E/CN.4/1503 Page 57
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125. Secondly, because funds for humanitarian emergencies are
finite, one has to think in both "lateral" and "vertical" terms
about the
the co-ordination of humanitarian assistance.
By "lateral" is meant the range of emergencies for which assist-
ance is supplied, extending through man-made disasters to
economic difficulties in individual countries.
By "vertical"
we refer to
to the co-ordination of humanitarian assistance
through the successive phases of relief, rehabilitation,
reconstruction and longer-term development. Just as the international community had reached a perception of the need for approaches to development co-operation to be integrated, so, increasingly, it is recognized that contributions must be
used in the most cost-effective way possible.
126. Already it has been seen that in the not infrequent cases
where the origins of an exodus are compounded by famine, the
apportioning of aid and timely distribution within the country
of origin may contribute to circumscribing the flow. At the
same time, the presence of international relief officials may
help to create a measure of hope and confidence. An improve-
ment in the
in the psychological climate is indeed a key factor in
stemming the departure of groups who tend to influence each
other until the movement snowballs beyond control. Conversely,
in some situations the availability of international assistance
very close to the border but exclusively within the receiving
country may help precipitate the flow. It seems to be time to
take a broader view and fill the existing lacunae.
127. Thirdly, appropriate organs of the United Nations called
upon to deal with causes and, by inference, with prevention
tend to be compartmentalized and ponderous, or may be hamstrung by political constraints. At the same time, agencies,