The Foreign Service Journal, January 2009

10 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 9 A Question of Responsibility: Humanitarian Response 2008 Though the world’s largest interna- tional aid donor, the U.S. only ranks 13th in generosity when the nation’s as- sistance dollars are viewed in relation to its size. And while it is number one as far as sectoral distribution of funding through U.N. appeals is concerned, second in terms of the capacity for in- formed decisionmaking and fourth when it comes to timely funding, Washington drops to the bottom of the rankings on promoting standards, en- hancing the implementation of human rights and humanitarian law, and main- taining neutrality and independence in responding to humanitarian needs. These are some of the results of the Development Assistance Research As- sociates’ 2008 Humanitarian Response Index ( www.hri.daraint.org/ ) , releas- ed to an audience of nongovernmental organizations, U.N. agencies, academ- ics and civil society activists in New York City on Nov. 19. DARA is a Spanish nonprofit dedicated to im- proving the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of humanitarian aid ( www.daraint.org/web_en/index.p hp ). The group launched the index one year ago to make a comparative evaluation of the practices and pro- grams of the world’s leading donor na- tions, the 23 members of the Organi- zation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Development Assis- tance Committee. “We developed the HRI as a way of holding governments accountable to the principles of good practice they agreed to,” Silvia Hidalgo, executive di- rector of DARA, explained, referring to the principles of good humanitarian donorship agreed upon in 2005 by the 23 states. “Aid is not about generosity, it’s a question of responsibility,” she added. “We’re using the HRI as a tool to help governments identify what works well, and where they need to im- prove the quality and effectiveness of aid.” The index is based on field research in 11 different crises around the globe, interviews with representatives of more than 350 humanitarian organiza- tions directly engaged in providing as- sistance, and more than 1,400 re- sponses to a questionnaire on donor behavior. Complementing the field re- search is quantitative data on donor funding, policies and practices from donor agencies and sources like the U.N., World Bank and others. Though the HRI is available online in condensed form, Palgrave MacMil- lan is publishing a larger, more detailed version including full reports from the 11 crisis areas surveyed, and policy dis- cussion on the HRI and needs and re- sponse assessments ( http://us.macmil lan.com/humanitarianresponsein dex2008 ). More Foreign Policy Ideas for Team Obama In the December issue, we sur- veyed an array of foreign policy rec- ommendations for the new admini- stration. Here are a few more that merit attention. Elevate and strengthen diplomacy and development. The Global Plum Book identifies 100 leadership posi- tions that will shape the next adminis- tration’s foreign policy agenda ( http:// usglobalengagement.org/Portals/ 16/ftp/Global_Plum_Book.pdf ). Divided into four sections —The Pol- icymakers, The Managers, The Influ- encers and The Implementers — this useful publication derives its name from United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions , commonly known as the “Plum Book,” which is published after every presidential elec- tion and lists over 7,000 federal Civil Service positions that may be filled by C YBERNOTES T he Journal is as good, or as mediocre, as its contributors throughout the world help it to be. ... Many of our readers have said they find the Journal brighter, more vital, more profes- sional these days. We hope it is, and we should like to thank our contributors herewith individually for sending us clippings, articles, letters of appreciation, comments and criticisms. And to them all we would like to wish a very Happy New Year. — From “Washington Letter” by Gwen Barrows, Jan. 1959 FSJ .