Report from the Commission - Annual Report 2004 - (ECHO) {SEC(2005) 1481}
Date: 2005-11-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: ECHO, activity report

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 23.11.2005 
COM(2005) 580 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Annual Report 2004 - (ECHO) 

{SEC(2005) 1481} 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

4.3. 

4.4. 

4.5. 

4.6. 

5. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

General policy aspects.................................................................................................. 3 

Overview of DG ECHO’s humanitarian operations .................................................... 4 

Main horizontal issues ................................................................................................. 7 

Contractual relations with partners – FPA ................................................................... 7 

Relations with major humanitarian partners, non–EU donors and other Community 
institutions .................................................................................................................... 7 

Strategic planning and cross-cutting issues.................................................................. 7 

Thematic funding ......................................................................................................... 8 

Training and studies, communication and information................................................ 8 

Budgetary and human resources, audit and evaluation................................................ 9 

Outlook......................................................................................................................... 9 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  European  Commission  Directorate-General  for  Humanitarian  Aid  -DG  ECHO-  is 
responsible for managing funds provided by the European Union for humanitarian assistance 
to  victims  of  conflicts  or  disasters,  both  natural  and  man-made,  in  countries  outside  the 
Union. Its mandate is to save and preserve life, reduce or prevent suffering and safeguard the 
integrity  and  dignity  of  populations  of  non-EU  countries  hit  by  humanitarian  crises. 
DG ECHO is committed to providing this assistance solely on the basis of needs and not to be 
swayed by political considerations. 

2004 will probably be remembered as the year of the terrible tsunami on 26 December which 
killed up to 280 000 people in a very short period of time on the shores of the Indian Ocean. 
However,  thousands  more  died  in  other  crises  in  other  parts  of  the  world  in  2004,  often 
without the public being aware of their plight. These are what the European Commission calls 
"forgotten crises", crises which are not, or are no longer, in the media spotlight. One of the 
objectives of DG ECHO is to be present in situations like this as well to alleviate the suffering 
of the victims of such, sometimes protracted, crises. 

In  parallel  to  focusing  on  evolving  global  humanitarian  needs,  DG  ECHO  continued  to  pay 
special attention to cross-cutting issues such as the link between emergency and development 
aid,  disaster  preparedness,  HIV/AIDS  and  children.  This  report  sums  up  DG  ECHO's  main 
activities in 2004. The annex provides more detailed information on the activities, including a 
country-by-country overview of humanitarian operations supported by DG ECHO. 

2. 

GENERAL POLICY ASPECTS  

DG ECHO's response to humanitarian emergencies evolved in line with the changes in global 
humanitarian  needs  in  2004,  as  reflected  in  the  regional  distribution  of  the  DG’s  funding 
patterns,  with  a  particular  focus  on  the  “forgotten  crises”.  To  make  sure  that  DG  ECHO's 
operations  are  driven  by  needs,  DG  ECHO’s  work  programme  is  based  on  a  global  needs 
assessment  (GNA)  methodology.  This  provides  a  cross-country  assessment  comparing  the 
situation across some 130 developing countries on the basis of nine humanitarian indicators 
(human  development,  human  poverty,  natural  disaster  risk,  conflicts,  refugees,  internally 
displaced  persons  (IDPs),  malnutrition,  mortality  and  other  donors’  contributions).  In  the 
GNA classification, the top 25% of countries on the list are ranked as those with the greatest 
needs, the 50% in the middle are rated as medium-need countries and the remaining 25% are 
low-need  countries.  GNA  consequently  allows  DG  ECHO  to  verify,  from  a  global  point  of 
view,  how  successfully  it  is  implementing  its  needs-based  strategy.  Applying  this 
methodology  to  the  2004  results  (as  on  31  December  2004),  62%  (or  €353  million)  of  the 
€570 million committed from chapter 23 02 of the budget and the EDF were allocated to areas 
with the greatest needs, 30% (or €172 million) to areas with medium needs and less than 1.0% 
(or €4 million) to low-need areas ("pockets of need"). The rest (€41 million or 7%) was spent 
on thematic funding, technical assistance and support expenditure. 

Geographically, operations funded by DG ECHO in North Korea, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, the 
Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Middle East plus disaster preparedness activities 
in the Caribbean were evaluated. The overall assessment of the evaluators was that the action 
financed by DG ECHO in these countries and regions met key humanitarian objectives. 

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DG  ECHO’s  aid  strategy  continued  to  focus  on  forgotten  crises.  This  means  humanitarian 
crises attracting little or no interest from political/public opinion and where few other donors 
are  present  or  other  donors  are  reluctant  to  get  involved  because  of  the  high  risks  entailed. 
DG ECHO’s  analysis  and  methodology  for  identifying  forgotten  crises  is  based  on  both 
quantitative  data  (lack  of  media  coverage  or  low  donor  support  combined  with  high  needs) 
and qualitative factors (field assessment by DG ECHO experts and desk officers). In 2004 the 
most  forgotten  crises  and  needs  were  identified  as  being  in:  Algeria  (Western  Sahara), 
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Haiti, India, Myanmar/Burma, Nepal, Northern 
Caucasus (Chechnya), Thailand (Burmese refugees), Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Yemen. In 
the  course  of  the  year  support  totalling  €239  million  was  allocated  to  these  most  forgotten 
crises, i.e. 42% of the €570 million committed from chapter 23 02 of the budget and the EDF.  

DG ECHO, together with humanitarian agencies and organisations, places the highest value 
on the ability to gain safe, unimpeded and sustained access to the humanitarian space. The DG 
remained vigilant and active throughout 2004 to make sure that the humanitarian principles of 
impartiality,  neutrality  and  independence  remain  high  on  the  agenda  both  within  the  EU 
institutions and in international fora. Thanks largely to this approach, a specific provision has 
been inserted in the draft Constitutional Treaty to safeguard humanitarian principles.  

3. 

OVERVIEW OF DG ECHO’S HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS 

Despite positive trends in some areas, the overall humanitarian situation left little ground for 
optimism  as  the  challenges  continued  to  mount.  The  number  of  refugees  decreased  from 
10.6 million in 2002 to 9.67 million at the end of 20031. However, as experience shows, when 
refugees become returnees they still need humanitarian assistance, at least in the initial phase 
following their return. The number of internally displaced persons is estimated at 25 million2. 
They are rightly called “the world’s largest group of vulnerable people”3.  

The  International  Federation  of  the  Red  Cross  and  Crescent  Societies’  (IFRC)  “World 
Disasters Report 2004” shows that the number of disaster-related deaths dropped but that the 
number  of  affected  climbed.  However,  the  humanitarian  crisis  unleashed  in  Asia  by  the 
earthquake  and  ensuing  tsunami  on  26  December  tragically  illustrated  the  increasing 
vulnerability of populations to natural disaster.  

DG  ECHO's  response  to  humanitarian  crises  in  2004  was  channelled  through  102  funding 
decisions  totalling  €570.4  million:  €518.2  million  was  financed  from  the  Commission's 
budget and €52.2 million was drawn from the EDF. The implementation of the commitment 
appropriations was 100%. ACP countries were the biggest recipients of aid (€301.6 million), 
followed  by  Asia  (€111.1  million).  The  table  below  gives  an  overview  of  the  geographical 
distribution of the humanitarian aid decisions adopted in 2004 (amounts in thousand euros): 

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UNHCR: Refugees by Numbers (2004 edition) http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/basics/  
Global IDP Project: Internal Displacement - A Global Overview of Trends and Developments in 2003 
found at http://www.idpproject.org/press/2004/Global_Overview.pdf  
UNHCR: 
Questions 
Displaced 
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/basics/  

Internally 

Answers 

Persons, 

(2004)  

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Unit/Region 

Amount 

% 

DG ECHO -1: Africa, Caribbean, Pacific 

301 555 

53% 

Horn of Africa 

Great Lakes 

West Africa 

Caribbean, Pacific, Indian Ocean 

Southern Africa 

139 618 

76 360 

37 300 

19 477 

28 800 

DG ECHO -2: Eastern Europe, Russian Federation, 
(including 
Southern  Caucasus,  Central  Asia 
Mongolia), Middle East, Mediterranean 

Russian  Federation,  Southern  Caucasus  and  Central 
Asia (including Mongolia)  

Mediterranean and Middle East 

90 705 

16% 

41 850 

48 855 

DG  ECHO  -3:  Asia,  Iraq,  Central  and  South 
America 

123 322 

22% 

Asia 

Iraq 

Central and South America 

Dipecho - Disaster preparedness 

Thematic funding 

Technical assistance (experts and imprest accounts) 

Support  expenditure  (audits,  evaluation,  information 
and communication, etc.) 

111 122 

- 

12 200 

13 700 

19 430 

15 300 

6 400 

2% 

3% 

3% 

1% 

TOTAL 2004 

570 412 

100% 

Main DG ECHO operations in 2004 

In  Africa  the  most  extensive  operations  took  place  in  Sudan/Darfur.  The  civil  war  which 
began  in  2003  escalated  drastically  in  2004,  prompting  the  UN  to  call  it  the  “largest 
humanitarian  crisis  in  the  world”  with  over  one  million  uprooted  and  two  thirds  of  the 
population  badly  hit  by  the  conflict.  In  addition  to  the  €20  million  initially  budgeted  for 
Sudan, a series of quick decisions were taken granting a total of €83 million to help victims of 
the  escalating  conflict  in  Greater  Darfur,  as  well  as  the  refugees  in  Chad.  DG  ECHO  also 

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participated in international advocacy efforts, for example by co-chairing a donor alert group 
in Geneva in June. 

The  overall  humanitarian  situation  in  the  Central  Africa  and  Great  Lakes  region  (Burundi, 
Democratic  Republic  of  the  Congo,  Congo  Brazzaville,  Central  African  Republic  and 
Tanzania) remained precarious in 2004. Progress in the various peace processes in the region 
remained  tentative,  punctuated  by  skirmishes  in  Burundi  and  continuing  strife  in  eastern 
DRC. Millions benefited from projects funded by DG ECHO.  

Parts  of  the  West  African  sub-region  also  suffered  the  consequences  of  continuing  armed 
conflicts and natural disasters in 2004. DG ECHO continued to fund emergency projects, in 
particular in response to outbreaks of communicable diseases in West Africa, where around 
200 million people are at risk.  

In Northern Caucasus, the protracted and forgotten humanitarian crisis in Chechnya remained 
one of the operational priorities of DG ECHO  in  2004,  with  funding  totalling  €28.5 million 
allocated to the victims of this conflict. DG ECHO provided substantial funding to help meet 
the  needs  of  more  than  450 000  people  stricken  by  the  crisis,  both  inside  Chechnya  and  in 
neighbouring Ingushetia and Dagestan.  

Conditions  in  the  occupied  Palestinian  territories  deteriorated  further  in  2004  as  the  peace 
process remained deadlocked. 70% of the estimated 3.8 million population was food insecure 
or  in  danger  of  becoming  so,  while  close  to  two  million  remained  in  poverty.  In  2004 
DG ECHO made €37.35 million available for humanitarian operations benefiting Palestinians 
in the occupied Palestinian territories as well as Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and 
Syria and refugees from Iraq housed in camps in Jordan and in no-man’s land between Jordan 
and Iraq. 

In Afghanistan since the end of major military action in 2002 more than three million refugees 
and internally  displaced people  (IDPs) have returned to their home  areas from Pakistan  and 
Iran.  However,  the  country  still  faces  enormous  needs.  In  2004  DG  ECHO  provided 
€35 million  of  humanitarian  aid  in  Afghanistan  under  a  global  plan  designed  to  cover  the 
whole year. DG ECHO continued to assist the most vulnerable groups, notably by supporting 
the return and reintegration of refugees and IDPs. 

Finally, the tsunami which hit the coastal regions around the Indian Ocean on 26 December 
killed up to 280 000 people, making it one of the worst disasters ever recorded. Millions lost 
their  homes  and  livelihoods.  DG  ECHO  was  the  first  donor  to  respond,  providing  funds  to 
agencies  working  at  the  scene.  On  26  December  2004  €3  million  were  allocated  to  the 
International Federation of the Red Cross. On 30 and 31 December two further decisions were 
taken, each granting €10 million for Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia. In January 2005 
the European Commission requested up to €100 million from the budget authority (Parliament 
and Council) for new relief efforts in the stricken zone and on 9 February 2005 a decision was 
adopted to provide €80 million for aid and assistance, including short-term rehabilitation, for 
the population in the affected area. Detailed information on operations in every country can be 
found in the annex to this report. 

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4. 

MAIN HORIZONTAL ISSUES 

4.1. 

Contractual relations with partners – FPA 

The decision on administrative support expenditure for 2004, including the grant facility for 
2004 (budget line for small - non-renewable - grants for training, studies and networks in the 
humanitarian  field),  was  adopted  by  the  Commission  on  30  April  2004.  Three  grants  were 
awarded in October 2004 for a total of approximately €300 000.  

The  first  phase  of  the  preparatory  work  for  a  contractual  instrument  covering  specialised 
agencies of the Member States was completed. It included the identification of a number of 
entities which could benefit from these new procedures and of the type of action that could be 
envisaged.  

4.2. 

Relations  with  major  humanitarian  partners,  non–EU  donors  and  other 
Community institutions 

On the international front, DG ECHO participated in a number of meetings to discuss in depth 
with  other  major  donors  issues  like  the  erosion  of  the  humanitarian  space,  humanitarian 
principles - in particular the risk that UN integrated missions might not respect them - or the 
problem of access to certain countries for humanitarian workers. 

Four annual Strategic Programming Dialogue (SPD) meetings were held with major partners 
(OCHA, UNICEF, WHO and WFP) before the end of 2004.  

At the Community institution level, DG ECHO remained vigilant and active throughout 2004 
to  make  sure  that  humanitarian  principles  remain  high  on  the  agenda  both  within  the  EU 
institutions and in international fora. 

DG ECHO also attended numerous meetings at various levels in the Council and with other 
Commission  departments  such  as  DG  Environment  (for  civil  protection  matters)  and 
DG External Relations (on crisis management) to insist on humanitarian principles being an 
integral part of their work.  

Eleven  meetings  of  the  Humanitarian  Aid  Committee  (HAC)  with  representatives  from  the 
Member States were held in 2004. In addition, the Irish and Dutch presidencies convened two 
informal HAC meetings, one to discuss humanitarian principles, the other on the civil/military 
relationship. 

4.3. 

Strategic planning and cross-cutting issues  

In  2004  DG  ECHO  established  its  strategy  for  2005  which  is  based  on  needs  assessment 
worldwide and on the analysis of forgotten crises. 

-  Linking  Relief,  Rehabilitation  and  Development  (LRRD):  DG  ECHO  continued  its  work 
within  the  inter-service  group  on  this  issue.  Good  progress  was  made  in  many  of  the  15 
countries  and  regions  selected  as  pilot  cases  in  2003.  Implementation  of  linkage  strategies 
remained a constant priority in the field, with notable progress achieved in countries such as 
Angola, Tajikistan and Cambodia. Details can be found in the annex to this report. 

- Children: DG ECHO raised the profile of this cross-cutting priority. In 2004 some 66 of the 
102  funding  decisions  and  79  contracts  focused  on  or  included  child-related  activities  (e.g. 

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therapeutic  feeding,  vaccination,  re-integration  of  child  soldiers)  which  received  a  total  of 
€46 million (€26 million in 2003). 

In 2004 DG ECHO also prepared draft internal policy guidelines regarding children affected 
by  humanitarian  crises  and  a  reporting  mechanism  to  gauge  more  precisely  the  scope  and 
impact of DG ECHO’s activities in their support. 

- DPP: DG ECHO adopted a total of 16 funding decisions which included support for disaster 
preparedness  activities.  It  provided  support  totalling  €360 000  for  the  World  Conference  on 
Disaster  Reduction  at  Kobe,  a  major  milestone  for  global  advocacy  on  disaster  reduction. 
DG ECHO  also  made  significant  efforts  in  2004  to  reinforce  international  initiatives  to 
improve  disaster  reduction,  notably  through  the  development  of  a  Global  Disaster  Alert 
System with UN OCHA and the EC Joint Research Centre (€420 000). 

- Water: Water was added as a priority to the DG’s work programme in 2004. Accordingly, 
DG  ECHO  launched  a  restricted  call  for  tenders  to  review  water  and  sanitation  issues  in 
humanitarian aid. The work is scheduled for 2005.  

Going beyond the original scope of this objective, DG ECHO also completed a review of its 
approach to HIV/AIDS. 

4.4. 

Thematic funding 

Thematic  funding  is  a  new  way  of  working  with  international  organisations  and  re-affirms 
DG ECHO’s commitment to working closely with UN agencies and the Red Cross family to 
improve the delivery of humanitarian aid.  

In  2004  DG  ECHO  concluded  thematic  contracts  with  OCHA  (€4  million),  to  improve 
OCHA’s information management, with the WHO (€3.5 million), to support its Health Action 
in  Crises,  and  with  the  WFP  (€4.5  million),  to  reinforce  its  capacity  adequately  to  assess 
humanitarian  needs  in  the  food  sector.  In  addition,  DG  ECHO  supported  UNICEF’s  child 
protection  activities  (€2  million)  and  the  enhancement  of  UNICEF’s  emergency  response 
capacities  (€5.4  million)  through  a  series  of  measures,  such  as  pre-positioning  of  essential 
medicines and relief items.  

4.5. 

Training and studies, communication and information 

A total of 42 training sessions were held on the new legal framework governing DG ECHO’s 
relations  with  its  partners.  They  added  up  to  a  total  of  77  days  and  were  attended  by  904 
people. 

DG ECHO continued actively to support the Network on Humanitarian Assistance (NOHA), 
which  offers  a  one-year  multi-disciplinary  post-graduate  diploma  with  seven  universities 
participating.  

During  2004  DG  ECHO  implemented  a  range  of  activities  communicating  the  values, 
principles  and  practical  achievements  of  EU  humanitarian  aid  through  a  wide  variety  of 
publications and high visibility poster displays, and broadcast audiovisual products featuring 
DG ECHO’s work. One of the main information events for the year was a successful “Youth 
Solidarity Day” staged for 540 young people at the European Parliament. 

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4.6. 

Budgetary and human resources, audit and evaluation 

DG ECHO has formal systems for regularly monitoring financial information and providing 
adequate management information. Specific financial indicators have been incorporated into 
an  overall  scoreboard.  Humanitarian  activities  are  subject  to  financial  audits,  both  at 
headquarters  and  in  the  field.  Over  the  year  2004  a  total  of  145  audits  were  finalised  or  in 
progress  at  the  headquarters  of  the  humanitarian  organisations  and  32  operational  (field) 
audits were carried out. 

In  2004  human  resources  at  headquarters  numbered  about  172  staff,  of  whom  146  were 
officials and 26 external staff. DG ECHO took a number of measures aimed at implementing 
human resources policies in line with the Commission reform. 

DG  ECHO’s  administrative  budget  totalled  €2.2  million  in  2004.  This  was  used  to  recruit 
external  staff,  to  cover  administrative  expenditure  on  missions,  training,  conferences  and 
meetings and to pay for experts and studies.  

DG  ECHO  conducts  approximately  ten  evaluations  of  its  operations  each  year.  In  2004 
evaluations were launched for North Korea, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic 
of  the  Congo,  the  Middle  East  and  disaster  preparedness  in  the  Caribbean.  Thematic 
evaluations were initiated for issues relating to IDPs, security, water and sanitation. A concept 
paper on HIV/AIDS was also commissioned. Furthermore, DG ECHO undertook evaluations 
of the IFRC and the NGO "Action Contre la Faim". 

As  part  of  the  ‘Good  Humanitarian  Donorship’  (GHD)  initiative,  DG  ECHO  reviewed 
security issues for humanitarian organisations. This review produced a generic security guide, 
a  security  training  directory  and  a  security  report.  These  are  designed  to  help  humanitarian 
organisations to meet their responsibilities for the security needs of both expatriate and local 
personnel. Details of all horizontal activities can be found in the annex to this report. 

5. 

OUTLOOK 

In 2004 remained committed to a policy of strictly adhering to the fundamental principles and 
values  of  humanitarian  assistance,  namely  neutrality,  impartiality  and  independence.  Today, 
strict  adherence to these  principles  is  more important than ever because of worrying trends, 
both in the institutional context, where certain political forces tend to regard humanitarian aid 
as  an  instrument  of  foreign  policy  or  crisis  management,  and  in  the  increasingly  dangerous 
reality  in  the  field  where  humanitarian  organisations  themselves  become  targets  of  warring 
factions. 

For DG ECHO, the best way to preserve the “humanitarian space” is to maintain a high level 
of commitment to the Good Donorship Principles agreed in Stockholm on 16-17 June 2003 
and confirmed in October 2004 in Ottawa (i.e. to provide assistance on the basis of needs), to 
remain committed to high quality assistance and to maintain a transparent dialogue with other 
key  players,  bilaterally  and  in  multilateral  humanitarian  fora.  The  experience  from  recent 
crises  in  Afghanistan,  the  Middle  East,  Iraq,  Darfur  and  elsewhere  demonstrates  that  the 
abovementioned  principles  are  key  requirements  for  the  effective  delivery  of  aid,  for 
maintaining access to the populations in need, and for safeguarding the lives and security of 
humanitarian workers. 

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