Commission Decision of 27 October 2004 approving the exchange of letters between the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and the Commission of the European Communities concerning their cooperation in the framework of disaster response (in case of simultaneous interventions in a country affected by a disaster) (Text with EEA relevance) (2005/160/EC)

Exchange of letters between the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and the Commission of the European Communities concerning their cooperation in the framework of disaster response (in case of simultaneous interventions in a country affected by a disaster)

Dear Sir,

The European Commission (Directorate General for Environment and the Community Humanitarian Aid Office, ECHO) welcomes the existing cooperation between the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and the European Commission in the area of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The United Nations have a central role in providing leadership and coordinating efforts of the international community in delivering international humanitarian assistance in accordance with the global mandate entrusted by the General Assembly (as per G.A. Resolution 46/182 its annexe and preceding G.A. Resolutions as referred to therein).

The Community Civil Protection Mechanism reflects the collective will to facilitate reinforced cooperation between the European Community and its Member States in civil protection assistance interventions to respond to disaster situations.

The recent Communication from the Commission entitled ‘The European Union and the United Nations: the choice of multilateralism’ (COM(2003) 526 final) highlighting ‘the importance of enhancing cooperation with the UN, and of strengthening the EU’s voice in the UN’, the Communication from the Commission entitled ‘Building an Effective Partnership with the United Nations in the fields of Development and Humanitarian Affairs’ (COM(2001) 231 final), and the EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict adopted in December 2003 confirm the importance which the Commission attaches to close cooperation with the UN generally and in particular in the area of response to natural and man-made disasters. Furthermore, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in a policy document⁽¹⁾ addressed on 8 January 2002 to the President of the European Commission, recommends the two parties to work together to support the UN’s role in ensuring a coherent coordination framework for the provision of humanitarian assistance.

UNOCHA has, for several years, enjoyed a close relationship with ECHO⁽²⁾, inter alia, through the so-called ‘Strategic Programming Dialogue’. The establishment of the Community Civil Protection Mechanism in October 2001⁽³⁾ calls for further cooperation with UNOCHA in the field of civil protection. It is important for the two systems, in the spirit of the Fribourg Process⁽⁴⁾, to operate in a coherent and complementary manner in supporting States and populations affected by disasters and emergencies.

This Exchange of letters aims at establishing the basic principles for further cooperation and coordination between, on the one hand, UNOCHA (including its emergency response system and coordination tools) and, on the other hand, the European Commission (in the framework of the Community Civil Protection Mechanism and ECHO) when both simultaneously provide or facilitate assistance to a country affected by a natural or man-made disaster, in an attempt to cooperate efficiently, maximise the use of available resources and avoid any unnecessary duplication of effort. UNOCHA and the European Commission are of the opinion that a coordinated approach will best serve the victims of any disaster. Therefore, they acknowledge the following:

1. Providing protection and assistance to its citizens, in times of disasters and emergencies, is the fundamental responsibility of each State. However, when relief needs are beyond the response capacity of the affected State, the international community must be prepared and able to assist.

2. National and international assets available for disaster response are limited and it is important that the UNOCHA and the European Commission cooperate fully to optimise their use.

3. Further practical steps should be taken to build on the momentum of the positive cooperation between the UNOCHA and the European Commission. Thus, both will regularly exchange information, maintain a continued dialogue at policy and operational levels and aim to ensure, as far as possible, complementarity between their respective training and exercise activities, as well as in the planning for and delivery of disaster relief assistance.

To this end, UNOCHA and the European Commission agree on the Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs) annexed to the present Exchange of letters and will implement them to facilitate effective coordination. The SOPs may be further developed and/or adapted at technical level in the light of the experience, where necessary.

The present Exchange of letters shall not affect the role assigned to the Member State entrusted with the Presidency of the Council of the European Union by Article 6, paragraph 2, of Council Decision 2001/792/EC.

Furthermore, it shall not affect the arrangements for cooperation and co-ordination such as those between the UNOCHA and ECHO, which go wider than the matters described in the attached SOPs (Annex 2).

We would like to propose that this letter with the SOPs, and the letter with your reply, would be regarded as approval by both sides of measures mentioned above.