Memorandum from the Disasters Emergency
Committee (DEC)
Background
1. The DEC was set up in 1963, at a meeting of overseas
aid charities and Government officials, to take on the task of
coordinating any British response to a major disaster overseas.
Shortly afterwards it was adopted by the broadcasters as the sole
medium for coordinating disaster appeals and given special broadcasting
privileges by both the BBC and ITV as a result.
Until a year ago it had a maximum membership of seven
agencies, but by the early 1990s a number of other agencies were
providing disaster relief and requesting DEC membership. However
the DEC was unwilling to make membership freely available without
being able to ensure that standards would be maintained. There
was already at that time a growing movement within the wider NGO
community to improve transparency and accountability and the DEC
members were part of it. Eventually, after the Rwanda appeal,
it was decided to carry out a comprehensive review with the aim
of making the DEC as representative of the relief sector as possible
while maintaining or even improving accountability. The proposals
of this review were widely accepted and as a result the number
of members went up to 151.
2. The objective of the DEC is to reduce competitive
fundraising by providing a national forum for joint fundraising
by the member agencies when there is a major disaster overseas;
and to be an effective focal point for the response of the public
and the media and others. Additional objectives are to facilitate
member agency cooperation, co-ordination and communication, and
to ensure that funds are used in an effective, timely, and fully
accountable way.
3. Each member provides an annual account of its
expenditure overseas from UK funding sources. This figure, called
an Indicator of Capacity, is a rolling three year figure, and
is used to estimate how much each member participating in an appeal
should receive from pooled funds.
4. Six Chief Executives are elected to the Executive
Committee, which is responsible for the management of the DEC
and is chaired by an independent person from outside the sector
(currently Sir Paul Fox). The DEC also has a Council of independent
people, drawn from outside the agencies, whose role is both advisory
and supervisory.
5. The DEC Secretariat is responsible for administration
and for mounting appeals. Appeals are launched with the acquiescence
and support of a network of institutional supporters across the
media sector, banking, telecommunications and elsewhere.
6. DEC appeals have always had certain characteristics
which have been confirmed and strengthened by the recent review.
Firstly, there is recognition
that DEC appeals must not be launched lightly because they involve
a network of supporters that expects agency responses to be genuinely
humanitarian and not prompted by a desire to bolster the bottom
line.
Secondly, the agencies
have to be clear about issues such as the extent and nature of
what is needed and for how many people, and must take account
of a range of political and socio-economic factors such as access,
safety of staff, impartiality when dealing with warring factions,
etc, anything that could interfere with the effective delivery
of aid.
Thirdly, agencies have
to be fully accountable for funds received from an appeal. Each
agency is required to prepare a plan of action within 48 hours
of an appeal being called, then detail it after four weeks, and
that plan becomes the reference point for an independent published
audit commissioned by the DEC some seven months after the appeal
is launched. Any funds not used by an agency after six months
must be returned to the DEC for re-distribution.
Fourthly, all member agencies
must sign the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross
and NGOs in Disaster Relief, item 10 of which imposes standards
of behaviour in the use of images and publicity.
And fifthly, once an appeal is called the
agencies must stop all individual advertising. For a period of
between two and four weeks all advertising is done collectively
under the DEC banner. Over the years this has been the hallmark
of DEC collaboration and is strictly enforced.
7. The fact that there was no appeal between 1994
(Rwanda) and the current one for Sudan owes much to the strict
interpretation of what constitutes a disaster for which a DEC
appeal is appropriate; and to due respect for the process of evaluation
which makes agencies publicly accountable. Projects funded by
the DEC are subject to an independent evaluation, the result of
which is publicised in due course.
8. The agencies meet regularly under the aegis of
the DEC to exchange information, eg about emergency areas such
as N. Korea, Sierra Leone or Afghanistan. The DEC is facilitating
a process of research, analysis and discussion, funded by DfID,
into current trends that threaten the humanitarian imperative;
and is organising a Humanitarian Forum later in the year at which
the agencies will meet with DfID to discuss issues of common concern.
How the DEC Decided to Call an Appeal
Background
The DEC's 15 members elect six of their number to
an Executive Committee, which effectively is the management body
of the DEC. It is responsible for deciding to request, or not
request, from the broadcasters the facilities to make a national
appeal. The broadcasters may refuse a request, and have done so,
albeit rarely. The Executive Committee bases its decision on information
provided by all member agencies. Three Sub-Committees, for field
operations, fundraising and press relations, collate all relevant
information about the disaster and about public awareness of it,
and pass it to the Executive Committee, with a recommendation
for, or against, requesting an appeal. The process is triggered
when one or more Chief Executives contacts the Secretariat to
express concern about an actual or developing emergency.
The Decision on Southern Sudan—How it evolved
Background
Warning signals that the people in many parts of
Southern Sudan were likely to face a particularly difficult year
had been issue by the UN and NGOs since the latter part of 1997.
The long-running war and a recurrent drought had seriously reduced
people's abilities to cope. Then in January, 1998, Kerubino Bol,
a former SPLA faction leader, who had switched to the Government
side, switched sides again and attacked a Government army garrison
in Northern Bahr El Ghazal. The Government banned aid flights
to all but four airstrips, accelerating the crisis.
21 April World Vision
call the Secretariat to say they have very disturbing reports
from Bahr El Ghazal and have been asked to facilitate visits to
the area by TV broadcasters. World Vision Worldwide was being
asked to raise $2 million dollars to provide food and non-food
aid.
22 April Telephone conference
of Operation Staff/Desk Officers from all the agencies. Information
exchanged as far as it is available at that time. It is clear
that much more information is needed. Three agencies not operational
anywhere in Sudan and do not intend to be. It is agreed to speak
again in two days time.
24 April At this meeting
Desk Officers begin to develop stronger positions about the extent
of starvation. All agreed that Bahr El Ghazal is the worst hit
area, but differ about the extent of need in the Province and
beyond. The Church related agencies report widespread hunger amongst
large numbers of refugees in Western Equatoria, people who had
fled from conflict in Bahr El Ghazal. Other agencies say the problem
is more one of chronic and endemic food shortages, with pockets
of greater need in Bahr El Ghazal. They feel the primary need
is to get harvest grain for sowing to the farmers in time for
planting. They are also concerned about the need to keep up international
pressure on the Sudan Government to allow Operation Lifeline Sudan
(OLS) to fly aid in from Kenya. The agencies in OLS, or working
with OLS, and the Red Cross, need to have the agreement of all
parties before any major relief operation can be mounted.
Meantime their information is that the UN agencies,
particularly WFP, have sufficient food supplies for the time being.
The Church agencies (CAFOD and Christian Aid) indicate that their
partners in Sudan are calling for help, and they are organising
relief, by road from Uganda, albeit with the agreement of local
factions only.
Feelings about whether there should be an appeal,
or not, are divided. Five agencies say yes, two say no, and five
are neutral.
27 April This position
is relayed to the Executive Committee which votes unanimously
against an Appeal. They feel that more and better information
is needed—at the time only three DEC agencies are working
in Bahr El Ghazal; pressure must be kept up on Government of Sudan
(GOS) to provide free access; the UN agencies report adequate
food supplies if any access given; and the main need is to provide
seeds for crop sowing to prevent another lost harvest. The Committee
agree that the situation is sensitive and needs to be kept under
review.
Access is not a problem for the Church agencies,
but is a major problem for the other 10 agencies who are either
members of the OLS Consortium or associated with it and therefore
subject to the requirement for impartiality.
29 April CAFOD, Christian
Aid and World Vision make their own appeals to the public, which
they are allowed to do by the DEC rules, once a DEC decision not
to appeal is made.
During this period the media become interested not
only in the story of possible widespread starvation in Southern
Sudan but also in the story of a split within the DEC. BBC and
ITV both begin to file reports from Bahr El Ghazal claiming starvation,
as does press advertising by member agencies and UNICEF. This
raises the question: Why is the DEC not responding? Sudan is in
the news daily and it would be easy for the DEC to launch an appeal.
The DEC insists that key criteria for mounting an appeal have
still not been met.
2 May Kofi Annan announced agreement
with the Government of Sudan over access. On 3 May the UN Coordinator
for Emergency and Relief Operations in Sudan said the Government
of Sudan was allowing it to fly three additional C-130s and a
Buffalo, taking the total to five C-130s and three Buffalos. WFP
said it hoped to have most of the additional aircraft operational
within the week (in fact it took until about 14 of May). It asked
donors to respond urgently to the 1998 UN Consolidated Appeal
and for an additional $20.2 million. of food and cash for the
next four months. On 4 May Kofi Annan appealed to "governments
and populations of the world", saying that the UN appeal
for $109 million. had received pledges of only 20 per cent of
that amount. On 5 May OLS Southern Sector said that with access
"the most acute emergency needs can be met . . . the main
problem now was insuring the provision of necessary resources"
12 May Press Conference
by World Vision based on field visit by the Director to Bahr El
Ghazal. Confirms worsening situation.
A teleconference of Desk Officers identifies the
following significant changes in the situation:
WFP food stocks worse than thought.
OLS reported as apparently only 20 per cent
funded.
OLS supply line interrupted by rains and broken
bridges.
14 May OLS/UNICEF Conference
in House of Commons. They report widespread starvation across
the South. Sudan Ambassador announces that his Government wants
a ceasefire, that OLS will be given access to Nuba Mts. for an
assessment mission, and that 2,000 Mts of grain will be made available
at El Obeid. There is agreement to four C-130 planes in Kenya
and 1 in El Obeid.
BRCS report they have agreement to fly to some 14
locations and to send an assessment mission to Blue Nile Province.
15 May am DEC makes a
courtesy call to DflD to say an appeal likely later that day.
Desk Officer says OK, good luck, but please mention need for peace.
pm DEC Executive Committee votes unanimously to request
broadcasters for an Appeal.
20 May The Secretary of
State for International Development doubling of British humanitarian
aid to Sudan with an additional £5 million. She said: "As
access to the affected areas has improved, the need for urgent
help has become greater" and appealed for the warring factions
to end their conflict.
21 May Appeal is launched
successfully. (£6+ million in three weeks).
28 May Secretary of State
makes a speech at a media conference organised by DEC members,
and is critical of the DEC decision to appeal. Repeats this criticism
at another Conference some days later, and again during a television
interview the following Sunday with Jonathan Dimbleby Media picks
up on the story which runs for nearly two weeks. Oxfam issues
a press release expressing deep concern, and the DEC writes to
the Guardian and Independent on Sunday.
Issues raised by the Secretary of State
While the media has played on the differences between
the Secretary of State and NGOs, there are a number of key issues
on which we agree, namely:
* We agree that above all else, what is needed
in southern Sudan is peace;
* We share the Secretary of State's concerns
about the extent to which the media use negative images of disasters
rather than positive images of long term development—indeed,
that is why DEC members organised the conference on this subject,
* We welcome the British Government's recent
diplomatic efforts aimed at securing peace in southern Sudan and
also the fact that the British Government has been one of the
most generous bilateral donors to the current UN appeal.
That said, there are other issues on which clear
differences of opinion have emerged. Among the Secretary of State's
major observations and criticisms in speeches and media interviews
in May and June were the following points, to which aid agency
responses have been added:
1. Agencies were wrong to launch an appeal for Sudan
because the government would have provided agencies with the money
they required. The agencies should have gone to the government
first. She said that she would guarantee aid flows to agencies.
There is no guarantee that agency proposals
for programme work, in Sudan or elsewhere, will be funded.
Agencies which are independent bodies normally
go to a range of funding institutions as well as to the public,
and try not to be over-reliant on any one source.
Agencies launched the DEC appeal after spontaneous
donations came in from supporters and the public.
In the case of Sudan DflD policy has been to
fund agencies belonging to Operation Lifeline Sudan.
Applications to DflD for funding have become
increasingly complex and time-consuming.
2. Agencies were wrong to launch an appeal for Sudan
because it muddled the message in the public mind. The agencies
implied that more money was what was needed when what was needed
was public and government pressure for a ceasefire. In fact the
agencies' appeal reduced the pressure on the SPLA to agree to
a ceasefire. The agencies should have joined in applying that
pressure.
Agencies said that money was needed urgently
to save lives but also consistently stated that war was a major
cause of the crisis, that peace was essential and that governments
should apply political pressure for peace.
Various calls for a ceasefire were made, including
one by the Government of Sudan in January, by Clare Short and
the EU on 29 April, by the UN Security Council on 6 May and by
the Government of Sudan on 7 May. No ceasefire happened. The DEC
appeal was made on 21 May. Agencies find it incredible that the
appeal can be partially blamed for this lack of progress.
DEC agencies have all been actively involved
in lobbying the UN and member governments on the issue of conflict
in southern Sudan, many since the current war broke out 15 years
ago, but have consistently found it to be a low priority on the
international political agenda.
3. The real issue was access, although later the
Secretary of State amended this to emphasise a ceasefire as the
only solution, saying that OLS was mistaken in claiming it had
the level of access required and the resources required to deliver
the requisite amount of aid.
We would agree with the Secretary of State that
OLS, and especially the World Food Programme, lack the necessary
resources, despite many appeals to governments by the UN and the
UN Secretary General. As of 8 June WFP estimated that its Southern
Sector food pipeline was only sufficiently stocked to cover needs
until the end of July and that for the five months from June to
October it had a shortfall of 27,600 Mts of foodstuffs and a funding
shortfall to the end of October of around $40 million.
A major breakthrough on access for airlifts
occurred at the beginning of May. This began to offer the possibility
for many agencies operating in OLS to begin to scale up their
operations and so make effective use of more funds. Agencies remained
worried that WFP was being over-optimistic in talking about how
it would scale up to take advantage of access, and worried that
WFP lacked resources and would face further logistical problems.
Several DEC agencies are making resources available
to OLS to help it overcome these logistical problems.
4. Her staff had made it clear to agencies that
DFID thought that an appeal was not necessary.
Jamie McCaul, Executive Secretary of the DEC,
spoke to DflD officials on 15 May to advise them about the appeal,
to make clear the decision had not been taken lightly and to ask
whether DflD had any major objections. No objections were raised,
only a plea that DEC communications should stress that peace was
needed, a plea which chimed in with what the DEC had already decided
would be the message.
5. Air transport costs in Sudan used up 90 per cent
of money donated. What was needed was trainload of food.
DEC agencies are in partnership with many local
Sudanese agencies who work to deliver food in remote areas, often
through the Churches. This system is crucial and relatively inexpensive.
However, air transport is the only way of getting
food to hundreds of inaccessible areas in southern Sudan, an area
the distance between London and Moscow with only a few kilometres
of tarred road.
We would welcome the idea, raised also as we
understand it by the Government of Sudan to transfer food by rail.
However, the train is extremely unreliable and there is still
the problem of onward distribution from stations.
OLS does not only use planes—it also uses
large river barges. These carry very large quantities of food
relatively cheaply but the same constraints apply as to the railway.
Some DEC agencies operate trucks, and OLS is
seeking to build up a fleet of trucks. However, many areas, especially
going further north, remain hard to access by truck, especially
in the rainy season. There is a great need to provide the additional
resources needed to keep the airbridge going as well as all other
means of delivery.
6. The Secretary of State said that a lot of agencies
agreed with her comments about money not being the answer and
this was demonstrated by the fact that many of them had not wanted
a DEC appeal and had voted against it. However, once UNICEF had
appealed there was increasing pressure on the DEC agencies to
appeal. Agencies engage in competitive fundraising.
Individual agency needs for additional funds
are bound to emerge at different times depending on a huge variety
of factors. Information is also bound to vary. This was particularly
the case in late April. The DEC's Executive Committee, its decision-making
body, was unanimous about not requesting the broadcasters for
an appeal when it met on 27 April. The Executive Committee, as
Trustees, are required to take decisions in line with DEC objectives
and policy. UNICEF advertising did not put pressure on the DEC
to appeal.
All agencies acknowledged that, while they individually
could do something and many believed they could do more if they
had more money, a relief operation on the scale needed could only
be mounted if OLS was granted access and could gear up to take
advantage of it. Some agencies made their own appeals, which,
given the DEC decision not to appeal, they were fully at liberty
to do.
Even when greater access was granted, agencies
had to see whether it would be real, and then see how WFP was
gearing up. If WFP could not gear up, then greater access was
largely academic.
By 12 May agencies agreed the situation had
changed—flight access was real, the general information
picture was clearer. WFP's food stocks seemed worse than had been
thought. OLS was only 20 per cent funded, holes were identified
in WFP's logistics, new needs were confirmed. The DEC agreed that
agencies could provide some funds to OLS.
The ability to make effective use of public
funds, quickly and in a verifiable way, was crucial to the DEC
rules. This was a major factor in the Executive Committee voting
unanimously to request the broadcasters for an appeal on 15 May.
According to DEC rules all projects and expenditure
carried out by member agencies using DEC funds are subject to
independent evaluation seven months after the Appeal launch. That
evaluation is made public.
7. SPLA soldiers were sitting at food distribution
points and were well fed.
Operation Lifeline Sudan operates "ground
rules" which bind signatories, including government and rebels,
to standards of transparency and accountability. The way in which
these rules operate was praised by an independent review part-funded
by DflD.
OLS has considerably increased the number of
monitors it employs at food distribution sites.
Agencies have bases on the ground inside southern
Sudan, including mobile bases. Agencies work through local partners,
including Churches, which know local needs and have well-established
distribution systems. No system of monitoring is perfect, especially
not in a civil war or when people become desperate for food, but
great efforts have been made to ensure food gets to the people
who need it most. That usually means distributing through females
and also targeting children with special vulnerabilities.
8. Agency appeals which use images of human suffering,
especially in Africa, make the public flinch and turn away and
induce compassion fatigue and a feeling of helplessness. This
is contrary to the reality of many African countries.
All DEC agencies have a huge measure of sympathy
and support for the Secretary of State in her concerns about the
use of images and about the lack of context and the lack of positive
stories in the media. The Third World and Environment Broadcasting
project report has shown how there is substantially less non-news/current
affairs factual programming on international topics than a decade
ago and that wildlife programmes now constitute a third of all
non-news programmes filmed in the Third World.
DEC agencies are signatories to the Code of
Conduct for the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement
and NGOs in Disaster Relief. This (item 10) imposes standards
in the use of images. Many of the most horrific images of human
suffering were in television news reports and not in DEC adverts.
There was no evidence of the public flinching
and turning away as evinced by the amount of money given by the
public to the DEC appeal, over £6 million in three weeks.
Many DEC agencies have long been actively involved
in long term development, campaigning and public education as
well as campaigns against conflict, arms sales, debt, unfair trading
practices among rich countries, etc. which serve to further impoverish
people and nations. Many agencies have long funded conflict prevention
and conflict resolution programmes in Sudan.
DEC update from Sudan appeal
The crisis in Southern Sudan has developed over a
long period of time, and is now reaching a critical point as a
combination of two year's drought and 15 years of civil war has
lead to displacement, disease and thousands facing starvation.
There are currently estimated to be one million people
at risk from malnutrition and disease across Sudan and in need
of humanitarian assistance. The 12 member agencies of the DEC
are operating through three main agencies on the ground delivering
a variety of humanitarian aid from basic items of food and medical
relief through to the provision of seeds and tools.
The main UN appeal for Sudan continues to be under
funded, as agencies are reporting a general decline in the welfare
of the displaced population. It was estimated by WFP on 8 June
that 45,625 Mts of foodstuffs was needed for the period June-October,
but that WFP was facing a shortfall of 16,958 Mts and furthermore,
would have to pay back 10,641 Mts of foodstuffs borrowed from
other emergencies. Food deliveries are being air dropped throughout
Southern Sudan using five aircraft.
The distribution of seeds and tools has now been
virtually completed prior to the arrival of the rainy season.
Seeds and tools have been delivered to an estimated 327,000 people
in the past month. Planting should have now been completed.
The major area of concern is the prospect of disease
spreading as the rainy season arrives. There is an additional
concern that food deliveries will be severely restricted, partly
due to the worsening weather but also due to fuel shortages.
Northern Bahr el Ghazal
The recent fighting has forced 120,000 people to
flee their homes and become dependent on external support. Around
595,000 people in the Bahr el Ghazal area have no access to food.
29 per cent of children under five considered to be malnourished,
9 per cent severely.
DEC Agency response:
Agencies operating: Oxfam, SCF, British Red Cross,
Christian Aid, Concern, MSF, Tear Fund and World Vision.
Priorities:
Delivery of food and non-food items.
Provision of access to clean water at each of
the 22 distribution points.
Therapeutic and supplementary feeding centres.
Primary health care and general clinics.
Air lifting of sick women and children, war
wounded to hospital in Lokichokio.
Southern Bahr el Ghazal
Critical food shortages for an estimated 147,500,
many of whom came from Northern BeG. Reports of people eating
poisonous leaves, berries off the ground
DEC Response:
Agencies operating in the area: CAFOD, Christian
Aid, Concern, Oxfam and World Vision.
Priorities:
Supplementary feeding programmes in Arangrial
and Rumbek Town.
Health support being delivered through the existing
primary health care system.
Food drops by WFP.
Additional wet feeding centres for malnourished
babies.
Delivery of seeds, oil, salt etc.
Eastern Equatoria
This is an area which has been severely affected
by drought, and is a rapidly deteriorating situation where the
population are living of leaves and other wild foods, as their
only source of nutrition.
There are an estimated 33,000 people are at risk
Several thousand have already tried successfully to cross the
border in to Uganda and Kenya.
Reports of 6,500 elderly men and women at risk from
starvation. Displaced from their homes they are living in over
crowded camps. Serious concern about their state of health and
lack of access to clean water, putting them very much at risk
from infection and disease. Oxfam distribution to 50,000 in Terekeka.
Delivery of some food in to Uganda for the refugee
population.
DEC response by:
Tear Fund, Help the Aged, Oxfam, CAFOD, Concern
Priorities:
Food distribution.
Supplementary feeding and general ration distribution.
Distribution of seeds and tools.
Western Equatoria
12,000 people displaced around Yambio, many of whom
have fled Rumbek in search of food, or to avoid violence from
raiders
DEC response:
Merlin, World Vision, Care, Oxfam
Priorities:
Food Distribution.
Distribution of seeds and tools.
Emergency health care
Nuba Mountains
Population of an estimated 25,000 which have been
virtually cut off from the remainder of Sudan. Air drops have
been taking place every other day, dropping four tonnes of food
in various locations. However, this is significantly lower than
required by the population. Access is already extremely difficult
due to the mountainous terrain. In early June Government of Sudan
again refused permission to do an assessment in this region. OLS
Southern Sector does not have permission for access to this region
and Government bombing of airfields further restricted non OLS
food distributions
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