Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

On Monday of this week, the news media reported that the head of Italy's civil protection agency, Mr. Guido Bertolaso, who is highly respected in the area of disaster management, has described the aid effort in Haiti as a "pathetic" failure. He said it has become a "vanity show" for the television cameras. He criticised the aid operation's lack of adequate co-ordination to date and called for the appointment of an international civilian humanitarian co-ordinator. The adequacy of the international community's response has been criticised in the aftermath of previous humanitarian disasters and international tragedies, such as the tsunami of 2004. We have learned little, however, from previous experience.

In 2007, as a member of the Council of Europe, I compiled a report for the Council entitled, Europe's Response to Humanitarian Disasters, which considered all aspects of Europe's response to the organisation of humanitarian and civil protection in the aftermath of a disaster. The European region alone provides more than 60% of material and financial international humanitarian aid. The scale of disasters and the experience of dealing with them have highlighted the need for a wider analysis of Europe's response and responsibility towards humanitarian disasters within Europe and elsewhere. My report concluded that the main problem facing Europe as regards its role in improving further the international co-ordination framework for humanitarian assistance was political. There is no political agreement between member states as to how humanitarian assistance and civil protection should be effectively organised. I made a number of recommendations and was interested that Catherine Day, representing the European Union as late as Tuesday, was bemoaning the lack of co-ordination between member states within the European Union and pressing for a co-ordinated response. The report, even though I could be accused of lacking in modesty, fulfils that need, as do other reports of a similar nature that seemingly have been gathering dust and about which Ms Day does not know. I have no doubt, having discussed the matter with the Minister of State, that he will take on board the existence of the report and attempt to implement some of its recommendations.

I made a number of recommendations in this regard. In the first instance, going back to Mr. Bertolaso, his comments, for which he was pilloried in certain quarters, were perfectly credible for those working in the area. If a united co-ordination platform is to be achieved, member states of the European Union must decide which of their interested national Ministries should play the central role in co-ordinating humanitarian aid within the various European and international humanitarian assistance and civil protection mechanisms. I mention this because in Ireland all humanitarian assistance is correctly co-ordinated through the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Under the civil protection mechanism initiative launched by the European Union in the mid-1990s, there is a separate channel of funding to justice and home affairs Ministries across Europe which are using the money as they see fit, primarily to fly the flag wherever there is a humanitarian disaster. That was seen during the crisis in Lebanon some years ago when Italy, in particular, sent battleships which sat off the coast of Lebanon, generating enormous publicity nationally that the Italian Government was looking after its own nationals. What about all the other nationalities? Other countries then sent warships and Ireland found itself in a situation where it had to rely on its international colleagues to get its people out of the country. That was purely a humanitarian assistance gesture but flag waving seems to be continuing, even in Haiti.

Crucial in achieving the aim of co-ordination is designing a national focal point to co-ordinate national responses to international humanitarian crises and emergencies to avoid a proliferation of unco-ordinated mechanisms, collision of mandates, competition for resources and the overlapping of initiatives that have a negative effect on the international system's capacity to deal timely and effectively with emergencies at a global level. Much of the unco-ordinated response in Haiti could have been avoided if this key recommendation had been heeded.

The current position is that the European Union is a relatively recent but increasingly significant actor on the international humanitarian stage and an essential partner in supporting and complementing the United Nations' work on all three pillars - peace and security, human rights and development. European states can participate in international aid responses to humanitarian disasters through a number of mechanisms or combinations of mechanisms. As such, humanitarian intervention may involve taking action directly and unilaterally through civil or military intervention, subject to the authority of the recipient state. The various channels by which European states respond to European disasters, therefore, constitute a multi-faceted and complex environment and may involve a presence and participation at several levels.

The challenge of co-ordinating international humanitarian responses is difficult, as I readily concede. In addressing these complex problems, my report recommended the use of the EU civil protection mechanism. This mechanism has been operating since 2002 when it was instituted to facilitate reinforced co-operation between member states in humanitarian crisis intervention. However, the precise nature of its role and involvement in international responses outside EU territory does not yet appear to be clear. I advocated that it should be given an enhanced role in co-ordinating member states' response to a humanitarian disaster such as the current crisis in Haiti.

I compliment the Irish media on its conduct in raising wider awareness among the Irish public of the effects of this terrible disaster. It is important to consider the enormous role to be played by the media in shaping the perception of a crisis and response to emergencies and to speak with one voice and facilitate the response to them.

The problem now facing the European Union in its role in developing an international co-ordination framework for humanitarian assistance is political. There is no political agreement between member states on how humanitarian assistance and civil protection, respectively, should be effectively organised. This lack of co-ordination has tragic consequences for those suffering in the wake of a disaster, as we see in the heartbreaking scenes from Haiti on our televisions. Reforming humanitarian assistance mechanisms and the related co-ordination issues should additionally serve as a strong reminder to member states to renew their commitment to their international humanitarian assistance obligations, given their central role in determining the future structure of intervention, especially at European level.

I compliment the Minister of State and the State on the magnificent gestures they have made in raising more than €10 million in public donations from this wonderfully charitable people.