Assessment of Possible ECHO’S 2001 Actions in the Middle East

Palestine refugees are the main reason for the presence of ECHO in the Middle East. Since 1993, ECHO has developed an aid programme that covers this target group of the four countries in the region where most of the refugees have settled. These are the West Bank and Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. The characteristic “perennial emergency” defines the Palestinian situation, and ECHO’s contribution through the years has accounted for EUR 68 million. Whilst needs in this context are overwhelming, the programme strategy is to target emergency and relief-related matters. Somehow, ECHO interventions have been fluctuating in “a grey zone” between emergency and development. Since 1995, “Global Plans” have been used to define the framework in which ECHO operations are carried out. Up to the present, the health sector has received the greatest allocation of ECHO funds. In recent years, ECHO programmes have aimed at assisting the most vulnerable groups, focusing on emergency shelter rehabilitation, Bedouins and communities affected by the long lasting drought, and an emergency response to cope with the new situation in Southern Lebanon resulting from the withdrawal of the Israeli Army. The Commission wishes to refocus ECHO operations within the original mandate as stipulated in the Council Regulations. It was decided that a mission should be undertaken to evaluate the suitability of ECHO programmes in the region and to provide the basis to assess the situation, leading to clear and practical guidelines for further ECHO actions in the Middle East. This report combines an outline of the experiences gathered by the consultant who undertook an evaluation of ECHO’s 1999 and 2000 Global Plans in the Middle East, respecting the tasks outlined in the Terms of Reference.