Hannah EntwisleIHRP Summer 2003

A military invasion, veiled threats, massive floods, urgent trans-continental telephone calls, a mob of angry protesters, and almost continuous earthquakes were all just part of the job description this summer at my IHRP internship. Contrary to what exotic locales you might be imagining, I was working in Geneva, Switzerland at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). OCHA is the office within the UN Secretariat that officially coordinates UN humanitarian assistance, though practically this also includes governmental, non-governmental, and even individual assistance, into countries around the world in an effort to ensure that all sectors receive the appropriate level of assistance. By humanitarian assistance I refer to a broad range of relatively short-term needs relating to a natural disaster or “complex emergency,” which cover such crises as the recent events in Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and on-going conflicts in Colombia and Israel-Palestine.

In addition to coordinating assistance, OCHA is also responsible for developing policy related to humanitarian concerns, and acting as an advocate for broad concerns within the humanitarian field, focusing on giving a voice to those in humanitarian crises, highlighting forgotten emergencies, and providing accurate humanitarian.

My interest in OCHA arose in the summer of 2002, when I was working as an IHRP intern in Uganda with a Gulu-based NGO called Human Rights Focus. As part of that internship I was organizing workshops on the Government of Uganda’s Draft Policy on Internal Displacement for leaders of internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. I soon learned OCHA had initiated the creation of a national policy on IDPs, and that OCHA was also the primary body within the UN system responsible for the interests of IDPs. As the situation in Northern Uganda deteriorated, I met with OCHA officials asking what steps the international community was taking to protect vulnerable civilians. Ultimately, I was confused by what I considered to be an inadequate response by the international community to the suffering in Northern Uganda.

The following summer I decided that I wanted to work at the UN to understand the considerations and constraints that motivate international assistance and policy. I was fortunate to find a position within the Asia & Pacific/Middle East Section of the Emergency Response Coordination Branch of OCHA in Geneva, Switzerland. This section was notable for its principled, generous, often opinionated, and dedicated staff who gave me stimulating work and the opportunity to discuss the complexities of providing humanitarian assistance.

My primary responsibility was to assist the desk officer for Indonesia with her file. Most of my work surrounded the resumption of large-scale violence in the most westerly province of Aceh. When I arrived in Geneva in early May, peace negotiations were underway between the Republic of Indonesia and representatives from the armed separatist group called the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). However after only one week in the office, the talks disintegrated and were quickly followed by a presidential decree declaring a state of emergency in the province of Aceh, and the mobilization of approximately 40,000 military and police personnel into the province. This military invasion, Indonesia’s largest since it invaded East Timor, led to a flurry of humanitarian response particularly after early reports indicated the forced displacement of tens of thousands of individuals from their homes into “camps” with inadequate food, water, shelter, and medical assistance. As the weeks went by more reports of human rights abuses emerged, such as the extra judicial killings of 3 boys between the ages of 11 and 14 by the Indonesian military, which accused them of being GAM spies.

I was involved in a number of OCHA’s responses to this emergency. Throughout the course of the summer I wrote situation reports, organized and participated in meetings in Geneva with non-governmental organizations operating in Aceh, drafted a statement for the Secretary General, met with UN and other international governmental organizations, participated in advocacy strategy meetings over the telephone with OCHA’s New York office, and supported the OCHA offices in Indonesia. The ultimate goals of all of these activities were to compile, analyze and distribute accurate information about the humanitarian situation in Aceh, advocate for the ability of international humanitarian actors to maintain a presence in Aceh, provide direct humanitarian assistance to IDPs and others in need, and ultimately, through international presence, provide some measure of protection to the civilian population.

Ultimately, OCHA and the humanitarian community as a whole were only mildly successful in these goals. Although an international presence was initially maintained, the Indonesian government increasingly restricted the movement and activities of foreign nationals and journalists in Aceh, stating that it did not want to repeat the situation in West Timor in 2000 when three UN international staff members were murdered by militias. As a result, humanitarian information was increasingly difficult obtain and even more difficult to verify. Subsequent presidential and military decrees made the provision of direct humanitarian assistance nearly impossible. At the time I am writing this report, there are currently no international staff members in Aceh. All were forced to leave after the government refused to renew their permits to work in the province. Meanwhile, thousands of civilians are trapped between the bullets of the Indonesian and GAM forces.

While this is ultimately a sad story, I do not see it as a failure of the UN. Unlike my experience in Uganda, I was able to witness the passion and commitment with which the UN staff advocated for the protection of civilians. If these actions failed, I believe it was in a large part because of a lack of political will around the world, and the limitations of international law, as it is widely interpreted, to place sovereignty above ensuring the protection of civilians.

In an effort to end on a higher note, I will survey a few of my other activities during my time in Geneva. For example, I wrote situation reports on the massive flooding in India, designed to entice international donors to contribute to relief efforts. I finalized a project proposal to send an advisor to assist the Indonesian government with its management of IDPs. I took notes during the ECOSOC meetings relating to humanitarian assistance. I watched crowds of protestors march in front of the UN during the G-8 Summit. I monitored the almost daily reports of earthquakes in the Asia & Pacific region. I abided by an email that forbade UN staff from luring peacocks into the halls of the Palais des Nations. All of these experiences, with perhaps the exception of the last, provided me with the opportunity to gain firsthand, practical experience of the complexities of the UN system, international law, and global politics. Both of my internships through the IHRP have undoubtedly enriched my understanding of the law, and ultimately my legal career as an international human rights advocate.

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