FAS Speaks at UN OCHA Symposium +5 on Information for Humanitarian Action

Geneva, Switzerland

22-26 October 2007

Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) was invited to participate in the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Symposium +5 conference from 22 to 26 October, 2007, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

 
The theme of the Symposium +5 was Information for Humanitarian Action. The conference followed the 2002 Symposium on Best Practices in Humanitarian Information Exchange. Information management is central to collaboration in the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Timely and reliable information is well recognized as critical to the effectiveness of meeting the needs of populations affected by conflict and disasters.

 

Bineta Diop, the Executive Director of FAS was invited to participate in a panel discussion on humanitarian realities on 24 October. Panelists explored the question of what kind of information is needed to address the challenges presented by the humanitarian environment today. Mme Diop spoke about her experiences in refugee and IDP camps across Africa, including eastern Chad (her most recent mission), Guinea, Burundi and Liberia.

 

Other panelists included Peter Walker, the Director of the Feinstein International Centre at Tufts University, Jemilah Mahmood, President of the NGO Mercy Malaysia, David Nabarro, UN System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza, and David Shearer, UN Deputy Special Representative for Iraq.

 

Panellists (from left to right) David Nabarro (UN System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza), Bineta Diop (Executive Director, Femmes Africa Solidarité), and David Shearer (UN Deputy Special Representative for Iraq) discuss the realities of humanitarian intervention.

 

Close to 200 Information Management professionals, humanitarian workers, members of the private sector and NGOs attended the Symposium +5. The first two days of the Symposium +5 were spent in working groups tackled issues such as protection information, the exchange of humanitarian information in the field, and communication to affected communities in crisis.

 

The conclusions and recommendations of the working groups were presented during the last three days of the Symposium, in between different four different panel discussions. The conclusions presented by delegates underscored the need for attention to the promotion of standards, user requirements, quality of information, appropriate responses, tools and technology, and strong partnerships.

 

The Symposium +5 also drafted a declaration. Its focus is the centrality of information management and exchange to effective humanitarian preparedness and response. The declaration also underscores the need for agreed global standards in Information Management. Approval and support will be sought for a General Assembly Resolution that urges the adoption of global standards.

 

FAS is also implicated in the need for proper Information Management when it conducts research, interviews and surveys in the field. Upon its completion, FAS will support the declaration and ensure that it becomes a central tool for its field missions.