Policy Documentation Center

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2012 Humanitarian Aid  
Operational Strategy of the Czech Republic  
 
 
 
 
 
1 July 2010 
 2 
2012 Humanitarian Aid Operational Strategy of the Czech Republic  
 
The purpose of the Operational Strategy is to provide an overview of the basic aims of Czech 
humanitarian aid in 2012 on the background of global humanitarian needs and international 
commitments.  
 
1. Basic humanitarian principles, definitions and forms  
 
Providing of humanitarian aid financed from the Czech Government Budget is based on the Law on 
Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, which entered into force on July 1, 2010.
1
 
According to this law, the humanitarian aid (HA) is defined as a set of activities financed from the 
national budget in order to prevent loss of life and injury, to alleviate suffering and to restore basic 
living conditions of people after an emergency, as well as to mitigate long-lasting consequences of 
emergencies and to prevent their occurrence and negative consequences. 
The provision of humanitarian aid is governed by fundamental international humanitarian principles of 
humanity (the main goal is saving lives), impartiality (HA is provided strictly on the basis of needs), 
neutrality (the humanitarian actors do not favour any part of a given conflict) and independence (the 
aid is provided regardless of political, economic, military or other aims of the donor and/or 
beneficiary). The Czech Republic endorsed these principles in 2006, having joined the Good 
Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) platform.
2
 
The Czech Republic appreciates and supports the principal role played by the United Nations and its 
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Issues (UNOCHA) in coordination of humanitarian 
action (incl. cluster approach); as well as the important contribution of the UN agencies in 
implementing international humanitarian aid and assessing global humanitarian needs.  
The Czech Republic respects and supports the work of the International Committee of the Red 
Cross (ICRC), as well as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies 
(IFRC), including its National Societies, in particular in distributing aid in unstable regions, in 
enforcing international humanitarian law (IHL) and contributing to disaster prevention and 
preparedness.  
As EU member, the Czech Republic takes part in the implementation of the Action Plan to the 
European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid and supports the global humanitarian activities of the 
European Union, in particular the advocacy for good donorship and IHL as well as the efforts towards 
qualified needs assessments and timely as well as adequate response, including its coordination.  
As it follows from the above presented definition of humanitarian aid, the humanitarian assistance 
comprises both emergency aid (in the first days and weeks after an ad hoc catastrophe), early 
recovery of basic living conditions (in a horizon of months after a catastrophe) as well as a long-term 
rehabilitation and reconstruction in up to two years, where needed. Further important parts of the 
                                                     
1
 151/2010 Act on Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid and Amending Related Laws 
2 
PRINCIPLES AND GOOD PRACTICE OF HUMANITARIAN DONORSHIP, endorsed in Stockholm, 17 June 2003, by 
16 donor countries and the EC. Several other donors, incl. the Czech Republic (2006), have joined since than; the EU joined 
collectively in 2007 through the endorsement of the EU Consensus on humanitarian aid. There is a prospect for an annual 
co-chairmanship in GHD by the Czech Republic and Denmark, starting in July 2012. 
 3 
humanitarian assistance are disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction as well as assistance in 
protracted (complex) humanitarian crises, incl. the focus on synergies between the humanitarian and 
development activities (Linking Relief, Recovery and Development, LRRD). 
The Czech Republic, similar to other donors, uses following main forms of aid provision: 
1) Financial (contributions to international organizations, grants for Czech humanitarian NGOs, 
financial transfers to foreign non-governmental and other institutions) – suitable in all types and 
phases of humanitarian emergencies; 
2) In-kind (in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior – Directorate General of the Fire 
Rescue Service, DG FRS) – mainly in the first phase of an ad hoc emergency; 
3) Expert assistance (in cooperation with Ministry of the Interior – DG FRS) – mainly in the first 
phase of an ad hoc emergency (rescue and medical staff etc.), or in DRR efforts. 
 
2. Global humanitarian needs and appeals 
United Nations Consolidated Appeals Process 2012 (CAP) 
Humanitarian aid shall be provided on the basis of needs. The UNOCHA Consolidated Appeals 
Process (CAP) represents a primary tool for identifying global humanitarian needs. 
The 2012 CAP has summed up humanitarian needs of 51 mil. people in 16 countries (13 countries in 
sub-Saharan Africa, further Yemen, Afghanistan and the Philippines/Mindanao) with funding 
requirements amounting to USD 7.7 billion. Compared to 2011, the Sudan operation is divided into 
two separate appeals (Sudan 1 billion USD, South Sudan 763 mil.). The highest increase, compared 
to the previous year, is required for the humanitarian operations in the Horn of Africa countries, in 
particular the most expensive operation at all, in the famine-affected Somalia (1.5 billion USD, Kenya 
764 mil., Djibouti 79 mil.)
3
, and in Yemen (447 mil. USD compared to 225 mil. in 2011). Former 
regional appeal for West Africa is turned into separate country operations in Niger (229 mil.) and Côte 
d´Ivoire (173 mil.).    
A rather radical decrease is announced for humanitarian requirements in Haiti (231 mil. USD 
compared to 907 in 2009), and in Afghanistan (from 679 mil. to 437 mil. USD), further Palestinian 
Autonomous Territories (from 576 mil. to 417 mil. USD), and Zimbabwe (from 415 mil. to 268 mil. 
USD). 
Out of Flash Appeals for particular emergencies, the FAP for flood affected countries Nicaragua, 
Salvador and Pakistan are still active.  
 
ICRC Global Appeal 2012 
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also issued its 2012 humanitarian appeal 
(Emergency Appeal – CHF 969.5 mil.). The appeal sums up the funding requirements of operations 
addressing namely the situation of IDPs and refugees in countries affected by conflicts.  
                                                     
3
 Ethiopia is not included in CAP 2012 yet due to the unfinished needs assessments; however, the humanitarian activities in 
this country will continue with financial requirements similar to those in 2011. 
 4 
The geographical shares are similar to previous years: 41% of the budgets are required for Africa (+4% 
compared to 2011 appeal), a quarter of the budget for Asia and the Pacific, and around 20% for the 
Middle East. Libya and South Sudan are two new partner countries in the ICRC Appeal; higher needs 
are identified in Somalia, Syria, Tunisia and Egypt. Decreasing humanitarian requirements are 
connected to Haiti and Sri Lanka. Among the most expensive humanitarian operations are 
Afghanistan, further Somalia, DRC, Sudan, and OPT. Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen also remain 
important partner countries for ICRC activities, despite the overall decrease in financial terms. 
Protection takes up 19% of the ICRC budget, non-food aid 58% and preventive measures 15%.    
 
ECHO Humanitarian Aid Strategy for 2012 
Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (DG ECHO) is a leading 
humanitarian donor as well as a powerful advocate for good humanitarian donorship. In its 
Humanitarian Aid Strategy for 2012, DG ECHO makes proposals for the disbursement of the basic 
humanitarian budget amounting to EUR 840 million. 
Around 52% of the budget are earmarked for countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in particular Horn of 
Africa, Central Africa, Sahel, Sudan and South Sudan, Zimbabwe. Two thirds of the means for 
sub-Saharan Africa will be spent on their complex needs, in particular related to food insecurity and 
general vulnerability of the populations. In the remaining parts of the World, ECHO will be active in 
Afghanistan a Pakistan, in Yemen and Palestine, as well as towards Burma/Myanmar and 
Burmese refugees in surrounding countries. 10% of the humanitarian budgets are planned for 
"forgotten crises", another 10% for disaster preparedness in the framework of DIPECHO action plans 
for particularly vulnerable regions; 19% of the humanitarian aid budgets are reserved for the response 
to sudden on-set emergencies.  In terms of sectors, DG ECHO will focus on food assistance and 
nutrition, applying a food insecurity needs assessment. In the health and WASH sectors, DG ECHO 
will work on further development and sharing of practical guidelines. Among the overall priorities are 
building of complex resilience as well as cooperation between humanitarian and civil protection 
policies and actors.  
 
3. Humanitarian aid provided by the Czech Republic 
 
Summary of the humanitarian aid provided by the Czech Republic abroad in 2011 
In 2011, the humanitarian impact of Arab Spring (in particular the conflict in Libya and refugee flows 
from it, further Yemen and Syria) was dominating the scene along with the famine in Somalia and its 
effects on other parts of the Horn of Africa region (in particular the droughts and refugees in Ethiopia 
and Kenya). The Czech Republic provided humanitarian aid in both cases. Besides the means 
committed from the humanitarian budget (2.5 mil. CzK for Libya, 5 mil. CzK for the Horn of Africa), 
reserve funds from the Czech Development Agency were used in Ethiopia (according to the bilateral 
development cooperation programme), and Ministry of Interior delivered in-kind aid to Libya in form 
of medical equipment, along with extraordinary MEDEVAC operations.  
 5 
The Czech Republic also committed humanitarian aid to other countries affected by natural disasters, 
such as Japan (earthquake), Pakistan (floods and recovery after 2010-floods), Turkey (earthquake), 
West Africa (drought and malnutrition), South and SE Asia (floods in the Philippines, Cambodia and 
Thailand). All together, one third of the humanitarian budget (25 mil. CzK) was spent on the disaster 
response.  
Another part of the budget (27.7 mil. CzK) was disbursed through a call for proposals for countries 
with complex emergencies (DRC, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka) and countries with post-disaster 
recovery needs (Haiti and Pakistan).   
According to the 2011 Operational Strategy, UN humanitarian projects were supported with 7.5 mil. 
CzK: in particular UNHCR (Afghan refugees in Iran), UNICEF (Yemen) and UNRWA (OPT). Other 
contributions were earmarked for Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and South Sudan.  
The 2011 humanitarian aid budget was fully disbursed and spent on various kinds and phases of 
humanitarian emergencies. Czech and international NGOs, UN agencies and programmes, Red Cross 
associations as well as Czech Embassies in Islamabad, Kabul and Tokyo were among the 
implementing partners.  
 
Czech humanitarian aid in 2012 – preliminary outlook 
In 2012, CZK 73 million will be available for humanitarian assistance in the basic budget
4
. The Czech 
Republic will attempt to support both countries with protracted (complex) crises and countries affected 
by ad hoc emergencies. Follow-up aid will be offered to countries affected by disasters in 2011, where 
needed. If the budget allows it, the Czech Republic will contribute to the DRR needs. In case of 
ratification of the new Food Aid Convention, the commitment connected to it will be met from the 
humanitarian budget as well. 
The Czech Republic will again support humanitarian projects of Czech and foreign NGOs, where 
appropriate. An adequate share of the humanitarian budget will be disbursed through the UN and the 
ICRC/IFRC humanitarian funds and programmes, according to the comparative advantages of the 
particular implementing partners with a view to a maximal impact for the affected populations.  
The NGOs are again invited to apply for subsidies for their humanitarian aid projects in countries 
affected by complex emergencies (Afghanistan, Burma/Myanmar, DR Congo, South Sudan) or 
countries with post-disaster recovery needs (Horn of Africa – Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia; 
Pakistan)
5
. The relevant calls for proposals (CfPs) were announced on 15 December 2011; the grants 
are expected to be disbursed in March/April 2012. 
Simultaneously with new ad hoc emergencies, humanitarian assistance will be committed for other 
countries facing complex humanitarian needs, such as Yemen, Zimbabwe or countries in West 
Africa/Sahel. There will be possibility for follow-up aid for countries excluded from the CfPs after 
2011 (Haiti and Sri Lanka), and for countries not covered with suitable projects under the current 
                                                     
4
 According to the Government decision No. 407 from June 2, 2011 (2012 Development Cooperation Plan and Preliminary 
Financial Outlook until 2014) 
5
 Afghanistan and Ethiopia are included in accordance with the bilateral development cooperation programme, taking into 
account the LRRD needs. 
 6 
CfPs. This aid will be committed both inside CAP and in cooperation with other implementing 
partners. The Czech Republic will also systematically assess the humanitarian situation in countries, 
which received aid in 2011 – in particular Libya and other countries affected by the Arab Spring.  
In July, a mid-term review will update the operational strategy in relation to the global humanitarian 
needs and still available resources. If the situation makes it possible, UN implemented humanitarian 
projects will be supported, in particular CERF, OCHA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNRWA and WFP. The 
remaining means will be spent on disaster preparedness and resilience building.  
In addition to all particular humanitarian activities, the Czech Republic will try to focus more on 
communication strategy, both presenting the CZ as donor inside and outside the country, and 
advocating for the humanitarian principles, incl. IHL, and for humanitarian space. 
 
Preliminary distribution of the Czech humanitarian budget 2012: 
Period Amount (mil. CZK) Use 
Q1   
16 
  8 
Call for proposals/grants: 
Afghanistan, Myanmar, DRC, South Sudan 
Horn of Africa, Pakistan 
Q1 – Q2    3 
Afghanistan (QIP) 
Q2 – Q3 15 CAP/ICRC Appeal 2012 etc. (Haiti, Sri 
Lanka, Yemen, West Africa, Zimbabwe) 
Q3 – Q4* 15 Voluntary contributions: CERF, OCHA, 
UNHCR, UNICEF, UNRWA, WFP 
Q4*  3 DRR activities, FAC commitment 
Continuously 13 (or more, when needed) Ad hoc emergencies 
Total 73   
* - Based on the mid-term review of the humanitarian situation and available means. 
 


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