IASC Weekly Meetings January – December 2010
Inter-Agency Standing Committee
Overview IASC Weekly Meetings January-December 2010
Date / Topic / Presenter / Organisation06/01 / Briefing on Yemen
Ivo spent six weeks in Yemen in November and December 2009 and provided a short briefing focused on a number of the larger humanitarian trends and concerns as observed during his mission. / Ivo Freijsen, Chief of the Surge Capacity Section (SCS) of OCHA and member of the Emergency Response Roster. / OCHA
13/01 / Internal Displacement in Armed Conflict
Briefing on the recent ICRC publication: Internal Displacement in armed conflict: facing up to the challenges.This report, launched in November 2009, examines key issues of protection and assistance affecting displaced people, highlighting the reasons people are forced to flee, the risks they face and how they cope. It also addresses the dilemmas that exist in relation to labelling IDPs. / Anne Zeidan, Head of IDPs Project, ICRC / ICRC
20/01 / The AU Summit and the IDP/Refugee Convention
- Special Summit of the African Union on Refugees, Returnees and IDPs
- Summit took place in Kampala, Uganda, in October 2009
- Adoption of the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of IDPs in Africa (Kampala Convention)
- Steven Corliss, Deputy Director of the Africa Bureau, UNHCR
- Ramesh Rajasingham, Displacement and Protection Section OCHA
- Katinka Ridderbos, Country Analyst for the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center
OCHA
10/02 / Update on the Work of the IASC Task Force on Meeting Humanitarian Challenges in Urban Areas (MHCUA)
Update on the mandate and work of the Task Force being convened since April 2009. In line with the recommendations made to the IASC, the Task Force is planning to undertake i) A review of existing tools, experiences and approaches of humanitarian actors and its application to urban context, and ii) Planning to develop 4 city case studies to field test the humanitarian challenges for the IASC in responding in urban areas. The outcomes will inform the IASC strategy to be presented at the IASC WG meeting in November 2010 in Rome. / George Deikun, UN-HABITAT, Chair of the IASC Task Force on Meeting Humanitarian Challenges in Urban Areas (MHCUA) / UN-HABITAT
24/02 / The Role of UNDAC in Support of the Humanitarian Coordination in New Emergencies
Briefing on the role of United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) in support of humanitarian coordination in new emergencies, with a focus on Haiti, including how lessons from Haiti informed the outcome of the yearly UNDAC Advisory Board Meeting, which took place in February 2010. / Jesper Holmer Lund, OCHA Emergency Service Branch, International Search and Rescue Advisory Group, (INSARAG) / OCHA
04/03 / I. Developing a Gender Marker for Humanitarian Funding Appeals
Presentation of the Gender Marker as well as the first report of its pilot roll-out.
II. Combating Gender Based Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Presentation of programmes to prevent and respond to Gender-based violence in Eastern DRC, highlighting accomplishments to date and challenges. She also spoke about plans for organizing a March Mondiale in Bukavu later this year on the themes of women's peacebuilding, community security and freedom from violence for women. /
- Siobhan Foran, GenCAP Advisor from the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
- Adèle Kagarabi Safi, President of the Provincial Commission against Sexual Violence of South Kivu
10/03 / A Humanitarian Snapshot from the Cote d'Ivoire
Update from Cote d’Ivoire on the "residual humanitarian needs" and next steps from relief to recovery in the Côte d’Ivoire.
Briefing on land issues and displacement in Cote d’Ivoire, presenting the NRC report “Whose land is this?” and its recommendations. /
- Julie Belanger, OCHA Head of Office, Côte d’Ivoire
- Marzia Montemurro and Barbara McCallin from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
NRC
17/03 / Update of the Global Humanitarian Assistance Report
Presentation on the February 2010 Update of the Global Humanitarian Assistance Report. His presentation will include:
•Donors and their priorities.
•Financing Mechanisms: the current picture.
•The context of fragile states.
•Haiti: How much aid? / Jan Kellett, leader of the Global Humanitarian Assistance Programme, / Development Initiative
24/03 / The Sphere Project – An Update on the Revision Process and a Way Forward
Presentation on the process and progress of revising the Sphere “Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response” Handbook. / John Damerell, the Sphere Project Manager / Sphere Project
31/03 / Building the Capacity of Youth and Volunteers in Disaster Preparedness and Response
Reflections on strategies to build strong national societies.
Presentation on the importance of youth volunteers’ action in disaster preparedness and response. /
- Geri Lau, Head of the National Society Development, IFRC
- Roberta Zuchegna, Senior Officer Youth Development, IFRC
14/04 / Presentation of the Early Warning-Early Action Quarterly Report for March-June 2010
Briefing on the most recent IASC Early Warning - Early Action Report covering the period of March to June 2010. / Guillaume Simonian, Programme Officer at the Office of Emergency Programmes, UNICEF / UNICEF
21/04 / Briefing on the Health Sector in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Presentation on his February visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), where he visited health facilities in the country and met with government officials. / Dr Eric Laroche, Assistant Director-General of WHO's Health Action in Crises Cluster / WHO
28/04 / ALNAP briefing: The State of the Humanitarian System
Presentation of the findings of ALNAP’s State of the Humanitarian System pilot report. The report represents the most comprehensive effort to date of assessing the performance and monitoring the progress of the international humanitarian system. /
- Paul Harvey, Partner, Humanitarian Outcomes and lead author of the report
- Josh Harris, Communications Officer of ALNAP
05/05 / Presentation by the ICRC on 'Restoring Family Links'
Briefing on the Restoring Family Links (RFL) activities of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (RC/RC Movement) and the coordination of its worldwide Family Links Network. Special focus was given on RFL in disasters and the RC/RC Movement's response to the needs after the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010. /
Olivier Dubois, Deputy Head of the Central Tracing Agency and Protection Division, ICRC / ICRC
19/05 / Briefing by the IASC Secretariat on the last IASC Principals Meeting and the 76th IASC Working Group Meeting
Briefing on the outcome of the 76th IASC Working Group meeting, which took place from 07-09 April 2010 as well as the outcome of the IASC Principals meeting, which took place on 06 May 2010 in New York. / Simon Lawry-White, Chief of the IASC Secretariat / IASC Secretariat
25/05 / Briefing on the Humanitarian Situation in Iraq
Briefing on the current humanitarian situation in Iraq, with the main areas of focus for humanitarian organizations and the prospects and planning for the transition from humanitarian operations to recovery programs. / Christine McNab, the DSRSG/RC/HC for Iraq / OCHA
02/06 / EthicalCargo Project - Supporting Conflict-sensitive Logistics and Ethical Transportation Programs
Briefing on the EthicalCargo project, its relevance for the wider humanitarian community and the services it provides. /
- Caroline Säfström, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Communications and outreach officer
- Jonathan Fowler, SIPRI, Training
09/06 /
- Briefing by Dr Eric Laroche on his recent visit to Afghanistan
- Briefing by Dr Daniel Lopez Acuna on maternal health in Afghanistan
- Dr Eric Laroche, Assistant Director-General, Health Action in Crises, WHO
- Dr Daniel Lopez Acuna, Director, Strategy, Policy and Resource Management, Health Action in Crises, WHO
16/06 / Corruption in Humanitarian Operations: A Strategy for Prevention
Briefing on the results of TI’s work over the past four years on developing tools for detecting, deterring and addressing corruption in humanitarian operations. / Roslyn Hees, Senior Advisor, Transparency International (TI) / Transparency International
23/06 /
- Briefing on the Humanitarian Situation in Myanmar
- Briefing on the Humanitarian Situation of Women and Children in Iraq
- Bishow Parajuli, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Myanmar
- Sikander Khan, UNICEF Representative in Iraq
UNICEF
24/06 / Briefing by Maxwell Kerley, Director United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS)
Briefing on UNMAS’ humanitarian activities, its priorities and the way ahead. During this meeting, Mr. Kerley described how the humanitarian work of UNMAS is relevant to the wider humanitarian community. UNMAS leads the Mine Action Area of Responsibility (AOR) within the Global Protection Cluster. / Maxwell Kerley, Director of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in New York, / UNMAS
30/06 / Humanitarian Navigation Initiative - Asset Tracking Solutions for Operational Agencies
Briefing on real time tracking solutions for aid and development organizations and the outcomes from the HumaNav Pilot Project. Rob McConnell also briefed on the relevance of this initiative for IASC organisations, outlining the operational benefits of the Project in terms of increased security, improved staff safety, increased efficiency of operations and less negative environmental impact. / Rob McConnell, HumaNav Project Coordinator at UNITAR/UNOSAT / UNOSAT
14/07 /
- What Civil-Military Coordination strategy for Afghanistan?
- NGO’s New Security Challenges in Afghanistan
- Alan Butterfield, OCHA Civil-Military Coordination Section (CMCS)
- Pascal Daudin, CARE International Safety and Security Unit (CISSU)
CARE
21/07 / Cooperation between Non-State Humanitarian Relief Providers and the Private Sector
- Briefing on current OCHA cooperation with the private sector in providing humanitarian assistance. What principals and understandings guide such a partnership? In which fora are such questions being addressed? In her presentation, Isabelle de Muyser-Boucher provided some insights on latest tools, key documents and outcomes of conferences which guide this cooperation. She illustrated her presentation on the basis of OCHA's cooperation with DHL.
- Briefing on MSF's guiding principles in cooperating with the private sector as well as current trends/developments. As a medical and humanitarian organisation, MSF follows guiding principles that prevent MSF from cooperating with some industries but allows negotiating with others. Emmanuel Tronc will provided some practical examples for illustration.
- Isabelle de Muyser-Boucher, Chief of Logistics Support Unit (OCHA)
- Emmanuel Tronc, Policy & Advocacy Coordinator, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF)
MSF
02/09 / Climate Change and the Humanitarian Challenge in Urban Areas
Briefing on the implications of climate change for humanitarian actors working in urban areas. The presentation outlined the way in which slow and rapid onset events exacerbate already chronic conditions and inequalities and how the increasing intensity and duration of urban vulnerabilities poses new challenges for enhancing the humanitarian response. Operational, institutional, policy and normative implications have been outlined. / Professor Roger Zetter, Director of the Refugee Studies Centre, Department of International Development, Oxford University / Oxford University
15/09 / Findings of the Inter-Cluster Support Mission to Nepal (July 2010)
An Inter-Cluster Support Mission to Nepal took place from 20 – 26 July 2010 in response to a request from the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) for support from the global level, in line with the HCT’s plan of action and priorities for 2010. The mission schedule included meetings with the Government of Nepal, strategic discussions with the RC/HC and HCT and bilateral meetings with the 8 clusters currently operational in Nepal. Mission participants included representatives of all clusters currently active in Nepal. Daniel Lopez-Acuna was the Team Leader, representing the Global Health Cluster/WHO. /
- Dr. Daniel Lopez Acuna (Team Leader), Director, Strategy, Policy and Resource Management, Health Action in Crises
- Aoibheann O'Keeffe, Humanitarian Coordination Support Section
OCHA
29/09 / Implications of the outcome of the global meeting of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group
Briefing on the outcome of the global meeting of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group, the decisions that have been taken and their implications for the work in humanitarian situations. Jesper Lund also reflect upon what could other clusters learn from INSARAG. / Jesper Lund, OCHA Emergency Service Branch, International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) / OCHA
06/10 / The humanitarian response in Pakistan: briefing by Simon Lawry-White on his deployment to Pakistan
Presentation of some first insights and experiences about the work in Multan in Pakistan. For six weeks, Simon Lawry-White was on emergency response roster deployment from the IASC Secretariat as Head of OCHA in Multan where he coordinated the humanitarian community's emergency response to the floods in Punjab. / Simon Lawry-White, Chief of the IASC Secretariat / IASC Secretariat
13/10 / I. Current situation in the Horn of Africa
Overview on humanitarian challenges in the Horn of Africa, where conflicts, displacement and poverty have led to chronic vulnerability of the population.
II. Analysis of Somali pirates attacks
Over the past few years, UNOSAT has followed the development of piracy off the coast of Somalia. Periodical reports on trends in attacks are issued, including summaries, overviews of events in 2009 and statistical analysis. The objective of the discussion was to consider ways in which this work could benefit humanitarian actors in the region and how it could be made available to IASC members in a more systematic way. /
- Peter Neussl, Geographical Coordination and Monitoring Section from OCHA
- Francesco Pisano, UNOSAT Manager
- Joshua Lyons, Principal Analyst at UNOSAT
UNOSAT
18/10 / OCHA briefing (Geneva) on the humanitarian situation in the DRC
Informal discussion on the humanitarian situation in the DRC, priorities and challenges facing the international humanitarian community. Peter Neussl returned from two missions to the DRC over the last month, where he supported the Humanitarian Action Planning process for 2011. / Peter Neussl, Humanitarian Affairs Officer in GCMS / OCHA
27/10 / Floods in Benin: initial mission findings
Pierre Bessuges presented initial findings from this mission from an early recovery perspective and invited participants to discuss how global clusters could better support their counterparts in the field in the response.
The BCPR mission to Benin took place from 13-20 October. The objective of the mission was to support the Resident Coordinator in organising the humanitarian response from a early recovery perspective following the worst flooding in decades. As a result of these floods an estimated 680 000 people are affected in the country with the rain seasons still continuing. Two-thirds of Benin has suffered from month of heavy rain. Mission participants discussed the response with local authorities, the Resident Coordinator, cluster representatives of the eight clusters as well as UNDAC members. / Pierre Bessuges, Senior Advisor, Inter-Agency/Field Early Recovery UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) / UNDP
03/11 / Food Security Analysis and Needs Assessments in Partnership – Keeping it Timely, Relevant and Manageable
Presentation of WFP’s approach to determining food insecurity and assessing needs with other key actors in crisis situations. The presenter also raised some issues that still needed to be collectively addressed to produce timely, coordinated and relevant results to guide humanitarian programming. / Joyce Luma, Chief of WFP’s Food Security Analysis Service / WFP
24/11 / Integrating cross-cutting issues in the work of clusters - lessons from the Global Protection Cluster
On 09 November 2010, the Protection Cluster organised a workshop to discuss the integration of cross-cutting issues into the work of the protection cluster. Much experience has been acquired over the past years on the integration of cross-cutting issues into the protection cluster and other clusters. The discussion focused on recent experience in order to determine (a) what’s working, (b) what isn’t working and (c) what needs to be done (and by whom). The aim was to provide concrete recommendations to ensure better integration of the cross-cutting issues into the work of clusters. / Leonard Zulu, Support Cell Global Protection Cluster, UNHCR / UNHCR
01/12 / Humanitarian Preparedness and Response in Latin America and the Caribbean - Possibilities for Strengthened Collaboration between the Regional and the Global Level
The objective of the presentation was to explain how this IASC-like regional model functions in practice in support of humanitarian preparedness and response activities in countries across the region, and to strengthen the collaboration with global level partners, including with IASC entities. /
- Gerard Gomez, Head of OCHA's Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean,
- Douglas Reimer, OCHA Regional Disaster Response Advisor
03/12 / Current priority interventions of the humanitarian community in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt)
Briefing on the current priority interventions of the humanitarian community in oPt. The objective of the discussion was to explore possibilities for support of these priority interventions from the global level. / Mr. Maxwell Gaylard, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, and UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator for oPt / RC/HC oPt
08/12 / Improving communication with disaster-affected communities
Briefing on how to increase the reach and quality of humanitarian response by improving communication with disaster-affected communities in the preparedness and response. The presentation discussed how the projects infoasaid and Communicating to Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC) could assist humanitarian agencies and clusters in their communication with disaster-affected communities and thereby increase the effectiveness and accountability of their response. The presentation provided information about the two projects and identified the synergies among them. / Jon Bugge, Head of infoasaid and founding Chair of CDAC / infoasaid
09/12 / WHO briefing on Cholera in Haiti
Dr. Eric Laroche was in Haiti from 22-26 November 2010 together with the Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos and Dr. Michel Yao was in Haiti from 28 October - 28 November 2010. The presentations focused on the outbreak of the cholera in Haiti. /
- Dr. Eric Laroche, Assistant Director-General, Health Action in Crises, WHO
- Dr. Michel Yao Adviser (Public Health), Response and Recovery Operations, Health Action in Crises, WHO
For further information on IASC Weekly meetings, please visit the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) website at or contact the IASC Secretariat ( or )