2014 ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment

Concept Note

Side-event–Reaching people;Reaching assistance; Saving lives

25 June 2014, 18:15, Room 5 NLB

Background and theme

The scale and quality of humanitarian assistance is often deeply compromised by the challenges faced by humanitarian organisations, -local, national or international- in reaching affected people, as well as people’s capacity to reach assistance and services. Too frequently, such access is limited or restricted, dramatically undermining humanitarian response. Looting of food supplies stored in a humanitarian facility, preventing medical equipment and supplies from being delivered and bureaucratic impediments on humanitarian assistance have one thing in common: they all restrain humanitarian access which ultimately affects the lives of millions of people. In most situations, access is compromised through a combinationof diverse and inter-related factors. In complex emergencies, access constraints are often exacerbated by violence, parties’ failure to fulfil their responsibilities under international humanitarian law, politicisation of humanitarian issues and lack of respect of humanitarian principles, as well humanitarian’s own organizational limitations.

This side event will reviewthe impact on people of constrained access, and discuss strategies to overcome persistent obstacles and ultimately allow us to keep saving lives.

The specific objectives of the side-event will be to:

-Highlight that gaining and securing humanitarian access is an operational necessity for meeting humanitarian needs. Access is not the objectiveper se, butanecessary means to alleviate human suffering to the greatest extent possible.In some past and current contexts, humanitarian access has come under pressure from a variety of sources.

-Reassert that establishing and maintaining contacts with all parties to conflict is a practical condition to gaining and securing access.Not only is it necessary for humanitarian aid to reachall affected-people and affected-areas, but it is also critical to the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and assets.

-Identify areas of collaboration and key recommendations– for example on domestic regulatory and policy frameworks –toimprove access advocacy and the effectiveness ofassistance delivery on the ground.

The panellists

The session will be moderated by the Chief of OCHA’s Policy Studies and Development Branch. The four panellists will come from different stakeholder groups – national NGO, international NGO, international organisation and UN.

Chair/Moderator:Mr.HansjoergStrohmeyer, Chief Policy Studies and Development Branch, OCHA

Representative National NGO (Afghanistan)

Mr. Masood Karokhail, co-founder The Liaison Office/TLO

Panellist will share experience on the challenges of gaining humanitarian access and providing assistance in an insecure and fragile state environment andhighlight lessons learnt and adaptation mechanisms.

Representative International Non-Governmental Organization

Mr. Fabien Dubuet, MSF Representative to the United Nations,MSF

Panellist will share experience and lessons learnt onaccess constraints met on the ground across contexts, in particular administrative hurdles and the impact on affected-people and structures functioning with thesupport of the organisation.

Representative of ICRC

Mr. Walter Fuellemann, Head of Delegation to the United Nations, ICRC

Panellist will share experience on challenges onhumanitarian principlesand compliance with IHL to secure access and provide assistance and protection and highlight recommendations to the various constituents of the humanitarian system.

Representative of OCHA

Mr. HansjoergStrohmeyer, Chief Policy Studies and Development Branch, OCHA

Panellist will share reflections and expose current work on the normative framework relating to relief operations, in particular analysis of Security Council’s practice andpresentation of OCHA-Oxford University legal research aimed at clarifying certain legal aspects such as the question of arbitrary withholding of consent and consequences thereof.

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