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An Account of Co‐ordination Mechanisms for Humanitarian Assistance During the International Response to the 1994 Crisis in Rwanda
Author(s) -
BORTON JOHN
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
disasters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.744
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-7717
pISSN - 0361-3666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7717.1996.tb01046.x
Subject(s) - ordination , politics , agency (philosophy) , facilitation , political science , business , computer security , sociology , computer science , law , social science , machine learning
This paper examines the co‐ordination strategies developed to respond to the Great Lakes crisis following the events of April 1994. It analyses the different functions and mechanisms which sought to achieve a co‐ordinated response – ranging from facilitation at one extreme to management and direction at the other. The different regimes developed to facilitate co‐ordination within Rwanda and neighbouring countries, focusing on both inter‐agency and inter‐country co‐ordination issues, are then analysed. Finally, the paper highlights the absence of mechanisms to achieve coherence between the humanitarian, political and security domains. It concludes that effective co‐ordination is critical not only to achieve programme efficiency, but to ensure that the appropriate instruments and strategies to respond to complex political emergencies are in place. It proposes a radical re‐shaping of international humanitarian, political and security institutions, particularly the United Nations, to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian and political responses to crises such as that in the Great Lakes.