11/01/2006

On October 31st in New York Refugees International joined former U.S. President William Clinton, in his capacity as UN Special Envoy on Tsunami Recovery, and eight other organizations to release the report of the NGO Impact Initiative: An Assessment by the International Humanitarian NGO Community. The report focused on five important areas for organizations to improve their response to large-scale emergencies: accountability to beneficiaries; coordination; enhancing local capacity; human rights; and professionalism. RI coordinated the human rights component with CARE USA.

The project began in April 2006, when former President Clinton presented the humanitarian community with a challenge – and an opportunity. With the intention to improve NGO global relief and recovery, President Clinton launched a six-month intensive review by U.S. and international NGOs of their activities in tsunami recovery in the five areas noted above. Working groups in each area led the respective reviews, which consisted of in-depth analysis and consultations with partners in the field and at the headquarters level, in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Geneva, London, New York, and Washington DC. The final product of the process consists of a report synthesizing the consultative process and the analysis and findings of the five working groups, plus individual papers on each of the five topics. Informed by the experience of tsunami recovery, the analysis is most relevant to natural disaster response, though much of the analysis and many of the recommendations are also applicable to NGO response to man-made emergencies.

The large challenge facing the NGO community is to build on the recommendations contained in the papers and make the necessary changes to improve operations. Key areas for change include: building partnerships for recovery, with greater emphasis on putting local people in the lead; defining and promoting professional standards for humanitarian agencies; increasing the understanding among donor governments and the general public that recovery from a disaster of the magnitude of the tsunami is a long-term process.

In the meeting in New York that brought the initial phase of the project to a close, President Clinton expressed his own commitment to stewarding discussion and action on these issues even after his term as Special Envoy ends in December 2006. Refugees International and the other organizations involved in this initiative will want to encourage President Clinton’s engagement and leadership as we seek ways to implement the recommendations of the Impact Initiative. The following files include a two-page Executive Summary; the Synthesis Report, which brings together the findings in all five areas; and the human rights report, prepared by Virginia Vaughn on behalf of Refugees International and CARE.

• NGO Impact Initiative: Executive Summary
• NGO Impact Initaitive: Synthesis Report
• NGO Impact Initative: Human Rights and Tsunami Recovery