United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was established pursuant to the adoption of the Secretary-Generals programme for reform. In accordance with the provisions of General Assembly resolution 46/182, the Emergency Relief Coordinators functions are focused in three core areas:

(a) 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;

(b) advocacy of humanitarian issues with political organs, notably the Security Council; and

(c) coordination of humanitarian emergency response, by ensuring that an appropriate response mechanism is established, through Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) consultations, on the ground.

Relief Web ( www.reliefweb.int): is an internet website, managed by OCHA, that provides up-to-date information on complex emergencies and natural disasters collected from over 170 sources. Users from over 150 countries access an average of 200,000 documents each month.