Inter-Agency Standing Committee
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The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) is an inter-agency forum of UN and non-UN humanitarian partners founded in 1992, to strengthen humanitarian assistance. The overall objective of the IASC is to improve the delivery of humanitarian assistance to affected populations. The Committee was established following UN General Assembly Resolution 46/182 and resolution 48/57 confirmed that it should be the primary method for inter-agency coordination.[1] The committee is chaired by the Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Andrew Lowcock[2]
Full members of the IASC are[3]:
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
- United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
- United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
- United Nations Human Settlements Programme (HABITAT)
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
- World Food Programme (WFP)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Internationale Organisation für Migration (IOM)
Standing invitees of the IASC are:
- the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
- the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)
- the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
- the American Council for Voluntary International Action (InterAction)
- the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
- the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
- the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons
- the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR)
- World Bank
Global Clusters
Following the recommendations of an independent Humanitarian Response Review in 2005, the cluster approach was adopted in 2005 as a way of addressing gaps and strengthening the effectiveness of humanitarian response through building partnerships. The IASC clustered similar humanitarian organizations and appointed lead agencies for each. Clusters can be activated by the Emergency Relief Coordinator in order to respond to a crisis.[4] There are 11 clusters which are humanitarian coordination mechanisms of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee:
- Camp Coordination and Camp Management
- Early Recovery
- Education
- Emergency Telecommunications
- Food Security
- Health
- Logistics
- Nutrition
- Protection
- Shelter
- Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.