Recognized OCHA Leading Role in Humanitarian Policy, Advocacy and Information Management
Action-oriented Analysis of Humanitarian Trends and Emerging Policy Issues
In order to promote more effective decision-making by senior management and ensure that lessons learned, best practices, analysis and general guidance are efficiently incorporated into global, regional and country-specific policies, OCHA aims to strengthen its intellectual leadership in humanitarian policy and advocacy. OCHA will enhance efforts to identify emerging humanitarian policies and trends through more systematic cooperation with United Nations and non-humanitarian partners, including Member States, regional organizations and the academic community. These partnerships will broaden support for the development of common policy positions and their inclusion in guidance and analytical tools for use in emergency response. Such partnerships will also inform OCHA’s efforts to prioritize the policy issues that would need to be addressed.
Humanitarian policy development in 2009 will look beyond conventional emergencies arising from conflict or natural disasters and take into account the variety of emerging trends and diverse players participating in humanitarian action. Interrelated global challenges and trends such as the food crisis, financial crisis, energy crisis, resource scarcity, climate change and population growth amongst others are altering the landscape in which OCHA and humanitarian actors operate. In order for OCHA to be able adapt to these circumstances, and bearing in mind the Emergency Relief Coordinator’s five-year perspective presented in 2007, OCHA will support critical research and analysis, and build partnerships, to assess how these structural challenges will affect humanitarian action. Consequently, OCHA will be in a better position to address new operational realities. OCHA has also identified a number of specific policy issues that will form the basis of its initial policy research agenda. These include a comprehensive study on Provincial Reconstruction Teams – the civil-military entities engaged in stabilization activities – most notably in Afghanistan and Iraq. The study will seek to identify more clearly the impact they have on principled humanitarian action in the field. Studies will also be conducted on the plight of older people, livelihoods in crisis settings and gender-based violence, including sexual violence in conflict. In addition, recommendations from studies completed in 2008, such as the study on OCHA’s coordination role in slow-onset disasters, will be integrated into ongoing operations.
Studies and research will improve OCHA’s support to Member States as well as enhance the quality of its regular reporting to intergovernmental bodies such as the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). OCHA will aim to provide Member States with clear analyses of the challenges faced by humanitarian partners in their efforts to support multilateral responses. Studies and policies developed will also help promote optimum interaction between humanitarian actors and political and peacekeeping actors and will inform the planning and design of country specific humanitarian coordination models that would ensure principled humanitarian action. Finally, research and evaluations will support a better understanding of humanitarian financing – which is of particular importance to OCHA as it seeks to ensure a more predictable and accountable response to crises Inter-agency forums will be essential for translating policies and analyses into action. In 2009, the Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee will focus on the themes of humanitarian reform, principled humanitarian action, access, and the global challenges of climate change, migration, displacement and the food crisis. These committees will ensure that policy recommendations related to these and other pivotal themes are effectively communicated to the field and integrated in the response plans developed under the lead of Humanitarian Coordinators.
OCHA will analyze policy developments within regional organizations as they pertain to humanitarian action. Of particular importance are policies on the protection of civilians that arise in the context of peace support operations undertaken by regional organizations. OCHA will target its intervention with regional organizations in areas related to mission planning and on the development of humanitarian related policies and frameworks. Working with the African Union, OCHA will establish a policy dialogue on institutional arrangements with humanitarian actors that allow for strategic coherence of AU missions while respecting humanitarian principles.
OCHA’s efforts to strengthen information management and advocacy will complement the focus on analysis and trends by creating and disseminating information products on humanitarian-related issues at the international, regional and national levels. In addition to its news-gathering function, the Integrated Regional Information Networks (www.irinnews.org) and PlusNews (www.plusnews.org) will examine and analyze key issues and concerns on humanitarian events in Africa, the Middle East and Asia with a particular focus on emerging or neglected crises and HIV/AIDS. IRIN’s editorial direction and management will ensure that reporting in 2009 will be relevant to its core humanitarian readership and offer fresh insight for a wider audience. This commitment to a multi-lingual and multi-media output will underpin humanitarian analyses and will contribute to informed and timely decision-making by all stakeholders.
Key outputs and indicators
| Outputs |
Indicators |
| A prioritized policy research agenda on current issues affecting humanitarian action. |
- One expert forum and policy paper on the implications of today’s global challenges for humanitarian caseloads and operations.
- Four specific studies and one thematic review completed and disseminated.
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