Foreword
by the Secretary-General
Humanitarian tragedies occur every day of the year in all corners of the world. No matter what their cause - a flood or internal conflict - they claim lives and leave in their wake material devastation and untold suffering. Many of the victims become displaced within their countries or are obliged to seek asylum abroad.
When natural disasters strike, their impact in developing countries is particularly severe. Mortality figures in these countries account for the vast majority of the total. There can be no doubt that poverty, population pressures and environmental degradation exacerbate the degree of destruction, and contribute significantly to large-scale economic losses and disruption of social institutions.
We have also witnessed in the past decade an upsurge in the number and intensity of internal conflicts, which are marked by massive displacements of people, extensive violence and loss of life, and widespread damage to the affected societies and economies. These conflicts do not occur in a vacuum. To end them, we must look to the causes and address them in a forthright manner. We have the responsibility for helping all parties to a conflict reach a peaceful settlement that they can support over the long term.
But while these conflicts rage, we must take urgent measures to alleviate the pain of the victims, both by meeting their most urgent requirements for food, clean water, medicines, shelter and other humanitarian relief, and by assisting them in rebuilding the destroyed structures of civil society.
Experience has shown that once a humanitarian emergency has occurred, the international community moves swiftly to address the suffering of the victims. In the five years since the General Assembly called for a more coordinated system of humanitarian response, much progress has been made in mobilizing the collective efforts of the international community to deliver assistance in a coherent and timely manner. Under the leadership of the Emergency Relief Coordinator, DHA and organizations of the United Nations system, including the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, together with their humanitarian partners-donors, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the International Organization for Migration, non-governmental organizations and other concerned parties have raised billions of dollars to deliver relief assistance to the needy. Most of those receiving such aid are children, women and the elderly.
Assistance is provided in spite of the major constraints that face humanitarian workers in the field. These range from difficulty in reaching populations in need to lack of security and, often, to a total disregard for the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and human rights. I remain gravely concerned by the recent increase in attacks on, and the use of force against, relief personnel, which in some cases have been carried out by groups with the deliberate goal of hampering humanitarian access.
Such problems point to the inextricable connection between the manifestation of the problem - a man-made or natural disaster and the humanitarian imperative to save the lives of innocent victims and the underlying causes, which are political, military, economic, social and environmental. However important humanitarian assistance may be in saving lives, it can only be a palliative. The political will and requisite resources must be directed towards finding a lasting cure.
We must develop a holistic vision that integrates all these elements and seeks to break the cycle of violence and human suffering. We must continue to strengthen our early-warning and early-response mechanisms to prevent identifiable threats from becoming terrible realities in disaster-prone countries and those on the brink of civil conflict. We must also ensure preventive action through development and diplomatic efforts.
I am pleased to introduce the Humanitarian Report 1997, which highlights the magnitude of the challenge and demonstrates the accomplishments of the humanitarian community. I also wish to take this opportunity to pay a special tribute to the staff of the United Nations, as well as of other humanitarian organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and international and local non-governmental organizations. These women and men should be commended for their tireless and courageous efforts, under extremely difficult conditions, to alleviate the burden of suffering in the world.
Kofi ANNAN
Secretary-General of the United Nations