Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has bases in both Geneva and New York. The primary responsibility of OCHA is the coordination of humanitarian efforts both inside and outside of the UN system.

OCHA works in 3 main areas:
- policy development and coordination functions in support of the Secretary-General, ensuring that all humanitarian issues, including those which fall between gaps in existing mandates of agencies such as protection and assistance for internally displaced persons, are addressed;
- advocacy of humanitarian issues with political organs, notably the Security Council;
- coordination of humanitarian emergency response, by ensuring that an appropriate response mechanism is established, through Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) consultations, on the ground.

OCHA discharges its coordination duties primarily through the IASC, which is chaired by the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), with the participation of all humanitarian partners, including the Red Cross Movement and NGOs. IASC ensures inter-agency decision-making in response to complex emergencies, including needs assessments, consolidated appeals, field coordination arrangements and the development of humanitarian policies.

In addition to these duties, OCHA also maintains reliefweb.int, a website designed to facilitate the exchange of information between members of the humanitarian relief community.

OCHA currently maintains field coordination arrangements in 16 countries and one region: Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Georgia, Great Lakes, Republic of the Congo, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tajikistan.