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IN 2008 UNHCR Strengthened and Consolidated Its Emergency Preparedness and Response Capacities As Well As Its Early Warning Mech

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IN 2008 UNHCR Strengthened and Consolidated Its Emergency Preparedness and Response Capacities As Well As Its Early Warning Mech Emergency res p N 2008 UNHCR strengthened (CES) of non-food items and operational and consolidated its emergency support items in warehouses located in preparedness and response Dubai and Copenhagen. The Office was capacities as well as its early also able to provide advance resources to warning mechanisms. support field operations responding to IThe Emergency Preparedness and emergencies. Response Section (EPRS) continued the implementation of its Action Plan CENTRAL EMERGENCY STOCKPILE developed in 2005, particularly with THE PROCUREMENT OF NON-FOOD regard to staffing surge capacity and the items and the systematic replenishment level of the Central Emergency Stockpile of the CES proved an ongoing challenge 42 UNHCR Global Report 2008 Vulnerable internally displaced persons are transferred from the Kibati site to the Mugunga site, Democratic Republic of the Congo. shorter shelf-life and higher cost of the 2005 South-Asian earthquake, the tents, it was agreed that only enough of 2006 floods in Somalia and the 2007 them to house 250,000 people would be floods in Pakistan. In 2008 UNHCR kept in-stock. provided emergency assistance in the For the Zimbabwe Contingency floods in Yemen, the earthquake in Plan, non-food items for 50,000 people China and cyclone-related flooding in were pre-positioned in Durban, South Myanmar. Africa. At the end of the year, UNHCR provided a significant preparations were underway to contribution to the inter-agency and pre-position supplies in Djibouti, international response in assisting those Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen in order to affected by cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. cope with potential emergencies in UNHCR - in only a few days - identified eastern Africa. and deployed a nine-member Emergency Response Team(ERT) to UNHCR AND NATURAL DISASTERS: support the UNHCR country A SIGNIFICANT INVOLVEMENT representation in Yangon. Initial tasks of IN RELIEF EFFORTS the ERT included critical needs UNHCR’s involvement in providing assessments, managing non-food item relief to people displaced within their (NFI) distributions, establishing an own country as a result of natural operational presence in the affected disasters has traditionally been areas, and liaison and coordination with determined on a case-by-case basis. all actors and partners. When UNHCR has an established UNHCR dispatched over 90,000 presence and operation in a country that plastic sheets, 3,000 plastic rolls, 120,000 UNHCR / P. TAGGART /has COD•2008 been struck by a natural disaster, the blankets, 52,000 kitchen sets, 120,000 High Commissioner has offered support mosquito nets, and 100,000 jerry cans to to the Government and local authorities Myanmar. During the initial phase of in response to the human imperative the relief operation, UNHCR assumed and as a contribution to the broader leadership of the emergency shelter and international and UN relief efforts. NFI cluster, later handing over to the UNHCR’s presence in deep-field IFRC. In Yangonand in the field, locations and its strategically located UNHCR contributed significantly to s ponse emergency stockpiles allow the coordination of the protection cluster. organization to provide immediate humanitarian assistance. EMERGENCY DEPLOYMENTS AND during 2008. EPRS was, however, able to UNHCR also participated in UN and RELATED TRAINING meet all the urgent demands arising Humanitarian Country Team With the establishment of three from emergency situations and the CES contingency planning for natural Emergency Response Team(ERT) had the capacity to provide emergency disasters, and committed to working rosters, UNHCR brought its standby shelter and domestic items for up to with systems for disaster management, capacity of deployable staff up to 300, of 500,000 beneficiaries. Due to the high particularly with the Inter-Agency whom 190 were UNHCR employees. number of emergencies and the time Standing Committee cluster leads in Theseteamscanbecalleduponinthe necessary to replenish stocks - an natural disasters. case of an “exceptional state of average of three months - in the Some notable examples of UNHCR’s mobilization for a large-scale warehouses, some items were not at the emergency interventions in the past emergency” and are ready for agreed level at all times. Given the include the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, deployment within 72 hours. UNHCR Global Report 2008 43 l UNHCR’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Georgia The conflict in Georgia caused large population movements. People fled in all directions to find shelter with relatives or settled spontaneously in schools, kindergartens and hospitals. he main challenge extended area. This was only villagers leaving the buffer zone planned for winterization and for UNHCR was to possible because of the close because of security threats. This rehabilitation of shelters. The Office T identify those people collaboration of local aid sudden influx into Gori from both focused its activities on the physical most in need of organizations and the authorities. directions required UNHCR to well-being of IDPs, in particular the assistance. UNHCR’s emergency establish—in less than 48 hours—a protection of vulnerable individuals, team members and local staff - who Internally displaced persons (IDPs) tented camp in Gori with water, visiting remote areas to evaluate the were heavily affected by the conflict were dispersed in hundreds of electricity, sanitation, distribution of situation and conducting interviews themselves - worked around the villages throughout the country. food and non-food items and a field to identify traumatized people and clock. The rapid developments in Large groups continued to relocate kitchen. those in need of protection the conflict presented a major spontaneously, moving from one interventions. challenge and its complexity host family to another. As host Meanwhile, other displaced persons required the emergency team to families became overwhelmed, needed to move because schools, The emergency response in work simultaneously on different people began moving into shelters used as shelters, were vacated in Georgia was UNHCR’s largest fronts. and then from shelter to shelter order to start the academic year. The humanitarianoperationinEurope looking for family members. evicted families also went to the since the war in the former Western Georgia was not accessible Gori camp which was already at full Yugoslavia. The speed with which byland.UNHCR,therefore, On 23 August, a voluntary return capacity. the crisis unfolded and the organized an airlift to bring in movement towards the so-called complexity of the operation, tested much-needed relief items, buffer zone north of Gori started. UNHCR provided relief items, the capacity and efficiency of the established warehouses and set up a However, this return ended quickly coordinated food distribution with Office’s emergency preparedness distribution system over an when returnees encountered WFP, supported voluntary return and system. o 44 UNHCR Global Report 2008 Emergency deployments EPRS organised four Workshopson review response mechanisms at all levels. Emergency Management for new roster As part of its effort to obtain and share staff in Germany, Norway and Sweden. information on potential crisis situations, Participants came from UNHCR, EPRS commissioned situation reports on standby partners and supporting potential emergency hotspots, as well as organizations. EPRS also took part in the more detailed regional reports that were IASC Emergency Training on made available on UNHCR’s intranet. Leadership Programme organized by The third edition of the UNHCR UNHCR. Handbook for Emergencies was also In 2007, EPRS centralized its standby translated into French. arrangements for staff deployments to Crisis scanning (Action Alerts) was ensure better coordination and discontinued in June 2008 and its harmonization. This capacity was evaluation was transferred to the IASC UNHCR’S PRESENCE IN DEEP-FIELD LOCATIONS AND ITS STRATEGICALLY LOCATED EMERGENCY STOCKPILES ALLOW THE ORGANIZATION TO PROVIDE IMMEDIATE HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE further enhanced by new partnership Sub-WorkingGroup on Contingency agreements in 2008 with the Planning and Preparedness. The Government of France, the Icelandic information will be used in the further Crises Response Unit and two NGOs, development of the Hews Web CANADEM and GOAL. Tofacilitate mechanism, a web-based early warning deployments, EPRS produced an and monitoring system. Working with information guide on the various OCHA,WFP,UNICEFandWHO,and partnership agreements for field offices, with the support of the European as well as ERT and other staff deployed Commission, EPRS strongly advocated to emergencies. for and assisted in the design of Hews With the support of the relevant Web (Phase II). technical units at Emergency relief Headquarters, EPRS UNHCR ECENTRE supplies arrive at a provided guidance and THROUGH ITS REGIONAL CENTRE for warehouse in Yangon, support to field Emergency Training in International Myanmar for operations on UN Humanitarian Response (eCentre) in distribution to areas devastated by cyclone Volunteers (UNV) Japan, UNHCR increased emergency Nargis. deployments. A total of response capacity in the Asia-Pacific 1,064 UNVswere region. In 2008, the eCentre trained 272 deployed to 75 UNHCR staff from NGOs, governments, country operations in UNHCR and other UN agencies. It also 2008, a 12 per cent provided expertise for training sessions increase over 2007. organized by UNHCR, the Japan Protection-related functions (including International
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