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European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations

UN Economic and Social Council

UN economic and social council

The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is responsible for coordinating the economic, social and related work of 14 specialised UN agencies, its functional commissions and five regional commissions.

Every summer, ECOSOC holds a month-long session in New York. One of its five segments is about Humanitarian Affairs during which a humanitarian resolution is unanimously adopted. The humanitarian segment brings together key humanitarian actors from the UN system, donors and affected countries, and other humanitarian stakeholders, including NGOs and academics. Topics of discussion include both the main on-going humanitarian emergencies, as well as important transversal issues, such as the Transformative Agenda or the World Humanitarian Summit.

The European Commission's Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (ECHO), through its staff in EU delegations in New York and Geneva provides substantive inputs and helps coordinate a single EU position in the annual negotiation of the ECOSOC humanitarian resolution.

Picture: © European Union/ECHO/Anouk Delafortrie