FIRST SUPPLEMENTARY MEMORANDUM SUBMITTED
BY THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR THE CO-ORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN
AFFAIRS (OCHA)
UNITED NATIONS DISASTER ASSESSMENT AND CO-ORDINATION
(UNDAC)
The UNDAC System, managed by the Field Co-ordination
Support Unit (FCSU), of OCHA's Disaster Response Branch (DRB),
is designed to assist the United Nations in meeting international
needs for early and qualified information during the first phase
of a sudden-onset disaster and, when necessary, in the co-ordination
of incoming international relief at national level and/or at the
site of the emergency. It also aims at strengthening national
and regional disaster response capacity.
The UNDAC System consists of three components:
(i) Staff: experienced emergency
managers made available for UNDAC missions by their respective
governments or organisations, together with OCHA relief co-ordination
officers. UNDAC Team members are specially trained and equipped
for their task;
(ii) Procedures: predefined methods
for the collection and management of information as well as structures
for co-ordination support during the first phase of a sudden-onset
disaster;
(iii) Support: proven systems
to mobilise, deploy and support an UNDAC team, so that it can
achieve its objectives in the arduous post-disaster environment.
ADDED VALUE
An UNDAC team can be dispatched at very short
notice at the occurrence or early warning of a disaster. UNDAC
teams are requested by, and work under the authority of, the United
Nations Resident/Humanitarian Co-ordinator to reinforce the in-country
Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) and, when requested, the national
government of an affected country, through its capacity to conduct
cross-sectoral emergency assessment and manage information. When
required, UNDAC teams can be reinforced with experts covering
more specialised fields of disaster assessment and/or co-ordination.
An UNDAC team is self-sufficient in basic telecommunications,
office and personal equipment.
THE UNDAC TEAM
The UNDAC Team was established in 1993 and today
consists of 150 national emergency managers from 32 countries
in Europe, Latin America (since 1995) Asia and the Pacific (since
1996), together with 41 staff from OCHA and other UN Agencies.
In major international emergencies, UNDAC teams are drawn from
the entire membership. In disasters of more regional or national
concern, they are normally drawn from amongst members in the affected
country/region. Future expansion of the Team is being pursued
in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific.
UNDAC MISSIONS
The UNDAC Team has conducted 72 emergency missions
to date. Its mobilisation is triggered by:
— Natural Disasters: when
a disaster has caused serious casualties or destruction and it
is unclear whether sufficient resources are available nationally
to meet immediate needs, when the disaster has caused international
concern irrespective of the resources available, or where there
are catastrophic consequences to the environment;
— Complex Emergencies: when
there is the sudden onset or change in intensity of a complex
emergency, which is likely to result in a change in the humanitarian
co-ordination structurein-country, particularly when there are
inadequate resources in-situ to support the new co-ordination
mechanism.
In each case, the deployment and detailed tasks
of an UNDAC team are decided in consultation with the Resident/Humanitarian
Co-ordinator. The Team normally stays in the affected area for
the initial response phase of up to three weeks in a natural disaster,
and two months in a complex emergency.
United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
4 April 2000
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