2. UN GA Resolution 46/182: Shared
principles agreed in theory...
• Humanitarian principles:
humanity, neutrality,
impartiality
• Sovereignty of affected states
• States have a primary role in
initiating and coordinating
humanitarian assistance
• States should facilitate work of
international humanitarian
organizations
3. ...but the reality is often different
• Parallel national and international coordination mechanisms
leading to duplications and inefficiencies
• Gaps in regulatory frameworks for facilitating incoming
assistance
• Concerns over quality of responses
• Yet there are examples of good practices & collaboration
• Effective collaboration of all actors not an option but a
necessity
4. The Disaster Response Dialogue
• First International Dialogue in Oct 2011 in Geneva
with over 130 participants (States and International
Humanitarian Organisations)
• Convened by the IFRC, ICVA, OCHA and the Swiss
Government
• An informal, action-oriented platform for improving
trust and mutual cooperation
• Learning and trust building a key dimensions of the
dialogue
5. Activities
• Focus on disaster law, emergency preparedness,
coordination mechanisms, learning and evaluation,
quality standards and regulatory mechanisms
• Working in partnership with ALNAP, IFRC Disaster
Law programme, UNISDR and others
• Next international dialogue early 2014 in Asia
• Training workshops: Geneva, New York, Brussels,
Addis Ababa, Jakarta
• Other regular information sharing activities
6. How to engage with DRD?
• DRD meeting in early 2014 a key opportunity
for NDMAs to participate
• Through the collaboration with ALNAP on the
particular aspect of learning
• The training events (in different locations)
• Regular communication tools
• Visit our website www.drdinitiative.org
(available soon)
• Any suggestion welcome
Editor's Notes
Say here that very briefly, important to remind ourselves of some of the key principles that form the basis of the current international humanitarian system, as defined in the UN GA res 46/182 in 1991Humanitarian assistance must be provided in accordance to the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality The Sovereignty of States must be fully respectedAnd it acknowledges the primary role of states in initiating and coordinating disaster response- It also says that States should facilitate the work of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations
That was what is agreed in theory – the reality is often quite differentIn many cases, we see parallel mechanisms – duplications and inefficienciesGaps in regulatory frameworksConcerns over quality of international responsesWe all know these challenges – yet it is also important to remember that there are some examples of good practices and collaborationMain point from DRD is that with the increase in frequency and intensity of natural disasters, collaboration of all actors – from the local, to national, regional, and international is not an option, but a necessityAnd to make this happen, we believe that trust building is a key element.
First meeting of the dialogue in Oct 2011 in Geneva – convened by 4 institutionsA few of your colleagues were present at that meting. We describe it as an informal, action-oriented platform for improving trust and mutual cooperationHere I want to insist on the informal nature – we want to build an environment where participants can exchange, learn from each other and also on action-oriented – the dialogue is not just a talk-shop, we want to discuss around some concrete aspects – I will come back to thatDRD provides an informal platform for improving trust and mutual cooperation. Mention focus that is on disaster preparedness and response in situations of natural disastersIn terms of learning: say that this came up quite strongly at first international dialogue - Putting learning into practice An important element of this is to promote the independent evaluation of disaster response, including both national and international response, led by governments of affected countries. Initiate a peer review mechanism between affected states, potentially facilitated through regional organizations. Also point here that learning is an important aspect of the dialogue: the point is that learning from past experiences can improve performance in future
Here I describe briefly some of the main activities of the dialogueSay that the agenda of DRD agreed at the first meeting in Geneva (key principles were agreed as well as some action steps)Focus (action steps) on:Disaster law – collaboration with IFRC (need to find one sentence to describe what it is)EP: main point here is to connect work taking place with international orgs and what’s happening at nationl/regional levelsCoordination: IASC TA for example, cluster systems, etc. THESE INSTRUMENTS DO NOT PAY SUFFICIENT ATTENTION TO EXISTING NATIONAL COORDINATION MECHANISMSPoint that we don’t do things – we collaborate with others (insist on ALNAP)The only thing I would add is that it would be good to stress the fact that one of the outcomes of the IDDR meeting was around peer-learning and evaluation, just to bring out the continuity (Kim)What it is planning to do over the coming 3 years: planning a second big International Dialogue meeting early 2014, with a Ministerial level meeting in 2015 (in conjunction with the Humanitarian Summit). It is not just a talk shop, but these meetings will provide opportunities to monitor and review progress on the action steps agreed at the first meeting, around disaster law, emergency preparedness, learning and evaluation, coordination mechanisms, quality standards and regulatory mechanisms. NB. IDDR doesn’t do any of the work itself, but is a platform for discussing and reflecting on these different areas, in partnership with a number of networks/initiatives in particular ALNAP on the learning and evaluation aspects (hence our participation).A number of other activities are also scheduled as part of the IDDR initiative, notably some regional events leading up to the International Dialogue meeting and training workshops organised in different capitals of the world (I’ll give specific dates and locations and hopefully will be in a position to refer to the new website)Ongoing information sharing activities: this is where I mention the seminars (GVA)
How can participants engage? Here I will insist on the fact that States, particularly disaster prone countries, are a primary stakeholders. We want to have NDMAs at the next International Dialogue, hence importance to be part of this forum. Important message is also that we welcome feedback – we want the overall agenda to be owned as much as possible by our stakeholders, hence the importance of leaving them some space for questions and comments at the end...
