State of the World's Refugees
 
The State of the World's Refugees 2006 - Chapter 4 Responding to emergencies: Nature of the response

A problem often encountered in emergencies is the lack of a formal mechanism to trigger a significant and timely response by the humanitarian community. In Darfur, for instance, where people have been killed and displaced on a massive scale by violence, the humanitarian response has been criticized as deficient. The inaccessibility of Darfur, and the unwillingness of some governments to criticize the Sudanese government so as to not risk the peace process in the southern part of the country, were two of the reasons for this inadequate response. But widespread public outrage and extensive media coverage appear to have had an impact: governments have changed their stance and donors have stepped up funding to assist the internally displaced in Darfur and refugees in neighbouring Chad.

Non-refoulement

Non-refoulement is a dominant principle of international law. It stipulates that states should not reject, return, or expel persons to territories where they would face persecution and violence.[17] Most relevant in the context of an emergency is that states allow entry to asylum seekers. In recent years, many states have become reluctant to allow asylum seekers to cross their borders. As a consequence of the hardening of asylum policies, the principle of non-refoulement has been undermined. For instance, in 2001 Pakistan refused to allow a new influx of Afghan refugees onto its territory. The government deemed that the international community had not provided it with sufficient assistance to deal with the millions of refugees who had poured into the country since the end of the Cold War.[18]

In the initial phase of an emergency response, the principal focus is on diplomatic efforts to allow free passage of refugees. In 1999, during the Kosovo emergency, humanitarian evacuation and transfer programmes transported refugees to 28 countries outside the region, thereby fairly apportioning the burden.[19] These programmes attempted to relieve the pressure on the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and encourage it to continue admitting refugees from neighbouring Kosovo. In resolving the crisis, it helped that the media gave the Kosovo exodus a high profile, that the international community was willing to act decisively and that developed states close to the region were willing to shoulder a fair share of the refugee burden.

Humanitarian logistics

Logistics bridges emergency preparedness and response, yet this function tends to be disregarded in high-level decision-making processes.[20] The swiftness of the response to an emergency is dependent on the ability to procure and transport supplies to where they are needed. Various evaluations have highlighted gaps in these procedures, putting the lives of the displaced at risk.[21] Disruptions in the flow of goods can be caused by a lack of funding, high levels of insecurity and limited access, and competition among agencies to obtain the same relief goods at the same time. In the response to the 2004 tsunami damaged infrastructure, customs delays and heavy demands for transportation caused congestion at airports and on roads. The donation of unsolicited items added to the load on already stretched supply lines.[22]

Humanitarian logistics must also see to the timely deployment of appropriate staff. The logistical effort required to bring workers to an emergency area is immense: arrangements for transport, visas, accommodation and other services must be made in good time.[23] Due to the complex and insecure working environment, there is often a high turnover of staff, resulting in the frequent shifting of responsibility, lengthy induction periods, limited institutional memory and fragmented coordination efforts.[24] Aid teams often need to be set up in remote locations where establishing basic administration and communication systems may take a long time, thereby hindering their security and efficient coordination.[25]

High standards of capacity and coordination are required not only for the logistics of emergency response but also for the efficient management of the onward movement of a displaced population. In some instances, displaced populations may need to be moved out of conflict zones to safe areas. For such operations to be successful a sufficient number of large vehicles and adequate supplies of fuel, food, water, sanitation and shelter are needed.[26] This was the case in Chad, where in 2003-2004 more than 150,000 Sudanese refugees were relocated into eight newly created camps under difficult circumstances, given the size of the population and the hostile desert environment. This relocation away from the border area guaranteed a degree of protection against incursions by militants from Darfur.[27]

The protection-assistance nexus

Responses to emergencies should be driven by a clear assessment of need rather than available or anticipated levels of funding, but this is not always the case.[28] Whenever possible, assessments should be made and clear benchmarks set to determine priority areas of response. However, it must be noted that in many cases massive caseloads or extreme insecurity make it impossible to make reliable needs assessments. As a result, the overall quality of needs-driven assessments has been poor.[29]

Emergency responses tend to emphasize assistance over protection. Particularly in mass-influx situations, immediate needs such as food and health are given more attention than protection. This is partly because the former are easily identified. Sometimes, however, inexperienced protection staff are unable to identify protection needs. As a result, in some situations protection and human rights take a back seat to assistance.[30] Protection needs could also be left unaddressed if senior protection staff do not formulate a protection strategy in the critical early stages of an emergency.

In the 1990s, UNHCR formulated a 'ladder of options' to provide security to displaced populations. The first step is to be in the presence of those who have been displaced. The second is to provide medium-term alternatives such as training and support to build national law-enforcement capacity and/or the deployment of international civilian or police monitors. The top of the ladder involves international peacekeeping missions, including regional arrangements such as in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia. Due to personnel constraints, the second option has not received much attention. However, in Darfur staff of the African Union have been deployed to provide protection and security along the routes taken by the displaced and in their camps.[31]

Over time, the United Nations and NGOs have moved towards encapsulating the wide variety of assistance activities in an all-encompassing human rights framework. Socio-economic and cultural rights have been of particular importance in providing a yardstick for the quality of life of displaced persons. These include the right to adequate housing, food, health and education services. Such rights make victims of conflict 'claimants of rights' rather than objects of charity, and thus contribute to preserving their dignity.[32]

Indeed, humanitarian discourse has veered away from perceiving displaced persons as passive, aid-dependent victims and towards the view that they are in charge of their own lives. Even under the harshest personal circumstances the displaced try to help themselves.[33] Thus, the need for a development-oriented approach in the initial stages of the humanitarian response has received more attention. This means the involvement of displaced people in the decisions that affect their lives. Humanitarian assistance can then support their coping mechanisms, strengthen available assets and build capacity wherever necessary to promote self-reliance in the longer term.

Gender and age

In emergency situations, pre-existing inequalities tend to be exacerbated and vulnerable groups tend to be more at risk. The main threats that women face during an emergency include sexual and gender-based violence, trafficking and increased exposure to HIV/AIDS. The rights and needs of displaced women have been receiving increased attention since the 1990s, and sensitivity to gender and age issues has been incorporated into mainstream emergency-response guidelines and programmes. This includes providing displaced women with individual identification or registration cards to facilitate their freedom of independent movement.

Gender mainstreaming has even been applied to food distribution; supplies are distributed to women instead of men so as to ensure more even allocation within families. Gender concerns also come to the fore when considering camp design and layout. If a camp has no light at night in those areas used by women, or if there is a lack of material to close entrance ways, the risks of being attacked at night might increase. Strong efforts are made to involve women in the decision-making process, and to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.

A growing number of agencies mainstream gender throughout their programmes, but responses continue to be fragmented. While progress has been made in sensitizing humanitarian staff to gender issues, it can be difficult to hire enough women, particularly at the national level. Moreover, the prevention of, and response to, gender-based violence is often considered to be a culturally sensitive issue as it deals in part with violations occurring in the private sphere.[34] This explains the hesitation or refusal of some host governments to address gender issues.

In emergency settings children, particularly those who are unaccompanied, have special protection needs. Displaced minors are often at an increased risk of malnutrition, disease, physical danger, emotional trauma, trafficking, exploitation and abuse.[35] Significant progress has been made in this field, particularly during the 1990s, and since 1998 children's issues have increasingly been put on the international peace and security agenda.[36] However, significant gaps in child protection remain, partly due to a lack of awareness among humanitarian workers of the threats facing children and their protection needs.[37] The roles and responsibilities of agencies working with children are not always clearly defined, and there are sometimes gaps and/or overlaps in their activities. The needs of children have not been given enough priority, particularly when funds are short or new arrivals overwhelm existing assistance capacities.

Preparedness capacity

Recent developments

Notes

17. E. Lauterpacht and D. Bethlehem, 'The Scope and Content of the Principle of Non-Refoulement: Opinion', in E. Feller, V. Türk and F. Nicholson (eds), Refugee Protection in International Law, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2003, pp. 89-93.

18. J. Crisp and E. Stigter, 'Real-Time Evaluation of UNHCR's Response to the Afghanistan Emergency', UNHCR, Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit, Bulletin no. 2, 2001, p. 3.

19. UNHCR, The State of the World's Refugees. Fifty Years of Humanitarian Action, p. 239.

20. Fritz Institute, 'Logistics and the Effective Delivery of Humanitarian Relief', p. 3.

21. UNHCR, 'Lessons Learned from the Rwanda and Burundi Emergencies', UNHCR Evaluation Report, December 1996, para. 10.

22. Fritz Institute, 'Logistics and the Effective Delivery of Humanitarian Relief', pp. 2 and 8.

23. L. Gustavsson, 'Humanitarian Logistics: Context and Challenges', Forced Migration Review, Issue 18, September 2003, pp. 6-7.

24. D. Bartsch and N. Belgacem, 'Real-Time Evaluation of UNHCR's Response to the Emergency in Chad', Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit, UNHCR, Geneva, 2004, p. 13.

25. Ibid.

26. L. Gustavsson, 'Humanitarian Logistics: Context and Challenges', pp. 6-7.

27. D. Bartsch and N. Belgacem, 'Real-time Evaluation of UNHCR's Response to the Emergency in Chad', pp. 3 and 7.

28. A. Jamal, 'The Sudan/Eritrea Emergency, May-July 2000: An Evaluation of UNHCR's Response', Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit, UNHCR, February 2001, p. 6.

29. J. Borton, M. Buchanan-Smith and R. Otto, 'Support to Internally Displaced Persons: Learning from Previous Experience', Swedish International Development Agency, 1 May 2005, p. 16.

30. G. Loescher, The UNHCR and World Politics, p. 15; J. Borton et al., 'Support to Internally Displaced Persons: Learning from Previous Experience', pp. 12-3.

31. United Nations, Strengthening of the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance of the United Nations, p.4.

32. E. Schenkenberg van Mierop, 'Improving the Quality of Humanitarian Response', in Response Strategies of the Internally Displaced: Changing the Humanitarian Lens, Seminar Proceedings, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oslo, 9 November 2001, p. 27; H. Slim, Not Philanthropy but Rights: Rights-Based Humanitarianism and the Proper Politicisation of Humanitarian Philosophy in War, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, 2001, p. 3.

33. V. Guarnieri, 'Food Aid and Livelihoods: Challenges and Opportunities in Complex Emergencies', Forced Migration Review, Issue 20, May 2004, pp. 15-18.

34. J. Ward, 'If Not Now, When? Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Refugee, Internally Displaced and Post-Conflict Settings: A Global Overview', Reproductive Health for Refugees Consortium, New York, 2002, p. 15.

35. World Food Program, 'Reaching People in Situations of Displacement: Framework for Action', Executive Board Annual Session 2001, Agenda Item 4 (WFP/EB.A/2001/4-C), Rome, p. 6.

36. C. Linnér, 'Introduction', Refugee Survey Quarterly, vol. 23 no. 2, 2004, pp. 1-6. This edition is entirely focused on refugee children.

37. S. Collinson, 'Lessons Learned from Specific Emergency Situations: A Synthesis,' in Developing DFID's Policy Approach to Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, Volume II, February 2005, p. 22.