The
International
Humanitarian
Work of the
Danish
Refugee
Council
2014 -2015
2
the Danish Refugee
Council
as
an international
humanitarian actor
3
Contents
01
02
03
The Danish Refugee
Council
DRC’S INTERNATIONAL
DEPARTMENT:
ORGANISATIONAL
STRUCTURE AND FUNDING
GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS
04
05
06
PROGRAMMING IN DRC
INTERNATIONAL
QUALITY ASSURANCE
and ACCOUNTABILITY
STRATEGIC PLANNING
07
08
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
EMERGENCY RESPONSE
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This document presents an insight into DRC as an
international actor. . It begins by providing the reader with
a background of the characteristics of the entire DRC,
i.e. including its domestic departments (Section 1), and
continues by introducing the international humanitarian work
of DRC in more detail. The latter part includes sections on
organisational structure and funding (Section 2), geographic
focus (Section 3), DRC’s approach to programming
(Section 4), quality assurance and accountability (Section
5), strategic planning (Section 6), strategic partnerships
(Section 7) and emergency response (Section 8).
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01
The Danish
Refugee Council
Founded in 1956 by Danish civil society
organisations to receive and help integrate
the Hungarian refugees in Denmark, DRC
first began implementing refugee activities
abroad under its own name from 1992 when
it became a key partner for UNHCR, ultimately
accounting for more than half of all international
relief in Bosnia. Since then and within the past
20 years, DRC has emerged as a significant
actor within the international humanitarian
sector, implementing programmes in over 30
countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and
Europe.
DRC fulfils its mandate by providing direct
assistance to conflict-affected populations –
refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs)
and host communities in the conflict areas
of the world; and by advocating on behalf of
conflict-affected populations internationally,
and in Denmark, on the basis of humanitarian
principles and the Human Rights Declaration.
The organisational entities of DRC are presented in the chart shown below.
The Council
The Executive
Commitee
The Secretary
General
Communications
& Fundraising
Resources
& Development
International
Department
ASYLUM
&
REPATRIATION
DRC’s policies, guidelines and strategy
documents are based on and incorporate
key international instruments relating to
refugees, displaced people and populations
affected by conflict. Under the framework of
international law (International Humanitarian
Law, Human Rights Law, Humanitarian Law,
IDP Guiding Principles), DRC has signed
up to the essential humanitarian principles
developed by NGOs and the Red Cross /
Crescent movement (NGO Code of Conduct,
Sphere, HAP, IMAS). In addition, DRC
has developed and implemented internal
standards such as the DRC Value Compass,
Integration
DRC Code of Conduct and the DRC
Collaboration and Management standards.
DRC wishes to be accountable, not only to
donors and members, but also – and in particular
– to those DRC tries to help. A key element is
informing beneficiaries and other stakeholders
about the DRC Accountability Framework, which
covers all humanitarian actions, as well as local
accountability framework documents. The latter,
normally at country or regional level, describe the
specific commitments in addition to the global
framework, including how the global standards
are to be rolled out in the local context
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02
DRC’S INTERNATIONAL
DEPARTMENT:
ORGANISATIONAL
STRUCTURE AND FUNDING
The set-up of the DRC’s International
Department now maintains three main pillars:
A) Operations, Program & Support Division
B) Regional Operations Division
C) Emergency, Safety & Supply Division
The entities of the International Department are shown in the chart below
Under the Regional Division, six geographical
units are defined: Horn of Africa & Yemen,
West & Central Africa, Middle East & North
Africa, Sudan & South Sudan, Afghanistan
& Pakistan, Europe & South/East Asia. Units
under the regional Division are responsible
for all operational aspects such as finance,
human resources and donor compliance
concerning the delivery of humanitarian
assistance by DRC.
The responsibility for programme quality and
operational programme support lies under
the Operations, Programme & Support
Division, the purpose being the development
and continued consolidation of policies and
standards for international work, based on
organisational principles for quality and
accountability. More specifically, this pillar
has the overall responsibility to facilitate
strategy and policy development within
DRC’s International Department, conduct
internal and external trainings, technical
advisory functions on donor compliance
in relation to prioritised donors and has
specific global specialist leads functions
within selected areas, such as protection,
livelihoods, accountability, monitoring and
evaluation.
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02
DRC’S INTERNATIONAL
DEPARTMENT:
ORGANISATIONAL
STRUCTURE AND FUNDING
The third pillar of the organisational set-up is
the Emergency, Safety and Support Division.
This Division reflects the organisation’s aim
to be a relevant emergency player, and to
further strengthen the emergency profile
by combining the organisation’s capacities
for safety, logistics and procurement,
secondments and mine action into one
proactive unit.
The Division is responsible for developing
and maintaining emergency capacity which
will enable DRC to deliver significant, rapid
responses in relation to emergency situations.
This includes supporting the initiation of
new country interventions, ensuring that
DRC’s operations are founded upon a robust
safety and security regime and supporting
the continued development of the Stand-By
Roster (SBR) as a preferred partner for
secondments. The Danish Demining Group
(DDG) is also placed within this Division, and
maintains a specific brand in its own name.
In 2014 DRC formalised specific “global
specialist lead” functions within selected
areas, including HR, finance, safety, protection,
livelihoods, Community Driven Recovery and
Development (CDRD), accountability, Code
of Conduct (CoC) reporting, emergency,
procurement, Armed Violence Reduction,
Mine Action, etc. The specialist leads are
responsible for the continuous enhancement
of quality and compliance across the entire
organisation.
The DRC portfolio during 2013 amounted to $293M Million. 2014 prognosis is $304 Million
How the spending was distributed between the geographical units and DDG is illustrated in the graph
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DRC’S INTERNATIONAL
DEPARTMENT:
ORGANISATIONAL
STRUCTURE AND FUNDING
DRC currently maintains 179 offices, employs app. 5500 national and app. 350 international staff worldwide.
DRC has a diversified donor base. In 2014, DRCs key donors are:
DONORS
TOP 10 INDIVIDUAL DONORS 2014
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03GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS
DRC’s Global Operational Presence in 2014/15
The map below illustrates where DRC / DDG is operational in 2014-15.
The table below further specifies DRC’s and
DDG’s operational presence globally. In a number
of countries, DRC and DDG are merging functions
and programme activities when relevant. Through
joint programming approaches from both units,
DRC possesses a unique capacity combining
livelihood and protection assistance with mine
clearance, community safety and armed violence
reduction.
REGION
DRC COUNTRY
PROGRAMMES
DDG COUNTRY
PROGRAMMES
Horn of Africa
and yemen
Somalia, Somaliland, Puntland, Kenya,
Ethiopia, Yemen
Somalia, Somaliland,
Puntland, Yemen, Kenya
Central Africa
and West AFRICA
Liberia, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali, Burkina
Faso, Central African Republic, DR Congo
Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina
Faso, Niger
SUDANs & Uganda
Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan
Uganda, South Sudan
Middle East and
north africa
Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Jordan, Turkey,
Tunisia, Egypt
Iraq, Libya, Syria, Tunisia,
Turkey
AFPAK
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Iran
Afghanistan
EUROPE / Asia
Sri Lanka*, Myanmar, Russia*, Georgia,
Ukraine**, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo
Sri Lanka*, Myanmar, Vietnam
*exiting in 2014
**opening end of 2014
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03
GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS
OF DRC / DDG
DRC has a set of criteria that guide decisions on whether to initiate
assistance in a given area. In short, DRC considers establishing
a presence when it can contribute to the protection of conflictaffected people and to the promotion of durable solutions to
refugee and displacement problems including those requiring
mine action. New programmes should preferably be based on
a regional understanding of the conflict – and possibly adopt a
regional / cross border approach in practice. Furthermore, there
should be a potential for long term engagement of a certain
scale and beyond the acute emergency phase. Finally, DRC
must be able to utilise its core competencies in a manner that
adds value to the provision of assistance as a whole in the given
context.
Furthermore, DRC has a systematic approach to geographical
expansion in terms of the regular conduct of assessments
of potential new areas of operation as well as a dedicated
commitment to strengthening the organisational response
capacities necessary for opening up new programs, such
as readily-accessible internal funding as well as the pooling
of expertise and manpower needed during the start-up of
humanitarian operations in situations of acute crisis.
DRC´s Assistance Framework provides clarification on when
DRC should consider ceasing its operational presence in a
given area. In principle, exit is related to the degree of protection
being offered by responsible duty bearers to people affected
by conflict and displacement. In short, DRC will pull out when
above mentioned institutions demonstrate sufficient, long-term
willingness and capability to provide such protection. Needless
to mention, the outcome of DRC’s efforts to maintain continued
donor focus - and funding - on a given displacement situation
plays an important role in terms of exit considerations.
.
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04
PROGRAMMING
IN DRC INTERNATIONAL
The core of DRC’s international mandate
is the “protection of refugees and internally
displaced people and the promotion of
durable solutions on the basis of humanitarian
principles and human rights”. Since 2006,
DRC has applied an organisation-specific
framework called the ‘DRC Assistance
Framework’ in order to provide general
strategic guidance on how to translate
the mandate into concrete humanitarian
action within the context of conflict and
displacement. Today, this framework forms
the basis for all DRC programmes worldwide.
At the operational programming level, DRC
applies both protection and livelihood
approaches, and works within 10 sectors.
As illustrated in the model shown below,
the DRC Assistance Framework operates
with three strategic objectives that define
the specific aims of its protection and
assistance activities: first, the saving
of lives and alleviation of suffering;
second, the safeguarding, restoration
and development of livelihoods; third,
institutional and organisational change
that ensures the promotion of values,
policies and capacities, which contribute
to the protection of peoples´ rights and
the peaceful handling of conflicts. DRC
does so with respect to the three particular
scenarios that people affected by conflicts
often move through: first, the Acute Crisis
Scenario, second, the Displacement
Scenario and third, the Durable Solutions
Scenario.
OBJECTIVES
saving of lives
restoration & development of livelihoods
institutional & organisational change
SCENARIOS
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04
programming
in DRC international
Programming
is
done
through
the
combined application of protection and
livelihood perspectives with the purpose
of a) understanding a given situation on
the ground and b) identifying suitable entry
points for humanitarian action. In practice,
DRC programmes fall within 10 sectors of
intervention as illustrated below.
landmines and unexploded ordnance but also
other remnants of war such as small arms and
light weapons. DDG has developed a unique
and innovative model for Community Safety
that addresses the impact of small arms and
light weapons and includes both the removal
of this threat and the establishment of Armed
Violence Reduction (AVR) strategies.
Humanitarian mine action is a core sector
in DRC with its own brand, namely the
Danish Demining Group (DDG). DDG takes
a comprehensive approach to the impact
of conflict by reducing not only the threat of
How international funding is distributed by sector is shown in the graph below
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DRC is adding a further level to programming
through the creation of ‘global platforms’.
Such platforms will take their point of
departure in a set of displacement-related
humanitarian problems of universal relevance
and – grounded in evidence-based theories
of change – offer coherent multi-sector
responses. This will A) further clarify DRC’s
global programmatic profile, B) enable DRC
to link ‘M&E and Learning’ to a set of clear
‘theory of change - outcome indicators’ and C)
create a coherent, and programmatically and
operationally grounded foundation for DRC’s
global advocacy strategy.
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05
QUALITY
ASSURANCE and
ACCOUNTABILITY
Programmatic and administrative guidelines
for how DRC operates are vested in the
DRC Programme Handbook and the DRC
Operations Handbook. Both handbooks are
central DRC management tools and the result
of many years of operational experience and
professional expertise. Both handbooks are
available in a web-based version on DRC’s
intranet called INSITE, allowing for continuous
updating. All new DRC expatriate staff are
introduced to both handbooks during a five-day
induction course held four times per year.
In terms of operational management, the
DRC’s Operations Handbook (OH) captures all
critical operational issues and defines Minimum
Operational Standards in terms of human resource
management, office procedures, IT, finance and
administration, procurement, warehousing,
safety, etc. The guidelines, especially on finance
and procurement, are designed to integrate
requirements from DRC’s major donors. UNHCR,
Sida, Danida and ECHO have approved that
DRC implements in accordance with key parts of
DRC’s own OH guidelines.
The online Grants Management System (GMS)
serves as a streamlined project information
platform for everyone in DRC. The GMS facilitates
day-to-day grants management processes such
as deadline management and document storing.
It further enables aggregate reporting on various
dimensions at country, regional, and global level.
Humanitarian work in fragile states and
circumstances comes with increased risks;
therefore, the OH includes several guidelines on
accountability, including measures and tools to
manage and mitigate risks in terms of corruption
and other misuse of funds and assets, including
in situations of remote management. A key
measure is the “Code of Conduct” which all
staff sign up to. Other examples include a “risk
catalogue” on the most commonly identified
risks for fraud and corruption and tools for
conducting risk assessments of local partners
and suppliers, as well as managing conflicts
of interest. As part of the three year strategic
development plan, Version 2015, DRC has since
2013 had specific focus on developing and
enhancing its framework for risk management
by streamlining the focus on compliance and
risk into the organisational setup as well as into
the policies, procedurs and tools. This work is
continuing into 2015.
In addition to the regular controls and support
mechanisms in DRC HQ the Compliance, Audit
and Support Team (CAST) was established in
2012. Designed to detect and address issues
of non-compliance with DRC’s own procedures
and thereby reduce and mitigate risks of
misuse of funds in its international operations,
the CAST consists of a pool of full-time roving
experts conducting compliance audits, control
and support missions to DRC operations.
Due diligence, increased compliance and
organisational learning are tangible outcomes
of the CAST function.
DRC’s prime tools of programme management
and quality assurance are framed under the
Planning & Reporting Framework (PRF). Rolled
out in all DRC operations, it consists of four
elements: Strategic Programme Documents
(SPD), Annual Reviews (AR), Results
Contracts (RC) and Quarterly Reports (QR).
The RC ‘translates’ the multi-year SPD into
annual performance indicators, which define
programmatic and operational expectations
and support between HQ, Regional and Field
Operations, and which are reported against in
the QR. The RC was successfully rolled out
in a ‘beta’ version for all operations in 2014.
The ‘alpha’ version for 2015 will reinforce the
mutuality of the RC, particularly the support
from, and monitoring by, the Specialist Leads/
technical experts.
DRC has initiated a three-year project (ending
in 2015) with the purpose of strengthening
the current M&E practices and procedures
across all levels of the organisation.
Strengthening M&E is a strategic priority of the
organisation and will see the development and
implementation of the system which will allow
for global systematic learning which feeds
into i) programme development and policy
messaging ii) supports regular programme
monitoring and iii) global aggregation of results
within selected areas.
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05
QUALITY
ASSURANCE and
ACCOUNTABILITY
In 2013, DRC was recertified under the HAP 2010
Standard in Accountability and Quality Management.
Having been HAP certified and re-certified since
2007, DRC has experienced that the certification
process greatly enhances the rigorous application of
DRC’s values and standards, including giving affected
populations influence through information provision,
participation and complaints management.
DRC is subjected to donor-commissioned capacity
assessments on a regular basis and at various levels
of the organisation. Examples are: 2009 Danida
funded capacity assessment, ECHO’s regular audits
of DRC’s administrative and financial set-up, the
annual assessment of DRC’s financial procedures by
USAID, the 2010 and 2013 HAP re-certification audits,
and lately the 2013 Sida and 2014 Danida capacity
assessments. DRC takes very seriously the recommendations made by all capacity assessments and
implements corrective actions accordingly.
Given the relatively high security risks in many areas
where DRC is operational, DRC has a dedicated
Safety and Security unit operating from HQ.
The unit works with analysis, travel advisories for
prevention and a robust response capacity in case
an incident should happen. DRC takes Duty of Care
for its staff very seriously and as part of conducting
contextual analyses, prepares staff by equipping
them with the tools required to function in a volatile or
stressful environment. Examples are the 4-day HEAT
(Hazardous Environment Awareness Training)
and the online DRC Safety Level System (SLS) that
measures the general threat level within a specific area
and provides a description of the safety environment.
With an ambition to be faster in responding and to
bring training closer to the field, DRC has, in addition
to the HQ Safety Unit, Regional Safety Advisors in
all the regional hubs and in the most insecure places,
Country Safety Advisors.
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06
STRATEGIC
PLANNING
Closely linked to DRC’s quality and
accountability management systems are
processes of strategic planning. DRC has
institutionalised a strategic planning process
whereby issues of key importance to the
development of the international work are
identified, prioritised and dealt with. In January
2013, DRC International entered a new three-year
strategic planning cycle 2013-2015, also termed
Version 2015. Concerning the International
Department, the following five strategic directions
have been identified:
Overall Objective
By 2015, DRC is a leading international humanitarian organisation
Immediate Objective 1
By the end of 2013 the organisational setup of DRC International reflects
a clear and efficient division of roles and responsibilities between HQ
and the field – and between the International Department and its support
departments
Immediate Objective 2
All DRC Operations receive relevant high quality operational support and
are compliant with DRC rules and regulations
Immediate Objective 3
DRC is proactive in advocacy and influencing humanitarian policy at
global, regional and programmatic levels
Immediate Objective 4
DRC has expanded and further consolidated its operational presence
through growth
Immediate Objective 5
DRC has expanded and further consolidated it’s operational presence
through growth
Underlying each strategic direction is a number
of concrete outputs, managed as Strategic
Focal Areas (SFAs) and financed through
external grants as well as internal investment
funds.
At the start of the strategic cycle in 2013, a
special focus was put on Immediate Objective
1 in an effort to streamline the organisational
set-up of DRC’s International Department,
including special attention on its relation to
operational support in terms of finance and
HR. This process resulted in a reorganisation of
DRC’s International Department and a number
of initiatives designed to further processes
of decentralisation and regionalisation in the
future. 2014 has seen the conceptualisation
and implementation of a number of outputs
under Immediate Objective 3 especially, A)
the introduction of a number of programme
platforms, B) the development of a global
framework for specialist leads and C) the
continuation of DRC’s efforts to develop a global
M&E framework as well as SMS beneficiary
feedback systems.
DRC has a clear ambition to be a ‘learning
organisation’. This involves facilitating a set of
organisational processes aimed at generating
and utilising key lessons learnt from programmatic
and operational practice to further improve the
quality of our assistance and ensure that our
assistance and mode of delivery is suitable for the
different operational contexts we operate in. Hence,
DRC has established a system that, first, captures
experiences at both project and programmatic
levels and, second, aggregates these at a higher
strategic organisational level.
Also, DRC systematically monitors changes and
key mega trends in the broader socio-economic
and political environment that are likely to have a
direct impact on humanitarian situations – as well as
responses. Relevant global mega trends currently
include climate change, demographic changes
in terms of population growth and urbanisation,
accelerated globalisation processes including the
emergence of new economic powers, further growth
in the number of ‘ungoverned areas’ and failed /
fragile states, a continuation of global ‘ideological
conflicts’ as well as widespread global access to
cell-phone, internet and ATM card technologies.
Both concrete operational experiences as well as
observations of global mega trends are discussed
and analysed at several layers of the organisation
and in terms of the need for temporary or lasting
organisational adjustments.
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07
STRATEGIC
PARTNERSHIPS
DRC emphasises the need to engage in national
and international strategic partnerships as a
key element in overall strategies to promote
protection and durable solutions for refugees
and internally displaced. The main partners for
co-operation are the UN organisations relevant
to DRC’s mandate and strategic approaches.
UNHCR is a long-standing strategic partner
of DRC. In February 2007, UNHCR and DRC
signed a MoU to further strengthen strategic
collaboration between the two organisations.
This MoU is currently being updated and the
revised UNHCR-DRC MoU will be signed in
October 2014 comprising a commitment to
further strengthen the strategic partnership
at global, regional and national levels in
the following areas: Protection, Emergency
Response, Solutions and Livelihoods, and
Collaboration around persistent and growing
challenges.
Moreover, DRC has in recent years expanded
its strategic partnership with UNHCR by playing
an active role in the following UNHCR-NGO
Partnership Initiatives:
The Structured Partnership Dialogue
Initiative, initiated by the High Commissioner,
aims at critically reviewing and reflecting on
the UNHCR-NGO partnership and devise ways
forward to improve and enhance the quality and
effectiveness of joint humanitarian response.
DRC is a member of the Steering Group for
the Dialogue. At the end of 2012, the Dialogue
resulted in 10 recommendations and key
priorities agreed for strengthening UNHCR-NGO
partnerships, including on advocacy, urban
refugee situations, capacity development and
the mobilisation of international support to
meet the needs of IDPs. These are currently
being implemented.
Within the UNHCR-NGO initiative on Enhanced
Emergency Procedures and Response, DRC
has an on-going partnership with the Division
of Emergency Security and Supply (DESS). This
dialogue has been further strengthened during
2012, 2013, 2014 and onwards in order to
strengthen efficient and effective co-operation
between DRC and UNHCR during acute
emergencies.
In recognition of the importance of strengthening
implementing partnerships, UNHCR initiated a
review of the whole framework for cooperation
with implementing partners. DRC has been
following the developments of this initiative to
enhance the Framework for Implementing with
Partners closely and is today a member of the
Resource Network that has been feeding into
this process and is supporting the roll-out of the
revised and new requirements.
Since the launch of the Humanitarian Reform
in 2005, and more recently the Transformative
Agenda initiated by the Emergency Relief
Coordinator Valery Amos at the end of 2011,
DRC has been actively engaged in follow-up
processes, coordination and partnerships related
to the Humanitarian Reform and Transformative
Agenda, with the main focus on engaging
and contributing to the development and
implementation of the Cluster Approach at the
global as well as field level.
Since UNHCR is a partner of key importance,
DRC is predominantly engaged in UNHCR led
clusters. At a global level, DRC is a long-standing
and engaged member of the Special Advisory
Group (SAG) to the Global Protection Cluster
(GPC), a member of the Camp Coordination and
Camp Management Working Group (CCCM)
and the cluster on Emergency Shelter and NFIs.
Moreover, DRC is engaging actively in the global
Child Protection Working Group (CPWG) led by
UNICEF, the more recently established Food
Security Cluster co-chaired by WFP and FAO,
and the Early Recovery Cluster led by UNDP.
During recent years, DRC has also entered into a
closer strategic as well as operational partnership
with UNICEF, particularly in the area of child
protection.
At field level, DRC participates actively in
protection field clusters, as well as other clusters
of relevance to DRC operations. In a number
of locations, DRC has in recent years taken the
role as co-lead in protection field clusters, e.g.
in Somalia, CAR, and Mali. Moreover, DRC has
as the first NGO ever recently taken on the role
as Co-Coordinator with UNHCR for the refugee
response in South Sudan. Furthermore, DRC has
a specific strategic focus on seconding staff to
cluster coordination functions through the DRC
Stand-by Roster at field and HQ level.
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STRATEGIC
PARTNERSHIPS
DRC believes in, and acknowledges, the
important role that the UN, and OCHA in
particular, has as the main coordinating body
in international humanitarian responses to
internal displacement. DRC continues to
engage in policy discussions and advocacy
on effective coordination of humanitarian
response
and
provide
supportive
contributions to the Transformative Agenda
and the main strategic partners / forums for
this are OCHA and the Inter Agency Standing
Committee (IASC). In this vein, DRC in
2013 took up one of two NGO seats in the
Emergency Directors’ Group (EDG), an IASC
forum established by OCHA.
The Copenhagen Roundtable on Solutions,
held in April 2014, formally launched a new
global initiative: The Solutions Alliance.
The Alliance will work at the global level
to ensure displacement issues are placed
on the agenda of relevant global policy
processes such as Agenda 2015, New Deal
and the World Humanitarian Summit, and
at the local level serve as a platform for
bringing all relevant actors together to ensure
displacement is part of local development
agendas. Governed by a group of global
co-chairs (Danish Government, UNHCR,
UNDP, IRC and the Colombian Government),
the secretariat function of the Alliance is held
by DRC.
In addition, DRC continues its long-term
engagement in the global humanitarian
NGO policy and advocacy network, ICVA
(International Council of Voluntary Agencies).
More recently DRC has started working
more closely with InterAction on influencing
policy and engaging in advocacy initiatives,
including the InterAction led initiative on
Results-Based Protection for which DRC is a
member of the Steering and Learning Group.
Furthermore, DRC is involved with its
partners in the preparations for the World
28
Humanitarian Summit through ICVA. DRC is
supporting the thematic group on innovation
and will be actively involved in the Regional
consultations for the Middle East and North
Africa.
DRC’s efforts with regard to influencing
policy and having a focused presence, first
and foremost in Geneva through strategic
partnerships, joint initiatives and seminars
with the UN, has been further strengthened
in 2013 through the establishment of a
permanent DRC Representative in Geneva.
In terms of operational partnership with DG
ECHO in humanitarian interventions, DRC is
a founding member of the ECHO co-funded
Joint IDP Profiling Service (JIPS) project.
DRC continues to be an active member of
VOICE (Organisations in Co-Operation in
Emergencies), where regular interaction
with DG ECHO high-level officials and
other international humanitarian NGOs
takes place. In addition, DRC is a partner to
ECRE (European Council on Refugees and
Exiles) on an EC co-funded project seeking
to promote coherence of EU policies in the
area of migration and refugee protection in
development cooperation.
DRC’s
EuropeAid
portfolio
remains
strategically important, and DRC is sharing
expertise in EuropeAid project management
with other Danish NGOs through conducting
targeted trainings and consultancies within
the Danish NGO Platform – Global Focus.
Since 2011 DRC has had a Humanitarian
Partnership Framework Agreement with
Danida, with an overall strategic objective
to provide “Protection of conflict affected
populations with a focus on vulnerable
groups” and to “Strengthening partnerships”.
Danida has identified DRC as a key
implementing partner organisation in areas
of protection and livelihoods, as well as a
strategic partner in relation to support to the
UN cluster coordination system.
DDG is a member of the International
Committee to Ban Land Mines and the
Cluster Munition Coalition and is furthermore
a board member of The Survey Action Centre,
the IMAS Review Board, and the Advisory
Board of the Geneva International Centre
for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD). DDG
is also part of the Expert Reference Group
on the development of International Small
Arms Control Standards (ISACS) by the UN
Coordination Action on Small Arms (CASA). DDG
is active in the Protection Clusters sub-group
on Mine Action and cooperates closely with
donors, the UN, GICHD, Quaker United Nations
Office (QUNO) and other international agencies
on policy and programme development within
Mine Action and Armed Violence Reduction.
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08
EMERGENCY
RESPONSE
In line with the Humanitarian Imperative
it remains a strategic priority for DRC to
maintain and further enhance our emergency
preparedness and rapid response capacity
to acute crises. In 2012 36% of DRC’s
humanitarian work carried out internationally took place during acute crises and was
guided by the overall objective “save lives
and alleviate suffering”. In 2013 the figure
had increased to 47% of DRC interventions
taking place during acute crisis, and the
indication is that the focus on life saving
interventions will continue in 2014. A major
reason for the increase of acute crisis
interventions during 2013 and 2014 – in
percentage as well as real figures – is the
scale of DRC’s response to the Syrian Crisis.
Furthermore, DRC is in 2014 engaged in
large scale emergency response operations
in South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia,
CAR and Iraq. DRC is increasingly seen
and respected as an important emergency
responder by the international humanitarian
community.
To sustain and further develop DRC’s
emergency preparedness and response
capacity in order to support the field optimally,
the new Division of Emergency, Safety and
Supply was established on September 1st
2013. The Division comprises, among others,
the Stand-By Roster Unit (SBR) and the
Emergency and Supply Unit. These two units
have been reinforcing their strategic and
practical cooperation on direct emergency
interventions, deployment of experts, quality
control, training and project management.
A key priority for DRC in 2014 is to further
enhance predictability in our emergency
response. A central element in this regard
concerns the procurement and supply of
assets and relief items to operations in acute
crisis, often involving having to deliver items
to remote and hard to reach locations without
a functioning market. To address this issue
DRC has established a global supply chain
function based in the Emergency and Supply
Unit. In addition, DRC has in 2014 continued
to strengthen early warning functions,
preparedness and response planning, faster
and timely deployment of emergency experts
with the right skills, as well as enhancing
the access to humanitarian assets and to
emergency funding.
In every humanitarian emergency the UN
plays a crucial role and assumes the role of
a flagship for all other humanitarian actors.
Hence, it is of utmost importance that the
capacity to respond in UN field offices and
headquarters is strengthened and this is what
the DRC SBR is put to life to do. In recent
years an extraordinary number of crises and
emergencies have occurred due to which the
demand for effective and rapid humanitarian
response has increased. So has the UN’s
demand for services offered by DRC’s SBR.
The DRC SBR continues to be seen by our
key partners as highly effective and efficient,
and the demand for support outnumbers the
supply that the DRC SBR provides within
the available funding. DRC strives to create
synergies between the deployment of staff
to the UN and deployment and cooperation
with the DRC emergency operations.
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