A/HRC/16/42
May 2010 some 51 per cent of the rural population was located in imidugudu, a remarkably
rapid increase from 22 per cent in 2008, and well on the way to the target for its
Vision2020 objective of 70 per cent by 2014 54 . The long-term social consequences of
these achievements are still unclear. In adopting and implementing the policy there has
been a blurring of humanitarian, development and “security” or population control agendas,
in the absence of genuine consultation, negotiation and reconciliation. This, coupled with a
lack of sufficient pro-poor urban settlement practices, may lead to future problems.
D.
Institutional coordination, phasing and the promotion of the right to
adequate housing
50.
In high-profile or “complex emergency” 55 cases, conflicts and disasters elicit
international interventions and massive relief responses from a variety of institutions and
States. In recent years, given the overwhelming scale, frequency and complexity of
unfolding crises, there have been signs of a creeping sense of donor fatigue56 .
51.
In response to serious problems experienced in the past, the humanitarian response
system has since the 1990s undergone a process of reform to reduce the fragmentation of
efforts which had beset its earlier engagements and been responsible for numerous
contradictions and tensions. This has produced a much stronger co-ordination framework
also involving bilateral institutions, International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and NGOs.
52.
The process started in 1991 with General Assembly Resolution 46/182 designed to
“strengthen the United Nations response to complex emergencies and natural disasters” as
well as “aiming at improving the overall effectiveness of humanitarian operations in the
field”. Crises in subsequent years (above all the Rwanda genocide in 1994 where the
international community was explicitly faulted for inability to predict, prevent and respond)
accelerated the pace of reform. The United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) was established in 1998, as a department of the United
Nations Secretariat with the mandate of co-ordinating humanitarian response, policy
development and humanitarian advocacy. It merged all humanitarian functions of the
United Nations until then performed by the United Nations Disaster Relief Organization
(UNDRO) and the Department of Humanitarian Affairs under a single United Nations
Focal Point, the Emergency Relief Co-ordinator (ERC). General Assembly Resolution
46/182 further established important inter-agency mechanisms and operational tools. These
include: the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), gathering all humanitarian partners
from United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, the World Bank, the Red Cross and
the main international NGOs to function as an inter-agency decision-making body in
response to complex emergencies; and, structured in clusters and phases related to specific
funds and plans of action: the Flash Appeal (FA), the Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP),
the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Common Humanitarian Action
Plan (CHAP).
53.
In spite of these advances, a number of grey areas and fault lines remain, as does the
need for further focusing on better systemic arrangements for the integration of human
rights perspectives in disaster response. Post-conflict and post-disaster responses remain
plagued by disconnections between various phases of activity. Many bilateral donors called
54
55
56
Data provided by Ministry of Local Government, Community Development and Social Affairs, 28
June 2010.
“Complex emergencies” occur where different natural and/or human crises blend and mutually
reinforce each other.
See for example: “Donor fatigue hits UN aid to Sudan”, BBC, 19 February 1998; “U.N. battles donor
fatigue for funds for Pakistan”, Reuters, 17 August 2010.
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