariably the vast majority of all victims of armed conflict. The central role of women must be recognised and women must be reasserted in the planning, management and distribution of relief assistance, as the best way of ensuring that relief reaches the most vulnerable. Their into consideration. reproductive health must be systematically taken Children, in particular, should not be deprived of their home and family, of their right to life, physical and psychological health and education, and to a peaceful existence. Resources to remain available to meet the challenge of rebuilding war-shattered societies and thus consolidate a peace settlement and prevent the seeds of future disaster from being sown. The links between relief and development must be strengthened and local capacity to cope must be reinforced. Reconstruction involves not only water systems, bridges and roads but also civil society: the demobilisation of soldiers and the rebuilding of the judiciary and administration and of education and social services. Flexible mechanisms to provide more funding for emergency rehabilitation must be found. At the same time, relief must be managed efficiently in order to phase out humanitarian aid as soon as the emergency period is over, switching over rapidly to other forms of assistance. All concerned to respect the humanitarian and non-political nature of our work, as well as our respective mandates, to give us full access to all persons in need, to ensure the safety of humanitarian personnel, and to provide us with a more secure basis for funding. In this connection we reaffirm international concern and commitment. The resourcefulness of human solidarity is enormous. Yet fatalism and compassion fatigue are real threats. Governments and leaders need to recognise that, in an ever more interdependent world, the vital interests of every nation in global peace and security can only be achieved through concerted international action. 35 [Signed by:] Mr Brian Atwood USAID Administrator Ms Carol Bellamy Executive Director of UNICEF Ms Catherine Bertini Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) Mrs Emma Bonino European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid Mr Agostinho Jardim Gonçalves President of the Liaison Committee of Development NGOs to the European Union Mr Peter Hansen United Nations Under-Secretary General responsible for Humanitarian Affairs Mrs Sadako Ogata United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Mrs Doris Schopper President of Médecins Sans Frontières Mr C o r n e l io S o m m a r u ga President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mrs Julia Taft President of InterAction (the American Council for Voluntary International Action) 36 List of Disaster Preparedness Projects financed in 1995 ANNEX 2 In Central/Latin America and the Caribbean. 1. Building hazard-resistant features into Central American schools: 273,000 Ecu 2. Risk assessment in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Jamaica: 179,000 Ecu 3. Safer roads and bridges in Central America and the Andean countries: 184,000 Ecu 4. Safer, healthier housing for low-income families in Lima, Peru: 34,000 Ecu 5. A network of experts in Latin America: 70,000 Ecu 6. Environmental planning in Jamaica: 13,500 Ecu 7. Developing hurricane-proof low-cost housing in Jamaica: 18,200 Ecu 8. Disaster mitigation Latin America and Caribbean Region: 18,400 Ecu in hospitals and health facilities: formulation of guidelines for 9. Strengthening Latin America: 148,871 Ecu institutional capacity in disaster management and prevention in 10. Community-based disaster prevention and management in Peru: 93,977 Ecu In Asia. 11. Early warning systems in coastal Andhra Pradesh, India: 65,000 Ecu 12. Cyclone preparedness in Andhra Pradesh, India: 37,300 Ecu 13. Waste management project to prevent outbreaks of plague in Baroda, Gujarat, India: 69,000 Ecu 14. Preparedness training in Myanmar: 225,500 Ecu 15. Preparedness training in the Philippines: 119,500 Ecu 16. Preparedness and disaster mitigation in Quang Binh, Vietnam: 209,600 Ecu 17. Disaster preparedness, mitigation and response project in Nepal: 204,200 Ecu 37' 18. Community-based disaster preparedness and management system in Northern Bangladesh: 310,086 Ecu In Africa. 19. Local radio warnings in Sahel countries: 101,000 Ecu 20. Kits for displaced people in southern Sudan: 458,300 Ecu 21. Monitoring and preparedness activities in Fogo Island, Cape Verde: 20,700 Ecu 22. Refugee women and health: relief strategy for self-help in emergency situations in Ethiopia: 236,100 Ecu In the former Soviet Union. 23. Landslide prevention in Kyrghyzstan: 110,300 Ecu 24. Training for emergency personnel in Spitak, Armenia: 67,000 Ecu On a global level. 25. Streamlining procedures for the use of military and civil defence assets in getting emergency relief goods to disaster spots, together with the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs: 178,000 Ecu 26. Disaster preparedness training programme in Latin America and East Africa, together with the International Federation of the Red Cross: 270,066 Ecu 27. Disaster preparedness programme development and monitoring project, together with the Centre for Research into the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED): 222,500 Ecu ANNEX 3 EU-USAID High Level Meeting 21-22 September in Brussels AIDE -MEMOIRE Breakout Session on Humanitarian Assistance 1. Public and Political Support for humanitarian assistance and emergency food aid US and EU agreed to mutually reinforce each other's efforts to secure public and political support for humanitarian assistance. 2. Chronic Crises Agreement to promote concrete measure to follow up relief in terms of mobilization of development funds. 3. Relations with UNHCR Agreement to suggest tripartite meetings EU-US-UNHCR to discuss operational and policy matters with UNHCR. Joint consultations with UNHCR to encourage voluntary repatriation in long-term crises (e. g. in Horn of Africa and Afghanistan) 4. Relations with WFP Joint consultations with WFP to encourage on-going internal reforms in that organisation. Joint US-EU consultations on Protracted Refugee Operations (PRO) Joint prior EU-US consultations prior to CFA (especially on cost agreements) 5. DHA Agreement on analysis on DHA's needs to meet goals. Continuous US-EU consultations on DHA's horizontal programmes, not least ReliefWeb. Action: continue their own information sharing systems. In parallel with DHA's efforts to develop ReliefWeb, EU/US should Agreement that both sides would consider secondment of staff to DHA on an experimental basis to improve the human resource base of that organisation. 39 6. Joint EU-US Assessments Any impediments to joint assessment missions should be removed. Joint missions should be considered whenever possible. 7. Security in refugee camps Support for military to improve camp security was discussed (ref. UNHCR support of Zairian troops in Rwanda refugee camps). It was agreed that each situation must be considered carefully and prior EU-US consultations were encouraged. 8. Relations with Military Agreed that US deployment of humanitarian advisers to military forces (to avoid that military action causes unnecessary harm on civilians and humanitarian aid personnel) is useful (ref. recent US adviser in former Yugoslavia). Suggested that EU humanitarian advisers should be humanitarian advisers to military forces on future occasions. invited to join US 9. General Operational Coordination Move operational coordination to include planning phase ("upriver") to avoid overlapping. Continue and improve US-EU operational information sharing on decisions taken or proposals under consideration. Active search on both sides of the Atlantic for complementarity (you provide blanket we do food; you do region A, we do region B). Appoint humanitarian US/EU focal points on both sides of Atlantic responsible for: (1) (2) (3) to arrange policy discussions consultations on UN humanitarian matters and to set up meetings of operational experts. 10. Staff Relations Exchange of Staff Mutual training of officials administering humanitarian aid. 40 The NOHA Diploma ANNEX 4 The NOHA (Network On Humanitarian Assistance) Diploma was designed as a means of enhancing the professionalism of relief workers. The need had become increasingly obvious in view of the considerable increase in disasters calling for humanitarian aid throughout the world. Confronted with the dearth of options, at European level, offering specific training in this field, at the end of 1993 ECHO launched a multidisciplinary diploma, European in spirit, covering the major subjects related to humanitarian work. The NOHA Diploma was developed in collaboration with DG XXII (Education, training and youth), which is responsible for the Erasmus/Socrates programme,within which framework this post-graduate diploma is implemented. Five universities take part in the programme: Aix-Marseille III (F), Bochum (D), Deusto- Bilbao (ES), Université Catholique de Louvain (B), and Oxford (UK). The academic year is subdivided into four parts: a two-week intensive programme in one of the five universities (at the beginning of September), followed by a foundation course at the university of origin (October-February), then by specialised tuition in one of the other four international universities (February-May) and lastly two-months' work experience organizations, NGOs or national administrations responsible for humanitarian assistance. in Subjects taught cover the major aspects of humanitarian aid, namely humanitarian law. economics, logistics, geopolitics, anthropology, medicine/epidemiology. : international A course book has been written for each of the five modules. These manuals, intended for both teachers and students, have been translated into the four working languages of the participating universities. Demand for them has been such, mainly from persons who are unable to attend lectures, that it was decided to publish a new, up-to-date edition of the manuals in 1996. So as to reach a wider audience, the volumes will be available for sale. Two new modules - geography and psychology - are being written and will be published in September 1996. 41 ACRONYMS USED IN THE REPORT ANNEX 5 ACP CEC DGI DG IA DG IB DG VIII DHA EC ECU EU FPA HOPE ICRC IDNDR IFRC MCDA NGO PAHO PISG UNHCR UNICEF UNRWA USAID WFP WHO African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries signatory to the Lomé IV Convention Commission of the European Communities (European Commission) Directorate-General for External Relations (Trade Policy, Relations with North America, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand) of the European Commission Directorate-GeiTeral for External Relations (Europe and the newly independent States, common foreign and security policy and external missions) of the European Commission Directorate-General for External Relations (Southern Mediterranean, Middle East, Latin America, South and South-East Asia and North-South Cooperation) of the European Commission Directorate-General for Development of the European Commission Department of Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations European Community European Currency Unit (value at date of going to press: 1. 33 US dollars, 1. 87 DM) European Union Framework Partnership Agreement Humanitarian Office Programme Environment (ECHO database system) International Committee of the Red Cross International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (DHA) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Military and Civil Defence Assets Non-Governmental Organisation Pan-American Health Organisation Permanent Inter-Service Group on Refugees, Displaced Persons and Returnees in third countries United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees United Nations Children's Fund UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East United States Administration for International Development World Food Programme World Health Organisation 42 STATISTICAL ANNEXES </3 NOTE ON THE STATISTICAL ANNEXES The figures in the annexes for 1995 deal with decisions adopted up to the end of that year and contracts concluded by then. It should be understood that, while the figure contracted the decisions is a final one, funds relating to a number of decisions will only be committed or, a fortiori, disbursed in 1996 and that, in view of the above, the 1995 figures for contracted amounts and payments are far from definitive. The final figures for 1995 contracts will be included in the Annual Report for 1996. It should be noted that ECHO publishes up-to-date quarterly statistics which are available on demand. 44 OVERVIEW OF FINANCIAL DECISIONS FOR EC HUMANITARIAN AID BY SOURCE OF FINANCE 1991-1995 ANNEX S1 Source of finance / Budget Line Description DECISIONS (in ECU) L O ME III NATiOtUUNBICATrVS PROGRAMME (NK*) tl) 40000000 esooobo L O ME III ART203 :: 42445 000 isgédoo:; F E O GA FOND BWR. D'ORIENTATION IT DC GARANTIE AORL p» 72SO0O0O B 7 - 5 Q 00 HUMANTTAWANSEMeROfiNCYAlO iSS^OOO 154 867 297 19 9 4 Aiper: 09/01/9S 19 9 5 DECISIONS I CONTRACTS I PAYMENTS (in ECU) (in ECU) (in ECU) DECISIONS I CONTRACTS I PAYMENTS (in ECU) (in ECU) (in ECU) B 7 - 6 0 00 PHARE L O ME IV « r m | ï) 69000000 mmmmêmmmâm i35QQt>Û0: 31 €75 000 82 185 0001 :;2èi;|&:603: ^é^S^âSS:; :|:280;:6i9 007 :;46:456 000 • : :4S:$38;:927 26 W 798- B 7 - 5 10 DIS ASTER AID DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 70 033 195 ;:iOS^22;:247:: • 105 308 025 : :83 085 236 B 7 - 2 10 B 7 - 51 1 EMERGENCY r-ooo A» B7-211 B 7 - 5 14 HUMANITARIAN AID TO C » B EUROPE B7-214 B 7 - 5 15 HUMANITARIAN AID To EX-USSR B7-215 B 7 - 5 1G HUMANtTAWAN ACTION M 3RD COUNTRIES B7-216 B 7 - 5 17 R6TU0BES * DISPI. PERSONS INOEV. COUNTRIES B7-217 B 7 - 2 19 OPERATIONAL SUPPORT, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS m_ m_ I4|_ |4) (4i_ HI TOTAL I FOOTNOTES: 17425000 46 boOÔOO •• ;:45 567 650 ;39 850 699 33 710 000 29 453 388 21130 160 385 000 000 271 380 ÔO0 : 267 503 758: 226 876 033 238 339 500 123 912 958 47 607 710 30 000:000 :;S:7:1:30bO ::3 «91:008 IiSOi'OiD^OOO;: :: ;: 4â:ê60;ië8: £3$i3Zt:$7i ||::3:|9i:57;4: ïff &0$iM M^-^^i lio:|pèi;ooj: 3||!i^6||i^ :-f:fcs$&:m 236 670 000 176 991 075 67 835 531 93 350 000 80 658 509 42 254 913 38 540 000 34 141000 19 312 150 :-;%i0$fôy :;::ijt62;Éi2: :. ;• yïà0t&ï 195 320 000 764 169 424 753 330 S35 689 544 001 692 092 512 494 352 532 226 051 064 (1) NATIONAL INDICATIVE PROGRAMME FOR SOMALIA (2) 5-YEAR ALLOCATION (1991-35) UNDER LOME N IS 250,000,000 ECU (3) DECIDED ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS (4) IN 1995, THE BUDGET CHAPTER THAT CORRESPONDS TO ECHO BECOMES Bl-200 INSTEAD OF87-500 Financial Decisions for EC Humanitarian Aid 1991-1995 O PAYMENTS M CONTRACTS m DECISIONS $':§':•:•!?:•:•: 1000 800 600 400 200 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 ^ Summary of Financial Decisions by Countries Benefitting from Humanitarian Aid 1993-94-95 LOME IV :„ i 1 9 93 DECISIONS InECU) 1 9 94 DECISIONS (nECU) 1 9 95 DECISIONS (nECU) UJMEiWlJi 1992 1993 B U D G ET DECISIONS DECISIONS («ECU) I n E C ll Asppr 09ft 1/96 1 9 93 t€ OSONS (ai ECU) 1 9 94 DECISIONS («. ECU) 1 9 95 DECISIONS (. ECUI ANNEX S2 vrac* 1 000 000 1 000 000 AFRICA Burundi Refuoee» u 300 ooo 13 500 000 tflKA Burundi I Rwv»ndan Refus 151 000 000 25 000 000 «NGOLA fW 3LW94AFAS0 3UHLM* c a r e v c « oe 3 «0 DJBOLrn ;«TXîEA L T M O PH •CVJ > WU > J T «A X ŒE BISSAU -WT1 VORY COAST <EWYA jeERm AOAGASCAR UAJAM 4AURTÏANW «uroTTE «CZAMBIOUE *WA«SlA •»jÇR *3£RIA 6 0 00 000 la ooo ooo t 000 000 500 000 4 000 000 16 000 000 447 000 515 000 355 000 1 000 000 J50 000 60 000 1 000 000 500 000 1 000 000 220 000 1 000 000 300 000 540 000 300 000 100 000 2 000 000 1 010 000 950 000 2 400 000 1 204 163 5 8 1 0 00 8 9 90 000 7 473 550 2 125 000 1 170 000 300 000 400 000 500 000 3 000 000 1 180 000 180 000 70 000 465 000 340 250 400 000 3APUANEWGL»CA 123 440 RWANDA SEMEC-AL 9 000 000 15 500 000 1 000 000 SS=?RALEONE 1 850 000 2 773 200 4 520 000 51 LUCIA SLOAN TAACAMA I D 53 >>ANDA !ARE 125 000 9 300 000 IB 507 000 9 950 000 2 000 000 1 810 000 500 000 200 000 1 000 000 500 000 * 500 000 7 320 000 C r t tt »n Rejion -loods n Senin, Cong: and Maurta. 14 1 0 05 000 700 000 | j 1 | 1 1 1 1 ! | 1 1 I SOMALIA 40 0 00 000 7 796 000 AfGHAMSTAN 2 750 000 12 315 000 12 695 000 •J-BAMA ALGERIA «NGOLA ARMEUA A2EREAUAN 1ANGLADESH 3ELARUS 30LMA 3RAZI_ 3UL0ARW 3URUN0I CAMBODIA ^ P E V E R PE ZHLE COLOMBIA CUBA ECUADOR 5C. YPT ÏL SALVADOR ÏTH0PIA EX-USSR 456 000 1 675 000 1 150 000 1 225 000 2 935 000 1 000 000 6 0 00 000 5 000 000 17 000 000 19 089 000 23 955 218 18 850 000 28 831 010 500 000 3 520 000 2 100 000 2 735 000 1 115 000 1 150 000 600 000 1 004 000 5 0 00 000 445 000 470 000 1 785 000 2 236 000 5 9 60 000 220 720 500 000 470 000 700 000 2 320 OOO 7 805 000 14 054 500 15 000 OOO 350 000 450 OOO 630 000 340 000 750 000 236 100 51 295 000 ;x- YUGOSLAVIA 395 080 195 269 376 000 234 670 000 3EORGK 3UATEMALA -tA/Tl HONDURAS NO» NDONESIA RAK RAN VORY COAST ORGYZSTAN -AOS -E6ANON JBER1A 4EMCO V. OLDOVA U. ONOOUA VIYANMAR « P AL «CARAGUA N»C€R JORTH COREA PAKISTAN =ALESTMVISRAEL 'ERU 'HTJPPNES 31MAT4A 3L»SSIA RWANDA 5IERRA LEONE SOMALI» :. Rt LANKA 3UDAN TAJIKISTAN THAILAND TURKEY. «RAWE. t N E A Ç LA ^ETNAM rTMCN IWRE 3MBAEWE. (-nrr8lSlu*es : hsaslpr Preparedness Rwanda & Burundi Reluaee }e(ug (. «sell r\Cenfr fcEastAfnee THirteryn Estonia. Law». Lanu Cyclon n the Caribcan (AnTroua, Bartwda) IVect Action Alnca. SouCh Amenca "oorrjmation and Momlonng 17 806 000 27 469 772 250 000 830 000 2 770 000 17 000 000 11 580 000 595 000 920 000 1 100 000 J 21 500 000 22 515 000 24 873 500 230 000 1 800 000 1 000 OOO 6 250 000 8 050 000 1 500 000 1 180 000 1 875 000 4 000 000 1 050 000 1 225 000 2 5OC0O0 320 000 1 820 000 1 OOC 000 240 OOO 1 800 000 950 000 700 000 500 000 1 990 000 430 000 200 000 100 000 290 000 200 000 10 400 000 4 700 OOO 5 350 OOO 510 000 2 320 OOO 1 730 OOO 550 000 2 619 57» 350 000 500 000 9 870 000 29 523 000 2 000 000 1 900 000 4 500 OOO 8 338 359 6 010 000 150 000 615 000 3 125 000 1 100 000 8 000 000 ] 1 450 000 9 R25 000 16 105 000 2 320 OOO 250 000 500 OOO 500 000 200 OOO 3 300 000 150 OOO 110000 750 000 75 000 1 220 000 1 300 000 12 OOO 500 000 100 000 3 481 962 4 000 614 12 000 000 82 000 OOO 4 500 000 20 595 000 1 OOO OOO 900 000 8 570 OOO 4 290 000 T o t a ls 82 1S5 0 00 2 63 2 61 6 03 46 4 36 0 00 T o t a l! : 40 0 00 0 00 7 796 000 T o t a ls : 5 14 8 33 195 5 00 9 00 1 21 6 45 6 36 5 12 Grand l o t a M I» : Grand t o l i M IM : Grand total 1 1 1 5: | | I 6 04 « 14 193 | ECU 7 64 1 69 4 24 | ECU 6 92 0 9 2 7 T 7I ECU H6 FINANCIAL DECISIONS FOR HUMANITARIAN AID BY REGION IN 1994 AND 1995 ICOUNTRY/REGION DECISION IN ECU Nr of CONTRACTS ICOUNTRY/REGION DECISION IN ECU Nrof CONTRACTS As B ar 09101/96 ANNEX S3 EX-YUGOSLAVIA ACP TOTAL AFRICA: Burundi Refugees AFRICA: Burundi 4 Rwandan Refuc, ANGOLA BURUNDI DJIBOUTI ERITREA ETHIOPIA GHANA SUINEA GUINEA BISSAU HAITI KENYA LIBERIA MADAGASCAR MALAWI MAURITANIA MAYOTTE MOZAMBIQUE NIGER NIGERIA PAPUA NEW GUINEA RWANDA SIERRA LEONE SOMALIA ST. LUCIA SUDAN TANZANIA CHAD TOGO UGANDA ZAIRE C. I. S(1) ^ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN GEORGIA BELARUS KIR6Y2STAN MOLDOVA RUSSIA FED TAJIKISTAN UKRAINE 269 376 000 324 106 962 13 500000 168 500 000 24 000000 21 000 000 355000 1 000 000 6 0 0 00 1 000 000 300 000 100 000 18 010 000 1 204 163 7 473 550 1 170 000 300 000 400 000 500000 1 180 000 70 000 340 250 123 440 15 500 000 2 773 200 8 338 359 125000 26 507 000 1 8 1 0 0 00 447 000 200 000 500 000 7 320000 91010 000 19 089 OOO 18 850 000 17 806000 3 520 000 6 250 000 2 500 000 9 870 000 9 825 000 3 300 000 EASTERN EUROPE ALBANIA BULGARIA 2 679 000 ; 1 6 7 5 0 Q& 1 004 000 419 480 14 112 57 34 3 3 1 2 1 1 55 3 18 5 1 3 1 3 1 1 1 23 7 35 1 69 3 2 1 1 18 228 53 57 55 4 17 2 17 16 7 IRAK ASIA (2) AFGHANISTAN BANGLADESH CAMBODIA LAOS MONGOLIA MYANMAR PALESTINE/ISRAEL PAKISTAN PHILIPPINES SRI LANKA VIETNAM YEMEN NORTH AFRICA ALGERIA EGYPT LATIN AMERICA BOLIVIA BRAZIL COLOMBIA CUBA EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA MEXICO NICARAGUA PERU General Studies Disaster Preparedness G R A M Ï O T AL 25 826 000 12 315 000 500 000 2 236 000 1 500 000 1 000 000 240 000 4 700000 200 000 550 000 615 000 750 000 1 220 000 3 565 000 2 935 000 630 000 21 509 500 1115000 600 000 700 000 14 054 500 340 000 830 000 1050 000 500 000 2 320 000 100 000 3 481 962 EX-YUGOSLAVIA ACP TOTAL AFRICA: Food Aid AFRICA: Burundi & Rwandan Refug EASTERN 4 CENTRAL AFRICA IVORY COAST KENYA LIBERIA NIGERIA NIGER SIERRA LEONE SOMALIA SUDAN ANGOLA HAITI CAPE VERDE GUINEA CARIBBEAN Region ETHIOPIA Floods : Congo, Benin, Mauritania 234 670 000 212 017 820 8 570 000 107 000 000 20 595 000 1 950 000 581000 6 125 000 400 000 565 000 6 420 000 6 010 000 21400 000 17 000 000 11 580 000 440 720 540 000 1 905 000 236 100 700 000 C. I. S(1) ARMENIA A7FRBAIJAN GEORGIA BELARUS KIRGYZSTAN MOLDOVA RUSSIAN FED TAJIKISTAN UKRAINE EASTERN EUROPE ALBANIA Baltic States RUMANIA TURKEY IRAK ASIA (2) CAMBODIA NEPAL LEBANON AFGHANISTAN BANGLADESH SRI LANKA ISRAEL PHILIPPINES THAILAND YEMEN INDONESIA NORTH KOREA PAKISTAN LAOS VIETNAM NORTH AFRICA [ALGERIA LATIN AMERICA PERU NICARAGUA BOLIVIA COLOMBIA GUATEMALA ECUADOR CUBA MEXICO EL SALVADOR Coordination & Monitoring Disaster Preparedness :V1:335 GRANQTOTAL *l 137 491 000 23 955 218 28 831010 27469 772 2 735 000 8 050 000 326 000 29 525 000 16 105 000 500 000 2 900 000 1150 000 1 000 000 lOO 000 250 000 39 464 578 5 960 000 950 000 1 875 000 12 695 000 2 1 00 000 3 125 000 5 350 000 2 619 578 2 320 000 200 000 100 000 290 000 200 000 1 180 000 500 000 5 000 000 5 000 000 27 385 000 1 730 000 1 990 000 1 150 000 2 320 000 2 770 OOO 450 000 15 000 000 1 225 000 750 000 4 290 000 4 000 614 223 212 1 17 10 5 4 13 1 4 8 20 49 39 25 5 3 2 225 42 47 54 3 11 1 38 28 1 30 865 EC CONTRACTS FOR HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 1991 - 92 - 93 - 94 - 95~ AS PER : 09/01/96 TYPE OF CONTRACT 1991 1992 1993 1994 ECU ECU ECU ECU 1995 ECU IN % OF T O T AL IN % OF T O T AL EC COMMISSION-DIRECT COMMISSION/ECHO COMMISSION/AEC DELEGATIONS S U B T O T AL MEMBER STATE GOVNTS B E L G I UM DENMARK FRANCE ITALY NETHERLANDS SPAIN UK S U B T O T AL OTHER GOVERNMENTS W E S T E RN S A M OA M O Z A M B I Q UE G R E N A DA TRINIDAD A ND T O B A GO W A L L IS A ND F O R T U NA NEW C A L L E D O N IA P H I L I P P I N ES FIDJI CROATIA/MACEDONIA S U B T O T AL EC NGOs (1) AUSTRIA B E L G I UM DENMARK FINLAND FRANCE G E R M A NY GREECE IRELAND ITALY L U X E M B O U RG NETHERLANDS P O R T U G AL SPAIN SWEDEN UK S U B T O T AL OTHER NGOs (1) NORWAY A U S T R A L IA SWITZERLAND USA S U B T O T AL LOCAL NGOs (1) A N G O LA B A N G L A D E SH BOLIVIA CHILI EL S A L V A D OR ETHIOPIA G H A NA I R A Q - M I S C - 1 9 90 J A M A I CA LEBANON OCC. TERRITOTY (ISRL) PAKISTAN PHILIPPINES SUDAN TURKEY S U B T O T AL UNITED NATIONS W FP FAO W HO UNDRO UNHCR UNICEF UNDP UNRWA SPECIAL UN OPERATIONS S U B T O T AL OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORG. ICRC FIRC CARITAS INTERNATIONAL LUTHERAN W O R LD FEDERATION THE W O R LD C O U N C IL OF CHURCHES S U B T O T AL D e c o m l t m m e n ts 1 793 855 0 220 000 2 013 855 8 474 142 2 524 500 370 000 11 368 642 45 324 321 8 318 645 1 552 000 55 194 966 104 3 8 1 8 38 1 1 5 8 1 5 77 262 000 116 225 415 13,9% 1,5% 0,0% 15,4% 64 026 854 4 535 842 500 000 69 062 696 13,0% 0,9% 0 , 1% 14,0% 4 648 000 100 000 500 000 129 000 796 000 6 173 000 1 300 000 20 000 000 25 000 0 0 0 0 3 521 195 3 546 195 4 812 000 42 500 1 822 000 1 233 000 4 252 000 13 461 500 1 526 340 21 526 340 300 000 75 000 250 000 0 24 700 000 25 325 000 400 000 10 000 000 10 400 000 1 800 000 1 800 000 NA 28 155 900 4 630 000 NA 27 057 209 6 374 000 4 296 000 4 273 500 0 5 274 500 ? 216 100 NA 7 408 320 87 685 529 727 000 3 761 000 290 000 4 778 000 NA 20 187 650 26 313 000 NA 38 579 700 4 6 0 1 87 1 745 000 2 105 000 8 943 500 0 9 314 040 244 000 1 160 000 NA 2 394 500 111 446 577 NA 25 098 353 48 724 057 NA 88 634 711 24 769 700 886 500 1 026 000 16 406 961 0 15 212 795 862 990 19 021 832 NA 23 606 851 264 250 750 625 000 35 256 810 27 128 000 0 110 942 799 29 357 380 980 000 2 335 250 18 9 0 1 2 37 445 26$ 24 496 993 1 945 000 2 1 5 16 375 350 00Û 34 054 623 308 334 733 3 2 0 0 00 1 232 000 1 552 000 0 744 692 1 679 565 2 424 257 4 170 000 250 000 1 237 140 1 432 730 7 089 870 338 000 300 000 130 000 420 000 70 000 58 000 364 400 2 400 000 3 652 400 50 000 500 000 41 000 70 626 1 089 626 175 000 2 520 000 800 000 1 245 000 600 000 4 740 000 600 000 16 853 000 35 831 586 0 0 22 640 500 5 547 000 198 000 3 809 500 110 000 78 232 580 4 127 000 470 500 1 2 86 000 46 524 500 262 000 122 843 166 71 318 781 868 000 9 250 000 47 355 716 0 500 000 87 955 354 13 631 598 177 336 429 1 1 9 08 135 6 000 000 700 000 189 723 733 450 000 3 122 425 240 672 705 27 593 000 5 651 000 35 073 900 1 666 000 70 000 33 244 000 36 809 900 38 006B20 26 001 135 491 560 3 160 440 1 000 000 68 659 955 (985 688 32 327 000 37 163 603 2 852 105 92 104 72 434 812 0,6% 0,0% 0 , 1% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0 , 1% 0,8% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,2% 0,2% 0 , 1% 4,7% 3,6% 0,0% 14,7% 3,9% 0,4% 0,3% 2,5% 0,0% 3,3% 0,3% 2,9% 0,0% 4,5% 40,9% 0,6% 0,2% 0,2% 0,9% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0 , 1% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0 , 1% 6,3% 0,0% 0 , 1% 0,0% 23,5% 1,6% 0,0% 0 , 1% 0,4% 31,9% 4,3% 4,9% 0,0% 0,4% 0,0% 9,6% 6 600 000 1 320 000 7 920 000 119 578 119 578 1 280 000 28 000 000 8 800 000 0 91 636 000 32 629 000 915 750 2 368 000 23 206 556 850 000 25 157 910 3 130 720 21 121 500 940 000 35 748 384 275 783 820 800 000 0 1 746 000 1 1 06 676 3 652 676 13 444 1 500 000 1 513 444 29 155 000 493 500 46 885 500 4 684 000 575 000 140 000 2 008 166 83 941 166 40 385 000 1 1 3 49 066 625 086 52 359 152 1,3% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,3% 1,6% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,3% 5,7% 1,8% 0,0% 18,5% 6,6% 0,2% 0,5% 4,7% 0,2% 5 , 1% 0,6% 4,3% 0,2% 7,2% 55,8% 0,2% 0,0% 0,4% 0,2% 0,7% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,3% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,3% 5,9% 0 , 1% 0,0% 0,0% 9,5% 0,9% 0 , 1% 0,0% 0,4% 17,0% 8,2% 2,3% 0,0% 0 , 1% 0,0% 10,6% T O T AL 191 359 784 331 961 251 597 954 168 753 330 535 100,0% 494 352 532 100,0% (1) INCLUDING NATIONAL RED CROSS ASSOCIATIONS (2) THE MAIN REASON WH Y IN 1992 THE CONTRACT AMOUNTS (122 MECU) ARE SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER THAN THE DECISION AMOUNTS (168 MECU) IS THAT 23 5 MECU HAS KEEN DIRECTLY ADMINISTER ED RY DG VI (FEOGA) IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COMMISSION DECISION OF 2 JULY 1992 HENCE. CONTRACTS HAVE MEN SIGNED RY DG "I FOR THIS AMOUNT AND NOT ECHO THE REMAINING DIFFERENCE (12 5 MECU 1 CONSISTS OF ACCUMULATED AND UNUSED RESERVES FROM A LARGE NUMBER OF ACTIONS IN 1992 WHEN ECHO BECAME FULLY CI EFATIONAL IN EARLY 19' ARE EITHER UTILIZED OR DECOMMnTED SO THAT THE QUESTION OF SUEKENDTNG RESERVES WILL NOT ARISE AGAIN ? MEASURES WERE IMMEDIATELY TAR:EN TO ENSURE THAT ALL RESERVES H\ ANNEX S5 EUROPEAN COMMISSION (ECHO) FINANCIAL DECISIONS IN FAVOUR OF THE AFFECTED BURUNDI/RWANDAN POPULATION since the 2 i st October 1993 until December 1995 AMOUNTS IN ECU As pet 09- January-VSA COUNTRY DATE Reason for Contribution PARTNER AMOUNT TOTAL BURUNDI 25/11/93 Displaced Population ICRC/ONG 1 000 000 25/11/93 Displaced Population 25/11/93 Displaced Population 22/12/93 Displaced Population 03/02/94 Displaced Population 28/03/94 Displaced Population 17/05/94 Burundi Repatriates and Rwandan Refugees 15/12/94 Displaced Population UN ONG ONG 1 000 000 1 000 000 1 000 000 ONG/UN 1 000 000 ONG/UN 14 000 000 ONG ONG 1 000 000 5 000 000 REGIONAL 21/12/93 Burundi Refugees 16/03/94 Burundi Refugees ONG/UN/IFRC 18 300 000 ONG/UN 13 500 000 27/05/94 Rwandan, Burundi, Tanzania Refugees UNHCR/ICRC 12 000 000 21/06/94 Rwandan, Burundi, Tanzania Refugees UNHCR 19 000 000 20/07/94 Rwanda, Burundi. Zaire, Uganda, Tanzania HCR/ONG/IC 12 000 000 27/07/94 Rwanda, Burundi. Zaire, Uganda, Tanzania UN/ONG/ICRC 75 000 000 21/09/94 Refugees & Disp. pop. in Central/East Africa ONG 4 500 000 20/12/94 Rwandan/Burundi Populations ONG/UN/IFRC 45 000 000 09/03/95 Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire. Tanzania WFP 12 000 ftOO 25/07/95 Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire. Tanzania UNHCR/NGO 25 000 000 21/11/95 Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire. Tanzania UN/ONG/ICRC 70 000 000 RWANDA 28/10/93 Burundi Refugees 28/10/93 Burundi Refugees 28/10/93 Displaced population 10/11/93 Burundi Refugees 15/12/93 Burundi Refugees ONG ONG 1 000 000 1 000 000 ONG/UN 1 000 000 UN ONG 1 000 000 1 000 000 04/02/94 Refugees and displaced population ICRC/ONG 8 000 000 09/04/94 Conflict 12/04/94 Conflict & Drought 11/05/94 Conflict ONG ONG 500 000 1 000 000 ONG/ICRC 1 000 000 17/10/94 Rehabilitation-Electricity & Water GTZ 5 000 000 TANZANIA ! 15/11/93. Burundi Refugees 11/11/93 Burundi Refugees 29/04/94 iRwandan Refugees 29/04/94 iRwandan Refuqees ONG UN/ONG ONG ONG 1 000 000 1 000 000 680 000 450 000 ZAIRE 15/11/93 Burundi Refugees UN/ONG 500 000 25 000 000 306 300 000 20 500 000 3 130 000 500 000 TOTAL 1993-December 1995 3 55 4 30 0 00 »o ANNEX S6 Breakdown of Community Aid to the Former Yugoslavia, 1991-1995 by Republic Republic Bosnia-Herzegovina Croatia (+ UNPAS) Serbia and Montenegro Slovenia F. Y. R. of Macedonia All Republics Turkey and Hungaiy Total % 52,4% 21,4% ] 8,0% 0,1% 4,2% 3,1% 0,2%0 100% Breakdown of Community Aid to the Former Yugoslavia, 1995 by Relief Items Relief Items Food Aid Sanitation Medical Aid Logistics Psychosocial Emergency Rehabilitation Mi see l la ne o us Total % 32,4% 8,6%o 16,3% 8,4%o 3,3% 17,6%o 13,3 % 100% ~^> o ANNEX S7 | Breakdown of Items for Humanitarian Assistance | (37,9%) FOOD ^ ' ^ ^ S i ï ï J' [ £^ ; ; [^ ^ ^ ^ '^ (3,6%) OTHER SERVICES / MISCELLANEOUS (13,8%) TRANSPORT Breakdown of Items for Humanitarian Assistance (28,0%) NON-FOOD (34,0%) FOOD (2,4%) CONTINGENCY RESERVE (9,1%) EXPATRIATE STAFF (2,7%) LOCAL STAFF (14,6%) TRANSPORT (9,1%) OTHER SERVICES / MISCELLANEOUS 1 9 93 1 9 94 Breakdown of Items for Humanitarian Assistance 9,6%) EXPATRIATE STAFF (2,1%) RESERVE (0,8%) MISCELLANEOUS (STAFF) (3,2%) LOCAL STAFF (0,8%) OTHER SERVICES (16,0%) TRANSPORT (39,3%) FOOD 1 9 95 (28,2%) NON-FOOD S-\ ISSN 0254-1475 COM(96) 105 final DOCUMENTS EN 11 Catalogue number : CB-CO-96-113-EN-C ISBN 92-78-01446-X Office for Official Publications of the European Communities L-2985 Luxembourg XV