OCHA OUTLINES NEXT STEPS FOR HUMANITARIAN

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000035 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PHUM PK PREF WFP SUBJECT: OCHA OUTLINES NEXT STEPS FOR HUMANITARIAN COORDINATION IN PAKISTAN REF: A. STATE 4353 ¶B. ISLAMABAD 78 ¶1. Mission officers met January 21 with Rashid Khalikov, Director of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in New York, to discuss concerns over the current UN response to the growing needs of populations displaced by conflict in Pakistan. Khalikov will travel to Pakistan from January 26 through February 3 with two other OCHA staff. OCHA's goals for this mission are: a) review humanitarian needs and identify corresponding priorities for the OCHA office in 2009, b) identify resources needed to support coordination activities and review OCHA's office structure accordingly, and c) review the feasibility of setting up an Emergency Response Fund in Pakistan to enable more timely responses to sudden needs. ¶2. Khalikov noted that he plans to brief donors in Islamabad both upon arrival to Pakistan and at the conclusion of the mission. He offered to meet separately with officials from the US embassy if requested. While in the capital, he plans to meet with Pakistani civilian and military officials, the UN Resident Coordinator, heads of UN agencies and NGOs. The OCHA team will travel to Balochistan and Peshawar over the course of the week to meet local officials, aid agencies and visit IDP camps. ¶3. OCHA's decisions on next steps will flow from this assessment mission, but Khalikov believes that OCHA will likely send a senior official (P-5 level) to Pakistan to assist the Resident Coordinator in managing the humanitarian response to the growing needs of internally displaced. OCHA plans to draw from their roster to place an individual in Islamabad immediately while the search for a long-term candidate is under way. Khalikov speculated that a further two international OCHA staff would be deployed to support coordination efforts. ¶4. Khalikov stated that the UN's Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) is under revision and expects the new document to be released within a week. A decision has been made to expand and extend the current HRP through November 2009. The revised HRP will ask donors for significantly more funding to support IDPs and will include projects from a number of NGOs that had not participated in the initial plan. Khalikov requested USG assistance in seeking financial contributions from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states towards the HRP. ¶5. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) already contributed nearly $7 million to the Pakistan HRP for IDPs. Khalikov noted that there are no plans to funnel further CERF funding to the Pakistan emergency for the moment. However, he noted that CERF could consider further contributions to agencies in Pakistan if donor response to the revised HRP is insufficient. OCHA's mission will also study the feasibility of an Emergency Response Fund (ERF),a pooled funding mechanism, for Pakistan. He requested USG financial support for the ERF should one be established for Pakistan. He further requested USG financial support for OCHA's operation in Pakistan as it begins to increase the size of its staff. Wolff