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