Brussels, 20/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - ECHO, the Community's Humanitarian Office, has defined its strategy which will provide the policy framework for its activities in 2004, a year of transition par excellence, as it will be marked by Union enlargement, a new European Commission and a new European Parliament. "We shall continue to defend the main principles of humanitarian law which are neutrality, impartiality and non-discrimination in the help brought to people in need, and we shall implement principles and good practice as set out by the humanitarian donors at the Stockholm conference (16-17 June 2003) to improve the implementation of humanitarian work and define the responsibilities of donors in support of such work", ECHO executive Costanza Adinolfi said as she set the scene to the press in Brussels.
With 165 crises of human origin in the world including 52 wars and violent conflicts, 25 million displaced people, 10 million refugees and 2.5 million repatriated in 2002, needs remain constant. Only their nature changes, she explained, citing as an example the massive return of Afghan refugees and the significant increase in the number of natural disasters (mainly due to climatic conditions) which cause less deaths but more victims. "Our activities are volatile by definition, as they depend on the way humanitarian situations develop on the ground. ECHO has undertaken not only to provide emergency assistance required by the new crises but also for crises of long duration which, from one year to the next, take up 60-70% of its budget", Costanza Adinolfi recalled. The Bam earthquake in Iran at the end of 2003 is the most recent example of a natural disaster that carries on into 2004 and requires ECHO's full attention. EUR 2.3 million, which were immediately released under emergency procedure from the 2003 budget, will soon be completed by a further financing decision by mid February. By way of indication, Ms Adinolfi has cited the sum of EUR 4-7 million.
On a more global level, ECHO will be present in 50 countries and territories worldwide and should take around 90 financing decisions with a budget of EUR 490 million bailed out by the possibility of using part of the European Development Fund resources for ACP countries (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) and by using the emergency reserve of the Community budget (EUR 221 million) to face up to unexpected crises. Africa and Asia will be the preferred field of such action. The Middle East, a source of growing concern due to the dramatic deterioration in the humanitarian situation, should receive greater attention. The breakdown of funding could be as follows:
ACP countries: EUR 165 million; Asia, Latin America, Iraq: 120 million; Eastern Europe, New Independent States, Middle East: 82 million; reserve for unexpected emergencies: EUR 71 million; other funding: EUR 34 million; operational aid for disaster prevention preparation (DIPECHO): EUR 10 million; and administrative management: EUR 8 million.
ECHO sets itself strategic targets to meet the essential needs identified in the countries and regions that require assistance most: Middle East: 345 million; Afghanistan/Pakistan: 42 million; Democratic Republic of Congo: 40 million; Chechnya: 25 million; Iraq: 21 million; Sudan: 20 million; Western Africa, mainly Liberia: 19 million; Zimbabwe: 15 million, Burundi: 15 million); North Korea: 14 million; Angola: 8 million; Colombia: 8 million; Myanmar: 6 million; and Yemen: EUR 2.5 million. It also aims to give special attention to the crises "forgotten" by donors and the media (Uganda, Somalia, Chechnya, Saharoui refugees, Myanmar, Nepal and Haiti); to promote the link between emergency aid, rehabilitation and development; to strengthen disaster prevention; and complete the development of methods for assessing results and activities in favour of the most vulnerable groups.
In answer to questions on the humanitarian situation in Chechnya, Ms Adinolfi stressed that the aid had been displaced from Ingushia to Chechnya but that no solution had been found to the problem of access to victims failing satisfying cooperation with Russian authorities. "We must continue to be present. We cannot accept the pressure from the authorities. The population needs protection. But, unlike what officialdom says, operations are increasingly difficult", she said, regretting that "the Union is not unanimous on the position that must be adopted toward Russian authorities and that Chechnya has disappeared from EU/Russia dialogue". On the subject of Afghanistan, she specified that ECHO was in a phase of gradually reducing its aid (replaced by the EU's annual commitment on 200 million in reconstruction aid). "Major needs have still to be covered in the south of the country, but persistent access and security problems make it difficult to take the aid there", she said. On the subject of Zimbabwe, Costanza Adinolfi answered questions, saying: "The magnitude of the humanitarian crisis exceeds what ECHO had envisaged, mainly due to the under-estimated impact of the prevalence of AIDS". Disciplinary action against the Mugabe regime is, she believes, "an instrument to be used with common sense to put real pressure on the authorities without adding the burden shouldered by the population".