Report from the Commission - Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid - (ECHO) - Annual Report 2006 [SEC(2007) 1227]
Date: 2007-09-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: ECHO, activity report, humanitarian aid

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 28.9.2007 
COM(2007) 555 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid - (ECHO) 
 Annual Report 2006 

[SEC(2007) 1227] 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 3 

GENERAL POLICY ASPECTS ........................................................................................ 4 

GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF DG ECHO’S HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS IN 2006 ........... 5 

Main events and allocation of funds ............................................................................ 5 

Main interventions in 2006, by region ......................................................................... 7 

Comparative analysis ................................................................................................... 8 

Thematic funding ......................................................................................................... 9 

Disaster preparedness activities (including DIPECHO) .............................................. 9 

Linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD) ........................................... 10 

Main partners in the humanitarian operations............................................................ 10 

RELATIONS WITH OTHER EU INSTITUTIONS, MEMBER STATES, MAJOR 
HUMANITARIAN PARTNERS AND NON–EU DONORS ................................................ 11 

OTHER ACTIVITIES.................................................................................................... 11 

CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................. 12 

1. 

2. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4 

3.5. 

3.6. 

3.7. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Annex: 

Detailed  country-by-country  overview  of  humanitarian  operations,  relations  with  partners, 
results of evaluations and financial tables and statistics [SEC(2007) 1227]. 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

DG ECHO is the service of the European Commission responsible for providing humanitarian 
assistance  to  the  victims  of  conflicts  or  disasters,  both  natural  and  man-made,  in  third 
countries. Its mandate is to save and preserve life, reduce or prevent suffering and safeguard 
the integrity and dignity of populations affected by humanitarian crises as described in the 
Council Regulation N° 1257/96. DG ECHO supports humanitarian aid operations in line with 
internationally  agreed  humanitarian  principles  in  a  neutral,  impartial  and  non-
discriminatory  manner,  in  respect  of  International  Humanitarian  Law  ("IHL")  and  defends 
humanitarian  space  and  principles  which  are  increasingly  under  threat.  For  DG ECHO,  the 
best way to preserve this humanitarian space is to maintain a high level of engagement in the 
Good  Humanitarian  Donorship  (GHD)  principles,  to  remain  committed  to  high  quality 
assistance and to maintain a transparent dialogue with other key players. 

The  decisions  and  actions  taken  by  the  service  are  solely  determined  by  the  assessment  of 
humanitarian needs and are not guided by or subject to political considerations other than the 
affirmation of the European Union’s solidarity with people in need. The aid is intended to go 
directly to those in distress, irrespective of race, religion or political convictions 

DG ECHO does not implement assistance programmes itself. It is a donor and implements its 
mission  by  funding  Community  humanitarian  actions  through  partners  which  have  signed 
the Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) such as NGOs and International Organisations 
(Red  Cross  family)  or  the  Financial  and  Administrative  Framework  Agreement  (FAFA)  for 
the UN agencies (mainly UNICEF, UNHCR and WFP1). 

DG  ECHO’s  task  is  to  ensure  that  goods  and  services  get  to  crisis  zones  fast  through  these 
partners.  The  rapidity  of  aid  delivery  is  facilitated  by  special  provisions  in  the  Financial 
Regulation  and  their  implementing  measures  which  draws  heavily  on  the  concept  of 
partnership that underpin the longer term relations. These structural arrangements also enable 
DG  ECHO  to  deploy  technical  assistants  (ECHO  experts)  in  the  field  thereby  ensuring  the 
identification  of  vulnerable  sections  of  society,  an  accurate  assessment  of  needs,  the  rapid 
identification of suitable partners and projects to fulfil the needs, followed up by on-the-spot 
monitoring of partners and project's progress in order to have a sound financial management 
supporting reasonable assurance. 

Its  assistance  also  aims  at  facilitating,  together  with  other  aid  instruments,  the  return  of 
populations to self-sufficiency wherever and whenever possible, and to permit the phasing out 
of DG ECHO funding in good conditions. In that perspective, DG ECHO is actively engaged 
in  implementing  a  linkage  strategy  between  relief,  rehabilitation  and  development 
“LRRD”,  and  in  developing  stronger  cooperation  with  other  Commission  services  or  other 
donors. Based on its experience in addressing disasters, DG ECHO also works at promoting 
disaster preparedness in order to reduce both vulnerability and exposure of people to risks 
and disasters as well as to reduce the economic costs of such disasters. Finally, with a view to 

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United  Nations  Children's  Fund,  United  Nations  High  Commissioner  for  Refigees,  United  Nations  World  Food 
Program 

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the  effective  discharge  of  its  mandate,  DG  ECHO  may  support  –  where  appropriate  and 
necessary – capacity building measures of its implementing partners. 

This report sums up DG ECHO's main activities in 2006. The annex provides the detail of DG 
ECHO  activities  in  2006,  including  a  country-by-country  overview  of  humanitarian 
operations and statistics. 

2. 

GENERAL POLICY ASPECTS  

In  general,  over  the  last  few  decades,  the  strength  and  number  of  natural  disasters  have 
increased,  as  well  as  the  number  of  people  affected,  the  poorest  people  being  affected 
disproportionately. According to forecasts, this tendency is likely to increase in the future.  

In parallel, the number of conflicts has not changed significantly but the current conflicts tend 
to last longer and are increasingly destructive despite the number of refugees falling in recent 
years. The number of displaced persons in their own country is stable but still stands at more 
than 25 million2. 

On  the  policy  level,  DG  ECHO  has  taken  several  initiatives  to  cater  for  the  fact  that  the 
international context in which humanitarian aid takes place is changing significantly, not only 
in  terms  of  nature,  frequency  and  intensity  of  disasters  but  also  in  terms  of  the  geopolitical 
context in which it operates. New actors have appeared on the scene such as non-traditional 
donors, including actors from the corporate sector or states that have not hitherto been active 
in humanitarian aid. Similarly, Member States’ civil protection teams and military have come 
to  play  a  significant  role  in  some  circumstances  and  need  to  be  taken  into  account  in  many 
humanitarian  operations.  While  much  of  this  policy  terrain  is  covered  by  the  “Good 
Humanitarian  Donorship”  initiative,  this  initiative  has  never  been  endorsed  at  EU  level.  In 
order to anticipate and adapt to this changing environment, DG ECHO is working on ways to 
further  improve  co-operation  with  civil  protection  mechanisms  and  with  Civil  Military  Co-
operation.  The  Commissioner  in  charge  of  humanitarian  aid  tasked  DG  ECHO  to  launch  a 
major  political  initiative  and  by  way  of  a  communication  from  the  Commission  to  the 
Council and the European Parliament setting out the EU consensus on the principles and best 
practices  of  humanitarian  action  with  a  view  to  strengthen  the  effectiveness,  efficiency  and 
coordination of EU policies in this domain. 

In order to improve the Commission's response to disasters and within the framework of the 
EU  strategy  to  strengthen  its  response  to  disasters  and  to  crises  in  third  countries  (COM 
(2005)153), DG ECHO has proposed to increase the number of its experts on the ground, 
including those trained and having experience in the rapid evaluation of needs and being able 
to be deployed quickly in the event of a disaster. This, together with further strengthening of 
DG  ECHO's  operational  and  contractual  procedures  has  increased  the  capacity  and 
improved 
through  DG  ECHO's 
time  of  delivering  humanitarian  aid 
implementing  partners  which 
include  NGOs,  International  Organisations  and  UN 
organisations.  This  allows  the  service  to  provide  a  significant  contribution  to  the  further 
development  of  the  EU's  capacity for  dealing  with  crisis  and  disaster,  which  is  increasingly 

the  response 

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www.reliefweb.int  

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becoming a political priority following the post-Tsunami communications, the Barnier report 
and related documents. 

The year 2006 is the end of the last Financial Perspectives covering 2000-2006. Under these 
perspectives, the budget for humanitarian aid was kept at a quite stable and minimal amount, 
starting at a level of EUR 471 million in 2000 and ending with EUR 496 million in 2006. This 
minimal  amount  implied  that  DG  ECHO  had  to  seek  reinforcement  every  year,  mainly 
through use of the Emergency Aid Reserve which is first and foremost for humanitarian aid.  

Under  the  new  Financial  Perspectives,  covering  the  years  2007-2013,  all  activities  of  a 
humanitarian nature will be integrated in a single instrument. Due to the integration of food 
aid  and  aid  to  uprooted  people  the  humanitarian  aid  budget  for  the  year  2007  will  be  at 
EUR 732  million  (against  a  comparable  figure  in  2006  of  EUR  710  million)  with  a  yearly 
indicative increase of 3%. 

3. 

GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF DG ECHO’S HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS IN 2006 

3.1.  Main events and allocation of funds 

In the field of humanitarian aid, 2006 proved to be particularly challenging with the Lebanon 
crisis  as  well  as  a  series  of  major  natural  disasters  in  addition  to  the  ongoing  burden  of 
humanitarian crises.  

The  year  began  with  a  series  of  droughts  in  Horn  of  Africa,  Southern  Africa  and  in 
Afghanistan, the spill over from the 2005 nutritional crisis in Niger and the earthquake in Java 
(Indonesia)  on  27  May  leaving  more  than  one  million  homeless  people.  The  Commission 
equally  had  to  deal  with  the  worsening  humanitarian  situation  in  Sudan,  the  aggravation  of 
crisis in West Bank and Gaza and persistent humanitarian needs in the Democratic Republic 
of  Congo,  Chechnya  and  Colombia  to  name  but  a  few  of  the  most  dramatic  humanitarian 
situations. The short but highly complex Lebanon crisis in July/August 2006 required a multi-
facetted response by the European Commission in which the rapid delivery of humanitarian 
aid played a major role. 

The  worsening  humanitarian  situation  led  DG  ECHO  to  call  upon  the  Commission's 
Emergency Aid Reserve three times in 2006, for Sudan (Darfur), for Lebanon and for West 
Bank  and  Gaza  for  a  total  of  EUR  140  million3.  These  events  had  a  significant  impact  on 
DG ECHO,  having  to  manage  a  total  budget  of  EUR 671 million  compared  to  the  budget 
initially set at EUR 496 million (rounded figures). 

DG  ECHO's  response  to  humanitarian  crises  in  2006  was  channelled  through  90  funding 
decisions. The implementation of the commitment appropriations was 100%. ACP countries 
were  the  biggest  recipients  of  aid  (EUR  322  million  –  48%),  followed  by  Eastern  Europe, 
New  Independent  States,  Middle  East  and  Mediterranean  countries  (EUR 177.9 million  – 
27%) and Asia and Latin America (EUR 105.5 million – 16%).  

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Beside the transfer from the Emergency Aid Reserve (EUR 140 million) further budget reinforcements came from 
the use of EDF resources (EUR 28 million) and re-assigned revenue (EUR 7 million). 

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The  table  below  gives  an  overview  of  the  geographical  distribution  of  the  humanitarian  aid 
decisions adopted in 2006 (amounts in million euros): 

Unit/Region 

A/1: Africa, Caribbean, Pacific 

Horn of Africa 
Great Lakes 
West Africa 
Caribbean and Pacific 
Southern Africa 

Amounts  % 

322.060.000 

48% 

161.050.000 
84.050.000 
56.150.000 
1.610.000 
19.200.000 

A/2:  Eastern  Europe,  New  Independent  States, 
Middle East, Mediterranean 

177.900.000 

27% 

NIS (Chechnya, Caucasus, Tajikistan, …) 
Middle East 

Mediterranean countries 

A/3: Asia, Latin America 

Asia 
Latin America 

0/1: Thematic funding + grants 

Technical Assistance (experts & Imprest Accounts) 

Dipecho - Disaster Preparedness 

Support Expenditure & use of re-assigned revenue 

33.000.000 
134.000.000 

10.900.000 

105.491.305 

16% 

86.891.305 
18.600.000 

20.500.000 

19.000.000 

19.050.000 

7.005.627 

3% 

3% 

3% 

1% 

TOTAL 2006 

671.006.932 

100% 

Humanitarian Aid 2006

Dipecho
3%

Sup Exp
1%

ACP
48%

Techn Assist
3%

Thematic
3%

Asia - Latin 
America
16%

NIS, Middle 
East, Mediter.
27%

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DG ECHO's response to humanitarian emergencies evolved in line with the changes in global 
humanitarian  needs  in  2006,  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 140 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). This methodology has been refined in 2006 with the splitting of the GNA in 
two indexes; a vulnerability index and a crisis index. 

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 2006 were: Chechnya, Myanmar, 
Sahrawi refugees (Algeria), Nepal and in a lesser degree, India for the crisis in Kashmir. In 
the course of the year support amounting to EUR 65.7 million was allocated to these crises, 
which represents 14% of the EUR 489.5 million total committed from Chapter 23 02 of the 
budget and the EDF.  

The  results  of  GNA  and  FCA  assessments  can  be  found  on  the  Europa  website 
http://ec.europa.eu/comm/echo/information/strategy/index_en.htm. 

3.2.  Main interventions in 2006, by region4 

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

3.2.1.  Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP countries) 

In 2006, DG ECHO allocated EUR 322 million to ACP countries. The most important actions 
took place in:  

–  In Sudan, due to the worsening situation in Darfur, the budget allocation rose from EUR 
40 to EUR 97 million and another EUR 17 million were allocated to Chad to respond to 
the consequences of Sudanese population movements; 

–  Northern  Uganda  is  suffering  its  twentieth  year  of  armed  conflict.  The  Government  is 
fighting  against  the  Lord’s  Resistance  Army  (LRA)  in  northern  districts.  The  budget 
allocated in 2006 of EUR 19 million was dedicated to provide water and sanitation, health 
and nutrition, livelihoods and food security, protection and non-food items; 

–  In Burundi: EUR 17 million was used in favour of vulnerable people, providing essential 
medicines  to health centres and public hospitals. Within the fight against cholera, people 
were provided with potable water and specialised treatment centres and hygiene education. 
Finally, people also benefited from protection activities; 

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The main interventions are based on the highest allocation amounts of each region 

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–  In Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the total funding of EUR 50 million was used 
to meet the basic health, nutrition and shelter needs of the most vulnerable populations in 
the  most  deprived  area  (eastern  regions)  and  for  providing  humanitarian  air  transport 
capacity; 

–  In  Liberia,  a  budget  of  EUR  19.8  million  was  used  to  continue  assisting  the  return  and 
reinstallation  of  refugees  and  internally  displaced  people  to  their  place  of  origin,  with 
funding of relief packages, transport and general assistance including protection. 

3.2.2.  Mediterranean and Middle-East 

The  escalation  of  tension  in  the  Occupied  Palestinian  Territories  and  the  humanitarian 
needs of their most vulnerable populations and of Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and 
Syria  required  an  increase  in  the  initial  budget  allocation,  from  EUR  34  to  84  million  to 
respond to their increased needs in the following sectors: food, health, water and sanitation, 
emergency employment and protection. 

Moreover,  the  one-month  war  between  Israel  and  Hezbollah  resulted  in  deaths,  injuries  and 
displacement  of  people  in  Lebanon,  to  which  DG  ECHO  responded  by  mobilising 
EUR 50 million of funding for emergency medical care, emergency food and non-food relief, 
water and sanitation and temporary shelters. Following the cessation of hostilities, DG ECHO 
focused on remaining emergency needs and small scale rehabilitation. 

3.2.3.  Asia 

In 2006, DG ECHO mobilised EUR 15.7 million to provide continuing assisting to Burmese 
refugees  along  the  Thai-Burma  border  and  to  the  most  vulnerable  groups  affected  by  the 
long-lasting crisis in Burma; funds were allocated to improve the protection for the stateless 
Muslim population in the North of Burma. 

A budget of EUR 22.5 million was allocated to sustain the reintegration process of returnees, 
IDPs and vulnerable groups affected by the conflict and drought in Afghanistan and to protect 
and support Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran. 

3.2.4.  Latin America 

The main intervention took place in Colombia where EUR 12 million was allocated to people 
affected by the long lasting conflict.  The first objective of DG ECHO’s intervention was to 
provide assistance in water and sanitation, shelters, food aid, education, etc. with a focus on 
protection to reinforce the fragile Colombian protective environment. 

3.3. 

Comparative analysis 

The comparative analysis in the chart below of the geographical distribution of funding 
decisions for the years 2001-2006 shows that whereas in previous years the relative share of 
the funding to the ACP countries was continuously increasing, this trend was reversed in 2005 
whereby  the  lion's  share  of  funding  was  for  Asia  for  the  two  main  crisis  in  that  part  of  the 
world:  Tsunami  and  earthquake  in  Kashmir.  In  2006,  the  share  of  the  funding  to  the  ACP 
countries took back the first place with about half of the budget. If one looks at a five years 
perspective it should also be pointed out that the funding for the various regions and parts of 
the world is very variable, which confirms that DG ECHO intervention is short-term oriented. 

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It  should  also  be  noted  that  over  96%  of  the  humanitarian  aid  budget  is  for  funding 
humanitarian operations, whereas less then 4% is for support expenditure (information, audits, 
evaluations, etc.). 

Geographical Distribution of Funding decisions 
2001-2006

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Africa, Caribbean, Pacific

Eastern Europe, NIS, Mediterranean, Middle East Asia, Latin America Other

3.4. 

Thematic funding 

Given  the  central  role  played  by  the  main  international  organisations  with  a  humanitarian 
mandate  (UN  relevant  agencies,  ICRC,  IFRC,  …)  in  the  effective  delivery  of  humanitarian 
aid, DG ECHO continued in 2006 to support the reinforcement of their institutional capacities 
through thematic funding programmes.  

In  2006,  DG  ECHO  supported  programmes  from  UNOCHA  (information  management), 
UNHCR (refugee registration), UNICEF (child protection and emergency response) and WFP 
for  needs  assessment.  Programmes  were  ongoing  with  WHO  (Health  Action  in  Crisis)  and 
IFRC  (disaster  management  and  emergency  response).  Finally  ICRC  was  financed  for 
programmatic protection activities. 

3.5. 

Disaster preparedness activities (including DIPECHO) 

In  line  with  Council  Regulation  1257/96,  DG  ECHO  alongside  its  humanitarian  relief 
promotes  disaster  preparedness  through  advocacy,  coordination  and  the  specific  DIPECHO 
programme.  The  consequences  of  hazards  as  well  as  the  more  open  recognition  of  global 
climate change and its impact show that this engagement is very relevant and needed. 

On a strategic level, DG ECHO has in 2006 reinforced its institutional resources on disaster 
preparedness that are expected to facilitate a more coherent and comprehensive approach to 
mainstreaming  disaster  preparedness  in  humanitarian  relief  and  rehabilitation  programmes. 
This  is  fully  in  line  with  the  global  attention  to  disaster  risk  reduction  activities  among 
humanitarian and development donors and the foreseen follow-up to the Hyogo Framework 
for Action 2005-2015. 

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In 2006, DG  ECHO continued its  engagement in  advocacy activities aimed at ensuring that 
development  donors  include  disaster  risk  reduction  components  in  their  work  in  regions  at 
risk  of  natural  disasters  such  as  earthquakes,  floods,  cyclones,  etc,  and  to  support  practical 
measures  to  reduce  these  risks.  DG  ECHO  is  also  a  strong  advocate  for  community-based 
approaches  to  disaster  risk  reduction  that  increase  the  coping  capacity  of  vulnerable 
communities. 

Developing countries are especially at risk from hazards due to significant weaknesses in the 
national  response  capacity  and  the  capability  of  local  communities  to  cope  with  the 
unfavourable  consequences  of  such  a  catastrophe.  DIPECHO  projects  are  community-based 
disaster preparedness projects which focus on communities which are most exposed to natural 
disasters  and  have  low  coping  capacity.  The  projects  have  a  demonstrative  and  replicable 
purpose  aiming  at  being  integrated  into  long-term  development  and  national  strategies.  As 
well  as  country-based  operations,  DIPECHO  Action  Plans  contain  regional  projects  since 
natural disasters are not confined to state boundaries. In 2006, DG ECHO committed a total 
of  EUR  19.05  million  for  DIPECHO  Action  Plans  in  Central  America,  Central  Asia  and 
South East Asia. 

As  a  new  development  in  2006,  DG  ECHO  adopted  a  significant  regional  decision 
(EUR 10 million)  on  disaster  preparedness  for  pastoralist  populations  to  better  prepare  for 
drought,  a  slow-onset  disaster,  in  the  Greater  Horn  of  Africa  (Sudan,  Djibouti,  Somalia, 
Ethiopia,  Kenya,  Uganda  and  Eritrea).  This  programme  has  been  developed  in  close 
cooperation with DG Development and EuropeAid Cooperation Office. 

3.6. 

Linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD) 

DG  ECHO  is  committed  to  develop  proper  exit  transition  and  strategies  for  humanitarian 
assistance  (the  linkage  between  relief,  rehabilitation  and  development  “LRRD”). 
DG ECHO  has  been  participating  actively  in  the  newly  re-launched  inter-service  group  on 
LRRD  in  which  DG  for  External  Relations,  DG  Development  and  EuropeAid  Co-operation 
Office  are  also  involved.  The  entry  in  force  in  2007  of  the  new  external  instruments  (DCI, 
stability instruments in particular) will present a new environment for the implementation of 
LRRD that ECHO started to prepare, with the other services concerned, in 2006. A specific 
attention  has  been  devoted  to  the  transition  between  food  aid  and  food  security,  with  the 
transfer  to  DG  ECHO  of  the  entire  emergency  food  aid  budget.  DG  ECHO  decided  to 
nominate five countries as pilots to enhance already ongoing or challenging LRRD policies: 
these countries were Kenya, Liberia, Mauritania, Sudan and Uganda. In most, but not in all, of 
the countries concerned by year end, significant results were achieved. This was helped by the 
planning process for the 10th EDF. Efforts are ongoing to strengthen this even further.  

3.7.  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  close 

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working relationships with its partners at the level of both policy issues and management of 
humanitarian operations. 

In 2006, DG ECHO implemented its operations mainly through NGOs (52%), United Nations 
agencies  (37%)  and  International  organisations  (11%).  For  more  details  on  the  yearly 
repartition between families of partners, see annex sections V.6 and V.7. 

4. 

RELATIONS  WITH  OTHER  EU 
HUMANITARIAN PARTNERS AND NON–EU DONORS  

INSTITUTIONS,  MEMBER  STATES,  MAJOR 

As  in  previous  years,  DG  ECHO  pursued  an  active  relationship  with  other  Institutions, 
Member States, International Organisations and other relevant actors such as major non-EU 
donors in order to promote humanitarian principles and values.  

At  the  end  of  2006,  DG  ECHO  launched  an  extensive  consultation  process  of  the  EC's 
humanitarian  partners  and  Member  States  on  key  humanitarian  issues  such  as  the  aim, 
principles  and  values  on  which  humanitarian  aid  is  based,  the  challenges  faced  by 
humanitarian actors and the implementation of humanitarian aid. 

The result of this consultation will feed into the preparation of a Commission Communication 
which will seek an EU consensus on the principles and best practice of humanitarian action 
and to set out an agenda for implementing a more closely co-ordinated approach, so that the 
European  Union  maximises  its  contribution  to  the  collective  international  humanitarian 
response. The European Consensus should pursue scope for a more coherent, consistent and 
comprehensive approach to humanitarian aid. 

More details on these partners are given in annex – section II. 

5. 

OTHER ACTIVITIES 

In  the  context  of  its  activities,  DG  ECHO  has  also  to  deal  with  other  tasks  to  support  the 
delivery and quality of Humanitarian Aid: 

(1) 

(2) 

Development  of  DG  ECHO's  security  and  safety  policy  for  staff  involved  in  the 
delivery of humanitarian aid; 

Strengthening of its rapid response capacity in the field by organising multi-sectoral 
teams; 

(3) 

Communication strategy and information 

(4) 

On training initiative, DG ECHO supports the Network on Humanitarian Assistance 
(NOHA) which offers a multi-disciplinary post-graduate diploma. 

Details of these activities are given in Annex – section III. 

The proper implementation of DG ECHO-funded operations is ensured through several layers 
of checks and controls at various stages of the project cycle of humanitarian operations. These 

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aspects  of  the  control  strategy  developed  by  DG  ECHO,  its  supervision  and  monitoring 
procedures are described in Annex – section IV. 

6. 

CONCLUSION 

2006 proved to be a particularly challenging year for DG ECHO with the Lebanon crisis as 
well  as  a  series  of  major  natural  disasters  and  the  ongoing  burden  of  humanitarian  crises. 
DG ECHO has been nevertheless able to fulfil its role in accordance with its mandate. For the 
main  policy  objective  to  ensure  an  efficient  delivery  of  humanitarian  aid,  the  targets  have 
been reached and substantially exceeded.  

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