COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT On the mid-term review of the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid Action Plan: Assessing progress and priorities in the EU's implementation of humanitarian action   Accompanying document to the   Communication on the mid-term review of the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid Action Plan – implementing effective, principled EU humanitarian action
Date: 2010-12-08
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU policy, humanitarian aid, impact study, international organisation, international security

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 8.12.2010 
SEC(2010) 1505 final 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

On the mid-term review of the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid Action Plan: 
Assessing progress and priorities in the EU's implementation of humanitarian action 

Accompanying document to the 

Communication on the mid-term review of the European Consensus on Humanitarian 
Aid Action Plan – implementing effective, principled EU humanitarian action 

COM(2010) 722 final 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

On  18  December  2007,  the  European  Consensus  on  Humanitarian  Aid1  was  signed  by  the 
Presidents of the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission. Since its 
endorsement,  the  European  Consensus  has  provided  the  European  Union  (EU)  with  a 
common vision and approach to guide its action in the provision of humanitarian assistance in 
third countries. 

Among  other  things,  the  European  Consensus  commits  the  EU  to  working  closely  together 
and  in  partnership  with  other  humanitarian  stakeholders  to  provide  needs-based  emergency 
response  aimed  at  preserving  life,  preventing  and  alleviating  human  suffering,  and 
maintaining  human  dignity  wherever  the  need  arises  if  governments  and  local  actors  are 
overwhelmed,  unable  or  unwilling  to  act.  The  European  Consensus  confirms  the  EU's 
commitment to upholding and promoting the fundamental principles of humanitarian aid and 
to  enhancing  commitments  to  the  application  of  good  donor  practice.  It  also  underlines  the 
implementing  partners  (the  United  Nations,  Red 
EU's  support  for  a  plurality  of 
Cross/Crescent  Movement  and  non-governmental  organisations)  and  sets  out  the  standards 
and principles for the use of civil protection resources and military assets in the EU's response 
to humanitarian crises. 

In  2008,  the  European  Commission  presented  an  action  plan2,  with  a  series  of  practical 
measures to implement the Consensus. The Action Plan encompasses a five-year time period 
and is composed of 49 actions grouped into six 'action areas': 

•  Area 1: Advocacy, promotion of humanitarian principles and international law; 

•  Area 2: Implementing quality aid approaches; 

•  Area 3: Reinforcing capacities to respond; 

•  Area 4: Strengthening partnership; 

•  Area 5: Enhancing coherence and coordination; 

•  Area 6: The aid continuum. 

The  Mid-Term  Review  aims  to  assess  overall  progress  on  the  Action  Plan  thus  far  and 
identify areas of further priority. More specifically, it looks at measures undertaken by the EU 
as a whole, i.e. the 27 EU Member States and the European Commission, to implement the 
actions defined in the Action Plan and provides suggestions for areas where there is scope for 
further effort. 

The  Mid-Term  Review  is  comprised  of  the  Communication  on  'the  mid-term  review  of  the 
European  Consensus  on  Humanitarian  Aid  Action  Plan  –  implementing  effective  principled 
EU humanitarian action' and this accompanying Staff Working Paper. The review process has 
involved consultation with stakeholders and liaison with the European Parliament, through the 
standing rapporteur on humanitarian aid. 

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OJ C 25, 30.1.2008 
SEC (2008) 1991, 29.5.2008 

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This Staff Working Paper is structured in two main sections: 

(1) 

(2) 

General appraisal of the implementation of the Action Plan since its adoption in 2008; 

In-depth assessments of each Action Area, including areas of progress and of further 
priority. 

In the Action Plan, references are made to the European Community and the European Union. 
Of  the  49  actions  in  the  Action  Plan,  37  were  for  the  EU  Member  States  and  the  European 
Commission  working  together  and  12  were  to  be  taken  forward  specifically  by  the 
Commission.  For  the  sake  of  clarity,  in  relation  to  the  original  Action  Plan,  the  European 
Union  is  taken  in  this  Staff  Working  Paper  as  referring  to  combined  efforts  of  the 
Commission  and  EU  Member  States.  Where  actions  foreseen  refer  to  the  European 
Community,  the  Staff  Working  Paper  refers  now  to  the  European  Commission  and  its 
humanitarian aid and civil protection Directorate-General. 

2. 

OVERALL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION PLAN 

At the halfway point in the implementation of the Action Plan, the EU has made substantive 
progress in all of the six action areas. At the same time, there are a number of priorities where 
there is scope for further effort in its continued implementation over the next two years. While 
Section 3 provides detailed assessments of each action area, this section summarises overall 
progress and priorities. 

The EU has conducted systematic advocacy and promotion of key humanitarian principles 
and  guidelines.  The  fundamental  humanitarian  principles  and  the  Good  Humanitarian 
Donorship  (GHD)  Principles  guide  EU  donors  in  their  provision  of  humanitarian  assistance 
and  have  been  integrated  in  many  national  frameworks.  The  EU  has  also  worked  hard  to 
promote  humanitarian  space  and  compliance  with  International  Humanitarian  Law  (IHL), 
which are necessary to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian workers and to preserve 
access to affected populations. The EU should continue to uphold its strong commitment to 
protecting  humanitarian  space  and  promoting  the  fundamental  humanitarian  principles  and 
International Law. It is of particular importance to focus on advocacy efforts with an aim to 
enhance  awareness  of  key  guidelines  and  principles  among  relevant  actors,  in  particular  the 
fundamental humanitarian principles, the Guidelines on the Use of Military and Civil Defence 
Assets  in  complex  emergencies3  and  the  Oslo  Guidelines  on  the  Use  of  Military  and  Civil 
Defence Assets in International Disaster Relief.4 

Considerable  progress  has  been  made  among  EU  donors  in  the  area  of  sectoral  policy 
development on a number of key issues including humanitarian food assistance, malnutrition 
in  emergencies,  the  use  of  cash  and  vouchers  in  humanitarian  crises,  HIV/AIDS,  gender, 
protection,  and  disaster  risk  reduction.  These  policies  in  turn  serve  to  clarify  and  guide  EU 
humanitarian funding to ensure that humanitarian aid is more effective and takes into account 
the  particular  needs  of  vulnerable  population  groups.  With  comprehensive  policy 
development  already  well-underway,  the  EU  must  now  work  to  implement  policies  and 

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Guidelines on the Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets to Support United Nations Humanitarian 
Activities in Complex Emergencies (March 2003) 
Guidelines  on  the  Use  of  Military  and  Civil  Defence  Assets  in  International  Disaster  Relief  –  "Oslo 
Guidelines" (re-launched by UN OCHA in November 2006) 

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guidelines  in  operational  contexts.  There  are  also  a  number  of  key  issues  which  require 
continued  particular  attention,  especially  in  the  promotion  of  disaster  risk  reduction  and 
ensuring  appropriate  and  strong  links  between  humanitarian  and  development  actors, 
especially in transitional contexts. 

The EU is strongly committed to  allocating humanitarian  aid funding  based on assessed 
needs.  Together,  EU  Member  States  and  the  European  Commission  provided  around  45-50 
percent  of  overall  official  humanitarian  aid  over  the  past  three  years.  The  European 
Commission  works  to  promote  the  exchange  of  best  practices  through  the  sharing  of  its 
sectoral  policies  and  dissemination  of  its  Global  Needs  Assessment  and  Forgotten  Crisis 
Assessment tools. With increasing global levels of  humanitarian  needs,  the  EU  must  ensure 
that  humanitarian  aid  funding  levels  are  able  to  effectively  meet  and  address  these  needs. 
Continued  EU  support  for  the  development  of  common  needs  assessment,  as  well  as  for 
specific vulnerability and needs assessment tools in the area of food assistance, will also serve 
to enhance donor ability to ensure greater consistency in needs-based allocation of funding. 

The  EU  has  supported  capacity-building  projects,  particularly  at  the  global  level,  and  has 
commissioned and funded studies which have helped to identify progress and gaps in global 
capacities. The EU should work together with other donors and partners to ensure that critical 
capacity gaps are clearly identified and begin to be addressed. In addition, while continuing to 
encourage the strengthening and consolidation of global capacities, the EU could also explore 
ways to support local capacities. Finally, further discussions within the EU aimed at exploring 
how to appropriately and effectively support EU-12 donor capacity represents another useful 
measure in this area. 

Coordination among EU donors has improved, notably through the Council Working Party 
on  Humanitarian  Aid  and  Food  Aid  (COHAFA).  Dialogue  between  EU  humanitarian  and 
civil  protection  actors  has  also  increased.  Coordination  with  other  humanitarian  donors  has 
been strengthened through bilateral dialogue and participation in international fora, especially 
the  Good  Humanitarian  Donorship  (GHD)  initiative.  Continued  efforts  to  improve 
coordination and coherence at both headquarters and  field level, on both operational and on 
policy  issues,  would  help  to  enhance  the  effectiveness  of  EU  humanitarian  action.  This 
includes  supporting  diversity  in  partnerships  (including  advocacy  for  the  'Principles  of 
Partnership') as well as facilitating dialogue among humanitarian, civilian and military actors. 
Coordination  among  EU  donors  could  be  further  enhanced  through  exploring  opportunities 
for  division  of  labour  and  information  sharing.  There  is  also  scope  for  further  efforts  in 
enhancing  dialogue  and  links  with  other  donors,  including  to  promote  increased  awareness 
and ownership of the fundamental humanitarian principles. 

3. 

ASSESSMENT  OF  IMPLEMENTATION  BY  ACTION  AREA:  PROGRESS  AND  FURTHER 
PRIORITIES 

3.1. 

Advocacy, promotion of humanitarian principles and international law 

3.1.1.  Background 

The  EU  is  firmly  committed  to  upholding  and  promoting  the  fundamental 
humanitarian  principles  of  humanity,  neutrality, 
impartiality  and 
independence…The EU will advocate strongly and consistently for the respect 
of  International  Law,  including  International  Humanitarian  Law,  Human 
Rights Law and Refugee Law.  

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European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid 

Action  Area  One  of  the  Action  Plan  proposes  a  series  of  measures  related  to  advocacy  and 
promotion  of  the  fundamental  humanitarian  principles  and  International  Law.  The  overall 
expected  result  of  this  area  is  EU  strengthened  commitment  to  ensuring  neutral  and 
independent humanitarian action and to protecting humanitarian space. It is composed of five 
actions,  including:  general  and  case-specific  advocacy  for  the  respect  of  International  Law 
through EU policy channels, promoting the fundamental humanitarian principles through EU 
international  bodies,  and  organising  a  high-level 
coordinated  positions 
international conference on current issues related to IHL. 

in  relevant 

3.1.2.  Areas of Progress 

General  and  case-specific  advocacy  for  International  Law,  the  fundamental  humanitarian 
principles and the protection of humanitarian space 
Relevant action(s): 2, 4 

Respect  for  the  fundamental  humanitarian  principles  and  International  Law  as  well  as  the 
preservation  of  humanitarian  space  lie  at  the  heart  of  EU  humanitarian  action.  They  are 
essential elements for ensuring that humanitarian assistance is delivered to those who need it 
most,  autonomously  and  independently  of  other  objectives.  They  also  help  to  ensure 
humanitarian access to populations in need as well as the safety and security of humanitarian 
workers  who  often  risk  their  lives  in  the  course  of  duty  (with  the  number  of  humanitarian 
workers killed having  tripled  over  the past decade)5. Since the  adoption of the  Action Plan, 
the EU has made strong and consistent efforts to advocate for these important issues. 

Collectively,  the  EU  has  advocated  for  these  issues  most  notably  through  the  Council.  In 
2009, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the  Geneva Conventions, the Council adopted 
conclusions  reaffirming  its  strong  support  for  the  promotion  and  protection  of  International 
Humanitarian  Law  (IHL).6  An  updated  version  of  the  EU  Guidelines  on  promoting 
compliance  with  IHL7  was  adopted  at  that  occasion.  In  its  conclusions,  the  Council 
furthermore  reaffirmed  its  commitment  to  ensuring  the  implementation  of  these  guidelines 
and  the  importance  of  continuing  to  improve  the  mainstreaming  of  IHL  throughout  the 
external  action  of  the  EU.  Since  the  adoption  of  the  Consensus  and  of  its  Action  Plan,  the 
Council  has  also  adopted  conclusions  emphasising  the  Council's  support  for  the  promotion 
and the respect for IHL for specific humanitarian crises such as the Great Lakes Region, the 
occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), Sri Lanka, Sudan and Yemen. 

International  fora  offer  further  opportunities  for  EU  advocacy  in  this  field.  Through  EU 
statements and positions in relation to international humanitarian events and relevant United 
Nations  (UN)  resolutions,  the  EU  has  systematically  expressed  its  support  for  the 
humanitarian  principles  and  humanitarian  space.  The  EU  also  facilitates  the  annual  UN 
General Assembly Resolutions "Safety and security of humanitarian personnel and protection 
of  United  Nations  personnel"8  and  "Strengthening  of  the  coordination  of  emergency 

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(2010) 

OCHA 

"World 

See 
http://ochaonline.un.org/whd/docs/SecuritySheet/whd_2010_security_sheet_en.pdf 
Conclusions  adopted  by  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  at  the  2985th  Foreign  Affairs  Council 
meeting, 8.12.2009 
OJ C 303/12, 15.12.2009 
Annual resolution, first adopted during the 52nd session of the General Assembly (A/RES/52/167) 

Humanitarian 

Trends". 

Security 

Day: 

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humanitarian  assistance  of  the  United  Nations".9  In  conjunction  with  World  Humanitarian 
Day,  the  European  Commission  this  year  launched  the  "Don't  shoot!  I'm  a  Humanitarian 
Worker" campaign aimed at raising awareness of the need to promote safety and security of 
humanitarian workers. 

As  well  as  collective  EU  actions,  EU  donors  have  also  undertaken  individual  efforts  to 
promote the fundamental humanitarian principles, humanitarian space and International Law. 
The  European  Commission  has  conducted  such  advocacy  through  general  and  case-specific 
public  statements.  Member  States  have  also  conducted  similar  advocacy  efforts  in  their 
national capacities. Bilateral dialogue with specific countries has offered further opportunities 
in this field. 

UN bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) represent key partners in the area of 
advocacy.  With  promotion  and  strengthening  of  International  Law  as  a  key  part  of  its 
mandate, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) represents an important actor 
in this regard. In support of this action area, a number of EU donors have supported the ICRC 
and national Red Cross Societies as well as other organisations, including the UN Office for 
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), for IHL dissemination and promotion 
activities. EU donors represent 13 out of the 19 members of the ICRC Donor Support Group 
(DSG) and together provided 46% of total DSG financial contributions to ICRC in 2009.10 

Advocacy for the fundamental humanitarian principles and humanitarian access in 
complex emergencies 

In Sri Lanka, the European Union, has advocated strongly for the respect of humanitarian 
principles  on  the  part  of  the  Government  of  Sri  Lanka,  and  continuously  supported  its 
humanitarian partners in their efforts to persevere in operating with a principled approach. 
In  2009,  a  major  breakthrough  was  achieved  through  persistent  awareness-raising  on  the 
part of the international community over the violation of norms in the treatment of internally 
displaced  persons  (IDPs)  who  for  several  months  were  held  in  closed  IDP  camps.  In 
response to these advocacy efforts by the EU and other international actors, the Government 
of Sri Lanka modified its treatment of the displaced and initiated a rapid IDP resettlement 
programme. 

* 

Security  is  a  key  question  in  Afghanistan  where  humanitarian  workers,  especially  from 
Western countries, are seen as potential targets by insurgents. This issue is compounded by 
the blurring of lines between military and civilian activities, in particular linked to the role 
of military Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), which raise concern, not only in terms 
of  quality  of  the  interventions  but  also  in  terms  of  increased  security  risks  for  NGOs  and 
their beneficiaries as the perception of NGOs' neutrality may be compromised. This is why 
the  European  Commission  has  been  advocating  for  the  promotion  and  respect  of 
humanitarian space and principles in Afghanistan in all possible fora. The Commission also 
obliges  its  partners  to  abide  by  the  humanitarian  mandate  and  base  their  work  solely  on 
humanitarian  principles,  notably  neutrality,  thereby  promoting  the  humanitarian  space  in 

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Annual resolution, first adopted during the 46th session of the General Assembly (A/RES/46/182) 
International  Committee  of 
http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/section_annual_report_2009 

the  Red  Cross  (2010)  "Annual  Report  2009"  Available  from: 

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Afghanistan. 

* 

The European Union also continues to persistently advocate for the respect of humanitarian 
principles  and  humanitarian  space  in  Sudan.  Alongside  other  international  actors,  the 
EU has advocated for the Sudanese government to facilitate humanitarian access to conflict-
affected  populations,  the  most  recent  example  being  Jebel  Marra,  and  to  respect 
humanitarian principles by allowing humanitarian partners to respond to the crisis without 
conditionality  or  bureaucratic  impediments.  Through  the  Council  Working  Group  on 
Humanitarian Action and Food Assistance, the EU has developed strong common messages 
which have been passed to the relevant actors at every opportunity. 

High-level international conference (16 September 2008) 
Relevant action(s): 1 

A high-level international conference organised by the European Commission and European 
Parliament was held on 16 September 2008. The conference was attended by a wide range of 
stakeholders  including  representatives  from  EU  Member  States,  United  Nations,  the  Red 
Cross/Crescent Movement, and NGOs. Entitled "Respect for International Humanitarian Law: 
a  major  challenge,  a  global  responsibility",  the  Conference  highlighted  the  current  situation 
for IHL and identified recommendations for the EU to enhance its promotion  of respect  for 
IHL.  The  conference  further  reaffirmed  the  EU's  commitment  to  supporting  IHL  and  paved 
the way for a number of subsequent concrete measures, including general Council conclusions 
on IHL (see above). 

Since the adoption  of the  Action Plan, a  number of EU Member States  have also organised 
conferences and seminars on IHL at the national level. 

3.1.3.  Further priorities 

Strong and coherent EU advocacy efforts for IHL 
Relevant action(s): 2, 3, 4 

Despite advocacy efforts, disregard or even blatant violations of IHL provisions continue to 
occur  in  the  context  of  many  complex  emergencies.  Case-specific  promotion  of  compliance 
with IHL, including reaction to its infringement, is a highly sensitive matter that often is dealt 
with  through  discrete  advocacy  and  political  channels.  Such  infringements  have  a  profound 
impact on the humanitarian space to operate and on protection, making this an area requiring 
continuous  efforts  for  implementation.  EU  humanitarian  experts  need  to  reflect  carefully 
upon  additional  ways  to  work  together  with  others,  including  the  future  European  External 
Action  Service  (EEAS)  to  advocate  both  in  general  and,  where  appropriate,  on  specific 
situations, for the protection of humanitarian space and the respect of humanitarian principles 
and International Law. 

Efforts to support awareness and understanding of humanitarian principles among all relevant 
actors 
Relevant action(s): 3, 5 

Over  recent  years,  the  context  surrounding  humanitarian  aid  has  continued  to  evolve 
considerably.  One  such  notable  and  welcome  development  is  the  increasing  involvement  of 

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new  and  emerging  donors  in  the  provision  of  humanitarian  assistance  and  particularly  in 
international humanitarian affairs. As such, the EU should continue to support their growing 
engagement, including through promoting awareness of the principles that guide the delivery 
of humanitarian aid, such as the fundamental humanitarian principles. The EU should further 
discuss  and  explore  ways  to  reach  out  to  emerging  donors,  including  through  international 
fora  (such  as  the  GHD  and  the  UN  Economic  and  Social  Council),  to  promote  increased 
understanding and ownership of the humanitarian mandate. 

There  is  scope  for  further  work  within  the  EU  as  well,  especially  in  ensuring  that 
humanitarian dimensions are duly considered throughout EU external action. Particular 
focus should be placed on promoting awareness of the Guidelines on the Use of Military and 
Civil Defence Assets (MCDA) in complex emergencies and the Oslo Guidelines on the Use 
of Military and Civil Defence Assets in International Disaster Relief. 

Training on the fundamental humanitarian principles and IHL is important for enhancing this 
awareness  among  relevant  professionals,  especially  those  working  in  contexts  where  IHL  is 
frequently  violated.  While  Member  States  and  the  Commission  have  undertaken  individual 
efforts  to  ensure  appropriate  and  effective  training  provisions,  there  is  scope  to  enhance 
coherence  in  these  efforts,  notably  through  the  further  development  of  an  EU  training 
directory/pack on humanitarian principles and IHL implications for humanitarian assistance. 
It  would  be  particularly  timely  to  pursue  this  further  in  relation  to  the  establishment  of  the 
new European External Action Service. 

3.2. 

Implementing Quality Aid Approaches 

3.2.1.  Background 

EU  humanitarian  donors  will  endeavour  to  ensure  good  donor  practice 
through  sharing  understanding  on  need  and  appropriate  responses  and 
through  concerted  efforts  to  avoid  overlap  and  to  ensure  that  humanitarian 
needs are adequately assessed and met…As donors, we have the responsibility 
to ensure that aid delivered represents the best available option and is suitable 
for the purpose it is intended. 

European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid 

Action  Area  Two  deals  specifically  with  the  importance  of  implementing  quality  aid 
approaches and has the following overall expected results: humanitarian needs identified and 
met more effectively, with increased focus on neglected crises and specific vulnerabilities and 
results-oriented approaches; and aid delivered to the best possible quality standards and with 
good  levels  of  accountability.  It  is  composed  of  12  actions,  with  focus  on  e.g.:  operational 
guidelines  and  recommendations  for  thematic  areas  such  as  HIV/AIDS  and  protection; 
supporting  common  needs  assessments;  and  ensuring  the  efficiency  and  adequacy  of 
humanitarian aid. 

3.2.2.  Areas of progress 

Efficiency of Humanitarian Aid Funding Procedures 
Relevant action(s): 11, 15 

Collectively, EU Member States and the European Commission provide a substantial share of 
official international humanitarian aid. There are a number of channels through which the EU 

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can  provide  humanitarian  aid,  including:  direct  bilateral  allocation  of  funding  to  partner 
organisations  for  the  implementation  of  specific  humanitarian  operations;  provision  of 
unearmarked  funding  to  partner  organisations;  and  contributions  to  pooled  funding 
mechanisms  and  emergency  response  funds,  such  as  the  UN  Central  Emergency  Response 
Fund (CERF) and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' 
(IFRC) Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF). EU donors contribute variously through all 
of these different funding channels, and as such, the EU is well-placed to make sure they are 
used effectively and with good complementarity. 

The European Commission (which accounted for 34% percent of the overall EU humanitarian 
aid  contribution  in  2009)  has  a  number  of  different  kinds  of  funding  decisions  in  order  to 
allocate  funding  to  partners  for  the  implementation  of  specific  humanitarian  aid  operations. 
This  means  that  rapid  funding  allocations  (up  to  certain  thresholds)  can  be  made  under 
'primary emergency' or emergency decisions, which can be adopted in very short timeframes 
to fund the immediate response through implementing partners. For example, in 2010, these 
rapid  procedures  allowed  for  contributions  for  the  initial  response  to  meeting  humanitarian 
needs  of  people  affected  by  earthquakes  in  Haiti  and  Chile;  floods  in  Pakistan  and 
Bangladesh;  and  displacement 
in  Kyrgyzstan.  The  European  Commission  recently 
streamlined  procedures  for  the  adoption  of  these  decisions,  which  represents  an  important 
measure to enhance the efficiency and speed with which the Commission can respond to 
crises while at the same time ensuring appropriate and adequate financial management 
and control. 

Other  recent  changes  that  aim  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  Commission's  financing 
decisions and modalities include changes that allow the Commission to now also be able to 
implement  humanitarian  actions  with  a  larger  number  of  Member  States'  Specialised 
Agencies.  These  Specialised  Agencies  in  the  field  of  humanitarian  aid  can  offer  valuable 
capabilities and expertise in responding to emergencies and so far three such Agencies have 
already  implemented  EU-funded  projects,  with  two  others  having  demonstrated  interest  in 
applying for recognition. By updating the recognition procedure for organisations wishing to 
implement  EU-funded  humanitarian  actions,  such  as  Member  States'  Specialised  Agencies, 
the European Commission has sought to reinforce its commitment to maintain a diversity of 
quality partners, in line with the Good Humanitarian Donorship approach. 

The  European  Commission  has  also  recently  equipped  itself  with  a  number  of  innovative 
financial decisions aimed at addressing small-scale disasters, epidemics and the replenishment 
of  the  DREF.  The  decisions,  which  complement  existing  financial  tools,  have  proven 
themselves  to  be  effective  instruments  and  have  improved  the  Commission's  ability  to 
respond  consistently,  effectively  and  flexibly  to  humanitarian  crises  without  increasing  its 
administrative burden. 

In addition, the European Commission is developing a new approach regarding its decision-
making  on  humanitarian  aid  funding  which  is  intended  to  enter  into  force  as  of  1  January 
2011.  The  purpose  of  the  new  approach  is  to  reduce  the  overall  number  of  financing 
decisions, whilst fully respecting the legal bases of the EU's Financial and Humanitarian Aid 
Regulations,  including  the  strategic  needs-based  approach  of  the  latter.  The  overall  goal  of 
this  approach  is  therefore  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  working  methods  whilst 
maintaining expertise, flexibility and transparency. 

Whilst  these  changes  represent  important  steps  to  increasing  the  efficiency  of  humanitarian 
aid  decision-making,  procedures  remain  in  place  to  ensure  the  European  Commission's 

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continued  accountability  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council.  The  European 
Commission  submits  an  annual  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  with  a 
summary of the operations financed over the course of the year11. Its activities are also subject 
to  scrutiny  internally  by  the  Commission's  Internal  Audit  Services  and  externally  by  the 
European Court of Auditors, which reports to the European Parliament and the Council12. 

Collectively, the EU provides a substantial share of official humanitarian assistance. In 2009, 
the 27 EU Member States provided approximately €3.4 billion in official humanitarian aid. A 
number of Member States have worked to further integrate needs-based approaches into their 
own national frameworks and strategies, as well as to enhance the flexibility of their funding 
to  international  organisations,  notably  through  contributions  to  pooled  funding  mechanisms, 
such  as  CERF.  EU  Member  States  together  accounted  for  approximately  two  thirds  of  all 
CERF contributions in 2009. 

Sectoral policymaking 
Relevant action(s): 7 

In  order  to  continue  to  ensure  that  its  humanitarian  aid  is  administered  according  to  a 
principled needs-based approach while also taking into account the particular vulnerabilities 
and needs of certain groups, the European Commission has developed a number of sectoral 
policies since the adoption of the Action Plan. These sectoral policies have been developed in 
consultation  with  a  wide  range  of  stakeholders  and  humanitarian  partner  organisations.  In 
order  to promote the exchange of best  practices and lessons learnt among EU donors, these 
guidelines have also been shared with EU Member States. Although action 7 is designated in 
the Action Plan as a Commission action, a number of EU Member States have also developed 
and put in place national policies and strategies on some of these same issues. The EU is able 
to cross-fertilise best practice in sectoral policies by working together in a coordinated way. 

In  accordance  with  Action  7,  the  European  Commission  has  adopted  funding  guidelines 
outlining its position on several key thematic issues, such as: 

•  The use of cash and vouchers in humanitarian crises: these guidelines aim to encourage the 
systematic  and  comparative  analysis  of  all  forms  of  resource  transfers  in  the  delivery  of 
humanitarian  assistance  and  to  provide  guidance  on  the  handling  of  cash  through  the 
project cycle; 

•  Responding  to  HIV/AIDS  in  humanitarian  action:  these  guidelines,  among  other  things, 
clarify how HIV patients should continue to receive treatment during humanitarian crises; 

•  Protection  activities:  these  guidelines  provide  an  overview  of  protection  strategies 
(including protection  against sexual and  gender based  violence) and detail the  provisions 
for funding them; 

•  School feeding: these guidelines include clear criteria for deciding whether school feeding 

activities should be supported from the humanitarian budget in a specific context; 

11 
12 

In accordance with Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) 1257/96 
In accordance with Article 12 of Council Regulation (EC) 1257/96 

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In  addition,  the  Commission  Communication  'A  Special  Place  for  children  in  EU  external 
action'13 and the Staff Working Paper on 'Children in Emergency and Crisis Situations'14 were 
adopted  in  2008  and  endorsed  by  the  Council  (through  Council  Conclusions  in  200815)  and 
the European Parliament (through a resolution in 200916). 

As stated in the European Consensus, the EU recognises the importance of integrating gender 
considerations,  protection  strategies  against  sexual  and  gender-based  violence  and  women's 
participation in humanitarian aid. In support of this, the European Commission commissioned 
a review of past and current methods used by humanitarian actors to address gender, including 
strategies to combat sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), which was finalised in 2009. 
A number of key policy documents focusing on gender and SGBV have also been adopted by 
the  EU  since  the  endorsement  of  the  Consensus  Action  Plan.  The  Council  adopted  in 
December 2008 a 'Comprehensive Approach to the EU implementation of the United Nations 
Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 on women, peace and security'17, which covers 
humanitarian,  development,  security  and  foreign  policies  for  the  prevention,  protection,  and 
participation of women. In July 2010, the Council also adopted indicators to measure progress 
and  assess  gaps  in  the  implementation  the  Comprehensive  Approach.  A  number  of  EU 
Member  States  have  also  adopted  or  are  preparing  national  action  plans  on  the 
implementation  of  the  aforementioned  UN  resolutions.  Finally,  on  21  September  2010,  the 
European  Commission  adopted  its  new  Strategy  for  equality  between  women  and  men  that 
covers various policy areas and contains a specific chapter on EC external actions including 
humanitarian aid. 

The  European  Commission  and  several  EU  Member  States  also  contributed  financially  and 
participated  actively  in  the  recent  revision  process  of  the  'Sphere  Handbook'  (the  quality 
standards  reference  tool  for  the  humanitarian  community).  This  revision  has  updated 
variously  the  qualitative  and  quantitative  indicators  and  guidance  notes  to  take  into  account 
the  latest  developments  in  the  humanitarian  sector,  such  as  the  impact  of  climate  change, 
disaster risk reduction, protection, the humanitarian reform process and the cluster approach. 
The  revision  went  through  a  robust  and  widespread  process  of  engagement  among 
practitioners in each sector which will create a greater sense of ownership of the new 'Sphere 
Handbook'  and  enable  it  to  play  a  bigger  role  within  the  Inter-Agency  Standing  Committee 
(IASC)  which  brings  together  humanitarian  organisations  including  UN  actors,  the  Red 
Cross/Crescent Movement and some NGO representatives. 

Improving approaches to humanitarian food assistance and nutrition in emergencies 
Relevant action(s): 13 

The European Commission has also taken  steps  to adjust policies  regarding approaches and 
interventions to food assistance and livelihoods support. On 31 March 2010, the Commission 
adopted the 'Communication on Humanitarian Food Assistance'.18 This Communication  sets 
out  the  policy  framework  for  EU  humanitarian  food  assistance  with  an  aim  to  maximise  its 
efficiency and effectiveness in accordance with best practices and existing frameworks. The 

13 
14 
15 

16 
17 
18 

COM (2008) 55 – 5.2.2008 
SEC (2008) 135 – 5.2.2008 
Conclusions  adopted  by  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  at  the  2870th  External  Relations  Council 
meeting (26-27.5.2008) 
OJ C 76 E/3 – 25.3.2010 
15671/1/08 REV 1 
COM (2010) 126 – 31.3.2010 

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Council endorsed the EU's humanitarian food assistance policy framework in its conclusions 
of 10 May 201019, also recognising its contribution to the fulfilment of action 13 of the Action 
Plan.  The  EU  is  now  working  on  the  implementation  of  the  Communication.  Close 
coordination  was  ensured  with  work  on  the  'EU  policy  framework  to  assist  developing 
countries  in  addressing  food  security  challenges',20  with  their  complementarity  representing 
an important effort to ensure the linking of relief, recovery and development (LRRD). 

The  European  Commission  has  also  advanced  its  work  on  nutrition,  both  to  clarify  the 
objectives and priorities of its support to nutrition in humanitarian crises, and to give guidance 
on the integration of nutrition objectives into external aid more generally.  

The European Commission has also supported the wider humanitarian community to improve 
approaches and interventions to food assistance, notably through the allocation of €5 million 
in  2010  from  its  capacity  building  programme  to  reinforce  the  capacity  of  international 
humanitarian organisations and stakeholders (including the World Food Programme, the Food 
and  Agriculture  Organisation,  the  United  Nations  Children's  Fund,  the  World  Health 
Organisation  and  the  Red  Cross/Crescent  Movement  (IFRC  and  ICRC))  to  deliver  more 
varied and appropriate forms of food assistance.  

Supporting needs assessment 
Relevant action(s): 6, 12 

Thorough  and  quality  needs  assessments  are  essential  for  donors  to  provide  targeted  needs-
based  assistance  in  humanitarian  crises.  Many  organisations  and  clusters  have  made 
substantial progress in developing needs assessment capacities, methods and tools. However, 
it  is  essential  to  link  these  initiatives  in  order  to  ensure  a  coherent  and  consistent  overall 
approach. 

To  this  end,  the  EU  provides  substantial  support  to  UN-OCHA's  Assessment  and 
Classification in Emergencies (ACE) project. With support from donors, ACE has undertaken 
significant  efforts  towards  the  development  of  a  common  methodological  framework  for 
needs assessment, notably through a mapping study of key existing assessment initiatives. EU 
financial support has also been provided to Assessment Capacities (ACAPS), a project aimed 
at  strengthening  needs  assessment  by  setting  up  and  training  a  global  roster  of  needs 
assessment specialists to support in-country capacities to prepare for and to respond to crises 
through  better  coordinated  multi-sectoral  needs  assessments.  The  EU  has  also  strongly 
advocated  for  the  common  needs  assessment  approach  in  international  fora,  and  EU 
representatives  participate  as  observers  on  the  Inter-Agency  Standing  Committee  Needs 
Assessment  Task  Force  (NATF)  (an  interagency  forum  charged  with  developing  and 
promoting an overall common framework for needs assessment). 

In the field of humanitarian food assistance, the EU has provided support to projects that aim 
to  strengthen  the  needs  assessment  and  response  analysis  capacities  of  main  humanitarian 
food  assistance  actors.  Significant  support  was  provided  by  the  EU  to  the  World  Food 
Programme  (WFP)  and  its  project  on  'Strengthening  of  Emergency  Needs  Assessment 
Capacity'  (SENAC)  as  well  as  the  one  on  'Enhancing  Capacities  in  Food  Security  and 
Response Analysis (ENCAP). The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) was supported 

19 

20 

Conclusions adopted by the Council of the European Union at the 3011th meeting of the Foreign Affairs 
Council (10.5.2010) 
COM (2010) 127 – 31.3.2010 

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for  the  set  up  of  the  Integrated  Classification  System  (IPC),  the  Response  Analysis 
Framework (RAF) and the Livelihoods in Livestock in Emergencies Guidelines and Standards 
(LEGS). 

A common needs assessment approach and a humanitarian Dashboard 

The EU plays a leading role in ensuring comparable, credible and transparent humanitarian 
needs assessment and it continues supporting the efforts of UN-OCHA towards the building 
of a consensus on a common needs assessment approach. It also advocates for the need for 
non-EU donors to provide the same support. 

In this context, the humanitarian Dashboard developed by UN-OCHA in consultation with 
the  IASC  Needs  Assessment  Task  Force  will  contribute  significantly  to  informed  decision-
making  and  prioritisation  by  donors,  by  Humanitarian  Coordinators  and  by  humanitarian 
country teams. The humanitarian Dashboard is a tool designed to provide an easy to read 
overview highlighting the consolidated cross-sector needs in a sudden onset disaster. 

The purpose and the added value of the humanitarian Dashboard are: 

•  To  consolidate  core,  common  and  more  comparable 

for 
humanitarian  decision-makers  in  an  easily  accessible  format,  focusing  on  ‘the 
need for international response’, on the 'constraints on international response’, 
and on the ‘adequacy of response’; 

information 

•  To provide a common platform for organizing data and for discussing essential 
‘big-picture’  and  cross-sectoral  information  among  key  stakeholders,  fostering 
greater  consensus  and  thus  a  more  coordinated  and  effective  humanitarian 
response; and 

•  To  provide  a  ‘big  picture’  monitoring  tool  to  be  used  as  a  basis  for  setting 

common operational targets and to track progress towards those targets. 

In  addition  to  supporting  efforts  towards  common  needs  assessment,  the  Commission  also 
administers  the  Global  Needs  Assessment  (GNA)  and  Forgotten  Crisis  Assessment  (FCA) 
tools  to  promote  and  facilitate  needs-based  allocations  among  donors.  The  GNA  classifies 
countries according to their relative vulnerability and the existence of a crisis situation while 
the  FCA  attempts  to  identify  severe,  protracted  humanitarian  crises  where  affected 
populations  are  receiving  no  or  insufficient  international  aid.  These  instruments  have  been 
widely disseminated, including to EU Member States, many of which use the GNA and FCA 
in  their  operational  strategies  and  funding  decisions.  In  addition,  the  EU  regularly  shares 
analysis of humanitarian needs, particularly in light of ongoing response to protracted crises. 

3.2.3.  Further priorities 

Continued support for common needs assessment 
Relevant action(s): 6 

The  EU  should  continue  to  support  efforts  towards  common  needs  assessments,  in 
particular through supporting the work of UN-OCHA and the NATF to build consensus on a 
common framework for needs assessment. The EU should continue advocacy efforts for close 

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cooperation  among  agencies  and  partners  to  ensure  comparable,  credible  and  transparent 
needs assessment, notably through the development of the humanitarian Dashboard. 

Ensuring support for key thematic / sectoral issues 
Relevant action(s): 7, 10 

The  development  of  funding  guidelines  represents  an  important  action  and  the  European 
Commission is now focusing on their effective implementation, through: 

•  Their mainstreaming in humanitarian aid funding decisions; 

•  A wide dissemination strategy; and 

•  Evaluation exercises, such as a recent evaluation undertaken on protection activities funded 
in  the  Democratic  Republic  of  Congo,  which  led  to  practical  suggestions  on  ways  for 
improving effectiveness and efficiency of protection projects. 

To follow up on the gender review completed in 2009, the European Commission is currently 
working on the development of a gender policy that intends to clarify which strategies it will 
put  in  place  to  try  to  systematise  gender  integration  in  its  humanitarian  aid  and  how  the 
Commission  can  better  contribute  to  protection  against  sexual  and  gender-based  violence 
through its humanitarian assistance. This policy will be coordinated with and complementary 
to broader European Commission policy on gender and should be finalised in 2011. 

The Council Conclusions on the Food Security Communication call for the development of a 
policy  on  nutrition  that  would  encompass  humanitarian  and  development  interventions.  The 
Interim  Position  Paper  on  Nutrition  is  a  first  step  in  the  process  of  developing  further 
guidance  for  the  European  Commission's  nutrition  intervention  and  elaborating  a  common 
perspective  on  principles  and  priorities  that  would  help  mainstreaming  and  advocacy  for 
sustained support to combat under-nutrition. 

Ensuring adequate and effective response to increasing humanitarian needs 
Relevant action(s): 8 

As recently illustrated in 2010 by the earthquake in Haiti, floods in Pakistan and drought in 
the Sahel, as well as by the protracted crises in countries such as Afghanistan, Colombia and 
Sudan, the humanitarian community is facing a growth in global levels of humanitarian needs. 
At  the  same  time  however,  donors  are  facing  the  consequences  of  a  severe  global  financial 
crisis which has implied constraints for many countries' national budgets. In order to ensure 
an adequate and effective response to growing needs in this context, it is clear that aid budgets 
must be used with maximum efficiency, which implies more coordinated planning to ensure 
avoidance  of  gaps  and  potential  overlaps.  It  also  requires  clearly  prioritised  and  identified 
needs. 

In addition to enhanced planning and prioritisation, the EU should consider identifying ways 
to  increase  funding  for  humanitarian  action,  including  through  strengthening  ties  with 
other donors (especially emerging donors), in an effort to ensure that humanitarian needs are 
being consistently and adequately addressed. The EU must also ensure that in these times of 
tight public spending the level of budget allocations for humanitarian response are maintained 
to the extent possible. 

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In order to ensure that the legal base for the EU's humanitarian aid reflects the strong policy 
commitments of the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid and allows for flexible, timely 
and  appropriate  response  to  humanitarian  crises,  a  revision  of  the  Humanitarian  Aid 
Regulation21 will be launched in 2011. 

3.3. 

Reinforcing Capacities to Respond 

3.3.1.  Background 

Local  response  to  crisis  and  disaster  risk  reduction,  including  disaster 
preparedness  and  recovery,  are  essential  to  saving  lives  and  enabling 
communities  to  increase  their  resilience  to  emergencies.  Capacity  building 
activities  to  prevent  and  mitigate  the  impact  of  disasters  and  to  enhance 
humanitarian response are also part of EU humanitarian aid. 

European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid 

Action Area Three presents five measures aimed at reinforcing the humanitarian community's 
capacities  to  respond,  with  an  overall  expected  result  of  improved  rapid  and  appropriate 
response to humanitarian crisis, with international assistance reinforcing local action as first 
line  of  response.  The  area  includes  such  actions  as:  exploring  how  to  enhance  support  to 
capacity building; promoting and providing support to International Disaster Response Laws; 
and reinforcing EU training provision for humanitarian professionals and other actors linked 
to humanitarian response. 

3.3.2.  Areas of progress 

Enhanced understanding and policymaking for capacity building 
Relevant action(s): 18, 19 

Building  capacities  of  the  humanitarian  community  represents  an  important  effort  for  the 
promotion  of  the  effective,  efficient  and  timely  delivery  of  humanitarian  assistance.  At  the 
local level, capacity-building is essential as local actors represent the first line of response in a 
sudden onset crisis and are increasingly at the core of the humanitarian response in complex 
emergencies. However, the scale and scope of humanitarian crises is often overwhelming for 
any  one  country  to  handle  alone.  Capacity-building  at  the  regional  and  global  levels  is  thus 
also important, including efforts to improve coordination of humanitarian assistance (such as 
the cluster system) and to facilitate the efficient and timely delivery of international aid (such 
as the International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles). 

Since  the  endorsement  of  the  Action  Plan,  the  EU  has  taken  a  number  of  concrete  steps  to 
review  and  evaluate  issues  related  to  capacity  building.  The  European  Commission  has 
completed  a  number  of  studies  on  capacity-related  issues,  including  a  mapping  study  on 
international humanitarian transport, logistics and stockpiling,22 as well as an evaluation and 
review on the provision of air transport in support of humanitarian operations.23 These studies, 

21 
22 

23 

Council Regulation (EC) 1257/96 
International  Disaster  Assistance  and  Relief  Training  (2009)  "Study  on  International  Humanitarian 
Transport,  Logistics  and  Stockpiling  Capacities"  (study  commissioned  by  European  Commission 
Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection) 
Telford, John and Robert Thomson (2010) "Evaluation on the Provision of Air Transport in Support of 
Humanitarian Operations" and "Review on the Provision of Air Transport in Support of Humanitarian 

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which have been widely disseminated to EU Member States and humanitarian stakeholders, 
have served to highlight key trends and provide operational recommendations in the area of 
logistics. 

The  European  Commission  has  also  completed  an  evaluation  of  capacity  building  funding, 
which in turn provided important input to the development of its Capacity Building Funding 
Guidelines24  following  an  18-month  consultation  process  with  partners,  donors  and  other 
humanitarian actors. The guidelines, adopted in 2009, include a multi-donor requirement for 
capacity  building  funding,  identify  gaps  in  the  global  humanitarian  system,  and  provide 
criteria for European Commission funding responses in capacity-building. 

The EU has also provided substantial financial support to global capacity building efforts. 
The European Commission alone contributed €25 million in 2009 and €15 million in 2010 to 
strengthen  global  humanitarian  preparedness  and  response  capacity, 
the 
reinforcement  of  the  Logistics,  Health,  and  WASH  clusters  through  support  to  UN-OCHA, 
UNHCR, FAO, UNICEF and IFRC in the roll-out of the cluster system. More specifically, in 
2009-2010, capacity-building funding was allocated to support particular projects, including: 

including 

•  The  NGO  network  'Cash  Learning  Partnership  Discussion  Forum'  (CaLP)  and  its 
integrated  training  programmes  as  well  as  a  capacity-building  project  implemented  by 
IFRC in partnership with CaLP for training and advocacy efforts regarding the use of cash 
and vouchers; 

•  The  strengthening  of  the  WHO-led  Health  cluster  to  coordinate  interventions  in  health 

priorities including pandemics; and 

•  An IDP profiling project with UNHCR aimed at improving the humanitarian community's 
access  to  and  use  of  more  consistent  and  reliable  core  information  on  displacement-
affected populations. 

The European Commission also supports efforts of the Global Nutrition Cluster to strengthen 
appropriate  responses  to  nutrition  crises,  including  countries  transitioning  into  recovery, 
through  better  coordination  and  dissemination  of  international  standards  and  harmonised 
tools. 

Humanitarian Response Depots 

Logistical  capacity  and  pre-positioning  of  certain  essential  humanitarian  relief  items  is  a 
critical element for effective international humanitarian action. 

This  is  why  the  EU  has  supported  the  World  Food  Program,  as  cluster  lead  agency  for 
logistics, to strengthen its emergency response capacity and that of the whole humanitarian 
community by reinforcing the Humanitarian Response Depot (HRD) network. EU capacity-
building 
four  additional 
Humanitarian  Response  Depots  and  logistics  hubs  in  key  strategic  locations  around  the 
world: Panama, Ghana, Dubai and Malaysia. 

the  establishment  and  supply  of 

funding  has  supported 

Operations."  (studies  commissioned  by  European  Commission  Directorate-General  for  Humanitarian 
Aid and Civil Protection) 
Recently renamed 'Enhancing Capacity Response' guidelines 

24 

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These  hubs,  together  with  the  Brindisi  WFP  logistics  base,  function  as  a  network  of 
warehouse facilities with pre-positioned relief items for emergency response operations and 
provide  logistic  services  to  the  wider  humanitarian  community  (NGOs,  Red  Cross/Red 
Crescent organisations and UN agencies). In particular, EU funding has ensured that NGO 
partners  are  able  to  draw  upon  pre-positioned  goods  to  support  humanitarian  operations. 
By funding HRDs, the EU has thus contributed to enhancing the capacity of the international 
humanitarian community to respond quickly in sudden onset disasters; for example, the pre-
positioned  goods  in  the  HRD  in  Panama  were  used  to  help  respond  to  the  earthquake  in 
Haiti. 

International disaster response 
Relevant action(s): 21 

In the event of a natural disaster, it is essential that humanitarian assistance is delivered in a 
timely  and  efficient  manner  to  those  most  in  need.  To  do  this,  particular  legal  frameworks 
should be in place in order to avoid delays in delivery (due to e.g. long visa processing time 
and  inspection  requirements  for  relief  goods)  and  unnecessary  costs  (due  to  e.g.  customs 
duties and taxes on humanitarian aid). 

Adopted by the IFRC in 2007, the Guidelines for the Domestic Facilitation and Regulation of 
Internal  Disaster  Relief  and  Initial  Recovery  Assistance  (IDRL  Guidelines)  aim  to  assist 
governments in putting legal frameworks in place to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid 
in  the  event  of  natural  disasters.  They  also  underline  the  role  and  responsibilities  of  donors 
and implementing organisations to facilitate timely and appropriate delivery of humanitarian 
assistance. 

The  EU  has  provided  substantial  support  for  the  IDRL  Guidelines,  including  financial 
support from the European Commission and EU Member States to the IFRC to disseminate 
these guidelines. 

In the light of recent experience and lessons learnt from major crises, the European Union has 
kept the issue of reinforcing international and EU capacity to respond to natural disasters high 
on  the  political  agenda.  The  European  Commission  has  actively  sought  to  ensure  strong 
complementarity  and  synergies  between  humanitarian  aid  response  and  the  use  of  EU  civil 
protection  expertise  and  assets.  A  series  of  recommendations  on  reinforcing  EU  Disaster 
Response Capacities is being presented in autumn 2010. 

In addition, the Commission supports Red Cross/Crescent national societies to use their front-
line  capacities  for  responding  to  small-scale  disasters  through  contributions  to  the 
replenishment of the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund. 

Humanitarian professionalism and awareness – training provisions and sharing experience 
Relevant action(s): 20, 22 

The  European  Network  on  Humanitarian  Action  (NOHA)  is  an  international  association  of 
universities  working  together  to  develop  training  and  education,  notably  through  the 
European  Master  Programme  in  International  Humanitarian  Action.  At  the  request  of  the 
European Commission, NOHA created the 'NOHA Academy' in 2009, which offers seminars 
to  humanitarian  professionals  from  e.g.  civil  society  and  EU  Member  States,  in  order  to 
heighten awareness and understanding of key humanitarian issues. 

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In addition, a number of EU experts from the European Commission and various EU Member 
States have been trained in the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) system 
and have participated in UNDAC missions. 

There has been good progress on improving knowledge and sharing best practice between 
EU donors over the past few years. Within the EU, there has been a series of short-term or ad 
hoc arrangements for officials from small humanitarian departments, often from the newer EU 
Member States, to spend time in another EU humanitarian department as well as secondment 
in support of EU presidencies. An awareness-raising exercise on the various possibilities for 
enhancing capacity for EU-12 authorities was undertaken under the leadership of the Czech 
Government  during  its  Presidency  of  the  Council  of  the  EU  (first  semester  2009)  and 
exchanges  continue  on  this  informal  basis.  The  Erasmus  Public  Administration  Programme 
has  also  recently  been  used  to  support  job-shadowing  exchange  of  EU  officials  working  on 
humanitarian aid. It has not been felt necessary to formalise specific 'twinning' arrangements 
as  the  network  between  EU  humanitarian  departments  is  now  well-established  and  regular 
contacts are facilitated through COHAFA and Good Humanitarian Donorship. Staff turnover 
means, however, that this is a continuous exercise. 

3.3.3.  Further priorities 

Continued support for capacity building 
Relevant action(s): 19, 20 

As  mentioned  above,  the  EU  actively  encourages  and  supports  capacity-building  of  its 
humanitarian  partner  organisations  as  well  as  of  the  international  humanitarian  system.  The 
EU should work together with other donors and partners to ensure that critical capacity gaps 
are clearly identified and begin to be addressed. 

Launched  in  2005  by  the  UN  Emergency  Relief  Coordinator,  the  humanitarian  reform 
represents a major effort to strengthen global capacity to respond to humanitarian crises. As is 
stated  in  the  European  Consensus  on  Humanitarian  Aid,  the  EU  fully  supports  efforts  to 
ensure better coherence and coordination of various actors in humanitarian crises, in particular 
through  the  cluster  approach  and  the  strengthening  of  the  Humanitarian  Coordinator 
system. While recognising the considerable progress that has been made in the roll-out of the 
cluster  system,  the  EU  should  continue  to  encourage  UN-OCHA  and  cluster  lead 
organisations  to  further  consolidate  and  reinforce  the  cluster  system,  including  through 
strengthened partnerships with NGOs, enhancing donor-cluster links and ensuring the cluster 
system effectively  supports  the transition from  emergency to  early  recovery. Building local 
capacities  is  an  equally  essential  element  and  should  be  further  integrated  into  the  EU's 
partnership approach. 

The  EU  should  also  continue  to  support  capacity-building  in  nutrition-related  matters.  The 
European  Commission  will  explore  the  most  adequate  avenue  to  sustain  a  coordinated  and 
effective  approach  to  the  research  gaps  already  identified  and  to  the  dissemination  of  the 
expected  WHO  revised  guidelines  on  the  management  of  severe  and  moderate  acute  under-
nutrition. The EU should also stand ready to support the global food cluster that will be set up 
and co-led by FAO and WFP. 

In the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid,  the  EU  also  welcomes  efforts  to  enhance 
predictability  and  flexibility  of  humanitarian  financing.  Pooled  funding  mechanisms, 
including  Common  Humanitarian  Funds  (CHFs)  and  the  UN  Central  Emergency  Response 

EN 

18 

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Fund  are  important  tools  in  this  regard  and  provide  a  useful  supplement  to  the  range  of 
available financing instruments. Between 2006 and 2009, EU Member States have provided 
over 1.1 billion USD (or approximately €800 m illion) in contributions to the CERF.25 The EU 
should  continue  to  encourage  efforts  to  enhance  accountability,  transparency  and  needs-
based allocation of pooled funding, especially of the CERF; and to ensure complementarity 
and  close  coordination  between  the  pooled  funding  mechanisms  and  directly  allocated 
bilateral funding. 

There  is  also  scope  to  enhance  staff  training  provisions,  especially  those  with  potential  to 
enhance capacities of newly acceded EU Member States. In particular, the EU could explore 
ways to further promote reciprocal or joint training opportunities. 

3.4. 

Strengthening Partnership 

3.4.1.  Background 

Partnership is at the core of implementation of humanitarian aid and the EU 
therefore would welcome a broader international partnership approach, which 
brings  together  donors,  implementing  partners  and  other  stakeholders,  to 
ensure effective humanitarian action, building on the existing body of standard 
and best practice. 

European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid 

Action Area Four has an expected overall result of strengthened well-coordinated partnerships 
for effective delivery of aid, expanded donor base, and reinforcement of local participation in 
humanitarian  aid  design  and  implementation.  It  includes  seven  actions  such  as:  active  EU 
participation  in  humanitarian  fora;  EU  mainstreaming  of  the  Good  Humanitarian  Donorship 
commitments;  and  providing  encouragement  for  the  application  of  the  'Principles  of 
Partnership'. 

3.4.2.  Areas of progress 

Good Humanitarian Donorship Initiative 
Relevant action(s): 24, 26, 28 

The  Good  Humanitarian  Donorship  principles  and  good  practices  were  established  by  16 
donors in 2003. GHD seeks to define humanitarian aid and its objectives, outlines the general 
principles  of  humanitarian  aid,  and  promotes  partnership  and  good  donor  practices  in 
financing, management, and accountability. By firmly endorsing these principles through the 
European  Consensus,  the  EU  has  shown  its  strong  commitment  to  promoting  effective, 
responsible  and  accountable  humanitarian  donorship.  A  number  EU  Member  States  have 
made  considerable  efforts  in  incorporating  the  GHD  Principles  into  national  strategies  and 
frameworks. 

With  the  signing  of  the  European  Consensus,  eleven  new  members  were  brought  in  to  the 
GHD  initiative.  To  facilitate  their  integration  and  to  allow  for  a  deepening  of  shared 
experience  and  peer-learning,  from  2008  the  European  Commission  facilitated  a  specific 

25 

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OCHA 
http://ochaonline.un.org/cerf/Donors/Donors/tabid/5370/language/en-US/Default.aspx 

and  Contributions: 

Pledges 

"CERF 

2006-2010".  Available 

(2010) 

19 

from: 

   EN 

                                                 
series  of  'newcomers'  sessions,  co-organised  by  Estonia,  Romania,  Hungary,  the  Czech 
Republic and Poland. As a measure of success of these sessions, in spring 2010 they were re-
named 'Sessions for Humanitarian Awareness-Raising and Exchange' (SHARE) and Estonia 
took  over  as  facilitator.  The  invitation  to  participate  in  SHARE  sessions  has  also  been 
broadened  to  include  non-GHD  donors  as  a  supplementary  channel  for  reaching  out  on  the 
GHD approach. 

To  underpin  its  commitment,  the  European  Commission  together  with  the  Netherlands  co-
chaired the GHD initiative in 2008-9, followed by Ireland and Estonia in 2009-10. Under this 
European leadership, there has been a clear prioritisation to the operational-relevance of good 
Donorship  and  to  expanding  the  dialogue  with  emerging  donors  and  countries  affected  by 
disaster.  A  range  of  thematic  issues,  many  of  which  link  also  to  the  Consensus,  have  been 
pursued through GHD, which now encompasses 37 donors - the latest to adhere being South 
Korea and Brazil. 

The  2007  'Principles  of  Partnership'26  agreed  between  the  UN  and  non-UN  humanitarian 
organisations under the auspices of the Global Humanitarian Platform, were a specific focus 
of  donor  attention  under  the  European  Commission/Netherlands  GHD  co-chair  period.  The 
annual  GHD  meeting  in  July  2009  looked  at  practical  examples  of  the  'Principles  of 
Partnership' in action. 

An important aspect of GHD is self-commitment from donors to shift toward implementing 
the best practice and principles as consistently as possible over time. To this end, in the early 
years of the GHD initiative a number of donors (including Sweden, the United Kingdom and 
the Netherlands) presented domestic implementation plans. In the Consensus Action Plan, the 
European Commission committed to join this group of donors with explicit statements of how 
they translate GHD in practice. A European Commission GHD implementation statement and 
plan are now at the stage of peer-review by other donors. 

The EU promoting good donor practice 

With  the  adoption  of  the  European  Consensus  on  Humanitarian  Aid,  all  27  EU  Member 
States  and  the  European  Commission  committed  to  working  together  to  apply  'Good 
Humanitarian Donorship' principles and best practice. 

The strong EU commitment to ensuring a clearly prioritised and more operational focus for 
donor work under Good Humanitarian Donorship, was deepened during a two year phase of 
chairing by EU donors: the European Commission together with the Netherlands (2008-9), 
followed by Estonia and Ireland (2009-10). During this period GHD active outreach efforts 
have led to Japan, South Korea and Brazil also making the commitment to work with other 
donors under GHD. 

Some important issues taken forward in GHD in the past two years include: 

•  Strengthening coordination between donors in the field 

•  Applying the Principles of Partnership 

26 

Principles  of  Partnership:  equality,  transparency,  results-oriented  approach,  responsibility  and 
complementarity 

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20 

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•  Working with national and local authorities in disaster-affected countries 

•  Linking  of  humanitarian  aid  responses 

to  disaster  risk  reduction  and 

development approaches 

•  Assessing needs and addressing gaps, including how different funding channels 

complement on another. 

World Humanitarian Day 
Relevant action(s): 29 

EU  public  communication  activities,  particularly  a  range  of  campaigns  targeting  young 
people,  have  been  organised  with  the  European  Commission  in  a  number  of  EU  Member 
States to help facilitate good public awareness and support for humanitarian aid. 

In  2008,  the  UN  General  Assembly  adopted  the  Swedish-sponsored  annual  Omnibus 
Resolution on "Strengthening of the Coordination of Emergency Humanitarian Assistance of 
the United Nations"27. The resolution designated 19 August as World Humanitarian Day and 
invited  UN  Member  States,  within  existing  resources,  to  observe  the  day  annually  in  an 
appropriate manner. 

The  World  Humanitarian  Day  gives  a  new  opportunity  for  the  EU  to  focus  wider  public 
attention on the importance of humanitarian aid. In support of this initiative, since 2009, the 
Commission  and  some  EU  Member  States  have  undertaken  a  range  of  media  and 
communication  activities  to  observe  World  Humanitarian  Day.  In  2010,  the  Commission 
launched  a  public  awareness  campaign  highlighting  the  issue  of  safety  and  security  of 
humanitarian personnel on World Humanitarian Day. 

Active participation and advocacy in humanitarian fora  
Relevant action(s): 23, 24, 26 

The  EU  continues  to  be  well  represented  in  various  donor  groups,  executive  and  advisory 
boards of international organisations, as well as international and regional humanitarian fora. 
Through its participation in such fora, the EU works to strengthen its dialogue with Partners 
and other donors, promote the EU's common vision for the provision of quality humanitarian 
aid based on a principled and needs-based approach as is set out in the European Consensus 
on Humanitarian Aid, and contribute to the international dialogue on issues of importance for 
the humanitarian community. 

Moreover,  the  Commission  and  Member  States  cooperate  closely  and  regularly  exchange 
views  on  common  messages,  formal  EU  statements  and  shared  positions  to  take  forward  in 
international fora in order to ensure a strong EU humanitarian voice. 

3.4.3.  Further priorities 

Strengthened approach to supporting the participation of affected populations 
Relevant action(s): 25 

27 

A/RES/63/139 

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21 

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Seeking ways to encourage the participation of disaster-affected communities in humanitarian 
aid operations is in line with the Good Humanitarian Donorship Principles. Donors in GHD 
looked specifically at this issue based on a report commissioned by the French government in 
2008. 

A  recent  review  of  disaster  preparedness  looked  among  other  things  at  existing  practices 
regarding beneficiary participation. The review found that despite progress, notably through 
the  Disaster  Preparedness  ECHO  (DIPECHO)  programme,  the  EU  could  play  a  more 
significant  role  in  encouraging  the  involvement  of  beneficiaries  throughout  the  project 
cycle and in all types of emergency response operations. 

An additional review on best practice in local participation in the Consensus Action Plan was 
foreseen  for 2010,  but postponed due to unforeseen needs for  additional urgent evaluations. 
Undertaking the postponed review is a priority for 2011, and there is scope for this to be done 
as a joint review on the potential role of EU donors in supporting beneficiary participation in 
humanitarian  aid  programming  and  on  possible  opportunities  to  develop  a  common  EU 
approach in this regard. 

Continued support for good donorship practice and Principles of Partnership 
Relevant action(s): 26 

The  EU  now  needs  to  reflect  on  how  it  can  further  encourage  mainstreaming  of  GHD  in 
individual  donor  conduct  and  linked  to  operational  practice;  on  how  best  to  support  the 
integration  of  'Principles  of  Partnership'  into  humanitarian  action;  and  on  how  to  better 
'burden-share' on facilitating work under GHD. 

3.5. 

Enhancing Coherence and Coordination 

3.5.1.  Background 

The EU is committed to ensure coherence and complementarity in its response 
to  crises,  making  the  most  effective  use  of  the  various  instruments  mobilised. 
Therefore, the EU should enhance efforts to raise awareness of and take into 
account humanitarian principles and considerations more systematically in its 
work throughout its Institutions. 

European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid 

Action Area Five aims to promote coherence, coordination and complementarity in the EU's 
response  to  crises.  Its  overall  expected  results  are:  better  linkages  between  EU  donors  and 
others  to  improve  efficiency  of  overall  EU  aid  contribution;  strengthened  liaison  between 
actors  present  in  the  field  in  response  to  crisis;  and  humanitarian  considerations  fully  taken 
into  account  in  other  related  EU  policy  areas.  The  area  encompasses  13  actions,  including: 
priorities and discussion in the Council Working Party on Humanitarian Aid and Food Aid; 
exchange  among  EU  donors  on  funding  strategies;  and  dialogue  between  humanitarian  aid 
actors and civil protection / military actors. 

3.5.2.  Areas of progress 

Council Working Party on Humanitarian Aid and Food Aid (COHAFA) 
Relevant action(s): 31, 37, 39 

EN 

22 

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The  newly  mandated  Council  working  group  entitled  the  Council  Working  Party  on 
Humanitarian  Aid  and  Food  Aid  (COHAFA)  began  its  work  in  January  2009.  From  its 
inception,  COHAFA  has  represented  an  important  forum  for  regular  strategic  EU 
discussions  on  humanitarian  and  food  assistance  policy  and  operational  issues.  COHAFA 
meetings  are  held  regularly  (approximately  once  a  month).  COHAFA  has  facilitated 
discussions on a number of key topics in the humanitarian field including specific responses 
to humanitarian crises, strategic and sectoral policy issues, and donor coordination. 

Through COHAFA, a readily established network of EU contacts is now in place that is also 
drawn upon to facilitate expert discussion on specific sectoral policy issues. In addition, the 
European  Commission  established  a  baseline  matrix  of  specialist  donor  humanitarian 
presence  in  the  field,  through  a  study28  it  commissioned  in  2008  on  behalf  of  the  Good 
Humanitarian Donorship initiative. This has been a reference point for seeking to strengthen 
donor coordination in the field, for example the establishment of a humanitarian donor group 
in the oPt. 

Sharing of analysis, funding information and expertise 
Relevant action(s): 32, 36, 41 

The  COHAFA  network  has  also  greatly  facilitated  increased  information  exchange  among 
Member States and the Commission. For example, country-specific discussions in COHAFA 
have often provided a forum for Member States and the Commission to share analysis both on 
the  crisis  itself  as  well  as  their  response  strategies,  including  common  lines  for  advocacy 
where  needed.  Such  exchanges  of  information  are  key  to  ensuring  coordination,  coherence 
and complementarity in the EU's humanitarian response. 

Due to its extensive field presence, the European Commission's DG for humanitarian aid and 
civil  protection  has  distinct  capabilities  in  the  collection  and  analysis  of  information  on 
humanitarian  crisis  situations  on  the  ground.  The  Commission  has  enhanced  its  facilitation 
role in information sharing and situation analysis by presenting this information at COHAFA 
meetings  as  well  as  circulating  situation  reports  (SitReps).  These  sitreps  are  a  practitioner's 
tool  and  are  not  considered  public  communication  documents  due  to  the  sensitivity  of  the 
humanitarian  situations  covered.  Since  2008,  the  Commission  has  issued  over  300 
humanitarian SitReps, which have become a core reference for EU humanitarian departments 
(most  of  which  are  without  humanitarian  field  presence),  thereby  putting  the  European 
Commission's permanent field expertise at the service of the entire EU. 

An  annual  EU  exchange  on  overall  humanitarian  strategies  and  funding  levels  foreseen  in 
the Action Plan took place for 2009 and 2010, but showed limitations in terms of contributing 
to the overall impact of the EU response as many EU donors do not specifically define their 
operational  response  strategy  in  advance  on  a  yearly  basis,  but  rather  allocate  funding  by  a 
mix of provision of core-funding to certain humanitarian international organisations and ad-
hoc contributions in response to specific appeals. That said, the annual exchange has already 
served  to  increase  mutual  understanding  of  the  variety  of  funding  approaches  taken  by  the 
different EU donors and how these are related to needs-based decision making. 

28 

M.  Spaak  &  R.  Otto  (2009)  "Revised  Final  Report:  Study  on  the  Mapping  of  Donor  Coordination 
(Humanitarian  Aid)  at  Field  Level.'  Study  commissioned  by  DG  ECHO  on  behalf  of  Good 
Humanitarian Donorship Initiative 

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23 

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Regular exchange of views on operational and strategic issues of main institutional partners 
active  in  humanitarian  food  assistance,  in  particular  the  WFP,  strengthen  the  EU's  leverage 
and  impact  on  WFP's  policies  and  operations  and  its  position  within  the  WFP's  Executive 
Board. 

The  EU's  '14  points  application'  for  the  immediate  recording  of  humanitarian  aid 
contributions  by  EU  donors,  represents  another  important  tool  for  information  sharing.  By 
reporting  through  this  centralised  EU  application  that  then  links  up  with  the  UN-Financial 
Tracking  System,  EU  Member  States  and  the  European  Commission  help  to  maintain  an 
accurate  picture  of 
to  reinforcing 
accountability, including towards EU citizens. The web-based application is open for public 
consultation at any time. In close consultation with EU Member States and other stakeholders, 
the  European  Commission  is  revising  the  application  in  order  to  further  improve  its 
functioning, with expected completion in early 2011. The issue of integration of information 
on  in-kind  contributions  reported  through  the  Common  Emergency  Communication  and 
Information System (CECIS) is also being examined. 

the  EU's  humanitarian  response  and  contribute 

Civil protection dialogue 
Relevant action(s): 35 

Since  the  adoption  of  the  Action  Plan,  the  European  Commission  has  helped  to  strengthen 
dialogue and coordination between humanitarian aid and civil protection actors. In February 
2010,  the  European  Parliament  approved  the  new  European  Commission,  including  the 
Commissioner  for  International  Cooperation,  Humanitarian  Aid  and  Crisis  Response,  thus 
bringing humanitarian aid and civil protection into the portfolio of one Commissioner.29 This, 
along  with  other  processes,  has  allowed  for  a  more  coordinated  approach  in  EU 
humanitarian aid and civil protection action in operations outside the EU. It has created 
new  opportunities  on  the  ground  for  joint  analyses  and  information  gathering,  as  well  as 
allowed  for  improved  intra-EU  coordination  and  simplified  relations  with  other  relevant 
actors, notably cluster leads and UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination teams. 

In the 2010 Communication on 'Reinforcing EU disaster response capacities', the Commission 
proposes ways to strengthen the efficiency, coherence and visibility of EU disaster response 
capacities, building on the synergies between civil protection and humanitarian aid. 

Civil-military liaison 
Relevant action(s): 30, 38 

In  a  number  of  humanitarian  crises  –  both  natural  disasters  and  complex  emergencies  – 
military and humanitarian actors are increasingly present in the same operating environment. 
The  military  are  present  both  to  secure  environments  and  under  certain  specific  conditions 
military  assets  are  also  used  to  support  disaster  response,  for  example  heavy  airlift.  As  is 
stated  in  the  EU  Consensus  on  Humanitarian  Aid,  the  EU  considers  civil-military 
coordination to be vital to protect and promote the humanitarian principles. Thus, in addition 
to promoting awareness and common understanding of the MCDA/Oslo guidelines that cover 
the  use  of  military  assets  in  providing  assistance  to  third  countries,  the  EU  is  committed  to 
facilitating reinforced dialogue between humanitarian and military actors. 

29 

In  the  previous  Commission,  humanitarian  aid  had  been  the  responsibility  of  the  Commissioner  for 
Development and Humanitarian Aid, while civil protection the responsibility of the Commissioner for 
Environment. 

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24 

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Since the adoption of the Action Plan, the European Commission has continued to maintain 
dialogue with EU military staff to raise awareness of humanitarian dimensions and guidelines, 
including for specific humanitarian crises such as Chad and Central African Republic (CAR) 
(see text box below). The Commission has also allocated €2 million to UN-OCHA for 2010-
2011 to specifically support civil-military relations and has also provided additional funding 
to support the deployment of UN-OCHA civil-military experts. In addition, some EU Member 
State  personnel  and  European  Commission  humanitarian  experts  have  participated  in  UN 
civil-military  coordination  training,  a  number  of  whom  have  later  been  deployed  as  civil-
military  liaison  officers  in  certain  humanitarian  crises,  such  as  Lebanon  and  the  occupied 
Palestinian territories. 

The  recent  EU  intervention  in  Pakistan  is  a  good  example  of  coordination  between  civilian 
and  military  organisations  and  the  implementation  of  the  Oslo/MCDA  guidelines.  The 
European  Civil  Protection  Mechanism  (i.e.  the  Monitoring  and  Information  Centre  (MIC)) 
worked  well  with  the  EU  Military  Staff  and  its  EU  Movement  Planning  Cell  (EUMPC), 
which  offered  three  flights  (out  of  eleven)  bringing  assistance  to  Pakistan.  Two  out  of  the 
three  flights  were  actually  military-chartered,  but  civilian  aircraft.  In  this  effort,  the  rule  of 
using military flights only as a last resort was fully respected. 

Some EU Member States have also worked nationally to enhance civil-military coordination, 
notably  through  the  provision  of  funding  for  the  deployment  of  UN-OCHA  civil-military 
experts  and  through  the  establishment  of  structures  to  facilitate  dialogue  between  national 
military staff and national humanitarian actors. 

Coordinating the efforts of humanitarian, civil protection and military actors in the 
field 

The  massive  earthquake  which  struck  Haiti  in  January  2010  put  the  coordination  between 
civil protection and humanitarian aid to the test. Coordination went well, facilitated by the 
decision  to  bring  humanitarian  aid  and  the  civil  protection  mechanism  under  the  same 
political and administrative leadership. The RELEX crisis platform of the Commission was 
rapidly  activated  and  served  for  two  weeks  as  a  coordination  forum  for  all  concerned 
European Commission services as well as those of the Council Secretariat. 

The office of the European Commission's humanitarian aid and civil protection DG in Port-
au-Prince immediately joined the coordination efforts. It was present in the cluster meetings 
and chaired the humanitarian donors' group. Experts from the European Commission's DG 
for humanitarian aid and civil protection, as well as the EU Civil Protection Mechanism's 
assessment/coordination  experts,  participated  in  coordination  meetings  in  the  field.  From 
the beginning, they worked in support of the overall coordination role of the United Nations. 
A  European  Commission  expert  was  also  part  of  the  UNDAC  team  dispatched  to  Haiti  to 
carry out a first needs assessment. 

The MIC experts were embedded in UN coordination structures (UNDAC, UN-OCHA, and 
the  Joint  Operations  and  Tasking  Centre  (JOTC))  and  supported  its  overall  coordination 
work.  They  ensured  coordination  with  the  UNDAC  team  within  the  on-site  operations 
coordination centre (OSOCC), staffed the reception and departure centre at the airport and 
established sub-OSOCC offices in Leogane and Jacmel, together with UN-OCHA. 

EN 

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In  2008,  the  EU  deployed  a  European  Union  Force  (EUFOR)  to  Chad  and  CAR.  In  the 
initial  phase  of  its  deployment,  there  was  a  degree  of  concern  within  the  humanitarian 
community regarding EUFOR's mandate. 

The  European  Commission  immediately  set  to  work  through  directly  liaising  with  EU 
military  staff  and  EUFOR  headquarters  to  promote  awareness  of  -  and  respect  for  -  the 
fundamental  humanitarian  principles  and  the  preservation  of  humanitarian  space.  The 
Commission  also  supported  civil-military  coordination  by  providing  resources  for  the 
recruitment  of  a  UN-OCHA  civil-military  coordination  officer  and  a  policy  advisor  to  the 
NGO  Coordination  Committee.  These  efforts  contributed  towards  improving  civil-military 
coordination  by  raising  the  humanitarian  dimension  among  military  actors  and  enhancing 
mutual understanding among humanitarian and military actors of their respective mandates. 

3.5.3.  Further priorities 

Promoting humanitarian dimensions in relevant EU policy areas 
Relevant action(s): 42 

The establishment of COHAFA constitutes an important step in ensuring an effective role for 
humanitarian aid in EU policy dialogue. However, there is scope for strengthening working 
methods  and  awareness  of  the  humanitarian  expertise  provided  by  the  group  to  further 
consolidate COHAFA's role and interaction in relation to other EU policy areas, in particular 
development,  climate  adaptation  and  Common  Foreign  and  Security  Policy  (CFSP).  The 
establishment of the European External Action Service represents an important opportunity in 
this regard, including through the development of coherent briefing arrangements for newly-
posted  Member  States'  Embassy  and  EU  Delegation  staff.  The  briefing  arrangements  which 
have  already  been  put  in  place  by  some  EU  Member  States  for  their  national  diplomatic 
services could provide input to this process. 

Sharing of analysis and funding information 
Relevant action(s): 32, 36, 41 

Regular  and  comprehensive  exchanges  of  information  among  EU  Member  States  and  the 
European  Commission  on  funding  and  operational  strategies  are  essential  to  ensure 
coordinated, coherent and complementary EU humanitarian action. The EU should take steps 
to  ensure  that  relevant,  comprehensive  and  quality  information  is  shared  proactively  in 
both directions among Member States and the Commission in a timely impact-oriented way 
in order to ensure well-coordinated and consistent EU response to humanitarian crises aimed 
at avoiding duplications and gaps in efforts. 

Early  exchange  of  detailed  funding  intentions,  in  particular  in  the  case  of  sudden-onset 
situations remains a challenge due to a range of factors, amongst which decentralised funding 
allocations  in  some  EU  Member  States,  differences  in  practice  over  financial  planning, 
pledging, committing and contracting funds, and in some instances concern for confidentiality 
to ensure security of individual partners is not compromised. Accurate and early exchange 
of  detailed  funding  intentions  thus  needs  to  be  a  particular  focus  of  attention.  There  is 
clearly scope here for using EU coordination channels more effectively. Improved standards 
of  reporting  to  the  '14  points  system'  and  ensuring  better  awareness  of  its  contribution  to 
transparent, well-coordinated aid responses would help in this regard. 

EN 

26 

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The  EU  will  strive  to  ensure  that  the  '14  points  system'  is  compliant  with  concepts  and 
standards of other initiatives currently carried out to promote the aid transparency agenda and 
in  particular  the  International  Aid  Transparency  Initiative  (IATI)  that  was  launched  at  the 
High Level Forum III in Accra, September 2008. The Commission services including the DG 
for  humanitarian  aid  and  civil  protection  are  currently  working  on  the  development  of  a 
common database – called TR-AID – covering all EU external aid. 

Best practice in evaluation 
Relevant action(s): 14 

Whilst the European Commission shares its annual indicative evaluation programme with EU 
Member States and has regularly presented the outcomes of policy reviews and evaluations, 
there  is  still  scope  for  better  joint  planning,  lessons'  sharing  and  discussion  of  the  wider 
applicability  of  recommendations  arising  from  humanitarian  evaluations.  There  have  also 
been a few examples of jointly conducted evaluations with several EU donors. Strengthening 
cooperation  on  evaluation  across  the  EU  as  well  as  with  others  (for  example  through  the 
Active  Learning  Network  for  Accountability  and  Performance  (ALNAP))  would  allow  EU 
donors to avoid duplication of efforts and to better build on respective strengths. More joint 
evaluation  would  also  reduce  burden  on  partners  and  field  staff  and  contribute  to  better 
transparency and commitment to following-up on recommendations. 

Ensuring adequate and effective liaison between humanitarian and military actors 
Relevant action(s): 30, 38 

As  mentioned  above,  ensuring  adequate  dialogue  between  military  and  humanitarian 
actors is essential for supporting mutual understanding of respective mandates and promoting 
humanitarian  space  and  principles.  Cooperation  needs  to  be  strengthened  in  order  to  ensure 
agreed  standard  operating  procedures,  which  respect  these  mandates  and  principles  where 
humanitarian  and  military  actors  are  working  side  by  side  in  a  crisis  situation.  Partner 
organisations  have  expressed  the  need  for  further  EU  efforts  in  this  area  with  an  aim  of 
promoting  strengthened  and  formalised  dialogue  between  EU  and  national  military  staff  on 
the one hand and the wider humanitarian community on the other.  

3.6. 

The Aid Continuum 

3.6.1.  Background 

The  EU  is  committed  to  promoting  disaster  risk  reduction  and  disaster 
preparedness in developing countries through coherent and coordinated action 
at  local,  national  and  regional  level…it  is  important  to  ensure  that 
humanitarian,  development  and  other  relevant  aid  instruments  work  better 
together,  in  particular  in  situations  of  fragility  and  where  communities  are 
seeking to recover from the effects of crisis. 

European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid 

Action Area Six aims to promote the provision of humanitarian aid that takes into account – 
and is linked with – other elements of the aid continuum, such as preparedness and transition. 
Its  overall  expected  results  are:  humanitarian  aid  is  focussed  on  emergency  response  in 
response  to  humanitarian  needs  and  linked  better  with  longer-term  development  and  other 
assistance;  and  disaster  risk  reduction  activities  are  strengthened  and  supported increasingly 
by  long-term  aid  approaches.  The  seven  actions  include:  developing  an  EU  strategy  on 

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support  to  mainstreaming  disaster  risk  reduction  in  developing  countries;  ensuring  regular 
field  and  HQ  coordination  for  LRRD;  and  promoting  discussion  with  Partners  on  linkage 
between relief and recovery phase needs assessments. 

3.6.2.  Areas of progress 

Disaster risk reduction 
Relevant action(s): 43, 49 

Over recent decades, natural disasters have increased in both frequency and intensity, leading 
to  substantial  increases  in  humanitarian  needs.  In  addition  to  providing  assistance  to  those 
affected by these disasters, the EU is strongly committed to promoting efforts to reduce their 
risk and adverse impacts, notably through disaster risk reduction (DRR). DRR encompasses 
preparedness,  mitigation  and  prevention  activities  with  an  aim  to  reduce  populations' 
vulnerability to disaster and increase their resilience and capacities to cope. 

In 2009, the European Commission adopted the 'EU Strategy for Supporting Disaster Risk 
Reduction in Developing Countries'.30 This communication was welcomed by the Council 
and the European Parliament,  and  led  to the establishment of a steering group composed of 
representatives from the European Commission and EU Member States. On the basis of an 'ad 
hoc'  study,  the  Steering  Group  has  elaborated  an  Implementation  Plan  (Commission  Staff 
Working Paper) that will be discussed in Council before the end of 2010. In this context, the 
European  Commission's  strategic  approach  to  DRR  focuses  on  strengthening  advocacy  and 
increasing  coordination  efforts  notably  through  the  exchange  of  lessons  learnt  and  best 
practices with experts and partners. 

In  addition,  some  EU  Member  States  have  taken  steps  in  their  national  capacity  to  advance 
work  on  DRR.  This  includes  the  integration  of  DRR  into  national  strategies  and  policies, 
advocacy for DRR and climate-related issues in international fora, and provision of funding 
for  DRR  programming.  A  few  EU  Member  States  have  specific  DRR  funding  targets  as  a 
proportion of their humanitarian response. 

Linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD) 
Relevant action(s): 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 

Given  the  increasing  number  of  protracted  humanitarian  crises,  and  the  demands  from 
affected  countries  for  early  recovery  interventions,  the  EU  must  seek  to  address  more 
comprehensively  these  challenges  at  different  levels.  The  European  Commission  is  fully 
engaged with LRRD and is implementing innovative approaches enabling successful exits of 
humanitarian  aid  and  sustainable  transition  strategies.  This  has  translated  into  an  increased 
involvement of the European Commission's DG for humanitarian aid and civil protection in 
early recovery interventions. 

Effective  coordination  and  consistency  between  humanitarian  and  development 
actors/instruments is essential, at both political and operational levels. Exchanges at HQ and 
field  level  have  been  intensified,  in  particular  in  the  framework  of  common  needs 
assessments.  In  situations  of  fragility  in  particular,  where  humanitarian  operations  and 
development  interventions  may  coexist  or  follow-on  from  one  another,  complementarity, 
synergy and timeliness between different interventions (sectoral, local, regional and national) 

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COM (2009) 84 – 23.2.2009 

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is  crucial  for  durable  impact  in  pursuit  of  the  ultimate  objective  of  self-reliance  for  people 
affected by crisis. 

Since  the  adoption  of  the  Action  Plan,  the  EU  has  increased  its  activities  to  support  post-
conflict  and  post-disaster  needs  assessments  (PCNA/PDNA).  The  European  Commission 
signed a joint declaration with the United Nations Development Group and the World Bank 
on  post-crisis  assessment  and  recovery  planning  in  September  2008,  leading  to  enhanced 
cooperation among the three organisations both at headquarters and in the field. 

The EU has also increased its involvement in PDNA missions run jointly by the EU, UNDP 
and  the  World  Bank,  allowing  for  a  more  clear  and  shared  assessment  of  needs  and  a 
streamlined division of labour – both inside the EU and within the international system. For 
example, the European Commission together with some EU Member States participated in a 
joint PDNA mission conducted in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake in early 2010. Should 
a PDNA exercise be organised for Pakistan, following the floods in the summer of 2010, the 
EU would be similarly involved. The European Commission is also actively involved in the 
ongoing  joint  (UN-WB-EC)  revision  of  PDNA  methodologies.  In  this  framework,  the 
possible  links  between  first  needs  assessments  carried-out  during  the  relief  phase  and  more 
structured tools such as the ones used for PDNA are being considered. 

LRRD in the food and nutrition security sector 

The Niger 2005 food crisis was a wake-up call for better coordination between humanitarian 
and development aid instruments to reduce the risks and impact of the cyclical food crises 
that  plague  the  Sahel.  Action  to  reduce  acute  and  chronic  under-nutrition  requires  a 
combination of short, medium and long-term measures to provide a quick response to help 
those at immediate risk as well as to put in place the policies and action programmes needed 
to reduce the risks and mitigate the impact of further crises. Lessons learned from the 2005 
Niger crisis include the need to treat under-nourished children pro-actively at the moderate 
stage  before  they  drop  into  the  severely  under-nourished  stage  where  survival  rates  are 
much lower and the risk of permanent damage much higher. Humanitarian aid addresses the 
immediate life threatening risks from acute malnutrition but only the implementation of long-
term  government  policies  backed  by  development  assistance  will  ensure  the  sustainable 
action required to provide a permanent solution to under-nutrition. 

The  European  Commission's  'Sahel  Global  Plan'  was  designed  as  a  strategic  LRRD 
approach to achieve a reduction in acute under-nutrition. It is built on the 3 pillars of: 

•  Improving the knowledge base; 

•  Support to pilot, innovative and replicable action to reduce under-nutrition; and 

•  Advocacy  to  raise  awareness  in  government  and  development  partners  on 

nutrition issues. 

This  latter  key  element  in  the  strategy  requires  a  constant  dialogue  with  government 
authorities  and  development  partners  to  encourage  the  inclusion  of  food  and  nutritional 
security  as  sectors  of  concentration  in  development  programmes.  Progress  in  this  can  be 
measured to the extent that food and nutrition security are included as priority sectors in the 
programming of development aid strategies in the Sahel. 

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Since 2007, the European Commission has allocated over €150 million in humanitarian aid 
to the fight to reduce under-nutrition in the Sahel. Over 1 million children under-five years 
of age, and pregnant and nursing women have been treated each year for under-nutrition as 
a consequence and nutrition issues have been put more firmly on the development agenda. 
This has helped leverage substantial development aid for Sahel food security needs. 

3.6.3.  Further priorities 

Continued efforts to support disaster risk reduction 
Relevant action(s): 43, 49 

Supporting disaster risk reduction efforts is a key priority for the EU, and the 'EU Strategy for 
Supporting Disaster Risk Reduction in Developing Countries' represents an important step in 
this  regard.  Through  the  aforementioned  Implementation  Plan,  the  EU  will  bring,  more 
strongly and systematically, DRR and its linkage to climate adaptation into the development 
field. It will also concentrate operations in areas where the knowledge and expertise of the EU 
and Member States can be of added value. In order to achieve this, better coordination and 
exchange  of  information  should  be  sought,  and  the  role  of  the  Steering  Group 
strengthened  to  improve  the  coordination  of  activities  and  the  monitoring  of  its 
implementation. 

Humanitarian actors should continue to mainstream community-based preparedness activities 
in  their  operations  and  exchange  best  practices  on  small-scale  disaster  risk  reduction 
activities.  An  additional  objective  is  to  promote  DRR  as  a  priority  at  regional  level  and  to 
make sure that authorities and stakeholders have the support needed in terms of knowledge, 
expertise and technical tools to integrate DRR into their strategies. 

Efforts  should  continue  to  be  made  to  improve  the  integration  of  DRR,  climate  adaption 
and cross-cutting issues (gender, vulnerable groups, and environment) into EU development 
cooperation.  This  will  facilitate  the  promotion  of  integration  of  DRR  into  partner  countries' 
policies and strategies. Attention should be given to multiple hazards, and the different actors 
in  this  field  from  the  EU,  the  Member  States  and  the  developing  countries  should  receive 
appropriate training in mainstreaming DRR/climate adaption. 

Continued EU action to support linking relief, rehabilitation and development 
Relevant action(s): 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 

The  European  Consensus  underlines  the  importance  of  achieving  better  linkage  between 
relief, rehabilitation and development and states that "the EU will work together on advancing 
practical approaches to LRRD".  

While progress has been made in this regard, LRRD remains a topic high on the agenda for 
the  whole  of  the  EU.  Whilst  politically  everybody  is  in  agreement  that  coherent  transition 
strategies are of vital importance, implementation of the approach remains difficult. 

Work  should  continue  to  be  undertaken  on  several  levels  amongst  humanitarian  and 
development  services  in  the  European  Commission  with  a  view  to  better  coordinating  the 
different  approaches  starting  from  the  design  stage  of  aid  through  to  the  actual 
implementation of operations. An ongoing study run by EuropeAid should contribute in this 
regard  as  it  aims  to  come  up  with  a  set  of  best-practices  by  selecting  a  number  of  target 
countries  and  analysing  in  detail  how  to  improve  transition  strategies.  In  parallel,  the 

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conceptual  work  on  situations  of  fragility  aims  to  provide  a  set  of  references  to  guide 
development  and  humanitarian  actors  in  the  programming  and  delivery  of  aid.  One  aspect 
requiring  specific  attention  in  the  aftermath  of  conflict  is  the  need  to  clear  unexploded 
ordnance and landmines, which cause an immediate threat to civilians and hinder sustainable 
development.31 

This  should  also  be  facilitated  by  reinforcing  joint  assessment  missions  (e.g.  PCNA  and 
PDNA)  by  the  different  actors,  targeting  particularly  early  recovery  situations  following  a 
disaster. 

In  addition  to  strengthened  emphasis  on  LRRD,  the  EU  should  maintain  focus  on  setting 
common  objectives  and  strategies  for  longer-term  instruments  in  protracted  crises.  In  some 
situations, these need to be implemented in parallel to short-term humanitarian operations to 
maximise the opportunities for durable impact. In the context of the Food Security Thematic 
Programme (FTSP), as well as the upcoming discussions on the objectives and programming 
of the 11th European Development Fund, the Commission's DG for humanitarian aid and civil 
protection  remains  fully  engaged  to  ensure  a  successful  framework  that  would  lay  the  basis 
for a systematic common approach on shared priorities. This could, for example, translate into 
more integration of food security and nutrition matters into country strategy papers. 

4. 

CONCLUSION 

This Staff Working Paper, accompanying the Communication on 'the mid-term review of the 
European  Consensus  on  Humanitarian  Aid  Action  Plan  –  implementing  effective  principled 
EU  humanitarian  action',  has  sought  to  give  a  comprehensive  overview  of  the  considerable 
progress  made  during  the  first  half  of  the  implementation  period  of  the  current  'European 
Consensus  Action  Plan'.  A  further  review  is  envisaged  at  the  full-term  of  the  Action  Plan, 
before end 2012. 

In  conducting  the  review,  a  number  of  further  priorities  have  emerged  for  improving  focus 
under  the  existing  Action  Areas.  The  Action  Plan  is  ambitious  in  the  range  and  quantity  of 
actions  envisaged  and  a  number  of  challenges  arise  in  its  implementation.  These  challenges 
are  set  out  in  the  accompanying  Communication,  together  with  a  small  number  of 
recommendations  from  the  European  Commission,  which  focus  on  how  to  improve 
implementation  modalities  to  get  the  most  out  of  the  EU's  potential  to  work  together  on 
humanitarian issues.  Together,  the  Communication  and  Staff  Working  Paper  aim  to  support 
the  intended  impact  of  EU  action,  i.e.  to  ensure  the  best  possible  contribution  to  the 
humanitarian aid response to vulnerable people facing crisis. 

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A  recent  evaluation  carried  out  by  the  Geneva  International  Centre  for  Humanitarian  Demining  on 
behalf of EuropeAid has conveyed strong recommendations to this effect 

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