Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid - (ECHO) Annual Report 2005 {SEC(2006) 1058}
Date: 2006-08-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: ECHO, activity report

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 04.08.2006 
COM(2006) 441 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid - (ECHO) 
 Annual Report 2005 

{SEC(2006) 1058} 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

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

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

Overview of DG ECHO’s humanitarian operations .................................................... 5 

Allocation of funds....................................................................................................... 5 

Main interventions in 2005, by region ......................................................................... 7 

3.2.1.  Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP countries) ........................................................... 7 

3.2.2.  Russian Federation ....................................................................................................... 7 

3.2.3.  Mediterranean and Middle-East................................................................................... 7 

3.2.4.  Asia .............................................................................................................................. 8 

3.2.5.  Latin America .............................................................................................................. 8 

3.3. 

3.4. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

4.3. 

5. 

5.1. 

5.2. 

5.3. 

5.4. 

Disaster preparedness activities (DIPECHO) .............................................................. 8 

Main partners in the humanitarian operations.............................................................. 9 

Relations with other EU institutions, Member States, major humanitarian partners 
and non–EU donors...................................................................................................... 9 

EU Institutions and Member States ............................................................................. 9 

Relations with international organisations and non-EU major donors ...................... 10 

Thematic funding ....................................................................................................... 11 

Other activities ........................................................................................................... 12 

Experts in the field ..................................................................................................... 12 

Security issues............................................................................................................ 12 

Communication and information ............................................................................... 13 

Audit and evaluations................................................................................................. 13 

5.4.1.  Reviews aimed at capacity building........................................................................... 13 

5.4.2.  Evaluation of a partnership ........................................................................................ 14 

5.4.3.  Evaluation of operations ............................................................................................ 14 

5.5. 

Training and studies ................................................................................................... 14 

6. 

Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 14 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  European  Commission's  Directorate-General  for  Humanitarian  Aid  (DG  ECHO)  is 
responsible  for  providing  humanitarian  assistance  to  victims  of  conflicts  or  disasters,  both 
natural and man-made,  in  countries  outside the European 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  crises1.  DG ECHO  is  committed  to 
providing  this  assistance  solely  on  the  basis  of  needs  and  is  not  to  be  swayed  by  political 
considerations. 

In  humanitarian  terms,  2005  proved  particularly  heavy  with  a  succession  of  major  natural 
disasters which came in addition to the existing humanitarian crises some of which e.g. Darfur 
characterised  by  a  worsening  of  the  humanitarian  situation.  It  started  with  the  immediate 
aftermath of the tsunami of December 2004, one of the most important disasters for a century, 
which affected 12 countries on the shore of the Indian Ocean, followed by the drought in Sub-
Saharan Africa, a violent season of hurricanes in Central America and, finally, the earthquake 
in Pakistan of October 2005. 

However,  thousands  more  died  in  other  crises  all  over  the  world,  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  –  covered  by  the  media  and  whose  victims  receive 
little assistance. One of DG ECHO’s objectives is to alleviate the suffering of the victims of 
these crises, which are most of the time protracted crises.  

Generally,  natural  and  man-made  disasters  have  affected  increasing  numbers  of  people 
throughout the world. The number and intensity of natural disasters has increased, as well as 
their  number  of  victims  and,  according  to  forecasts,  this  trend  will  continue.  In  parallel, 
conflicts tend to last longer and are increasingly destructive even if the number of refugees' 
flows is decreasing. 

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 (LRRD2), disaster preparedness, HIV/AIDS, water and children.  

This report sums up DG ECHO's main activities in 2005. The annex provides more detailed 
information,  including  a  country-by-country  overview  of  humanitarian  operations  supported 
by DG ECHO. 

2. 

GENERAL POLICY ASPECTS  

Beyond  the  humanitarian  operations,  the  experience  of  recent  crises  such  as  the  tsunami 
(December  2004)  and  the  earthquake  in  Pakistan  (October  2005)  stimulated  a  reflection  at 
international level on improving the response capacity of the humanitarian system as a whole. 
The international response has demonstrated that the present system does not always ensure 
that the basic needs of affected populations are met in a timely way. It has also confirmed the 

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Council Regulation N° 1257 of 20 June 1996 
Linking relief, rehabilitation and development 

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emergence of new actors on the humanitarian scene, such as Member States' civil protection 
units  or  the  military  whose  logistical  capabilities  proved  essential  during  emergency  relief 
operations.  

As  a  result  of  this  process,  a  series  of  humanitarian  reforms  of  the  UN  system  aimed  at 
improving the predictability, timeliness, and effectiveness of the humanitarian response have 
been endorsed by the UN system including by the UN General Assembly, ECOSOC3 and the 
Inter-Agency Standing Committee on Humanitarian Affairs. The reform programme includes 
components  such  as  strengthening  humanitarian  response  capacity,  strengthening  the 
Humanitarian Coordinator System and ensuring predictable funding. 

DG ECHO remained vigilant and active throughout 2005 to make sure that the humanitarian 
principles  of  impartiality,  neutrality  and  independence  remained  high  on  the  agenda  both 
within the EU institutions and in international fora. This was reflected in EU endorsed post-
Tsunami action plan on the strengthening of EU disaster response capacity which maintains 
that EU relief operations must respect humanitarian principles. 

DG ECHO continued also in 2005 to follow the Good Humanitarian Donorship Initiative and 
attended several technical meetings of the Implementation Group in Geneva and London. In 
2005,  work  on  the  GHD  focused  on  benchmarks/indicators,  peer  reviews  and  OECD/DAC 
and harmonisation of reporting requirements. In July 2005, DG ECHO attended a high level 
meeting in New York hosted by the Government of Canada to take stock of progress made on 
the Stockholm Implementation Plan. In the margins of the 2005 Humanitarian Segment of the 
UN  ECOSOC,  DG  ECHO  also  participated  in  a  Panel  Discussion  on  “Good  Humanitarian 
Donorship – Assessing Progress Two Years On”. 

Finally,  DG  ECHO  is  also  dealing  with  sectoral  and  transversal  priorities  and  encourages  – 
whenever  possible  and  relevant  –  a  transition  process  towards  development  activities 
(LRRD),  condition  for  a  successful  exit  strategy.  In  this  context,  DG  ECHO  phased  out  its 
operations  in  Angola  and  handed  over  to  development  actors  in  Tajikistan  and  Cambodia, 
with the intention  of  fully  withdrawing  in 2006. In the Democratic  Republic of Congo, DG 
ECHO was able to hand over its activities in some areas to DG DEV and to the World Bank, 
allowing it to focus on the most vulnerable and troubled areas in the east of the country.  

Regarding  children,  work  continued  in  2005  on  policy  guidelines  on  children  affected  by 
humanitarian crises. These guidelines will be finalised in 2006. In 2005, 42 contracts focused 
on  child-related  activities  (e.g.  therapeutic  feeding,  vaccination,  reintegration  of  child 
soldiers) for a total amount of EUR 30 million. In addition, numerous other contracts have a 
multi-beneficiary dimension but contain a part specifically targeted to children. 

At  the  end  of  2005,  a  review  and  guidelines  on  water  and  sanitation  in  emergencies  were 
published  on  DG  ECHO's  website.  They  have  been  presented  to  its  main  partners  and  have 
been well received.  

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UN Economic and Social Council 

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3. 

OVERVIEW OF DG ECHO’S HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS 

3.1. 

Allocation of funds 

DG ECHO's response to humanitarian emergencies evolved in line with the changes in global 
humanitarian  needs  in  2005,  as  reflected  in  the  regional  distribution  of  the  DG’s  funding 
patterns,  with  a  particular  focus  on  the  “forgotten  crises”.  To  ensure  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  general  cross-country  assessment 
comparing the situation across more than 130 developing countries, on the basis of indicators 
(human  development,  human  poverty,  natural  disaster  risk,  conflicts,  refugees,  internally 
displaced  persons  (IDPs),  under-five  malnutrition  and  mortality  and  other  donors’ 
contributions). 

results 

The 
on 
assessment 
http://ec.europa.eu/comm/echo/information/strategy/index_fr.htm.  

found 

this 

can 

be 

of 

the  Europa  website 

DG  ECHO's  response  to  humanitarian  crises  in  2005  was  channelled  through  91  funding 
decisions  amounting  to  EUR  652.5  million:  EUR  629.33  million  was  financed  from  the 
Commission's budget and EUR 23.2 million was drawn from the EDF. The implementation of 
the commitment appropriations was 100%. ACP countries were the biggest recipients of aid 
(EUR  244.2  million),  followed  closely  by  Asia  (EUR  239.25  million  –  tsunami  operations 
included).  The  table  below  gives  an  overview  of  the  geographical  distribution  of  the 
humanitarian aid decisions adopted in 2005 (amounts in million euros): 

Unit/Region 

Amount in  

million EUR 

ECHO -1: Africa, Caribbean, Pacific 

244,217 

37% 

Horn of Africa 4 

Great Lakes  

West Africa 

Caribbean, Pacific, Indian Ocean 

Southern Africa 

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

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

Mediterranean countries 

Middle East 

85,120 

71, 000 

52,550 

8,297 

27,250 

13% 

11% 

8% 

1% 

4% 

84,087 

13% 

35,200 

9,311 

39,576 

6% 

1% 

6% 

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ECHO-Flight operations included 

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ECHO -3: Asia, Central and South America 

256,945 

40% 

Asia (including tsunami EUR 122,83) 

Central and South America 

Dipecho - Disaster preparedness 5 

Thematic funding 

Technical assistance (experts and imprest accounts) 

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

239,245 

17,700 

17,500 

20,500 

22,750 

6,500 

37% 

3% 

3% 

3% 

3% 

1% 

TOTAL 2005 

652,499 

100% 

Following  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% as low-need countries. This classification allows DG ECHO to verify, from a 
global point of view, how successfully its needs-based strategy is implemented.  

Applying  this  methodology  to  the  2005  results  (at  31  December  2005),  48%  (or 
EUR 312 million)  of  the  EUR  652.5  million6  committed  from  Chapter  23  02  of  the  budget 
and the EDF were allocated to areas with the greatest needs, 21% (or EUR 136.8 million) to 
areas  with  medium  needs  and  1.0%  (or  EUR  6.9 million)  to  low-need  areas  ("pockets  of 
need").  The  rest  (EUR  196.6  million  or  30%)  was  spent  on  tsunami  response  activities 
(EUR 122.83  million),  disaster  preparedness  activities  (“DIPECHO”  programme),  thematic 
funding, technical assistance and support expenditure. 

DG  ECHO’s  aid  strategy  continued  to  focus  on  forgotten  crises.  This  relates  to  situations 
where major humanitarian needs receive little attention on the part of donors - reflected by the 
level of aid received - and the media. 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).  The  forgotten  crises  identified  in  2005  were:  Algeria  (Western 
Sahara),  Indonesia,  Myanmar/Thailand,  Nepal,  Northern  Caucasus  (Chechnya),  Tajikistan, 
Somalia and Uganda. In the course of the year support amounting to EUR 89.1 million was 
allocated to these crises, which represents 13.6% of the EUR 652.5 million total committed 
from  Chapter  23  02  of  the  budget  and  the  EDF  and  20%  of  the  amounts  committed  for 
geographical decisions (EUR 462.4 million), tsunami excluded.  

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See Dipecho distribution by region in annex under point II.4 
Without  the  tsunami  response  activities,  the  total  of  commitments  becomes  EUR  529.7  million,  of 
which  59%  to  areas  with  the  greatest  needs,  21%  to  areas  with  medium  needs  and  1%  to  low-needs 
areas.  The  rest  becomes  EUR  73.8  million  or  14%  and  was  spent  on  disaster  preparedness  activities 
(“DIPECHO” programme), thematic funding, technical assistance and support expenditure. 

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3.2.  Main interventions in 2005, by region 

Details of these interventions are available in annex – part I. 

3.2.1.  Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP countries) 

In 2005, DG ECHO allocated EUR 244 million to ACP countries. The most important actions 
took place in:  

–  Sudan: the peace process initiated in January 2005 after 20 years of conflict between the 
North  and  the  South  was  not  extended  to  Darfur,  where  the  situation  became  even  more 
chaotic  and  volatile.  Darfur  is  the  biggest  open  conflict  on  the  African  continent.  The 
number of people affected by the conflict and in need of assistance continued to increase, 
reaching half the population of Darfur region. The initial allocation of EUR 20 million was 
rapidly  absorbed  and  several  budgetary  reinforcements  were  requested  during  the  year, 
reaching  a  total  amount  of  EUR  45  million,  to  which  EUR  12  million  allocated  to 
Sudanese refugees in Chad must be added. 

–  Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with a total aid of EUR 38 million. The East of the 
country  (Ituri,  Kivu  and  Katanga)  continued  to  suffer  from  insecurity  despite  a  relative 
improvement  due  to  a  more  aggressive  deployment  of  United  Nations  forces.  In  2005 
displaced, resettling and host families received an integrated package of community-based 
assistance designed to respond to immediate needs while paving the way for a rapid return 
to productive activity and thus contributing to the stabilisation of conflict-affected areas.  

–  Coastal  West  Africa  (Guinea,  Liberia  and  Côte  d'Ivoire):  the  budget  allocated  in  2005 
(EUR 29.2  million)  was  dedicated  to  the  large  population  of  refugees  and  internally 
displaced persons (IDPs) who were assisted in their return to normality.  

–  Niger  and  Mali:  DG  ECHO  quickly  allocated  EUR  8.3  million  to  respond  to  the  sudden 
nutritional  crises  in  2005  in  Niger  and  Mali.  Priority  was  given  to  the  operation  of 
emergency  feeding  centres  and  improved  access  to  primary  health  care  for  the  most 
vulnerable population. 

3.2.2.  Russian Federation 

As for the Northern Caucasus, no durable peace settlement was in sight and the consequences 
of the unresolved conflict in Chechnya were felt in the whole region, where violence spread 
over  the  year.  The  basic  needs  of  the  population,  after  more  than  five  years  of  conflict, 
continued  to  be  largely  neglected  by  the  international  community.  This  forgotten 
humanitarian  crisis  remained  one  of  DG  ECHO’s  operational  priorities,  with  funding 
amounting to EUR 26.3 million. 

3.2.3.  Mediterranean and Middle-East 

Significant financial assistance continued to be provided to support the Palestinian population 
in  the  Occupied  Palestinian  Territories,  Syria,  Jordan  and  Lebanon  (EUR  36.6  million)  in 
view  of  their  dire  humanitarian  situation  and  the  absence  of  a  political  settlement  of  the 
conflict,  as  well  as  to  Sahrawi  refugees  in  Algeria  who  remain  entirely  dependent  on 
humanitarian aid (EUR 9.3 million).  

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3.2.4.  Asia 

Since  the  tsunami  occurred  in  the  last  days  of  2004,  with  emergency  decisions  taken  in  the 
following  days,  almost  all  of  the  activities  took  place  in  2005.  The  bulk  of  operations  took 
place in Indonesia and Sri Lanka with smaller operations in India, the Maldives and Thailand. 
Commission procedures enabled a rapid response to the tsunami, granting EUR 3 million the 
same  day  as  the  disaster,  followed  by  a  further  EUR  20  million  within  five  days.  An 
additional  EUR  80  million  was  granted  in  February  2005,  followed  by  EUR  20  million  in 
December  2005,  making  a  total  of  EUR  123  million.  The  high  level  of  funding  proved 
appropriate particularly due to the longer than expected transition from the relief phase to the 
reconstruction phase7. 

In October 2005, a devastating earthquake struck Pakistan and India, killing 75,000 people8. 
A  primary  emergency  aid  of  EUR  3  million  was  allocated  two  days  after  the  disaster  and 
additional  funds  (EUR  10  million)  were  mobilised  4  days  later,  in  particular  from  the 
European Commission’s emergency reserve. DG ECHO was able to allocate a total of EUR 
48 million before the end of the year.  

DG  ECHO  mobilised  EUR  20  million  for  victims  of  the  Afghan  crisis,  covering  the 
registration  and  transport  of  refugees  from  Pakistan  and  Iran  to  Afghanistan;  shelter,  water 
and  sanitation  for  the  most  needy  within  Afghanistan;  as  well  as  continuing  support  for  the 
most vulnerable of the remaining refugees.  

In  North  Korea,  DG  ECHO  continued  in  2005  to  be  significantly  involved,  with  financial 
support  of  EUR  13.7  million  for  health,  water  and  sanitation  and  to  provide  vital  medical 
supplies.  

3.2.5.  Latin America 

The  main  intervention  took  place  in  Colombia  where  EUR  12  million  were  allocated  to 
support  people  affected  by  violence.  In  the  first  eight  months  of  2005,  over  39,000  people 
received  food  and  non-food  items  during  the  first  three  months  after  their  displacement. 
Subsequent  to  this  emergency  phase,  over  70  000  IDPs,  blocked  and  confined  communities 
and vulnerable host communities received assistance in the form of non-food items, access to 
safe  drinking  water,  primary  healthcare,  plus  educational  facilities  for  children  and 
psychosocial assistance. 

3.3. 

Disaster preparedness activities (DIPECHO) 

As  foreseen  in  the  Regulation  n°  1257/96,  under  its  article  2f,  DG  ECHO  supports  disaster 
preparedness activities in several regions of the world prone to natural disasters, in order to 
help  populations  to  react  rapidly  in  case  of  new  disaster  and  thus,  to  save  lives.  The  huge 
disasters  that  affected  the  world  population  in  2005  have  demonstrated  the  value  of  such 
actions.  

Disaster  preparedness  activities  are  mostly  implemented  in  countries  where  DG  ECHO 
already supports humanitarian actions but DIPECHO projects can also be the sole presence of 

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Special  Report  No  3/2006  concerning  the  European  Commission  Humanitarian  Aid  Response  to  the 
Tsunami (pursuant to Article 248(4), second subparagraph, EC) together with the Commission's replies. 
USAID Factsheet – 24th February 2006 http://www.usaid.gov/press/factsheets/2006/fs060227.html 

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DG ECHO in the field, as in Vietnam, Nicaragua or the Andean countries in 2005. Under its 
DIPECHO programme, DG ECHO adopted in 2005 action plans for the Andean Community, 
Central Asia, South Asia and the Caribbean, for a total amount of EUR 17.5 million. These 
regions were chosen because of their high risk of natural disasters and the high vulnerability 
of the populations while also taking into consideration the lack of local resources and coping 
capacities.  

Moreover, a disaster preparedness component has also been included more systematically in 
the  humanitarian  response  to  natural  disasters.  This  was  for  example  the  case  for  decisions 
taken to support the victims of the tsunami, the Pakistani earthquake or the hurricanes in the 
Caribbean region. 

3.4.  Main partners in the humanitarian operations 

The  humanitarian  aid  provided  by  DG  ECHO  is  implemented  through  partners.  DG  ECHO 
works  with  about  200  non-governmental  organisations,  United  Nations  agencies  and 
international  organisations  such  as  the  International  Committee  of  the  Red  Cross  and  the 
International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies. 

Having  a  diverse  range  of  partners  is  important  for  DG  ECHO.  It  allows  the  efficient 
coverage  of  an  increasing  list  of  needs  all  over  the  world.  DG  ECHO  has  developed 
increasingly close working relationships with its partners at the level of both policy issues and 
management of humanitarian operations. 

In 2005, DG ECHO implemented its operations mainly through NGOs (54%), United Nations 
agencies  (32%)  and  International  organisations  (11%).  For  more  details  on  the  yearly 
repartition between families of partners, see annex points II.5 and II.6. 

Finally, a Grant Facility is established annually to promote a better collaboration with NGO 
partners and to reinforce their capacities. It corresponds to a number of priorities identified by 
DG  ECHO  and  aims  at  allocating  small  grants  for  training  initiatives  or  studies.  It  also 
contributes to the understanding of humanitarian issues and to the development of appropriate 
policy  responses.  After  a  call  for  proposal,  grants  were  awarded  in  August  2005  for  a  total 
amount  of  EUR  500,000.  The  four  projects  selected  aimed  at  improving  the  administrative 
capacity  of  humanitarian  NGOs  as  well  as  the  quality  of  operations  planning,  design  and 
implementation.  

4. 

RELATIONS  WITH  OTHER  EU 
HUMANITARIAN PARTNERS AND NON–EU DONORS  

INSTITUTIONS,  MEMBER  STATES,  MAJOR 

4.1. 

EU Institutions and Member States 

In 2005, DG ECHO continued to be active at the EU level with a view to ensuring that the 
humanitarian principles remained high on the agenda within the EU institutions.  

DG  for  Humanitarian  Aid  also  maintained  close  contacts  with  other  Commission  services 
(DG  External  Relations,  DG  Development,  EuropeAid  Co-operation  Office  and  DG 
Environment) in order to ensure the coherence of the overall Community response. Moreover, 
DG ECHO has participated in different meetings and Council working groups to explain its 
specific  mandate  and  its  relations  with  other  EU  instruments  involved  in  emergency 
responses.  

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An EU Action Plan was adopted - after the tsunami - initiating a process of further developing 
its disaster response capacity. The EU Action Plan identified possible measures - including a 
better use of existing instruments that could be developed - to deal with disasters inside and 
outside the EU. DG ECHO contributed to the Commission Communication on “Reinforcing 
the EU disaster and crisis response in third countries” adopted in response to this Action Plan 
(20 April 2005)9. In this Communication, DG ECHO identified a number of measures aimed 
at reinforcing the delivery and the coherence of EU humanitarian response to disasters outside 
the EU, such as (1) increasing the number of field-based experts; (2) training experts in the 
UN  Office  for  Coordination  of  Humanitarian  Affairs’  (OCHA),  United  Nations  Disaster 
Assessment  and  Coordination  (UNDAC)  and  the  Red  Cross’  FACT10
  assessment  and 
coordination  methodologies  (this  is  in  order  to  develop  synergies  and  cross-fertilisation  of 
ideas  when  conducting  needs  assessments);  finally,  (3)  developing  a  surge  capacity  pre-
positioned  at  the  level  of  DG  ECHO  regional  field  offices,  allowing  deployment  of 
emergency specialised multi-sectoral teams within 24 hours. 

The Commission has appointed two representatives to the Civil – Military Cell based in the 
EU  Military  Staff  (EUMS)  in  the  Council  Secretariat.  DG  ECHO  maintains  close  relations 
with this newly created body to ensure that the humanitarian principles and the UN guidelines 
are  appropriately  reflected  in  work  of  the  cell  and,  in  particular,  any  relevant  strategic 
planning scenarios developed by the Cell. 

DG  ECHO  also  contributed  to  the  elaboration  of  the  humanitarian  component  of  a  crisis 
management scenario. DG ECHO considered this  as an opportunity to  recall that it  is not a 
crisis management tool; its action is not subject to any political considerations but it is driven 
only  by  the  needs  of  the  victims  of  natural  or  man-made  disasters  in  accordance  with  the 
humanitarian principles and International Humanitarian Law.  

Finally, eight meetings of the Humanitarian Aid Committee (HAC) with representatives from 
the  Member  States  were  held  in  2005.  In  addition,  the  Luxemburg  and  British  presidencies 
convened  two  informal  HAC  meetings,  to  discuss  international  humanitarian  law  and 
humanitarian reform, respectively. 

4.2. 

Relations with international organisations and non-EU major donors 

As  already  evoked  in  the  general  policy  aspects,  the  international  response  to  humanitarian 
emergencies  has  demonstrated  over  the  past  few  years  that  the  present  system  allows  a 
response  which  varies  from  crisis  to  crisis  and  in  major  crises,  existing  capacity  levels  are 
often insufficient to meet even key needs in an adequate manner. 2005 was a stimulating year 
of in-depth reflection on a possible reform agenda for the international humanitarian system.  

The UN Secretary General presented a report entitled “In Larger Freedom” in March 2005. So 
far as humanitarian aid was concerned, the report stated that a system upgrade was necessary 
in  3  key  areas:  more  predictable  and  timely  funding  of  operational  UN  agencies  and  their 
NGO  implementing  partners  in  undertaking  emergency  activities,  strengthened  coordination 
both at the field and HQ level and strengthened response capacity, including clearer sectoral 
responsibility and accountability. 

9 
10 

COM (2005) 153 final.  
http://www.ifrc.org/what/disasters/fact/  

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Throughout 2005, DG ECHO closely followed all these developments. It attended meetings 
related to the humanitarian reform and provided input to the different initiatives discussed. 

In  December  2005,  Commissioner  Michel  was  invited  to  attend  the  meeting  of  the  Inter 
Agency  Standing  Committee  (IASC).  The  Inter-Agency  Standing  Committee  (IASC)  is  a 
unique  inter-agency  forum  for  coordination,  policy  development  and  decision-making 
involving the key UN and non-UN humanitarian partners. Commissioner Michel met with the 
heads of all UN operational organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the 
International  Federation  of  Red  Cross  and  Red  Crescent  Societies,  the  International 
Organization  for  Migration  as  well  as  with  the  representatives  of  non  governmental 
organisations. Commissioner Michel shared with IASC members the Commission's views on 
the reform of the humanitarian system. 

In the framework of the annual Strategic Programming Dialogue (SPD), meetings were held 
in 2005 with major partners (OCHA, UNICEF, WHO, WFP, ICRC, IFRC, UNHCR, VOICE 
and MSF) to discuss the strategies and main priorities of each organisation.  

In  order  to  draw  the  first  lessons  from  the  tsunami  response,  DG  ECHO  participated  in  the 
"Six Months after the Tsunami: Stocktaking by the EU and the UN " which was organised by 
the EU Presidency (Luxemburg) and UN OCHA. 

DG ECHO was also involved in various meetings to discuss in depth with other major donors 
issues such as the humanitarian principles or the use of Military and Civil Defence Assets in 
humanitarian operations.  

Concerning its relations with non-EU  major  donors,  DG  ECHO  continued its dialogue with 
the  US  administration  to  co-ordinate  humanitarian  policies/responses  and  raise  mutual 
concerns  on  humanitarian  developments  in  current  crisis  situations.  The  annual  ECHO/US 
Strategic Dialogue meeting continued. 

A joint mission with the US to Liberia and Guinea took place in the first quarter to monitor 
the  voluntary  return  of  Liberian  refugees  and  internally  displaced  persons  to  their  homes. 
Joint recommendations of the mission on "Coordination, Repatriation, IDPs, Food situation, 
and  Transition"  were  jointly  handed  over  to  UNHCR,  OCHA,  and  WFP  as  well  as  to 
Humanitarian coordinator in Liberia. 

DG  ECHO  met  also  representatives  of  the  Canadian  International  Development  Agency 
(CIDA) to explore possible future cooperation. 

4.3. 

Thematic funding 

Given the central role played by the main international humanitarian agencies (UN and Red 
Cross  Movement)  in  the  effective  delivery  of  humanitarian  aid,  DG  ECHO  continued  to 
support  the  reinforcement  of  their  institutional  capacities  through  thematic  funding 
programmes. 

In  2005  DG  ECHO  financially  supported  the  development  of  information  systems  by  UN 
OCHA (EUR 4 million), including the deployment of Humanitarian Information Centres (e.g. 
Sri Lanka, Aceh, Niger, Pakistan), ReliefWeb and the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination 
System  (GDACS);  the  reinforcement  of  WHO’s  capacity  to  respond  to  health  emergencies 
(EUR 4 million); protection activities for victims of armed conflict by ICRC (EUR 4 million) 

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(e.g.  Central  Africa  Republic,  Republic  of  Congo,  Rwanda  Azerbaijan,  Philippines  and 
Pakistan),  and  a  UNHCR  protection  programme  (EUR  5  million).  Thematic  funding  also 
contributed  to  the  IFRC  disaster  management  programme  (EUR  3.5  million).  Projects  on 
child  protection  (EUR  2  million)  and  disaster  preparedness  (EUR  5.7  million)  managed  by 
UNICEF were also implemented in 2005 with funds from the previous year. 

5. 

OTHER ACTIVITIES 

5.1. 

Experts in the field 

The EU action plan on the reinforcement of disaster response capacity in third countries (see 
point 4.1.), foresaw a significant increase in the number of ECHO field experts. 

DG ECHO fixed an intermediate target to have about 100 experts on the ground by the end of 
2005.  Consequently,  41  new  posts  were  created  of  which  5  were  directly  related  to  the 
tsunami.  28  were  to  reinforce  the  6  Regional  Support  Offices  and  8  were  new  posts  to 
reinforce existing and new offices. 83 experts were in place by the end of 2005 and a further 
13 experts have been identified and will start their contracts in the first part of 2006.. 

The  reinforcement  of  the  Regional  Support  Offices  involved  the  definition  of  standard 
structures for each Office and the allocation of certain specialist posts according to need e.g. 
rapid response co-ordinator, floater, security officer and sectoral specialists for medical, food 
aid, food security, nutritional and disaster preparedness issues and the creation of a team of 
experts to deal with thematic funding. 

The objective was to enable DG ECHO to dispatch rapidly its experts to new crisis situations 
in order to carry out humanitarian needs assessments and participate in the co-ordination of 
humanitarian  activities  in  the  field  with  other  major  actors.  DG  ECHO  was  able  to  test  its 
reinforced  structure  in  October  2005  following  a  major  earthquake  in  Pakistan,  India  and 
Afghanistan  when  experts  were  mobilised  on  the  same  day  to  carry  out  emergency 
assessments resulting in an immediate primary emergency decision. 

Specialist networks of experts and working groups have been established to provide technical 
advice and support both to Headquarters and to the field in order to ensure consistency and 
coherence  in  DG  ECHO’s  policies  and  to  establish  operational  guidelines  and  agreed 
practices. 

5.2. 

Security issues 

The security of humanitarian personnel in the field is a growing concern for all humanitarian 
agencies. The number of deaths of humanitarian workers has significantly increased over the 
last few years.  

For this reason, DG ECHO launched in 2005 a follow-up security review to that completed in 
2004.  The  2004  review  had  identified  a  number  of  areas  that  require  further  attention  by 
humanitarian actors including: security training of trainers; information collection (including 
gathering  of  statistics),  analysis  and  dissemination  of  information  collected;  and  NGO 
security co-ordination mechanisms.  

With  this  second  review  DG  ECHO’s  intention  is  to  continue  to  assist  NGOs  to  meet  their 
responsibilities towards the security of humanitarian personnel. This review should add value 

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by:  primarily  producing  training  methodologies  for  NGO  security  trainers,  which  will  be 
tested in the field; and  by  producing other tools  that will be placed in the public domain to 
assist NGOs in building and maintaining their security management capacity.  

DG ECHO is committed to assisting partners in their efforts to ensure that field staff can do 
their work effectively and safely, and to promoting advocacy for humanitarian space. The best 
way  to  preserve  this  is  to  maintain  a  high  level  of  engagement  in  the  good  donorship 
principles,  to  remain  committed  to  high  quality  assistance  and  to  maintain  a  transparent 
dialogue with other key players, bilaterally and in multilateral humanitarian fora. 

5.3. 

Communication and information 

Regarding its communication strategy, DG ECHO undertook a range of actions in pursuit of 
its  objectives  to  disseminate  the  values,  principles  and  practical  achievements  of  EU 
humanitarian  aid.  It  continued  to  inform  wide  audiences  on  DG  ECHO's  work  through 
television, radio and other mass media.  

Audiovisual items were produced on the huge disasters - tsunami and South-Asia earthquake -
in partnership with UN agencies and NGOs.  

Other  communication  products  included  press  releases,  witness  accounts  published  on  the 
website and editorial features in airlines in-flight magazines. 

An integrated awareness-raising campaign was run as a pilot operation in the Czech Republic, 
including a media event in Prague (Humanitarian village), schools visits, publications and a 
dedicated website.  

DG  ECHO  also  continued  to  focus  its  efforts  on  communicating  with  specific  target 
audiences, notably young people and opinion leaders through participation in conferences and 
involvement in exhibitions or in other public events.  

5.4. 

Audit and evaluations 

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. In 2005 a total of 142 audits were finalised or in progress at the 
headquarters  of  the  humanitarian  organisations  and  24  operational  (field  and  office)  audits 
were carried out. 

Every  year,  DG  ECHO  conducts  between  eight  to  ten  evaluations  of  its  operations  on  a 
geographical basis, on partners and on thematic issues.  

5.4.1.  Reviews aimed at capacity building. 

•  A  review  of  Water  and  Sanitation  issues  relating  to  the  funding  of  Humanitarian 

Operations under the EC Humanitarian Regulation.  

The review produced a concept paper and model guidelines. The concept paper reviewed the 
EC Humanitarian Regulation, policies and financing issues, trends in humanitarian assistance, 
key  issues  in  water  and  sanitation  sector,  application  of  standards,  and  key  conclusions  and 
recommendations. The model guidelines translate the concept paper into practical guidance: 

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how to address cross-cutting issues, gender, environment, etc, integrating hygiene behaviour 
change,  good  practice  by  emergency  scenario,  disaster  mitigation  and  preparedness, 
application  of  standards.  It  also  incorporates  existing  literature  and  reference  materials  for 
reference. 

•  A  review  of  cross-cutting  and  other  key  issues  relating  to  the  funding  of  humanitarian 

operations under the EC humanitarian regulation. 

5.4.2.  Evaluation of a partnership 

•  Evaluation  of  the  partnership  between  DG  ECHO  and  the  UNHCR  and  of  UNHCR 

activities funded by DG ECHO. 

The  evaluation  formulated  a  set  of  clear  findings,  conclusions  and  recommendations  for 
UNHCR and for DG ECHO, on how to improve the overall DG ECHO-UNHCR partnership, 
at both operational and thematic levels. 

5.4.3.  Evaluation of operations 

In 2005 evaluations were launched for Haiti, Burundi, Uganda, Sri Lanka11and North Korea, 
and  on  disaster  preparedness  activities  in  the  Caribbean.  The  overall  assessment  of  the 
evaluators  was  that  actions  financed  by  DG  ECHO  in  these  countries  did  indeed  meet  key 
humanitarian objectives.  

For  more  details  on 
http://ec.europa.eu/comm/echo/evaluation/index_en.htm. 

these  evaluations, 

refer 

to  DG  ECHO’s 

internet 

site 

5.5. 

Training and studies  

A  considerable  effort  was  made  in  2005  to  improve  the  knowledge  of  DG  ECHO's  and 
partners  staff  on  the  new  Framework  Partnership  Agreement  (FPA)  which  regulates  the 
relations between DG ECHO and its partners. Some 500 people benefited from these sessions. 
Moreover,  a  set  of  supporting  documents  on  different  aspects  of  the  FPA  have  been  made 
available on the DG ECHO's website.  

DG  ECHO  continued  to  support  the  Network  on  Humanitarian  Assistance  (NOHA),  which 
offers  a  one-year  multi-disciplinary  post-graduate  diploma  with  seven  universities 
participating  across  Europe  (Université  Catholique  de  Louvain  -  Belgium,  Université  Paul 
Cézanne  Aix-Marseille  III  (UPCAM)  -  France,  Ruhr-Universität  Bochum  -  Germany, 
University College of Dublin - Ireland, Universidad de Deusto - Spain, University of Uppsala 
-  Sweden  and  University  of  Gröningen  -  The  Netherlands)  with  the  backing  of  non-
governmental  organisations  (NGOs),  inter-governmental  organisations  (IGOs)  and  other 
actors of the humanitarian relief community.  

6. 

CONCLUSION 

2005 was a challenging year for DG ECHO due to the number and severity of humanitarian 
crises. DG ECHO has been nevertheless able to fulfil its role in accordance with its mandate. 

11 

The evaluation was also conducted in the Tamil refugee camps in Tamil Nadu, India. 

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In  the  future,  DG  ECHO  will  be  confronted  to  other  challenges  such  as  relations  with  new 
actors in the humanitarian field (in particular civil protection entities) and the implementation 
of the humanitarian system reform initiated in 200512.  

DG  ECHO  will  actively  support  this  reform  process  to  ensure  that  it  improves  the  global 
humanitarian response capacity and efficiency. 

12 

For details of humanitarian system reform, see part 2.  

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