Civilian‐military interactions and ongoing UN reforms: DHA's past and OCHA's remaining challenges

Abstract

The pragmatic and visionary options for the creation of a successor to the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs are outlined, together with the political and bureaucratic considerations which led instead to the establishment of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which falls short of what was possible as well as desirable. In order to appreciate the forces which are likely to converge on OCHA, a history of the formation and performance of DHA is detailed, followed by an examination of the prospects for OCHA in meeting its three stated core functions: policy development, advocacy and coordination. Despite a number of improvements over the form and standing of its predecessor, OCHA's prospects for success are constrained by the nature and extent of the UN reform process, the operational realities of humanitarian operations, a variety of unaddressed institutional inadequacies and entrenched resistance to coordination.