UNHCR- the UN Refugee Agency

Source: http://www.unhcr.org/basics.html

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.

In more than five decades, the agency has helped an estimated 50 million people restart their lives. Today, a staff of around 6,300 people in more than 110 countries continues to help 32.9 million persons.

For more see: http://www.unhcr.org/basics.html

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Source: http://ochaonline.un.org/AboutOCHA/tabid/1076/Default.aspx

A Brief History of OCHA

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

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

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

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

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

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

Budget and staffing

The core functions of OCHA are supported by 1,064 staff members in New York, Geneva and in the field.  OCHA's budget for 2007 is $159,079,639, of which about $12,720,476, comes from the regular UN budget and the remainder (more than $146 million, including projects and field activities) from extra-budgetary resources donated by Member States and donor organizations. 

The functions of the ERC are focused in three core areas:

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

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

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

Sir John Holmes of the United Kingdom was appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to replace Jan Egeland of Norway as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator on 4 January 2007.

For more see:

 http://ochaonline.un.org/AboutOCHA/tabid/1076/Default.aspx