See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319097940 United Nations and Crisis Management Chapter · June 2017 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_850-1 CITATIONS READS 0 8,965 2 authors: Bok Gyo Jeong Jungwon Yeo Kean University University of Central Florida 18 PUBLICATIONS 51 CITATIONS 25 PUBLICATIONS 90 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Civil Society Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic View project Florida Community Capacity for Protecting Undocumented Migrants During Hurricane Irma 2017 View project All content following this page was uploaded by Bok Gyo Jeong on 14 August 2017. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. United Nations and Crisis Management Bok G. Jeong Department of Public Administration Kean University [email protected] Jungwon Yeo Department of Public Administration University of Central Florida [email protected] Synonyms: International Organizations and Crisis Management; Inter-governmental Organizations and Crisis Management; Transnational Organizations and Crisis Management Definition: The United Nations is an international organization, made up of its member states, and founded in 1945 as a replacement for the League of Nations after World War II. The purposes of the UN include maintaining international peace and security and achieving international cooperation in in solving international problems of political, economic, social, cultural, human rights, and humanitarian issues. Introduction The United Nations (UN) has been involved in crisis management in a comprehensive range of fields and at multiple stages in disaster responses through its principal organizations and subsidiary entities including programs, funds, commissions, and specialized agencies. Crisis management cannot be defined by a single dimension or by a single UN agency’s activities because of the exigency, multiplicity and complexity of humanitarian crises, including human-caused and natural disasters. Crisis management affects the health, safety, and well-being of a community or a country. The geographical coverage of humanitarian crisis varies. It could be local, national, and international. The duration of the emergencies and the time required to cope with the damage of disasters cover a wide spectrum of time scales, ranging from weeks, to months, to years, and to decades. Examples of humanitarian crises include natural disasters (such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, wildfires), humancaused disasters (such as armed conflicts, oil spills), combined consequences (such as forced migration, famines) and other emergencies (such as epidemics). UN’s approach to crisis management The UN’s crisis management system focuses on humanitarian crises. The UN defines humanitarian crisis as “an event or series of events that represents a critical threat to the health, safety, security, or well-being of a community or other large group of people usually over a wider area (UNISDR, 2009).” Traditionally, the UN identified crises caused by hazardous events, such as natural disasters or conflicts. However, the UN has recently been including diverse vulnerable social conditions— e.g., health, energy, security, water security, food security, urbanization, population growth, poverty, inequality, and climate change— as emerging drivers of crises, and has taken account of complex interactions among these new causes in improving and adapting its crisis management systems. The UN approach to crisis management shifted from “disaster management” to “disaster risk management’. The UN’s ultimate goals of risk management are to enhance “a) resilience–the ability of people, societies and countries to recover from negative shocks, and b) prosperity–derived from successfully managing positive shocks that create opportunities for development (UNISDR, 2009).” This indicates that the UN’s risk management approach is not limited to providing disaster relief services to the victims during post-disaster situations, but includes “assessing the risks of crises, reducing the probability and size of loses, preparing for them coping with their effects (UNOCHA, 2015).” Along the functional lines, UN agencies have engaged in the risk management through various activities, including developing multi-hazard contingency plans, creating goods stockpiles and administering vaccinations. In addition, with its member nations, the UN has developed and adopted the disaster risk management framework, “Sendai Framework, and its several global targets and four priorities of actions, which have been endorsed by the UN general assembly. The framework aims to provide international stakeholders across sectors and jurisdictions a further impetus to global disaster risk reductions. UN system for crisis management The most comprehensive humanitarian relief and emergency responses of the UN system are centered on the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The UN Security Council is mainly in charge of maintaining international peace and security, especially when threats to peace are brought to their attention, such as armed conflicts, wars, and epidemic crises. UN subsidiary bodies and specialized agencies, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and The World Food Programme (WFP) are responsible for addressing crises related to their specialized areas or sub-population groups. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) The OCHA is the main office for humanitarian relief and emergency responses in the UN Secretariat. OCHA’s main responsibility is to make sure that all humanitarian efforts by various actors are coordinated in a coherent and unified platform . The main missions of OCHA include: 1) mobilizing and coordinating humanitarian actions in response to disasters and emergencies in collaboration with multi-level actors, including national and international ones, 2) advocating the rights of needy people, 3) preparing for and preventing emergency situations, and 4) developing and implementing sustainable solutions. Guiding principles The General Assembly of the United Nations places emphasis on humanitarian assistance as the cardinal task for assisting the victims of natural disasters and other emergencies (UN, 1991, A/RES/46/182, Section I. Article 1). Humanity, neutrality, and impartiality are the main principles in the UN’s humanitarian assistance. The UN’s humanitarian assistance work is provided on the fundamental ground of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national unity of states. The UN understands that management of natural disasters and emergencies falls under the affected state’s responsibility. Therefore, UN’s humanitarian assistance is only implemented with the consent of and appeal by the affected country. The initiation, organization, coordination, and implementation of humanitarian assistance are deemed as the primary role of affected states (A/RES/46/182, Section I. Article 4). The reasoning behind international cooperation led by UN in emergency management is that the magnitude and duration of emergencies are in many cases beyond a single country’s capacity for response and resolution. The UN’s emergency measures aim to ensure transition from relief to rehabilitation and development (A/RES/46/182, Section I. Article 9). Organizational arrangement and responsibilities 1) The Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) is in charge of the oversight of humanitarian assistance by the United Nations. The ERC serves as the central focal point for governmental, intergovernmental and nongovernmental relief activities. 2) The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) is the inter-agency forum that aims to coordinate and develop policies, and make decisions on humanitarian assistance in collaboration with the United Nations and Non-United Nations actors (UN, 1991, A/RES/46/182, Section VI. Article 33). The IASC was established in June 1992 in response to resolution 46/182. By the General Assembly resolution 48/57, the IASC was affirmed as the primary mechanism for the inter-agency coordination of humanitarian assistance of the UN. The IASC is under the leadership of the Emergency Relief Coordinator. Primary objectives include: i) to develop system-wide humanitarian policies; ii) to allocate responsibilities amongst agencies in humanitarian programmes; iii) to develop a common ethical framework for all humanitarian activities; iv) to advocate common humanitarian principles to parties outside the IASC; v) to advocate for the full respect for the rights of the individual in accordance with laws including international human rights law, international humanitarian law and refugee law; vi) to identify lack of operational capacity in disaster management; and vii) to resolve disputes or disagreements about and amongst humanitarian agencies on system-wide humanitarian issues. The IASC members are comprised of the heads or their designated representatives of the UN operational agencies including United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Food & Agricultural Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), and OCHA. In accordance with the UN General Assembly Resolution 46/182, standing invitees include International Organization for Migration (IOM), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPs, and the World Bank. Additional invitees on a permanent basis include the NGO consortia ICVA, InterAction and The Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR). UN Security Council The Security Council is the organizational body in the UN system that takes actions when a threat to peace exists. Main functions and powers of the Security Council include maintaining international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations. The UN Security Council investigates disputes and situations that lead to international friction and determine the existence of a threat to peace or acts of aggression and to recommend actions. The UN Security Council has the authority to take military action to prevent or stop aggression. The Security Council collaborates with regional and sub-regional organizations in maintaining international peace and security. When a threat to peace is brought to its attention, the Security Council makes an attempt to bring about an agreement by affiliated parties. The Security Council sets forth principles for these agreements, undertakes investigation, dispatches a mission, appoints special envoys, and requests the Secretary-General to make efforts for a peaceful settlement of the dispute. When a dispute leads to hostilities, the Security Council tries to bring the hostile situation to an end by issuing ceasefire directives or dispatching military observers or a peacekeeping force. The Council may consider enforcing measures such as economic sanctions, arms embargoes, financial penalties, severance of diplomatic relations, blockade or even collective military action. UN Security Council Resolutions address the following issues or incidences: refugee crisis including Syria (Resolution 2254 (2015)), cross-border trafficking (Resolution 2195 (2014)), sexual violence in conflict (Resolution 2106 (2013)), response to terrorist attacks (Resolution 2309 (2016)), response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa (Resolution 1308 (2000)), response to the Ebola outbreak in Africa (Resolution 2177 (2014)), and impact of armed conflict on children (Resolution 2143 (2014)). UN ECOSOC The UN Economic and Social Council adopted a resolution (E/RES/2012/3) that reaffirms the principles of neutrality, humanity, impartiality and independence for the provision of humanitarian assistance. In this resolution, building and strengthening resilience at the local, national and regional levels is emphasized as a critical element in reducing the impact of disasters. This resolution also stresses the need for continued investment in preparedness, prevention, mitigation and response capacity. The ECOSOC Resolution reaffirms the significance of ensuring a smooth transition from relief to rehabilitation, reconstruction and development. UN Subsidiary Bodies and Specialized Agencies International Organization for Migration (IOM) The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is committed to assisting in meeting the growing operational challenges of migration management and upholding the human dignity and well-being of migrants. IOM intends to provide solutions to migration problems and humanitarian assistance to migrants in need (e.g. refugees or displaced persons). IOM’s activities mainly include non-emergency situation duties, promotion of international migration law, policy debate and guidance, protection of migrants’ rights, migration health and the gender dimension of migration. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) aims to protect refugees who have fled their homes due to violence, conflicts and persecution. UNHCR provides shelter, food, water, medical care, and other life-saving assistance to refugees. UNHCR sends relief supplies and deploys its trained staff as a response to emergency needs. The number of emergency missions carried out by UNHCR specialists totaled 441 in 2014. In terms of health and sanitation, UNCHR, in collaboration with its partner organizations, provides clean water, nutritious food, sets up sanitation programs, and ensures that refugees have access to basic health care services. The vaccination campaigns to protect refugees from polio and measles conducted by UNHCR are exemplary projects in the health area. UNHCR is committed to ensuring the rights of displaced civilians before and after emergencies. UNHCR provides legal and protection assistance to minimize threats of violence, including sexual assault, exploitation, persecution, and other human rights abuses. In addition to emergency relief efforts, UNHCR has also been focused on empowering refugees from a long-term livelihood and capability perspective. UNHCR works on improving access to learning for young refugees by supporting teacher training and funding education supplies. It also supports distance-learning programs and ensures academic degrees obtained in host countries are recognized in their home country after their return. UNHCR also supports marginalized women (e.g. unaccompanied women, single mothers, victims of gender violence, and pregnant, disabled or older women) for their empowerment by providing them equal access to humanitarian assistance, and training them with new skills. The special programs—aiming at increasing young women’s enrollment in secondary education and building their leadership, life, and vocational skills—have been operated by UNHCR. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has the Emergency Response Division as its operational responsibility for this task. UNDP utilizes its extensive country office network, including offices in all crisis countries, for United Nations-led crisis-prevention and recovery activities. In carrying out these activities, UNDP mobilizes partnerships within and beyond the United Nations system, including the Department for Political Affairs, the Department of Peace-keeping Operations, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and Bretton Woods institutions (UNDP, 2002). The main focus of UNDP’s projects is to build resilience to conflicts and disasters. Compared to other agencies’ work, UNDP’s projects have longer-term development objectives, including, but not limited to, helping countries prevent armed conflict, alleviating the risk and effects of disasters from natural hazards, and rebuilding the community. UNDP and its partner agencies address the underlying causes of violence; reinforce governance and the rule of law; support livelihoods; and empower local people to rebuild infrastructure after disasters. UNDP established the Thematic Trust Fund for Crisis Prevention and Recovery that was intended for UNDP’s effective and timely response to crisis prevention and recovery needs. United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) UNEP has been working on emergency preparedness and response. It has also focused on facilitating the transfer of knowledge for sustainable development. UNEP undertakes environmental causes and consequences of natural hazards and environmental emergencies and attempts to reduce their impacts on vulnerable communities and countries. UNEP’s work on prevention aims at reducing ecosystem degradation and utilizing ecosystem services in a sustainable manner for risk and vulnerability reduction. UNEP project have encompassed both natural and technological hazards, as well as environmental emergencies. UNEP’s emergency responses are also aligned with its efforts to implement ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) measures. EBA measures intend to reduce vulnerability and build ecological and social resilience to climate change risks. UNEP has also implemented the Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative in which the UNEP has developed sustainable building guidelines. UNEP’s work on Disaster Risk Reduction has focused on early warning, risk and vulnerability assessments, disaster preparedness and contingency planning for environmental emergencies, disaster prevention, sustainable recovery and adaptation to climate change-related risks. The Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit (JEU) was created to address the environmental impacts of disasters and accidents by coordinating international efforts and mobilizing response partners. It mobilizes over 15 different networks and partnerships as well as regional organizations and member states. Although this partnership encompasses the private sector, industry groups, academic and research institutions are also well represented among JEU partners. The JEU aims at enhancing the preparedness of communities, disaster responders, governments, and industries against the potential risks and impacts of environmental emergencies. World Health Organization (WHO) WHO is the principal actor that helps member states in their emergency responses with regards to public health issues. WHO also serves as the Health Cluster Lead Agency in the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). WHO established a Global Emergency Management Team (GEMT) to provide overall strategy and management guidance for WHO`s emergency response tasks. This team developed the Emergency Response Framework (ERF) in order to clarify WHO’s roles and tasks in emergency responses. WHO has identified its main obligations associated with emergency response as follows: i) develop an evidence-based health sector response strategy, plan and appeal; ii) ensure adapted disease surveillance, early warning and response systems; iii) provide upto-date information on the health situation and health sector performance; iv) promote and monitor the application of standards and best practices; and v) provide relevant technical expertise to affected Member States and all relevant stakeholders. United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) UNICEF is in charge of humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries. UNICEF was originally created as the focal point to provide humanitarian assistance to children living in war-torn countries after the Second World War. UNICEF’s humanitarian actions encompass not only immediate relief responses to save lives, but also efforts to cope with underlying causes of vulnerability to disasters, fragility and conflict. For example, health, nutrition, hygiene, child protection, education, and HIV/AIDS prevention and response are approached both from short-term emergency response and long-term remedy to address their underlying causes. The focal point for emergency assistance of UNICEF is the Office of Emergency Programmes (EMOPS). EMOPS is in charge of humanitarian assistance and policies, as well as strategic coordination with external humanitarian partners both within and outside the United Nations system. It externally supports inter-agency early warning and preparedness activities. It internally develops UNICEF’s own warning system, enhances preparedness tools, and operationalizes preparedness plans at country, regional, and headquarters. UN Food and Agricultural Organization (UN FAO) UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) focuses on reducing people’s vulnerability to hazards by incorporating risk assessment, risk reduction, emergency response and rehabilitation. FAO’s work contributes to recovery and rehabilitation with an emphasis on the resilience of livelihoods. Through longer-term interventions, FAO intends to facilitate transition from relief to development. FAO’s approach incorporates emergency response and post-disaster recovery strategies. This integrated approach was reflected in the FAO’s Regional Framework for Disaster Risk Management (DRM). The objective of the Regional DRM Framework is to reduce the impacts of hazards and enhance community resilience, with a focus on establishing food security and developing sustainable food and agriculture systems. The Regional DRM Programme has two main aspects: internally within FAO and externally with all involved stakeholders and partners (such as NGOs, FAO, UN agencies, research institutes, ministries). The World Food Programme (WFP) In the early days of an emergency, Emergency Assessment teams measure the demand for food assistance and work out a delivery plan, followed by drafting of an Emergency Operation (EMOP), which includes a plan of action and a budget. As a next step, an Appeal to the international community for funds and food aid is launched by WFP. As funds and food flow in, WFP's logistics team works to transport food to emergency areas. Partnering with governments and non-governmental organizations, WFP delivers food to the needy. WFP has one of the most comprehensive Early Warning Systems, collecting and analyzing information on natural and human-caused hazards. WFP aims to feed more than 90 million people annually. WFP’s scientific partners produce a Rapid Impact Analysis when disaster occurs. Satellite imageries are used to demonstrate the situation on the ground, and computerized modelling is employed to predict change. WFP’s mapping specialists add information to create a multi-layered picture of the disaster situation. Current challenges and future direction for the UN’s crisis management In spite of the dedication to risk reduction and active involvement in humanitarian crisis management around the world, the UN and its special agencies have faced problems. The UN agencies have been confronted with intra-organizational coordination issues. The challenge includes lack of formal leadership and monitoring systems among UN organizations involved; functional divisions without proper coordination among the agencies, lack of secure internal funds for crisis management, and continuing interagency rivalries focused on institutional survival .These problems may impede the effectiveness of a UN disaster relief operation in practice. The separated system confused their international and local NGO partners that deliver direct relief services to affected communities, and contributed to a series of delays and ultimate failures in overall relief operations in practice. Existing challenges provide future directions for the UN organizations to improve in their crises management system. One of the major needs is to build an intracoordination and communication system among the UN agencies involved in disaster relief. This will improve information and resource exchanges among the agencies, identify common goals, prevent unnecessary redundancies and waste of resources, build trust relationships, and ultimately strengthen the UN’s disaster response capacity. In addition, the UN organizations can establish a unified decision making authority. The leadership can monitor, counsel, and support both individual and collaborative efforts across UN relief organizations. Through the roles, the unified authorities will be able to facilitate both intra-UN coordination, and support their extended partnership with external organizations, and ultimately contribute to improvement of overall UN crises relief operation. Reference Kapucu, N., & Özerdem, A. (2011). Managing emergencies and crises. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Natsios, A. S. (1995). NGOs and the UN system in complex humanitarian emergencies: conflict or cooperation?. Third World Quarterly, 16(3), 405-420. Pearson, L., & Pelling, M. (2015). The UN Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction 2015–2030: Negotiation process and prospects for science and practice. Journal of Extreme Events, 2(01), 1571001. Reindorp, N. (2002). Trends and challenges in the UN humanitarian system.The new Humanitarianisms: a review of Trends in Global Humanitarian Action. HPG Report, 11. Stephenson Jr, M. (2006). Toward a descriptive model of humanitarian assistance coordination. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 17(1), 40-56. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) (2014). Saving Lives Today and Tomorrow: Managing the Risk of Humanitarian Crises. OCHA Policy and Studies Series. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) (2015). OCHA on Message: Crisis Risk Management. United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) (2009). UNISDR Terminology on Disaster Risk Reduction. View publication stats