The Role of National Governments in International Humanitarian Response to Disasters

26th ALNAP Meeting 16th-18th November 2010, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Hosted by the Red Cross/ Red Crescent Movement and supported by Mercy Malaysia The role of national governments in international humanitarian response to disasters Meeting Report Day 1, Tuesday 16th November countries. Formalised mechanisms and protocols have been developed to coordinate responses. 2010 The international humanitarian community can Chairs: Ivan Scott, Oxfam and Alk Cheng Heng, Mercy engage with governments through such regional Malaysia mechanisms, which avoids potentially sensitive issues. National governments have made progress in both disaster response preparedness and risk reduction. However, more information exchanges and joint Session one: strategic perspectives on planning strategies are required. Organisations such the role of national governments as ASEAN can help to construct the menu of choices for countries to enter into cooperation with th Dato Misrain Karmain (ASEAN) opened ALNAP’s 26 international organisations. More can be done by the meeting in Kuala Lumpur by expressing ASEAN’s international humanitarian community and ASEAN to commitment to strengthening the region’s capacity to formalise entrance and exit points at regional and respond to humanitarian issues. Karmain identified national levels as early as possible. that the key challenge for ALNAP is to develop collaborative strategies and foster a shared There are several critical considerations the commitment to encourage a synergistic response to International Humanitarian Community (IHC) must disaster management. consider when responding to a humanitarian crisis: Disaster responses need to be aligned to both national a) pre-assess local capacities and avoid undermining and global mechanisms, ensuring accountability and them monitoring of humanitarian efforts through a shared b) clarify the role of different actors commitment. ASEAN has supported many c) allocate funds over a longer-term governments in the region to coordinate responses d) determine shared responsibilities in response with the UN and developed standard operating management. procedures for national governments. ASEAN has also developed various tools to assess needs, impact and to monitor efforts which were paramount in mobilising Fernanda Teixeira (former Mozambique Red Cross) $700 million for post-Nargis recovery efforts in Myanmar. Ms. Teixeira gave an account of the Mozambique response to the civil war. The government was keen Recent disasters in the South-East Asia region have to avoid creating parallel structures and the response seen ASEAN emerge as a pivotal regional player and was coordinated through the government, headed by established the political will to build capacities of a coordinating council (CCPCCN) which led associated National Disaster Management Agencies (NDMA). clusters, together with a National Technical Emergency Committee (CTE). An International Read his presentation here Disaster Management Institute (INGC) was established. This structure allowed for mutual understanding between national, local actors and the Keynote Addresses IHC early on. In the absence of an equipped and prepared civil response unit, regional actors delivered Dr. Bhichit Rattakul (ADPC) support to the response (South Africa). Dr. Rattakul stressed the changing nature of humanitarian assistance with greater reliance on regional cooperation and mechanisms in South-East Asia. ASEAN has strengthened regional cooperation by developing modules of cooperation between 2 Ms. Teixeira offered five lessons learned during the Session two: presenting the Mozambique civil war: evidence 1. Governments need to take leadership with impartiality and transparency Domestic humanitarian response: the scale of 2. Capacity-building efforts need to strengthen local the government response. and national actors while ensuring the IHC Jane Keylock, Development Initiatives delivers qualified personnel Jane presented Bangladesh and Uganda as case 3. Affected communities need to be viewed as studies to illustrate how domestic contributions to principal actors in humanitarian responses, not disaster response are often invisible and hard to track. beneficiaries Many national government budgets are not online and 4. An initial coordinated and multi-sector survey is data is not adequately reported and thus not captured critical by the Aid Information Management Systems. 5. Actors involved in the response need to work There is a shortage of adequate tools to measure towards continued dialogue, consensus and be government capacities and the national inputs to flexible, open and honest about what can be disaster response. For instance, although in achieved. Bangladesh there is no disaster budget there are networks of storage facilities and a cylone- preparedness plan. Plenary discussion Local people value a national government response and local support structures over the IHC. Moreover, In response to Faizal Perdaus’ (Mercy Malaysia’s) early warning messages are important to question about efforts to empower civil society in communities. disaster response, Misrain Karmain replied ASEAN has developed a people-centered response in the In Uganda, the government has ensured the implementation of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster encampment of the population, disarmament, peace Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) and dialogues, strengthening the security situation and encourages stakeholder participation. Ben supporting fast-growing crops in drought-affected Ramalingham added that local humanitarian groups areas. It has also created the Ministry for Disaster are catalysts in humanitarian responses. Management and Refugees, established a technical working group and platforms to bring together key actors and headed cluster systems. However, there are reports that in spite of these efforts, the IHC often dominates and undermines government efforts. The IHC is seen to do little in early recovery or post-emergency periods and ignores remote areas and operates with pre-set responses. Despite this, the IHC is seen to be more effective, equitable and less prone to corruption. In Uganda, disaster committees are not designated disaster staff and only function during disasters and in disaster-prone areas. This potentially restricts capacities to respond in future emergencies. Decentralising disaster efforts, building national Randolph Kent, Humanitarian Futures Programme capacities and proper documentation of responses 3 need to be addressed to ensure more streamlined The Affected State: accepting responsibility responses. Paul Harvey A number of questions were raised including how to develop guidelines to foster more balanced ways of Paul Harvey expanded on the background paper to the th working between the IHC and governments. Jane 26 Meeting, which was based on an ODI/HPG report stressed the need for appropriate pre-disaster that found aid agencies have often neglected the planning and mapping of on-the-ground capacities. central role of the state in responding to disasters, e.g. Haiti and the Tsunami. Other issues raised included how to estimate community contributions in responses and planning India’s response to the Tsunami and the role of the and why we are still blaming weak government military in Pakistan’s response to the earthquake are capacity when the IHC is mandated to build illustrations of a growing trend for national government capacity. governments to assert responsibility in disaster response. However, Paul said “we need to guard Read her presentation here against painting the growing assertiveness of states in a naively sunny perspective”. The IHC’s focus should not be simply on capacity- building but “better principled engagement with states from a realistic perspective that sees them warts and all as sometimes corrupt, sometimes nasty but the rightful drivers of disaster response”. In recent years there have been shifts in how aid is disbursed from bilateral agreements between governments to disbursements from donor agencies to implementing partners, effectively by-passing governments altogether. The new cluster-based approach seems to be more about reforming the international system, with governments playing a marginal role. In fact, in the 1970s and 1980s states played much more of a central role in disaster response. The way aid is disbursed has a huge impact on national capacities to respond: the European budget channelled through governments has fallen from 90% (1976) to 6% (1990s). With the proliferation of INGOs and their increased influence, “relief came to symbolise not simply the existence of massive humanitarian need, but an effective questioning of sovereignty”. Key issues are establishing guidelines for how humanitarian actors relate to national militaries. There is a need for more research into what state independence would look like in practice for aid Paul Harvey, Humanitarian Outcomes actors, rather than focusing on the independence of NGOs from donors. NGO independence should not be equivalent to disengagement with government. 4 The Red Cross is in an awkward position as Paul’s presentation resulted in a number of questions simultaneously fulfilling the roles of being bound by and observations, including governments being more state laws and sovereign in its decisions. Another discerning when inviting aid, government actors potential contradiction is how donors are making more effort in coordinating aid. Marriage simultaneously committed to the Paris declarations, brokering between the IHC and governments is

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