Challenges an International Organization Faces

International Relations

The Role of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and their Involvement in the Relief Efforts Following the 2002 Nyirangongo Eruption

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) operates under the remit of the United Nations Secretariat, with 35 global offices and approximately 1,900 staff (OCHA, 2012). The organization has four principle roles which are stated as being a part of its' mission (OCHA, 2012). The first role is as an inter-agency body; involved in the mobilization and coordinating of actors that respond to humanitarian emergencies, which it aims to perform in a principled manner to help alleviate the suffering caused by disasters and emergencies (OCHA, 2012). The actors that are mobilized and coordinated by the OCHA include United Nations (UN) actors and non-governmental organizations (NGO's) at both national and international levels (OCHA, 2012). The second role of the OCHA is that of advocating for the rights of people who are in need (OCHA, 2012). The third role is to promote preparedness to support relief provision for natural disasters and emergencies as well as preventative measures to aid the prevention of manmade disasters. The last role is that of facilitating sustainable solutions (OCHA, 2012).

These roles of OCHA are fulfilled in a number of ways. This includes the extensive use of partnerships and the provision support being a service provider. The partnerships are an essential part of the organizations operations; they facilitate increased practical aid in the response to emergencies, but the partnerships extend beyond this (OCHA, 2012). OCHA also utilizes its unique position in a strategic manner in order to influence different bodies' decision making in line with its humanitarian agenda to enhance the environment for humanitarian aid (OCHA, 2012). As a service provider the organizations partners are aided with information, support and advice, as well as the general coordination activities. Services, aid and advice include, but are not limited to, services such as the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), Humanitarian Information Centers, a data exchange platform designed for emergency associated information (OCHA, 2012). There are also a number of databases with that store data on which agencies are undertaking which actions in which emergencies, the main database is colloquially known as the 3W database, officially known as the " Who does What Where Database" (OCHA, 2012).

From this it is apparent the organization has a large remit that is central to the coordination of relief for emergencies and disasters. The role can be seen in many incidences, one example was the eruption of the Nyirangongo volcano on the 17th of January 2002 (O'Malley, 2002). Nyirangongo is located in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, an area where there were already many difficult conditions due to the political situation in the country and the neighboring Rwanda. The eruption was estimated to release approximately 20 million cubic meters of lava, which force an estimated 400,000 to flee their homes as much of the land was destroyed (O'Malley, 2002).

The OCHA undertook three major roles. The first was the bringing in of specialist volcanologists to assess the volcano and associated seismic activity to provide information and guidance to the humanitarian actors in the area. This played an important calming role. The second task fulfilled by the OCHA was the establishing of an humanitarian information center located in Goma, a city where 13% of the land had been destroyed and central to the disaster area (O'Malley, 2002). This was set up specifically to disseminate information was needed to aid with the general management of the crisis. The last of the important roles was the aid provided in creating and developing the sectoral committees that were required for decision making and coordination of humanitarian efforts (O'Malley, 2002). This increased the ability of the different agencies to focus on their specific areas of aid.