Brussels, 24/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - An international conference in Copenhagen on Wednesday on the initiative of the Danish Refugee Council and other NGOs with the support of the European Commission's humanitarian office ECHO focussed on the attitude of the media, humanitarian agencies and donors with regard to "forgotten humanitarian crises". The conference aimed to get major protagonists to query their role in this ignorance and raise public awareness about humanitarian crises that do not hit the headlines despite the fact that they continue to give rise to serious humanitarian needs.
Poul Nielson, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, said ECHO was deeply concerned by this issue and was happy to be able to work with Danish NGOs and the Presidency to draw attention to this matter. ECHO's mandate is to help the most vulnerable and not simply follow TV cameras. Lack of media coverage can lead to lack of interest among donors and victims' needs not being met, he added.
In Angola, which is a perfect example of this problem, despite reduced media coverage after the ending of the thirty-years war, ECHO is continuing to provide immediate aid to people in desperate need (EUR 130 million have been allocated since 1993). The crisis affecting the people of north Uganda is another case in point cited by the Commission, who said he found it all the more difficult to understand the lack of a humanitarian response when the needs were so great. The crisis in Chechnya, Western Sahara refugees in Algeria and Burmese refugees in Thailand were also mentioned by Poul Nielson, "to name but a few".