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Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) – the primary mechanism for inter-agency coordination of humanitarian assistance. It involves UN and non-UN humanitarian partners. The IASC was established in June 1992 in response to the UN General Assembly Resolution 46/182 on the strengthening of humanitarian assistance. Inside the CAP appeal – funds given by donors for needs identified within a consolidated or flash appeal. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the time-bound, quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty that were agreed by world leaders at the Millennium Summit in September 2000. The eight MDGs, which have a target date of 2015, are: Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty; Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education; Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women; Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality; Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health; Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases; Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability; Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development. See: www.un.org/millenniumgoals Multilateral agency – international institutions with governmental membership that conduct all or a significant part of their activities in favour of developing and aiding recipient countries. They include multilateral development banks (e.g. the World Bank and regional development banks), UN agencies, and regional groupings (e.g. certain EU and Arab agencies). Multilateral aid/assistance – funding given to UN agencies, international organisations or the EC to spend entirely at their own discretion within their mandate. It cannot be earmarked in any way. Compare bilateral assistance. Needs analysis framework (NAF) – the NAF aims to support the common humanitarian action plan (CHAP) and the consolidated appeal process (CAP) by strengthening the analysis and presentation of humanitarian needs, especially for the most vulnerable people. The document is a tool to help humanitarian coordinators and country teams organise and present existing information on humanitarian needs in a coherent and consistent way. Following pilots in five countries during 2005 (Palestine, the DRC, Cote d'Ivoire, Uganda and Burundi), it is estimated that the NAF document will be integrated into three-quarters of CAP appeals during 2006. Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) – OCHA is a department of the UN secretariat, with headquarters in both New York and Geneva. It was established to facilitate the work of operational agencies that deliver humanitarian assistance to populations and communities in need. See: http://ochaonline.un.org/ Official aid/assistance – government assistance with the same terms and conditions as official development assistance (ODA) but which goes to countries and territories in transition (i.e. including former aid recipients, Central and Eastern European countries and the newly independent states (NIS). Official aid does not count towards the 0.7% target. Official development assistance (ODA) – money spent on development and humanitarian assistance by members of the DAC. ODA is made up of grants or concessionary loans given by the official sector to a defined list of developing countries. The promotion of economic development and welfare must be the main objective. If a loan is given, the grant element must be at least 25%. Loans or grants for military purposes cannot count as ODA. Reporting to the DAC is mandatory for all DAC members. What is reported as ODA is governed by strict rules that all members must comply with. This means that there are objective, internationally comparable figures for ODA going back to 1960, which are produced and validated by the OECD DAC each year. These provide an accepted benchmark for measuring performance. Official humanitarian aid – money spent on emergency response, reconstruction and rehabilitation as well as relief and coordination services by members of the DAC. Official humanitarian aid is a subset of ODA. Like ODA, it is subject to strict reporting rules as set out in the OECD DAC revised directives on statistical reporting, published in April 2007. Outside the CAP appeal – funds given by donors for a country that is the subject of a consolidated or flash appeal but not for the specific needs identified within the appeal document. Paris Club – an informal group of official creditors whose role is to find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor nations. See: www.clubdeparis.org/ |
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