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Humanitarian coordination

  • Page updated on18 de April de 2025
Humanitarian coordination
Photo: Bruno Abarca

With all the variety of actors and the complexity of humanitarian contexts, there needs to be a predefined way of working in a coordinated manner that all actors respect. Otherwise, the risk of duplication of efforts and inefficiency is very high. The point is that not just any system will do. It must be one in which all stakeholders feel included and feel they belong. It must also be one that allows different stakeholders at different levels not only to communicate with each other, but also to align and collaborate with each other for a common goal.

The global framework for the coordination of humanitarian action

OCHA, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee

The current framework for the coordination of humanitarian assistance was established in 1991. That year, United Nations resolution 46/182 determined that each state had the responsibility to deal with victims of emergencies and disasters on its territory, including the initiation, organization, coordination and delivery of humanitarian assistance. However, it also determined that, when assistance needs exceed the capacity of states, states may request and should facilitate external international cooperation, which will act with the consent of the national authorities. International assistance should be provided under the coordination, cooperation and leadership of the United Nations.

There is a key figure in the United Nations, appointed by the Secretary-General himself. This is the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC). He/she reports to the General Assembly. It must respond to requests for humanitarian assistance, have an overview of all emergencies, facilitate humanitarian access to organizations, manage an emergency fund, lead the coordination and mobilization of humanitarian assistance, and promote the transition to post-emergency recovery. It has, at its service, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of the United Nations.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator also chairs the Inter-Agency Standing Committee or IASC. It is the main global humanitarian coordination platform of the United Nations. It involves all UN operational agencies (FAO, IOM, OHCHR, OCHA, UNDP, UNICEF, UNHCR, UN-HABITAT, UNFPA, UN Women, WFP and WHO). In addition, there is a standing invitation to IFRC, ICRC, the World Bank and the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons. NGOs are also represented in the IASC, through three partnerships: InterAction, ICVA (International Council of Voluntary Agencies) and SCRH (Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response).

Humanitarian clusters

Throughout the 1990s and early 21st century, a series of humanitarian crises demonstrated the need for an even more structured system for humanitarian operations. When humanitarian crises were large, the humanitarian system proved inefficient, with duplication of some efforts and simultaneous gaps in response. In 2005 Jan Egeland, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, commissioned an independent evaluation. One of the main findings of this evaluation was to propose the current cluster approach.

A cluster is a group of humanitarian agencies and organizations specialized in a specific sector of humanitarian response. There are eight clusters. Six of them cover classic technical areas: water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter, nutrition, health, food security and education. Two others cover areas related to service provision: logistics and emergency telecommunications. Three more cover cross-cutting issues: IDP camp coordination and management, early recovery, and protection. Each cluster has a lead agency. However, these humanitarian clusters, at the global level, do not do direct implementation of actions. Rather, their role is one of coordination and leadership, to increase technical capacity for preparedness and response to humanitarian emergencies in their technical area. They also provide operational support to national clusters.

Clusters

Architecture of humanitarian coordination at the national level

The architecture of global humanitarian coordination is reflected in national and regional humanitarian crises.

The Humanitarian Coordinator, and the Humanitarian Country Team

Similar to the global model, when a humanitarian emergency arises in a country that requires it, the ERC appoints a Humanitarian Coordinator (HC). On occasion, or until a HC is appointed, this role is assumed by the UN Resident Coordinator in that country. The Humanitarian Coordinator is supported by the Emergency Relief Coordinator and OCHA, and is responsible for leading and coordinating the action of humanitarian organizations in the country, so that it is based on humanitarian principles, is timely, effective and efficient, and contributes to long-term recovery.

At the onset of a humanitarian crisis, and similar to the global role of the IASC, a Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) is established in the affected country or region. This team is chaired by the Humanitarian Coordinator and is responsible for determining the other humanitarian coordination structures. The Humanitarian Country Team includes representation from national authorities (government) and NGOs, in addition to cluster leaders from each sector (if any). The HCT is also usually supported by other mechanisms, such as coordination groups between the different clusters or sectors, and working groups for information management. All these actors together coordinate and lead the activation of the response and the humanitarian country program cycle.

Humanitarian clusters are also established (or activated) at the national level.

When necessary, and according to the Humanitarian Country Team analysis of humanitarian needs and national coordination capacity, humanitarian clusters are activated at the national level. Not all 11 clusters are always activated automatically. The size of the crisis, the limitations of existing coordination mechanisms, the need for a multi-sectoral approach, and the complexity of the response in terms of the number and diversity of humanitarian actors are assessed first. This must be done within 72 hours of the onset of the emergency.

The usual practice is for the same agency that leads the cluster at the global level to also lead the national cluster, but this is not always possible or appropriate. In a given country there may be organizations that are better positioned to assume this role. Sometimes co-leadership by the local authority or an NGO is also considered. Each cluster is supported by its counterpart global cluster. There may also be mechanisms and working groups for coordination between clusters, beyond the Humanitarian Country Team.

Once activated, the clusters act as formal forums for humanitarian coordination by sector, at the national level. Thus, the cluster assumes coordination responsibilities among all actors working in its sector. These responsibilities include supporting service provision (avoiding unnecessary duplication) and guiding operations, strengthening local authorities, and informing the Humanitarian Country Team's operational and advocacy decision making as it relates to their sector. Their role is key to developing sector strategies in a coordinated manner, supporting the different actors and facilitating their collaboration. Clusters can also establish working groups on specific themes in their sector. All humanitarian actors working in a country in, for example, the health sector, are invited to participate in their health cluster, which meets regularly.

NGOs also participate in these national humanitarian coordination mechanisms.

National and international NGOs are not merely implementers of projects. They also play an active role in ensuring that humanitarian action is coordinated and effective. Coordination mechanisms such as the Humanitarian Country Team and clusters should actively promote and facilitate their participation. Moreover, it is recommended that clusters be co-led by an NGO, to facilitate coordination and contextualization of the response.

In addition, often NGOs establish forums and networks among themselves, which sometimes play an additional key role in humanitarian coordination. These NGO forums can be very well established, with strong internal mechanisms of functioning and institutional relationship with the rest of the actors. These forums are often supported by international NGO networks, such as InterAction, ICVA or SCRH.

Humanitarian coordination in special situations

Coordination in refugee camps

In refugee contexts where humanitarian assistance is required, the organization with the mandate to protect these people and coordinate the response among actors is UNHCR. Displaced persons have specific protection needs that must be addressed and, as such, UNHCR cannot transfer this mandate to another organization such as OCHA. UNHCR furthermore monitors and ensures that states adhere to standards for the protection of refugees.

In major refugee crises, instead of establishing a Humanitarian Response Plan, a Refugee Response Plan, national or regional (when the crisis extends to several countries), is articulated. The general framework for these plans is the Global Compact on Refugees. In the coordination model for these contexts, no clusters are established.

In addition, there are mixed situations, where there is a humanitarian response for which a Humanitarian Coordinator has been appointed and also an ongoing UNHCR operation. In such cases, an agreement signed between OCHA and UNHCR in 2014 establishes the roles of each organization and the mechanism for collaboration between them.

Coordination in health emergencies

The experience of humanitarian response in crises with large epidemics (such as Ebola or COVID-19) has shown that the coordination model requires some changes. The IASC has developed specific procedures for these cases, thus linking the role of the usual humanitarian coordination mechanisms with the responsibilities of the World Health Organization under the International Health Regulations.

In these cases, the Emergency Relief Coordinator works in collaboration with the WHO Director-General. Thus, WHO provides an assessment of the situation, the public health risks, and the need to activate a wide-ranging humanitarian response. The coordination model can be adapted taking into account existing resources and coordination platforms.

Humanitarian coordination often has much room for improvement

Much has been said about humanitarian coordination. Moreover, successive reforms have changed and updated the model. In general, these changes have been welcome and have improved how the different actors collaborate with each other. However, not everything depends on regulations and procedures. After all, most coordination mechanisms also depend on the will to collaborate between humanitarian actors who, at the same time, compete for scarce resources and must manage their own priorities in very complex contexts. Moreover, it is not easy to effectively coordinate these actors, and even more so when teams are frequently renewed and do not always have sufficient experience in similar tasks.

Some studies have shown that, on occasions, in Humanitarian Country Teams meetings there are no open, participatory, action-focused discussions. Sometimes there is not an adequate climate of participation and trust in these mechanisms, in which there is much asymmetry between the power and voice of UN agencies, international NGOs and national NGOs. Moreover, they do not all address important humanitarian principles such as independence in the same way. As a result, organizations may tend to ignore meetings, not actively participate in them, hide information that may compromise them, or avoid addressing particularly sensitive issues. It is not uncommon that at the end of some of these meetings, their participants have the feeling that everything has been limited to sharing the same information that could have been circulated in an email.

Humanitarian system

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