2001 Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP)
Launch
Address by Dr Jacques Diouf
Rome, Italy, 29 November 2000
His Excellency Lamberto Dini, Excellencies, Ladies
and Gentlemen,
I welcome you all to the launch of the 2001 United
Nations Inter-Agency Consolidated Appeals.
This year, the United Nations has brought the
presentation of the Consolidated Appeals to selected
agencies and donor capitals around the world in order to
ensure wide coverage and an understanding of the
magnitude of the needs, as well as to reinforce the
dialogue with donors at all levels. We are honoured and
extremely grateful for the cooperation of the Italian
government in this important event. Today, we will
highlight here in Rome the Appeals for Angola, Somalia
and Tajikistan.
The Consolidated Appeals Process, often referred to as
the "CAP," is how the UN system and its humanitarian
partners work together to develop and carry out a plan to
address serious humanitarian crises.
In response to particularly complex and protracted
emergencies around the world, the concerned UN system
organizations, the Red Cross Movement, international and
national NGOs, and Governments perform needs assessments,
develop project profiles and set strategies to address
such issues as nutrition, health and sanitation, food
security and education.
Initially, the Consolidated Appeals were a means to
raise funds quickly in response to emergencies. The
process has evolved over the years and now includes the
development of a targeted strategy for humanitarian
action with a concrete plan to implement the
strategy.
The CAP is used by the UN system as a coordination
tool. More than a collection of individual agency
appeals, the CAP reflects a coherent strategy and a
prioritization of needs, and serves as a benchmark
against which an operation's effectiveness can be
monitored and evaluated. Furthermore, the UN system has
sought to increase consultations with donors at all
levels, particularly in the field.
Apart from providing for immediate relief and
protection to the victims of crises, the CAP also
examines and addresses the root causes of these crises.
Each Appeal is designed to decrease vulnerability,
restore stability and link relief with sustainable
development, and it is also structured to mitigate the
consequences of crises and prevent their
re-occurrence.
This year, we are targeting 19 of the world's poorest
and most war-torn countries and regions. Most of the
victims are in Africa, a continent where many countries
are caught in a cycle of poverty and war at this
particular time in history. Together we can break this
cycle in countries like Angola, the Republic of the
Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi,
Sudan and Uganda. We require aid for Tanzania to help it
deal with refugees from the Great Lakes crisis. Relief is
also being sought for those affected by civil strife and
drought in the Horn of Africa, including Eritrea,
Ethiopia and Somalia. A regional appeal for West Africa
is being launched to assist countries like Liberia,
Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea deal with displaced
victims of war. Also, we are appealing for assistance for
the victims of the civil war in Sierra Leone.
Outside of Africa, aid is required for the victims of
the conflict and current drought in Afghanistan. An
appeal is being launched for the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea, which is suffering through its seventh
consecutive year of food shortages. Support is also being
sought for the victims of war in the Maluku islands of
Indonesia and in the North Caucasus. Finally, this year's
CAP seeks to accelerate the transition from relief
assistance toward sustainable development in Tajikistan
and in Southeastern Europe, namely Kosovo, Serbia and
Montenegro.
All told, the UN system is seeking over 2 billion
dollars in order to implement this year's ambitious
programmes.
As I already mentioned, today in Rome, we will be
highlighting the appeals for Angola, Somalia and
Tajikistan. The respective UN Humanitarian Coordinators
in these countries will outline the severe humanitarian
needs in these countries and the challenges and
constraints they are confronted with in their work.
As it is estimated that women and children account for
some 80% of all victims in situations of internal
conflict, it is appropriate that the theme for this
year's CAP is "Women and War." Whether as victims of
physical abuse or of the social structures that aggravate
their situation, women bear a disproportionate share of
the suffering in conflict situations, from rape and
displacement to the denial of the right to food and
health care. For this reason, we must continue to support
initiatives to strengthen protection for women in
war.
While this year's Appeals will cover the practical
needs of women, such as protection, food and health
services, many of the project proposals in the Appeals
seek to enhance the participatory role of women,
empowering them to move from victim to leader. Women must
be a part of the planning and decision-making of
humanitarian assistance programmes.
Another focus of this year's CAP is to ensure safe and
secure access for humanitarian aid workers. This is both
to protect their lives and to ensure them easy access to
vulnerable populations for the provision of effective
assistance.
In the field, humanitarian workers increasingly put
their lives at risk. The recent murders of FAO staff in
Baghdad and refugee protection officers in Timor
tragically underscore this fact. At the field level,
there is a need to improve security and to strengthen
preventive and preparatory measures. However, more
security officers and increased training will not be
enough unless there are firm commitments by all parties
to the conflict to allow aid workers to do their job.
Principles relating to the protection of civilians in
armed conflict, neutrality and impartiality have been
integrated in planning assistance as described in the
Appeals.
Together, we must put an end to the brutal irony of
aid workers losing their lives in order to save the lives
of others.
Through the years, funding for the Appeals has varied,
often depending upon the amount of media coverage of the
crisis. Most of the countries covered in today's
presentation are suffering through emergencies that have
dragged on for many years. Given our appetite for quick
news bite and headline, the media coverage of some of
these crises may give the impression that they are no
longer newsworthy. To the millions of the war-weary and
the displaced, the hungry and the poor in these
countries, there is nothing more immediate and newsworthy
than their day-to-day survival.
If humanitarian programs are to fulfill their mandate
to save lives, support community survival, and establish
firm foundations for sustainable development, we need the
media attention and the political support to gather
resources to do so.
You have been provided with copies of the Appeals for
Somalia, Angola and Tajikistan, which is be the subject
of special focus today. In addition, you will find
briefing kits containing a short summary of each of the
Appeals being launched for 2001. The Appeals and related
information are available on the Internet as indicated in
the briefing kits.
I hope to have conveyed to you a glimpse of the
Consolidated Appeals Process and the priorities we have
set for ourselves in 2001. We cannot let the faces of the
suffering fade from our memory when they fade from the
media headlines. Let this year's Appeals ring with the
voices of the 35 million men, women and children whose
needs must urgently be addressed. Together, we can ensure
that their cries for support are heard today so that they
may live a dignified life tomorrow.
