The ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment took place on 16 - 18 July 2007, and provided an important forum for discussing activities and issues related to strengthening the coordination of the humanitarian system of the United Nations.
At its organizational session for 2007, the Council had decided: (a) that the theme of the Humanitarian Affairs Segment of its substantive session of 2007 would be “Strengthening of the coordination of United Nations humanitarian assistance through enhancing the effectiveness of needs-based humanitarian assistance”; and (b) that it would convene two panel discussions, the topics of which would be: (i) “The use of military assets in natural disaster relief”; (ii) “Needs-based humanitarian financing, including the Central Emergency Response Fund” (Council decision 2007/211).
The panel discussion on "The Use of Military Assets in Natural Disaster Relief," which took place on Monday 16 July, featured representatives from governments, UN agencies, the International Red Cross/Red Crescent System and an independent policy institute, who spoke about civil-military coordination in disaster response from both military and humanitarian perspectives.
The panel on "Needs-Based Humanitarian Financing, Including the CERF," which took place on Tuesday 17 July, featured representatives from governments, UN humanitarian agencies and NGOs and explored the functions and comparative advantages of humanitarian financing mechanisms as a way to demonstrate the complementarity of their use.
SCHEDULE
DOCUMENTATION
ITEM 5 - Special economic, humanitarian and disaster relief assistance
- Report of the Secretary-General on strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations (A/62/87–E/2007/70)
- Report of the Secretary-General on the Central Emergency Response Fund (A/62/72-E/2007/73)
- Report of the Secretary-General on strengthening emergency relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and prevention in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster (A/62/83–E/2007/67)
- Towards a United Nations humanitarian assistance programme for disaster response and reduction : Lessons learned from the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster: Note by the Secretary-General ( A/61/699-E/2007/8 ) / (A/61/699/Add.1–E/2007/8/Add.1
Links
- United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs-OCHA
- Central Emergency Response Fund
- Natural Disaster- South Asia: Earthquake and Tsunami-Dec 2004
Side events
OUTCOME
The resolution adopted under agenda item 5 can be downloaded from the official version of 2007 resolutions and decisions.