4/27/2015 IASC News ­ March

http://us2.campaign­archive1.com/?u=83487eb1105d72ff2427e4bd7&id=578ea2b4da&e=83335aaed9 1/7

IASC News Update ­ March 2015 View this email in your browser

News and Highlights from the IASC CommunityJump to: Latest News | Recent Developments | IASC Events | Product of the Month | IASC Subsidiary Bodies

Welcome to the March 2015 issue of IASC News.

Many families must resort to poor water sources for daily living. Chronic diarrhoea consequently affects

over half of the children among some displaced communities. Credit: Yemen Humanitarian Team.

LATEST NEWS

Humanitarian crisis escalates in Yemen

As of 23 March conflict in Yemen escalated significantly. Clashes between Houthi fightersand other parties intensified mainly in the south. On 26 March, air strikes were launchedtargeting Houthi targets and military installations, affecting 13 of Yemen’s 22

4/27/2015 IASC News ­ March

http://us2.campaign­archive1.com/?u=83487eb1105d72ff2427e4bd7&id=578ea2b4da&e=83335aaed9 2/7

Governorates. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), escalating violencehad by the end of March killed 361 people and injured 1,345 – many of whom arecivilians. Displacement is increasing at a fast pace. There are immediate humanitarianneeds (casualties, protection, WASH) but access has been severely constrained byongoing clashes in the south and the unpredictability of air strikes in the north.Several organizations have evacuated or are in the process of evacuating their staff.

US$3.8 billion pledged for the Syria crisis

International donors pledged 3,8 billion US$ on 30 March at the Kuwait III conference inan expression of continued solidarity with the millions of children, women and menaffected by the devastating crisis in Syria, now in its fifth year. This support comes as theappalling humanitarian situation inside Syria continues its downwards spiral: some 12.2million people, including 5.6 million children, now need humanitarian assistance. Anincrease of twelve times as compared to the start of the crisis four years ago.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTSEmergency Response for Vanuatuafter Tropical Cyclone Pam: HCappointed and Flash Appeallaunched.2015­2030 Sendai Framework forDisaster Risk Reduction approved,setting targets and priorities foraction.88th IASC Working Group Meetingheld in Rome on 10 and 11 March.New partnership in the Ebola­affected countries launched byWFP and WHO.

Vanuatu. Credit: Joe Lowry/IOM

Emergency Response for Vanuatu Tropical Cyclone PamTropical Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu on 13 March, causing widespread damage acrossall six provinces of the archipelago and affecting an estimated 166,600 people. The mainhumanitarian issues are lack of safe drinking water, insufficient access to food, need foremergency shelter and medical facilities and supplies as well as insufficient access topeople in need. To support the Government in responding to the cyclone, ERC ValerieAmos designated Ms. Osnat Lubrani (current Resident Coordinator for Fiji with multi­country coverage in the region) as the new Coordinator for Vanuatu for the upcomingthree months. A Flash Appeal Emergency Response Plan was launched on 24 March,seeking US$29.9 million to cover the most immediate needs.

Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

4/27/2015 IASC News ­ March

http://us2.campaign­archive1.com/?u=83487eb1105d72ff2427e4bd7&id=578ea2b4da&e=83335aaed9 3/7

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction for the period 2015­2030 wasapproved setting targets and priorities for action which will lead to a substantial reductionof disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health. Food security and nutritionwere considered as key elements in the road map for building resilience. As disastersincrease food insecurity and malnutrition by destroying land, livestock, crops and foodsupplies, and with more than 80 per cent of hungry people living in disaster­prone areasand in degraded environments, the Sendai framework is a milestone in the internationalcommunity’s commitment to eradicate hunger and poverty.

88th Working Group MeetingThe 88th Working Group Meeting was held at FAO headquarters in Rome on the 10 and11 March. Former Foreign Minister of Italy, Emma Bonino delivered an inspiring speechon humanitarian challenges highlighting the unprecedented disrespect for human rightsand international law worldwide, the need to keep holding governments accountable, tospeak out for human rights and upholding the right to asylum.

Day 1 was devoted to discussions on terrorism and counter terrorism, with panelmembers from the UN Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate/Al Qaeda and TalibanMonitoring Committee, Harvard Law School Program on International Law & ArmedConflict, WFP, Concern Worldwide, NRC, OCHA and the UN. The discussions focused onoutlining opportunities for humanitarians to enter the debate to safeguard humanitarianaction and principles; key challenges and impacts of counter­terrorism measures onhumanitarian action as well as good practices for humanitarian organisations to minimizerisk and negotiating access. Practical action points were developed and taken forward.

Data Revolution was a next topic: opportunities and challenges of data analysis, inparticular the linkages with the collective decision­making, legacy protection andduplication reduction, technology optimization, capacity challenges faced by governmentand partners that are excluded from digital revolution, lack of disaggregated data by sexand age and lastly the need for a common approach. Key findings from the Report on the “Future of Humanitarian Financing” prepared byCAFOD, World Vision and FAO under the work plan of the IASC Task Team onHumanitarian Financing were endorsed by the WG and will be submitted to the High­Level on Humanitarian Financing. The report highlights main challenges such as a ademand for humanitarian funding that exceeds the supply due to the limited number ofdonors, a financial architecture that creates huge inefficiencies, and a system that is noteffectively connected to other aid flows, for instance remittances or development aid.

A joint IASC approach towards the WHS, feedback to the Philippines Evaluation, theWhole of System protection review and the United Nations and NGOs securitycollaboration framework "Saving Lives together" were also discussed and taken forward.The request for an Ad Hoc Working Group meeting on the review of the 2008 IASCGender Equality in Humanitarian Action Policy Statement was approved.

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

4/27/2015 IASC News ­ March

http://us2.campaign­archive1.com/?u=83487eb1105d72ff2427e4bd7&id=578ea2b4da&e=83335aaed9 4/7

WFP­WHO Partnership in Ebola­affected countriesWHO and WFP launched a new partnership in the Ebola­affected countries of Guinea,Liberia and Sierra Leone. The arrangement combines the logistics strength of WFP withWHO’s public health expertise to help get the current Ebola outbreak down to zero casesin West Africa. WFP and WHO will combine their expertise in more than 60 prioritydistricts and prefectures. WFP will provide logistical support to WHO, such as computerequipment, phones and stable internet connectivity, so that disease ‘detectives’ have theresources they need to share information critical to tracking and stopping the virus. WFPalso manages the fleet of rugged vehicles carrying WHO social anthropologists andepidemiologists to isolated villages. The partnership is a learning opportunity for thefuture, informing the capacities to launch joint operations during large scaleemergencies. The platform also establishes an alert and response infrastructure forfuture crises.

IASC EVENTS IN MARCH IASC events are organized on an ad hoc basis by theIASC secretariat in Geneva and New York

Area C of the West Bank: The roleof Humanitarian Assistance in theContext of Forcible Transfer 20 March, Geneva: Mr. Itay Epshtain, Project Managerof the West Bank Protection Consortium, NorwegianRefugee Council, provided a comprehensive overviewof the challenges faced by humanitarian agencies inthe Area C of the West Bank. Aiming at the protectionof Palestinians in the West Bank by providinghumanitarian assistance to communities facing andhaving experienced individual and mass forcibletransfer. Itay also elaborated on the peculiarities ofthe normative aspects of the humanitarian assistancewithin the occupied Palestinian Territory, such asthe conceptualization of forcible transfer andthe policies and practices of humanitarian actors inrelation to forcible transfer in Area C.

Briefing on Establishing Inter­Agency Community BasedComplaints Mechanisms 24 March, New York: a briefing by Ms. Tristan Burnett,the Global Project Coordinator from the Preventionfrom Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Pilot Project onestablishing Inter­Agency Community Based

Upcoming Events Geneva, 15 April(tbc): Meeting with theDeputy HumanitarianCoordinator in Nigeria.

Geneva, 22 March (tbc):Briefing by the DeputyHumanitarian Coordinator inSudan on the humanitarianand security situation inDarfur.

PRODUCT OF THEMONTH

Protecting PersonsAffected by NaturalDisasters ­ IASCOperational Guidelineson Human Rights andNatural Disasters

4/27/2015 IASC News ­ March

http://us2.campaign­archive1.com/?u=83487eb1105d72ff2427e4bd7&id=578ea2b4da&e=83335aaed9 5/7

Complaints Mechanisms was held and coordinated bythe International Organization for Migration, involvingmost of the agencies involved in the IASCAccountability to Affected Populations Task Team. Theproject was launched first in Ethiopia throughInternational Medical Corps (IMC) and UNHCR andthen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)through Save the Children. The project focuses onvictim assistance, complaint follow up, prevention andlessons learnt. A series of focus groups were held withdifferent vulnerable groups within the community tounderstand what methodology would work best for thisgroup. It was decided to use suggestion boxes, maleand female focal points, referrals from GBV workersand referrals from refugee incentive workers. Theproject will finish by December 2015 and LessonsLearnt will be compiled and shared with theHumanitarian Coordinators. A workshop is planned atthe end of the year to look at any tools or documentsproduced.

OTHERDEVELOPMENTS

Other developments of interest inthe humanitarian field includethe following: OCHA released the 2014Humanitarian Overviewentitled "FragmentedLives" for the occupiedPalestinian territories on 26March. The reportconcludes that humanitarianneeds are drivenby practices related toIsrael's prolongedoccupation and recurrent escalations of armedconflict. The study An Act of FaithHumanitarian Financing andZakat, undertaken bythe Global HumanitarianAssistance Programme,aims at providing anoverview of innovativesources of faith­basedgiving, and Islamic fundingin particular.

The “Home Sweet Home”Report on housing practicesand tools that supportdurable solutions for urbanIDPs, was launched incollaboration between IDMCand MIT DisplacementResearch and ActionNetwork.

IASC SUBSIDIARY BODIES Recent Developments

Humanitarian Financing Task Team(HFTT): The study undertaken by the"Future of Humanitarian Financing”initiative will be launched at the ECOSOCHumanitarian Affairs Segment in June. At

Upcoming events

WEBINAR: Task Team on Accounta­bility to Affected Populations,including Protection from SexualExploitation and Abuse (TT AAP /PSEA): On 16 April, the IASC SeniorTransformative Agenda Implemen­tation Team (STAIT), supported by the

4/27/2015 IASC News ­ March

http://us2.campaign­archive1.com/?u=83487eb1105d72ff2427e4bd7&id=578ea2b4da&e=83335aaed9 6/7

the HFTT meetings in March, an updatewas provided on the status of theSecretary General’s High­level Panel onHumanitarian Financing. The Task Teamalso discussed WFP's evaluation of theuse of pooled funds as well as the resultsof study on the return on investment foremergency preparedness undertakenjointly by WFP and UNICEF.Furthermore,the strategic Study on the Added Value ofa Reformed Central Emergency Res­ponse Fund (CERF), which examineswhether CERF should increase itsfunding target and the Review of ThePotential for Assessed Funding for theCentral Emergency Response Fund werepresented.

Global Protection Cluster Task Teamon the Protection Priority (GPC TTPP): The Task Team is currentlyfinalizing the Whole­of­System ofProtection review which is expected to befinalized by the end of April. Following theWhole­of System of Protection review, anoverarching IASC Policy on Protection inHumanitarian Action would be developed.A dialogue with the World HumanitarianSummit (WHS) and the Human Rights UpFront is being sought, ensuringmainstreaming protection across all mainWHS thematic areas.

Mental Health and PsychosocialSupport Reference Group: Since the"IASC Guidelines on Mental Health andPsychosocial Support (MHPSS) inEmergency Settings" were published in2007, they have been disseminatedwidely and have been translated intoseveral languages including Arabic,Chinese, French, Japanese, Nepali,Spanish and Tajik. The recent review‘How are we doing?’ looks at theawareness, utilization, andinstitutionalization of the Guidelines within

Task Team on AAP/PSEA, will hold awebinar entitled "Accountability toAffected People – Taking Account, GivingAccount and Being Held to Account –Buzzwords or Benefits for People inCrises?". For all those interested in howwe can make the humanitarian systemwork better for people affected bydisasters and humanitarian emergencies,this webinar will focus on exploring whatchanges we should expect inhumanitarian operations as a result ofgreater accountability to affected people.Furthermore, a Helpdesk to shareknowledge and information on AAP/PSEAwill be launched during this webinarwhich will be conducted in two 90­minutesessions at 9:00 and 15:00 GMTrespectively.To learn more and to register, pleasesend an email totransformativeagendawebinars@un.org.

Upcoming Meetings

1 April: Gender Reference Group

9 April: Reference Group on MeetingHumanitarian Challenges in Urban Areas

13 April: Task Team on Accountability toAffected Populations and Prevention ofSexual Exploitation and Abuse

15 April: Task Team on HumanitarianFinancing

16 April: Senior Focal Points Meeting onthe Protection From Sexual Exploitationand Abuse

28 April: Task Team on RevitalizingPrincipled Humanitarian Action

28 April: Brown­bag meeting

4/27/2015 IASC News ­ March

http://us2.campaign­archive1.com/?u=83487eb1105d72ff2427e4bd7&id=578ea2b4da&e=83335aaed9 7/7

specific agencies; the mainstreaming andintegration of the Guidelines across thehumanitarian system, and perceptions ofany gaps or changes in the relevanceand utility of the Guidelines.

Preparedness and Resilience: Theformulation of the UNDG/IASC GuidingPrinciples on Resilience has been goingon since 2014 under the leadership of theUN Working Group on Transition(UNWGT) and the IASC Task Team onPreparedness and Resilience (TTPR),co­led by UNDP, OCHA and FAO. Theprinciples will engender greaterpartnership and coherence betweenhumanitarian and development actors topromote resilience to all forms of conflictand natural disasters.

Accountability to Affected Populations:Opportunities and challenges to deliveron our commitments

For more information or to join the groups,

please visit the IASC Subsidiary

Bodies webpage.

Visit our website Find us on Facebook Forward this to a friend

The IASC was established under General Assembly Resolution 46/182 (1991) as the primary inter­agencycoordination mechanism for humanitarian action in complex and major emergencies. It is a unique forum whichbrings together UN operational agencies and other humanitarian organizations and is supported by the IASC

secretariat. Email: iasccorrespondence@un.org

Copyright © 2015 United Nations, all rights reserved.

We welcome your feedback and input to iasccorrespondence@un.org.unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

If you are not on our list, subscribe now!