OCRL

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

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Abbreviation	OCHA
Formation	1991
Type	United Nations agency
Headquarters	New York City, United States
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs	Martin Griffiths
Parent organization	United Nations Secretariat
Website	unocha.org

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations body established to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disasters. OCHA's mandate is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors.

History

OCHA was established in December 1991 by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/182. The resolution was a response to the need for a more coordinated approach to humanitarian crises, which had become increasingly complex and frequent. The office was created to ensure that the international community could respond quickly and effectively to emergencies.

Mandate and Functions

OCHA's primary mandate is to coordinate humanitarian response efforts. This includes:

• Coordination: OCHA works to ensure that humanitarian organizations can respond to emergencies in a coordinated manner. This involves organizing meetings, facilitating information sharing, and developing common strategies.
• Policy Development: OCHA develops policies to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian response. This includes guidelines on humanitarian principles, protection of civilians, and the use of military assets in humanitarian operations.
• Advocacy: OCHA advocates for the rights of people affected by crises and for the resources needed to respond to emergencies. This includes raising awareness of humanitarian issues and mobilizing funding.
• Information Management: OCHA collects, analyzes, and disseminates information on humanitarian situations to support decision-making and coordination.
• Humanitarian Financing: OCHA manages several funding mechanisms, including the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), to ensure that resources are available for rapid response to emergencies.

Structure

OCHA is part of the United Nations Secretariat and is headed by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. The office has headquarters in New York City and Geneva, and it maintains regional and country offices around the world to support field operations.

Key Initiatives

OCHA is involved in several key initiatives to improve humanitarian response:

• Humanitarian Response Plans: OCHA coordinates the development of comprehensive response plans for major crises, outlining the needs and priorities for humanitarian action.
• Cluster Approach: OCHA supports the cluster approach, which organizes humanitarian actors into sectors (e.g., health, shelter, food security) to improve coordination and response.
• Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX): OCHA manages the HDX platform, which provides open access to humanitarian data to support analysis and decision-making.

Challenges

OCHA faces several challenges in fulfilling its mandate, including:

• Access: Ensuring access to affected populations in conflict zones can be difficult due to security concerns and restrictions imposed by parties to the conflict.
• Funding: Humanitarian needs often outpace available funding, requiring OCHA to prioritize and advocate for additional resources.
• Coordination: Coordinating a diverse range of actors, including governments, NGOs, and UN agencies, can be complex and requires effective communication and collaboration.

Also see

• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
• World Food Programme
• International Committee of the Red Cross
• Humanitarian principles
• Central Emergency Response Fund