The Foreign Service Journal, December 2010

parency in the workings of interna- tional organizations and their finan- cial accounting, and deepening the ethics commitments by interna- tional civil servants who work in these organizations have been long- standing efforts. The newest element of that effort is looking more systematically at eval- uation. How do these organizations evaluate their own performance? How well are they able to look at the original objectives of a project or pro- gram and determine whether those were addressed? The United States has plenty of expertise in these areas, and we have offered it to the U.N. to assist in the creation of struc- tures for evaluation in particular programs. To support and complement that effort, we in IO es- tablished a new effectiveness unit to look at how we can improve our own evaluation of certain organizations based on the goals they establish, and how our capacity might help select organizations incorporate and employ evaluation strategies. Q: Some have pointed to the U.N. response to the earthquake in Haiti as evidence of improved effective- ness. Would you concur with that view? A. I would. Let me begin, however, by acknowledg- ing that the response to the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, including the United Nations response, had and contin- ues to have its problems. Given the scale of the disaster, one could hardly expect otherwise. In that context, consider for a moment the scale of the response. Clearly, the immediate international reaction to the earthquake required unique capabilities, many of which were found in the U.S. military, which played a crucial role in getting aid in quickly, getting the airport open, getting the seaports open. To be frank, nobody else could have done that. Organizing and applying the global response required established structures designed to provide comprehen- sive and sustained services. The world community rec- ognized this need some years ago, and has invested over time in establishing those capabilities through the United Nations. The U.N. obviously has humanitarian expert- ise in a range of its agencies, and it quickly deployed that expertise in Haiti using a response cluster system, which divided key tasks — shelter, fresh water, provision of food, provision of health care and other basic needs — among its different agencies. Importantly, that division of re- sponsibilities has been long-estab- lished, so lead U.N. agencies are fully cognizant of and prepared for their roles in humanitarian crises. For ex- ample, the United Nations Children’s Fund takes the lead on providing fresh water, and theWorld Food Pro- gram handles food and related logis- tical support. I want to be very clear here. There was no way the in- ternational community could have organized the re- sponse in Haiti on the scale needed and in the time required, on an ad hoc basis. Those systems must be al- ready in place, and the United Nations provides that cru- cial architecture. In a similar vein, its response to Haiti’s security needs was instructive. Because Haiti already has a significant in- ternational peacekeeping presence through the U.N. Sta- bilization Mission, the Security Council was able to take quick and decisive action to strengthen the mission in sup- port of the humanitarian response. That couldn’t have hap- pened if the world hadn’t invested in Haiti’s security earlier by sponsoring and deploying MINUSTAH. Finally, I would note that the United Nations is playing more than a mere response role. The United States and much of the international community was well aware that the immediate response in Haiti had to be part of a longer- term effort to help the country build back better. But it was the U.N. that provided the mechanism through which that longer-term effort could be pledged and coordinated. The bottom line is this. We need to continue to invest in, build and strengthen the sort of response capacity we saw in play in Haiti — a multilateral capacity that has proven effective in response to crises. Q: Clearly, humanitarian crises will be a recurring challenge. What other areas would you highlight as emerging multilateral issues over the next 10 years? A. Well, I think it’s safe to say that some of our current challenges will remain priorities for the foreseeable fu- ture. These include climate change, food security and global health issues. 48 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 F O C U S “International organizations, including the United Nations, offer unique opportunities to advance U.S. goals and objectives.”