UN Consolidated Appeals Process

UN Consolidated Appeals Process
Name	UN Consolidated Appeals Process
Type	Inter-agency humanitarian coordination mechanism
Founded	1990s
Founders	United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Children's Fund
Location	New York City, Geneva
Key people	Erik Solheim, Jan Egeland, Mark Lowcock

UN Consolidated Appeals Process

The Consolidated Appeals Process was an inter-agency humanitarian coordination and resource-mobilization mechanism developed by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and partner agencies such as United Nations Children's Fund, World Food Programme, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and United Nations Development Programme to present unified appeals for crises in countries including Sudan, Somalia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. It aimed to consolidate planning instruments like the Common Humanitarian Action Plan, bring together organizations such as International Committee of the Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières, Save the Children, World Health Organization, and to coordinate donor engagement from states like United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and institutions like the European Commission and World Bank.

Overview

The process produced consolidated planning and funding documents—often termed Consolidated Appeals—that synthesized inputs from UN agencies (UNICEF, WFP, UNHCR), international non-governmental organizations such as Oxfam International and CARE International, and national actors including African Union missions and NATO where relevant. It sought to align humanitarian response with frameworks such as the Cluster approach, the Good Humanitarian Donorship principles, and policy guidance from the United Nations General Assembly and United Nations Security Council. Annual cycles generated Humanitarian Response Plans that donors like the United States Agency for International Development and foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation used to apportion resources.

History and evolution

Origins trace to post-Cold War reforms spearheaded by Boutros Boutros-Ghali era initiatives and humanitarian crises like the Rwandan genocide, the Bosnian War, and the famine in Somalia 1992–1993. The mechanism evolved alongside instruments such as the Flash Appeal and the Common Humanitarian Action Plan, and was shaped by senior UN officials including Jan Egeland and Erik Solheim. Major iterations responded to lessons from operations in Iraq, Haiti 2010, and protracted crises in Yemen, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Consolidated Appeals Process later intersected with reforms like the introduction of the Central Emergency Revolving Fund and the adoption of the Cluster System after reviews by panels such as the Humanitarian Response Review.

Structure and governance

Governance combined roles for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs as secretariat, Resident Coordinators, Humanitarian Coordinators, and sector leads from agencies like World Food Programme (food security), UNICEF (child protection), UNHCR (protection and displacement), and World Health Organization (health). Donor engagement involved missions from European Commission (ECHO), United States Agency for International Development, and pooled funds including the Country-Based Pooled Fund and Central Emergency Response Fund. Strategic oversight referenced mandates from the United Nations Economic and Social Council and accountability frameworks tied to the International Committee of the Red Cross norms in conflict settings and to UN legal instruments such as the Genocide Convention where applicable.

Planning and methodology

Planning combined needs assessment methodologies used by agencies like World Food Programme (food security and vulnerability analysis), UNICEF (multiple indicator cluster surveys), WHO (EPHR—emergency public health assessments), and humanitarian information systems like UNOCHA Financial Tracking Service and ReliefWeb. The CAP process produced consolidated documents incorporating strategies from humanitarian clusters: Education Cluster, Health Cluster, Protection Cluster, Shelter Cluster, and Logistics Cluster. It used tools influenced by the Good Humanitarian Donorship guidelines and analytical approaches such as Integrated Food Security Phase Classification and the Sphere Project standards to quantify needs and prioritize projects.

Implementation and funding

Implementation relied on agency-led programs and international NGOs such as Médecins Sans Frontières, International Rescue Committee, Norwegian Refugee Council, and Action Against Hunger, with funding channeled through bilateral donors (e.g., United Kingdom Department for International Development), multilateral banks like the World Bank, pooled mechanisms such as the Country-Based Pooled Fund, and global instruments including the Central Emergency Response Fund. Appeals documented project budgets, expected beneficiaries, and monitoring frameworks tied to performance monitoring reports used by donors like United States Agency for International Development and European Commission. High-profile appeals for crises in Syria, South Sudan, and Yemen mobilized large-scale humanitarian assistance but also highlighted gaps in funding allocation.

Criticisms and reforms

Critiques targeted duplication with instruments such as Humanitarian Needs Overview, perceived bureaucratic complexity involving agencies like UNDP and OCHA, donor-driven prioritization favoring headline crises linked to media hubs like New York City and Geneva rather than neglected emergencies, and challenges meeting standards set by the Sphere Project and Good Humanitarian Donorship. Independent reviews, including the Humanitarian Response Review and evaluations by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services, recommended streamlining, greater emphasis on needs-based prioritization, integration with development planning from United Nations Development Programme, and improved accountability measures reflected in later reforms such as the formalization of the Humanitarian Programme Cycle and strengthened Cluster approach coordination.

Category:Humanitarian aid